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Viewtiful Joe Swoops To Save 2D Gameplay

Posted by simoniker on from the the-japanese-are-insane dept.

Thanks to IGN Cube for running an import review of Capcom's crazed 3D-graphics but 2D-gameplay action platformer, Viewtiful Joe, which has just been released (and immediately sold out) in Japan, but isn't out in the US until October. According to the article, "Viewtiful Joe is an extremely stylized quasi-2D side-brawler .. [with] polished control mechanics.. you can effortlessly slow down time, speed it up.. the game's graphic presentation, from.. cel-styled worlds.. [to] breathtaking slow-time and speed-time effects, and fluid animation that drowns every character, is just gorgeous." There's also a US demo of Viewtiful Joe on the recent official GameCube demo disc - is this title proof that 2D gameplay can still enchant the mass market?

21 comments

  1. Excellent Game by highcaffeine · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've been playing VJ for a couple days now (got mine Tuesday -- imported it through videogamedepot.com) and love it. I've always been a platformer at heart, and this game definitely makes me happy so far. For any US cuber's who want to get this *now* but don't speak Japanese and are worried about not knowing what's going on, stop worrying and just get it. Much of it is in English anyway.

    My only beef with it was when I first popped it in and just wanted to get straight to the action. You have to sit through a drawn out intro that can't be skipped (it seemed to go on forever the first time around). If you do import it (and if this is your first import), make sure you either have a modded GCN or the "Freeloader" so that you can actually play it, and also make sure to have a separate memory card (you cannot save US and JP games on the same card).

    1. Re:Excellent Game by jago25_98 · · Score: 1

      really hate having to watch intros. Storylines annoy me too, and they spend so much time and effort on it too :p

      --
      A blog I run for the wealth
    2. Re:Excellent Game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      If you do import it (and if this is your first import), make sure you either have a modded GCN or the "Freeloader" so that you can actually play it, and also make sure to have a separate memory card (you cannot save US and JP games on the same card).

      Yes you can, the card just needs to be formatted with a Japanese game first and then it'll work with every Japanese or US game out there.

  2. Played the demo by Rysc · · Score: 2

    And I must say that this is probably the most fantastic thing I've seen in terms of 2D fighting since Streetfighter II.

    It leaves me speachless and at a loss for words. I will simply recommend that you get this game, and leave it at that

    --
    I want my Cowboyneal
  3. (1+1)d by Leffe · · Score: 3, Insightful
    is this title proof that 2D gameplay can still enchant the mass market?
    Maybe this is why people buy the Gameboy Advance? The mystery is finally explained!

    Well, seriously, I would love a couple new 2d platformers, a new Sonic the Hedgehog game without the adventure part would totally rock! Or a new Castlevania, not for the Gameboy Advance, but one of the consoles, Playstation 2 maybe?
    1. Re:(1+1)d by neostorm · · Score: 1

      Check out that Ninja Five-O. That just looks fantastic in terms of old-school platform action.

    2. Re:(1+1)d by Leffe · · Score: 1

      The screenshots look pretty cool, but it seems to lack the certain ninja feeling or style that the Shinobi games have...

      It's Konami though, that should give it some extra points. Maybe I should 'accuire' the game and give it a try? Maybe even buy it.

    3. Re:(1+1)d by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kazaa is a great preview service...

  4. To answer the question.... by madmarcel · · Score: 3, Insightful

    > is this title proof that 2D gameplay can still enchant the mass market?

    Probably, old arcade games are still popular (There are still pacman, tetris and pong clones being made as we speak ;^)

    Gameplay - that word is the key here, graphics don't matter that much IMHO, the graphics are only there for the 'initial' sell.

    Having said that....
    I haven't seen viewtiful joe...whats the replay value like? (Always a problem with 2D scrollers)

    1. Re:To answer the question.... by Lewisham · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I have to disagree. I would be very surprised if Viewtiful Joe does as well in the West as it has done in Japan.


      Despite the fact that Gamecube owners are generally a bit more hardcore than their Playstation bretheren, we've seen time and again the mass-market (and some die-hards too) being very judgemental about 2D, whereas the same cynicism simply doesn't exist in Japan. As all our platformers moved to 3D, they simply got worse, not better. Those Mario Sunshine levels that emulated the old-school days are impossible to control.


