Viewtiful Joe 2: The Hero Returns

With a cross-platform sequel and a PS2 port in the works, Viewtiful Joe is set for an all-out assault on both the GameCube and the PlayStation 2.

At a time when it seemed like almost every game coming out was a rehash, remake, or lackluster franchise offering, gamers needed something like last year?s superb ode to 1970s Japanese TV heroes and American comic books: Viewtiful Joe, an aesthetically brilliant amalgamation of old-school side-scrolling platformers and modern technological wizardry. The game, in which a teenaged Walter Mitty type becomes a masked superhero and is hurled into a celluloid wonderland to rescue his kidnapped girlfriend, boasted wildly gorgeous art direction, memorable characters, arcadey gameplay, and honest-to-goodness charm. It was cleverly designed and refreshingly challenging, while the manga-esque, pseudo two-dimensional animation and the frenetic action both threatened to burst from the screen and embed themselves into your frontal lobe.

The game was also rare in that it left you thoroughly drained, yet immediately wanting more once you finished it. Thankfully, Capcom not only has a follow-up in the works for both the GameCube and the PlayStation 2, but it?s also porting the original game to the PlayStation 2, a one-two combination that has fans, both longtime and soon-to-be, damn excited.

Looking Viewtiful on the PS2
Since the first game was a GameCube exclusive, PlayStation 2 owners missed out on some Viewtiful lovin?. In a move that was not too surprising considering the disappointing sales Viewtiful Joe received despite its overwhelming critical acclaim, Capcom has announced that the henshin hero will kick ass and take names on the PS2 in the near future. ?I wanted more people to get a chance to play the game,? explains Producer Atsushi Inaba. ?I'm really proud of it and was hoping the company would let me release it on the PS2 so more gamers could see the great game that we created.? Wish granted. Rejoice, PlayStation 2 gamers?you?re in for a wild ride.

The PlayStation 2 release of Viewtiful Joe will contain two notable new features: an all-new Easy mode and an unlockable character who, like Joe, one time redefined the meaning of the word ?cool? in games?Dante from Devil May Cry. The choice to include such a gritty character in a candy-pop comic world may seem odd, but it?s actually quite fitting. ?Since (Hideki) Kamiya directed both Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe, the idea of having a serious character like Dante in a comical world sounded fun, so we decided to include him in the game,? explains Inaba. Dante will, of course, come armed with his signature guns, and it will be interesting to see how they are used in Viewtiful Joe. When asked who would win in a bout of fisticuffs between the two heroes, Inaba offers his prediction: ?In Joe's world, Joe would win. But if we throw Joe into the Devil May Cry world, yikes! I would fear for Joe's life!?

Sylvia a Go-Go
Superheroes never have just one adventure, and if you played Viewtiful Joe until the end (no small feat), you were treated to a tantalizing preview of things to come. And you were right?a sequel is in the works. But how do you improve on something so, well, perfect? By focusing on what things the seminal first game did right and expanding on them. With more surreal locations, more visual effects superpowers, and a slew of new enemies and challenges, Inaba and Director Masaaki Yamada are in the process of crafting a logical and exciting progression of the previous game.

Viewtiful Joe 2 picks up where the first game left off with a new evil organization coming from outer space to threaten the peaceful existence of the movie world that Joe fought tooth and nail to save. Joe, of course, is also back in action, only this time you?ll be able to play as another character from the game?s beginning?and if you paid attention to the first game?s ending, you should already have an idea who it is. Relegated to prized-object status the first time around, Joe?s girlfriend, Sylvia, is now playable, and she?s armed with pom-poms and a cool retro-style ray gun that can attack from far distances. In addition, both characters will have a unique story line and dialogue.

But if playing as a ray gun?wielding super cheerleader doesn?t float your boat (although why wouldn?t it?), the titular hero has a few new tricks up his sleeve. Joe?s arsenal of visual effects superpowers will be enhanced with new attributes, while brand-new ones will be introduced, including Replay and Risk and Return. Inaba explains how the new Replay power works during combat: ?When activated, three ?Replay? freeze frames of your character will hit the enemy one after the other, repeating whichever move you just executed, for three times the damage.? However, Inaba warns that the new ability bears a risky price. ?If you get hit while in Replay mode, you incur three times the amount of damage.? Also returning is Joe?s super-ride, Six Machine, which plays a much larger role in the story than in the original. In the sequel, it will be able to transform into a submarine, a drilling machine, a racecar, and even a bazooka, depending on the challenges at hand.

Henshin Again
One thing that made Joe shine was its cleverly designed stages and puzzles, and the sequel?s combination of longer stages based on more movie themes, new challenges, and new powers will offer more complex challenges than before. New types of puzzles will be designed in such ways that old powers, new powers, and any combination thereof will be needed to solve them. For example, when a volcano erupts in Dino Park, a huge boulder lands on top of a switch, causing a bridge you need to cross to rise. Only by slowing down time and uppercutting the rock can you send it aloft long enough to run underneath and across the now-crossable bridge. Later on in the same level is a bolted door; its unlocking mechanism can be activated only by using Replay to strike three sections at precisely the same time. This increased difficulty may not bode so well for players who were intimidated by the first game?s difficulty, but Capcom, influenced by feedback from the first adventure, will be making the sequel more accessible for casual players while still ramping up the level of challenge for seasoned gamers.

While a specific launch date hasn?t been locked down, Capcom?s looking for a release by year?s end, and the work it?s putting into the sequel promises to meet, if not exceed, the expectations of fans as well as rope in newcomers. And with the PS2 port looming around the same time, hero-ness will be with you like never before.

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