Viewtiful Joe: Difference between revisions

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''Viewtiful Joe'' is a [[X Meets Y|combination]] of [[Platformer]] and Progressive [[Beat'Em Up|Beat-Em-Up]]. The games were originally released on the Nintendo GameCube, and also appeared in enhanced form on Sony PlayStation 2, with a third game on the [[Nintendo DS]].

The story begins when film fan Joe and his girlfriend, Silvia, go to see an old [[Tokusatsu]] movie. However, when Silvia is unexpectedly kidnapped by the villain, Joe is brought into movie land to save her. The first game saw Joe running through various movie sets, defeating [[Mecha Mooks]] with his powers of [[Bullet Time|VFX Slow]], [[Super Speed|VFX Mach Speed]], and [[Mundane Made Awesome|VFX Zoom]], in an attempt to rescue Silvia from the evil Jadow and thus prevent them from escaping to the real world.

The story begins when film fan Joe and his girlfriend, Silvia, go to see an old [[Tokusatsu]] movie. However, when Silvia is unexpectedly kidnapped by the villain, Joe is brought into movie land to save her. The first game saw Joe running through various movie sets, defeating [[Mecha-Mooks]] with his powers of [[Bullet Time|VFX Slow]], [[Super Speed|VFX Mach Speed]], and [[Mundane Made Awesome|VFX Zoom]], in an attempt to rescue Silvia from the evil Jadow and thus prevent them from escaping to the real world.

In '''The Sequel''', Joe and Silvia must stop the alien Gedow from taking over Movie Land and the real world.

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Unfortunately, [[Clover Studios]], the makers of ''Viewtiful Joe'', shut down, and [[Real Life Writes the Plot|the lead designer is now with another company]]. Though he's expressed interest in completing his console trilogy, [[Cut Short|the outlook is grim]].

Capcom has not left Joe out to dry, however. After Clover's demise, Joe appeared as a playable character in ''[[Tatsunokovs Capcom ~~(Video Game)~~|Tatsunoko vs. Capcom]]'', the latest entry in the ''[[Capcom vs. Whatever]]'' franchise. He then appeared in ''[[~~Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Video Game)|~~Marvel vs. Capcom 3]]: Fate of Two Worlds''. Regardless of what happens to his home series, Joe has found acceptance in Capcom's stable, ensuring he at least stays visible for the foreseeable future.

Capcom has not left Joe out to dry, however. After Clover's demise, Joe appeared as a playable character in ''[[Tatsunokovs Capcom|Tatsunoko vs. Capcom]]'', the latest entry in the ''[[Capcom vs. Whatever]]'' franchise. He then appeared in ''[[Marvel vs. Capcom 3]]: Fate of Two Worlds''. Regardless of what happens to his home series, Joe has found acceptance in Capcom's stable, ensuring he at least stays visible for the foreseeable future.

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* [[Alien Invasion]]: GEDOW. The grunts of the army, the Flatties, even resemble the infamous "Flatwoods Monster" of UFO lore.

* [[All Guys Want Cheerleaders]]: Played with. Guess the motif behind Silvia's henshin form.

* [[All the Worlds Are A Stage]]: Source of the Viewtiful Joe Boss Rush type.

* [[All the Worlds Are a Stage]]: Source of the Viewtiful Joe Boss Rush type.

* [[Animated Actors]]: Taken seriously for once.

* [[Artifact of Doom]]: The Black Film. {{spoiler|Complete with [[Mind Control|mind-manipulating abilities.]]}}

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** {{color|purple|'''Alaster'''}} - [[Lightning Bruiser]] (VFX bar has to be activated manually a la [[Devil May Cry|Devil Trigger]], has a longer jump, can fly briefly, stronger than other three characters, but not as fast as Silvia ).

** {{color|blue|'''Captain Blue'''}} - [[Mighty Glacier]] (Cannot see skull marks regardless of difficulty, has the ability to hover across the screen indefinitely, and is stronger than Joe and Silvia).

** {{color|red|'''Dante'''}} ([[PS 2]] version only) - [[Lightning Bruiser]] (He's not as fast as Silvia, but still stronger than everyone else in the entire game)

** {{color|red|'''Dante'''}} ([[Play Station 2]] version only) - [[Lightning Bruiser]] (He's not as fast as Silvia, but still stronger than everyone else in the entire game)

* [[Combat Stilettos]]: Just about every female character.