      Japan realises that and doesn't have the same bias, one of the reasons why the Saturn did much better (seeing as it was a very good 2D machine) in the East than it did in the West. It's a shame that the global economy means more companies can't make the statement that Capcom have done (that means you, Miyamoto-san).

    2. Re:To answer the question.... by stx23 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It has quite a lot of replay value with additional difficulty levels and unlockable characters.
      It's the best game this year since Wario Ware, and probably the best game so far on the cube.

      It's a joy to play and very challenging in it's puzzles and bosses. Tremendous fun overall.

    3. Re:To answer the question.... by stx23 · · Score: 1

      Those Mario Sunshine levels that emulated the old-school days are impossible to control.

      No way! They were easily the best bit of the game.

    4. Re:To answer the question.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gamecube owners are generally a bit more hardcore than their Playstation bretheren

      You mean hardcore hardcore?

    5. Re:To answer the question.... by antin · · Score: 1

      I fully agree - half my friends now refuse to play any 2D games, and all of them are desperately waiting for the PSP and that stupid Nokia because they both have (or will have) fully 3D games... They still haven't explained to me how on a 2" screen they will be able to work out what is happening in a 3D game.

      Unfortunately the vast majority of the gaming community prefer graphics to gameplay - which means we constantly get crappy games that look nice... With the exception of a few genres (FPS, some racing games, and Flight Sims) nearly all 3D games are more frustrating than their 2D brethren, mainly because camera control is still so awkward and restrictive.

      However because the majority of consumers really do judge the game by its graphics, and it is only the hardcore gamers that actually purchase on gameplay, I don't see this trend ending anytime soon.

    6. Re:To answer the question.... by Hamster+Lover · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Have you played this game? I got it on my GC demo disc and was mightily impressed. Soul Calibre II looks really good, but it lost its lustre after about half an hour for me. Anyone else I have shown the demo to has been impressed; one friend was so impressed with Viewtiful Joe he bought a GC that day (Zelda and Metroid Prime had a bit to do with it as well).

      I am definitely going to buy it and I think it will do well. It fills a need that many games lack, namely playability. I find many 3D games feature amazing eye candy but poor playability, this games achieves both. It will be a winner.

    7. Re:To answer the question.... by Lewisham · · Score: 1

      Ahhh...no. The issue is not that the game itself is not very good indeed. I whole-heartedly reckon it will be rather amazing. My point is that it will be overlooked by the Western masses because it eschews 3D. Ikaragua anyone?

  5. Those annoying long intros on import games by Dsal · · Score: 2

    What's with those huge intros on a lot of import games from Japan?

    Try playing almost any imported GBA game... there's usually a 10 minute long unskippable intro explaining meaningless backstory and character exposition. Ok ok, so Masaru's dad gambled away all the family fortune, giving his son conflicted feelings when he plays mahjongg for money and... I DON'T CARE! *presses A* *presses A* . This might also be called the Metal Gear Solid 2 effect.

    This stuff might make sense in RPGs, but even simple puzzle games from Japan pull this. Even then.. it's way too long to let things go without user interaction. Is it some unspoken rule of Japanese GBA game design that the user can't be allowed to control anything until he knows every character's motivation and life history?

    Maybe they'll cut out some of that intro in VJ for the US version.

  6. Don't import! by funkmastermike · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Support nintendo in the U.S. or Europe.
    Show nintendo that you want to actually buy games for your region. .... plus it'll be $40
    I also read somewhere in a drunken state that there would be extras in the U.S. version.

    just wait!

    play the (extremely fun) demo cd instead

    1. Re:Don't import! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Maybe they could fix some of the niggling problems that the reviews are bringing up. Not enough save points, watching the same long cut scene too many times.

      Sound like a very good game though!

    2. Re:Don't import! by stx23 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I don't agree with the lack of save points complaint. Where are the save points in Ghosts'n'Goblins or Rolling Thunder?

      They aren't there, because you're expected to be good at the game.

      Viewtiful Joe harkens back to these days, and for me that's why it's such a great game. My thumb is almost blistered after a week of it. That hasn't happened for many years.

  7. Gabe from Penny Arcade's opinion by Omniscient+Ferret · · Score: 1

    Gabe wrote a glowing review.