Viewtiful Joe (video game)
Viewtiful Joe is a side scrolling beat 'em up video game developed by Team Viewtiful for the GameCube. It was originally released in 2003 as a part of the Capcom Five, under director Hideki Kamiya and producer Atsushi Inaba. The game was later ported to the PlayStation 2 by the same design team under the name Clover Studio, subtitled in Japan Aratanaru Kibō (Japanese: 新たなる希望, lit. "A New Hope"). The game's story concerns Joe, an avid movie-goer whose girlfriend Silvia is kidnapped during a film starring Joe's favorite superhero, Captain Blue. Joe is shortly thereafter thrust into Movieland, where Silvia is taken by the villainous group known as Jadow. After accepting a special V-Watch from Captain Blue, Joe transforms into the tokusatsu-style persona "Viewtiful Joe" and sets out to rescue her.
| Viewtiful Joe | |
|---|---|
North American cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Capcom Production Studio 4 |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Director(s) | Hideki Kamiya |
| Producer(s) | Atsushi Inaba |
| Programmer(s) | Noriyuki Ōtani |
| Artist(s) | Kumiko Suekane |
| Composer(s) |
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| Series | Viewtiful Joe |
| Platform(s) | GameCube, PlayStation 2 |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action, platform, beat 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The gameplay of Viewtiful Joe features traditional 2D platform side-scrolling intermixed with 3D cel-shaded graphics. Abilities known as "VFX Powers" grant the player special actions for combat and puzzle-solving, such as slowing down or speeding up time. Viewtiful Joe was critically acclaimed for its unique visual style and gameplay, earning itself a number of awards from various media publications. A minor commercial success, the game spawned a few sequels with releases seen on other consoles such as the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and Nintendo DS. An anime adaption of the game and a manga series were also produced.