* [[Continuity Nod]]: Statues of Gran Bruce, a boss from the first game, appear in Alastor's boss stage in ''2''.

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* [[Elevator Action Sequence]]: The last levels of ''Viewtiful Joe 1'' & ''2''. There's also an elevator fight in one of the levels of ''Red Hot Rumble''.

* [[Everyone Loves Blondes]]: Joe for Silvia.

* [[Everything's Better ~~With~~ Dinosaurs]]: Averted. Drill Sergeant Big John makes ''several'' appearances throughout ''2'', to the point that he's little more than a nuisance.

* [[Everything's Better with Dinosaurs]]: Averted. Drill Sergeant Big John makes ''several'' appearances throughout ''2'', to the point that he's little more than a nuisance.

* [[Everything's Better ~~With~~ Spinning]]: Several moves invoke this trope.

* [[Everything's Better with Spinning]]: Several moves invoke this trope.

* [[Everything's Even Worse ~~With~~ Sharks]]: Gran Bruce in ''1''.

* [[Everything's Even Worse with Sharks]]: Gran Bruce in ''1''.

* [[Fake Difficulty]]: See "[[Laser Hallway]]" below.

* [[Fallen Hero]]: {{spoiler|Captain Blue.}}

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** {{spoiler|He had a minor BSOD at the same moment in the game, too ("How? ''Why?''"), but quickly snapped out of it himself.}}

* [[Homage]]: The entire final level of the first game is a homage to ''[[Star Wars]]''.

** Joe's father, Jet, shares near-exactly the same hairstyle, outfit, and color scheme as the father of a little girl in an episode of the Ruby-Spears [[Mega Man (~~Animation~~)|Mega Man]] cartoon. That character's name? Jet. The characters are otherwise unrelated, as the Jet from the cartoon lives in the future with his daughter under evil totalitarian rule. Joe's father, however...

** Joe's father, Jet, shares near-exactly the same hairstyle, outfit, and color scheme as the father of a little girl in an episode of the Ruby-Spears [[Mega Man (animation)|Mega Man]] cartoon. That character's name? Jet. The characters are otherwise unrelated, as the Jet from the cartoon lives in the future with his daughter under evil totalitarian rule. Joe's father, however...

* [[Humongous Mecha]]: Ups the ante to ridiculous levels, as Great Six Majin is big enough to walk around the Earth in a few strides, and Six X Six Majin is bigger than most planets.

** The only thing in the Solar System that Dark Kaiser is ''not'' larger than is ''the Sun''. {{spoiler|King Blue}} is the same size as Great Six Majin. In ''Double Trouble'', Alastor gets his own mecha in the form of Rex Majin, which is as big as Six Majin (read: [[Godzilla]]-[[Kaiju|sized]]).

* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: Hulk Davidson brags about how he gave Captain Blue his scar, then screams "[[Not in ~~The~~ Face]]" when attacked.

* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: Hulk Davidson brags about how he gave Captain Blue his scar, then screams "[[Not in the Face]]" when attacked.

* [[Idiosyncratic Difficulty Levels]]:

** [[Easier Than Easy|Sweet]] mode from the [[Updated Rerelease]] and [[PS 2]] version of the first game.

** [[Easier Than Easy|Sweet]] mode from the [[Updated Rerelease]] and [[Play Station 2]] version of the first game.

** Kids (easy)<ref> You cannot do a [[New Game+]] to Adults or harder modes, if you did your first play-through on either of these easy modes</ref>

** Adults (Normal)

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* [[Mana Meter]]: The VFX gauge.

* [[The Man Behind the Man]]

* [[Mecha Mooks]]: Every single enemy.

* [[Mecha-Mooks]]: Every single enemy.

* [[Medium Awareness]]

* [[Meganekko]]: Silvia.

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* [[Mirror Boss]]: Another Joe, complete with a [[Boss Remix]] of Joe's theme from the first stage.

* [[Money Spider]]: You knock the V points out of enemies, which become coins. Larger enemies and bosses give you bigger coins, and sometimes points are hidden in boxes.

* [[Mook Face Turn]]: Silvia and two [[Mecha Mooks]].

* [[Mook Face Turn]]: Silvia and two [[Mecha-Mooks]].

* [[Ms. Fanservice]]: Silvia in ''2''. From a [[Stripperiffic]] outfit during boss battles to loads and loads of [[Panty Shot|Panty Shots]] to the most sensual Zoomed-in pose you'll ever see, Silvia has this one in the bag. Sprocket '''does''' give her a run for her money in the anime and ''Red Hot Rumble'', though.

* [[Nebulous Evil Organisation]]: JADOW in ''1'', GEDOW in ''2'', MADOW in ''Double Trouble''. (How do they come up with those names?)

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* [[Only One Name]]: Joe, Silvia, and Jasmine {{spoiler|and by proxy, Goldie, Ivory, and Junko}} are never given a last name. {{spoiler|However, given that Jet '''Black''' is Joe and Jasmine's father and Junko's husband, and Captain '''Blue''' is Silvia and Goldie's father and Ivory's husband, this ''may'' have been answered in the most ''subtle'' of ways.}}

* [[Painting the Fourth Wall]]: How many video game series are ''based'' around this?

* [[Playing ~~With~~ Fire]]: Fire Leo. Also, when Joe uses his mach speed power, it can send him into Red Hot mode, where he does added fire damage and is immune to fire.

* [[Playing with Fire]]: Fire Leo. Also, when Joe uses his mach speed power, it can send him into Red Hot mode, where he does added fire damage and is immune to fire.

* [[Plucky Girl]]: Jasmine, and Silvia to a ''much'' lesser extent.

* [[Pragmatic Adaptation]]: While the anime is largely faithful to the games, they do change a few things up. The second season changes ''a lot'' of the story from the second game... And yet, somehow, it works.

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* [[Red Herring]]: At the end of ''2'', a new villain shows up in the real world to wreak havoc. Jet Black says that the newest adventure will reveal {{spoiler|how he found the Black V-Watch and Black Film}}. Yet in ''Double Trouble'' the story picks up with Joe, Blue, Silvia, and Jasmine filming a movie. The two plots are almost completely unrelated, {{spoiler|besides some possible insight on Jet's [[Start of Darkness]]}}.

** Perhaps not. ''Double Trouble'' is more of a spin-off. Also, the first game ''did'' mention the Earth would have to be saved {{spoiler|three}} times.

** The series was intended to be a trilogy, but didn't end as planned due to a case of [[Screwed By the Network]].

** The series was intended to be a trilogy, but didn't end as planned due to a case of [[Screwed by the Network]].

* [[The Rival]]: Alastor.

* [[Robot Girl]]: Miss Bloody Rachel in ''2''.

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* [[Shout-Out]]: The franchise as a whole is a [[Shout-Out]] and [[Affectionate Parody]] of [[Toku]] shows in general.

** To ''[[Devil May Cry]]'', which is made by the same studio.

*** To go in-depth, Alastor himself. Not only does he possess the attacks (Stinger, Air Raid, Round Trip, Vortex, etc.) and [[Shock and Awe|purple lightning powers]] of his sword namesake, but when fought in Dante's story, Alastor reveals that he's [[Anthropomorphic Personification|the spirit of the sword]] and fumes that Dante didn't take him along during ''Devil May Cry 2''. Alastor also possesses a version of Joe's Red Hot Kick called Ultraviolet Kick; this is a nod to the [[Leitmotif]] of Nelo Angelo in ''DMC1''. In ''2'', his [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] (Underworld Emperor Alastor) physically resembles Dante's Alastor [[Super Mode|Devil Trigger]] and speaks the same line to Joe ("I am Alastor. The weak shall give their heart and swear their eternal loyalty to me.") that he said to Dante before [[Impaled ~~With~~ Extreme Prejudice|impaling him]] (Joe is much luckier, due to his VFX powers).

*** To go in-depth, Alastor himself. Not only does he possess the attacks (Stinger, Air Raid, Round Trip, Vortex, etc.) and [[Shock and Awe|purple lightning powers]] of his sword namesake, but when fought in Dante's story, Alastor reveals that he's [[Anthropomorphic Personification|the spirit of the sword]] and fumes that Dante didn't take him along during ''Devil May Cry 2''. Alastor also possesses a version of Joe's Red Hot Kick called Ultraviolet Kick; this is a nod to the [[Leitmotif]] of Nelo Angelo in ''DMC1''. In ''2'', his [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] (Underworld Emperor Alastor) physically resembles Dante's Alastor [[Super Mode|Devil Trigger]] and speaks the same line to Joe ("I am Alastor. The weak shall give their heart and swear their eternal loyalty to me.") that he said to Dante before [[Impaled with Extreme Prejudice|impaling him]] (Joe is much luckier, due to his VFX powers).

** Some standout and somewhat obscure to US players examples: Joe's visor going down during boss battles and the overall design of his costume are homages to the 1977 [[Toku]] ''[[Kaiketsu Zubat]]'', and Joe's scarf is a homage to the ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' series.

*** The reference goes further: in the ''Viewtiful Escape'' level, Joe makes a bet with Another Joe that whoever loses the fight has to wear a yellow scarf. This is a reference to the original [[Kamen Rider]]: Kamen Rider 2's most obvious difference from his predecessor's appearance was his yellow scarf (as opposed to 1's red scarf).

** Six Machine being similar in sound to the famous [[James Brown]] song "Sex Machine", anyone? Also, if Joe's [[Only One Name|last name]] is indeed the same as Jet's, it might be a reference to the movie ''[[Meet Joe Black]]''.

** MADOW is ''chock-full'' of 'em. Gadget-Cop is ''[[~~Robo Cop~~]]'', Killer Hands is ''[[Edward Scissorhands]]'' with less creepy/JohnnyDepp, Alter Woman is a homage of the various [[Incredible Shrinking Man|size]]-[[Attack of the 50 Foot Whatever|changing]] [[Sizeshifter|characters]] in [[Comic Books]], but is primarily a nod towards [[Ultraman]], and the Meta Rangers are an [[Affectionate Parody]] of ''[[Sentai]]''/''[[Kamen Rider]]''.

** MADOW is ''chock-full'' of 'em. Gadget-Cop is ''[[RoboCop]]'', Killer Hands is ''[[Edward Scissorhands]]'' with less creepy/JohnnyDepp, Alter Woman is a homage of the various [[Incredible Shrinking Man|size]]-[[Attack of the 50 Foot Whatever|changing]] [[Sizeshifter|characters]] in [[Comic Books]], but is primarily a nod towards [[Ultraman]], and the Meta Rangers are an [[Affectionate Parody]] of ''[[Sentai]]''/''[[Kamen Rider]]''.

** The evil organizations? Early Showa-era ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' all the way. Complete with [[Boss Subtitles|boss titles]].

** The second level in ''Double Trouble'' has one to ''[[Resident Evil 2]]''. Complete with the lobby music from the police department.

** The second level in ''Double Trouble'' has one to ''[[Resident Evil 2 (Video Game)]]''. Complete with the lobby music from the police department.

** The music from the first game that plays while {{spoiler|Captain Blue is explaining his past}} is a remix of a piece from the first ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' game. Here's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkxgzCqkx40 a] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDQeu41a7cQ comparison].

** Silvia possess a variant of Joe's Red Hot Kick named the Cool Blue Kick. While in the first game, it's exactly the same as Joe's technique, in ''2'', it gains electric properties, and her pose during the attack directly mirrors its source material: a lunging kick used by Remy from ''[[~~Street Fighter III (Video Game)|~~Street Fighter III]]: 3rd Strike''.

** Silvia possess a variant of Joe's Red Hot Kick named the Cool Blue Kick. While in the first game, it's exactly the same as Joe's technique, in ''2'', it gains electric properties, and her pose during the attack directly mirrors its source material: a lunging kick used by Remy from ''[[Street Fighter III]]: 3rd Strike''.

*** Speaking of the Red Hot Kick, it's yet another way that Joe homages ''[[Kamen Rider]]'': It's basically a Rider Kick. In ''Double Trouble'', the Meta Rangers, who are basically Kamen Riders in all but name, have the same move as name "Meta Kick".

*** Heck, the Meta Rangers' boss theme is a [[Kamen Rider]] shout out: It sounds remarkably similar to "Let's Go Rider Kick", the theme of the first two Kamen Riders.

** Ultimately subverted due to the fact it came four years beforehand, but [[Humongous Mecha]] Six Machine [[Gurren Lagann|has a red design, with one helmeted face on top and one face on the torso with a V-Shaped decal in front of it.]]

** Each level has a movie (or game) poster for it, based off of several real-world posters, as well as the name being similar to a movie title. In order for the first game, they are: ''[[Dracula (~~Film~~)|Dracula]]'' (Joe The Hero), ''[[King Kong]]'' ([[Some Like It Hot|Some Like It Red Hot]]), ''[[Jaws (~~Film~~)|Jaws]]'' ([[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea|2,000,000 Under The Sea]]), ''[[The Hunt for Red October]]'' ([[The Great Escape|The Viewtiful Escape]]), ''[[Devil May Cry]]'' ([[Midnight Cowboy|Midnight Thunder Boy]]), ''[[Gladiator]]'' ([[The Magnificent Seven|The Magnificent Five]]), ''[[Star Wars]]'' (Joe & Silvia).

** Each level has a movie (or game) poster for it, based off of several real-world posters, as well as the name being similar to a movie title. In order for the first game, they are: ''[[Dracula (1931 film)|Dracula]]'' (Joe The Hero), ''[[King Kong]]'' ([[Some Like It Hot|Some Like It Red Hot]]), ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' ([[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea|2,000,000 Under The Sea]]), ''[[The Hunt for Red October]]'' ([[The Great Escape|The Viewtiful Escape]]), ''[[Devil May Cry]]'' ([[Midnight Cowboy|Midnight Thunder Boy]]), ''[[Gladiator]]'' ([[The Magnificent Seven|The Magnificent Five]]), ''[[Star Wars]]'' (Joe & Silvia).

** For the second game, we get: [[Jurassic Park|Ten-Million Years B.C.]], [[Temple of Doom ~~(Film)~~|Viewtiful Heroes and the Statue of Doom]], Memoir of an Invincible Monster, [[James Bond|Thunder Boy Lives Twice]], [[Ice Age|Ice Edge]], [[Blade Runner|Do Androids Dream of Romantic Scene?]], and [[Starship Troopers|Starship Viewties]].

** For the second game, we get: [[Jurassic Park|Ten-Million Years B.C.]], [[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom|Viewtiful Heroes and the Statue of Doom]], Memoir of an Invincible Monster, [[James Bond|Thunder Boy Lives Twice]], [[Ice Age|Ice Edge]], [[Blade Runner|Do Androids Dream of Romantic Scene?]], and [[Starship Troopers|Starship Viewties]].

** Also, the powers (except for replay) are shout outs to film techniques. Slow Mo is obvious, taken from slowing down parts for dramatic effect. Mach Speed is used in television mostly, used most of the time for clean-the-room montages in sitcoms. Zoom In is from the old school horror flicks, in which the camera would quickly zoom close to the face of some frightening person with a menacing gaze.

** "So what's with that V-Watch on your arm, huh? You think you're some kind of Mega Man or something?"

** The "'''HMD'''" on Joe's shirt is a reference to the Lead Programmer of ''[[~~Mega Man 2 (Video Game)|~~Mega Man 2]]'', who identified himself as such.

** The "'''HMD'''" on Joe's shirt is a reference to the Lead Programmer of ''[[Mega Man 2]]'', who identified himself as such.

* [[Show Within a Show]]: Well, more like Movie Within A Game, which is where most of the action takes place.

* [[Speed Stripes]]: They appear whenever you activate Mach Speed.

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* [[Staying Alive]]: Alastor. He's never dead, no matter how sad the [[Unreliable Narrator|narrator]] gets over his death; he's just somewhere not getting any more screen time for the rest of the game. And complaining bitterly about it.

* [[Stripperiffic]]: [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|Sexy Silvia]]'s cheerleader-themed outfit (complete with a perpetual [[Panty Shot]]) is actually modest. For most boss fights in ''2'', however, the getup transforms into a [[Bare Your Midriff|midriff-baring]] combination of a bikini and hot pants. Also, there's Sprocket.

* [[Stripperiffic]]: [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Sexy Silvia]]'s cheerleader-themed outfit (complete with a perpetual [[Panty Shot]]) is actually modest. For most boss fights in ''2'', however, the getup transforms into a [[Bare Your Midriff|midriff-baring]] combination of a bikini and hot pants. Also, there's Sprocket.

* [[Superhero]]

* [[Super Speed]]