Viewtiful Joe (ビューティフル ジョー) is a 2003 side-scrolling action video game developed by Clover Studio[1] and directed by Hideki Kamiya. It follows the titular Joe, a fanatical movie-goer whose dreams come true when he and his girlfriend Silvia are abducted into Movieland while on a date at the theater. Bestowed with a V-Watch by the spirit of his hero, Captain Blue, Joe gains the power to transform into a special effects-themed superhero, and sets out to rescue Silvia from the villains of Movieland before they use her to escape into the real world.
Among Joe's powers as a superhero are his "Viewtiful Effects Powers" (VFX), which allow him to use film techniques in combat. These include "Slow" to throw his surroundings into slow motion, "Mach Speed" to fast-forward his moves to blazing speeds, and "Zoom In" to perform stylish close-up special attacks.
Announced as part of the Capcom Five, Viewtiful Joe was backed up by strong marketing and released to commercial success and critical acclaim. Critics praised the game's entertaining gameplay, its striking visual style achieved through excellent use of cel-shading, and its novelty as one of the few high-profile 2D console games to release in a generation that had almost universally moved on to 3D gameplay.
Viewtiful Joe quickly received a sequel, Viewtiful Joe 2 in 2004, and two spinoffs, Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble and Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! both in 2005. Viewtiful Joe also received an anime and manga adaptation, and Joe himself has also made multiple crossover appearances in other Capcom games.
Despite Viewtiful Joe's prominence throughout the sixth console generation, and infamously teasing that there would be a third main entry in the series, the series did not continue on to later continue generations, nor have any of its games been ported to modern consoles.
Hideki Kamiya, the creator of the series, has publicly expressed interest in developing a third and final game in the Viewtiful Joe "trilogy", as well as seeing the games ported to modern consoles or remade.[2]
Sharing the same tokusatsu superhero theme and identical SD (chibi) character design style, The Wonderful 101 is widely regarded as Hideki Kamiya's spiritual successor to the Viewtiful Joe series. Not only does The Wonderful 101 heavily reference Viewtiful Joe through numerous callbacks, Easter eggs, and characters, it also includes several game design elements and gameplay mechanics from the series.
Characters and Story[]
Poseman, an unlockable Secret Wonderful One in The Wonderful 101, is a blatant stand-in for the character Viewtiful Joe, and includes several references to the Viewtiful Joe series of his own:
The design of Poseman's Tyranno-Suit strongly resembles Joe's Henshin (superhero transformation) design.
The name Poseman appears to originate from the American box art of the first Viewtiful Joe game, where a building with an ad reading "POSEMAN" can be seen. (pic)
Poseman's innate ability to execute the Ukemi technique even without the Custom Block equipped is a reference to the fact that the Ukemi technique itself originates from the Viewtiful Joe series. Likewise, his Heroic Forever technique is based on the Viewtiful Forever ability.
The tagline of Poseman's profile, "Go for it!", is a reference to Silvia's "Just go for it!" line in the Viewtiful Joe series, which is heard at the start of each level and combat section.
Poseman's unique pose when he performs a Taunt is Joe's boss battle transformation pose.
Poseman's Taunt, "Let's Rock!", is a reference to Joe's "Let's rock, baby, yeah!" quote from the first Viewtiful Joe.
"Let's Rock!" is also a quote from the first Devil May Cry game, which Viewtiful Joe referenced.
Not only is the Minor Wonderful OneWonder-Cheerleader directly based on the character Silvia from the Viewtiful Joe series, it was once confirmed by Hideki Kamiya that Wonder-Cheerleader is Silvia. [citation needed]
Silvia makes a voice appearance in a notable Easter egg with Wonder-Pink at the end of Operation 002-C: should you fail the QTE to grab onto the Virgin Victory using Unite Whip, Pink gets distracted by a phone call and ultimately plummets to her doom. Initially, the call dialogue is sped up for comedic effect, but if the QTE is failed ten times then the dialogue plays at normal speed, revealing that the caller is actually Silvia, and the two quickly end up chatting about Joe (until Pink plummets to her doom.)
Commander Nelson has a slight resemblance to Captain Blue from the Viewtiful Joe series, and fills a similar albeit minor role as the predecessor of the main protagonist in The Wonderful 101.
Commander Nelson's comments when pausing the game in The Wonderful 101 are a callback to Viewtiful Joe, which also makes fourth wall breaking comments to the player any time the game is paused. In particular, Nelson's pause quote during Operation 006 is very similar to the one from Episode 5 of Viewtiful Joe.
The Minor Wonderful OneWonder-Movie possesses a background similar to the origins of the antagonist of the first Viewtiful Joe game.
Wonder-White may be partially based on the boss Frost Tiger from Viewtiful Joe 2, a poetic samurai who battles using ice powers and his claws. Wonder-White's last name, "百虎院 (Byakkoin)", which roughly translates to "White Tiger Temple", reinforces this idea.
The exchange between the Wonderful Ones and the GEATHJERK Officer Walltha in Operation 005-C, where Walltha reveals himself as Laambo's brother and is informed of his death, plays out very similarly to Frost Tiger's introduction cutscene in Viewtiful Joe 2, whose brother was Fire Leo in the first Viewtiful Joe game.
Wonder-Blue's ill-fated attempt at renaming Platinum Robo to "Platinum Majin" is a reference to Six Majin from the Viewtiful Joe series, a giant mecha belonging to Joe.
Some of P-Star's electronic speech sound effects are reused sound effects from the first Viewtiful Joe game, with the most unmistakable example being the sounds made by the remote control platform found in Episode 3.
Gameplay[]
Depleting the VFX Gauge to combo enemies using Slow
The Wonderful 101's Unite Gauge and Wonderful Batteries are based directly on the VFX Gauge mechanic and V-Film items from Viewtiful Joe. In Viewtiful Joe, using VFX Powers depletes the VFX Gauge, which gradually refills over time. The VFX Gauge can be increased by collecting V-Films hidden throughout each level, allowing you to use VFX Powers for longer. At the end of each level, the VFX Gauge is reset and V-Films must be collected again, and there is also a major upgrade to double the speed at which the VFX Gauge recharges, like the Speed ChargeCustom Block in The Wonderful 101.
The UkemiCustom Block is directly based on the Ukemi ability from the Viewtiful Joe series. In Viewtiful Joe, Ukemi can be used to nullify damage taken by using Zoom In when you hit the ground after taking damage. Unlike in The Wonderful 101, where there are no penalties to using Ukemi and the ability can nullify all damage taken, in Viewtiful Joe, Ukemi only restores one heart even when hit by an attack that deals multiple hearts of damage, and while using Ukemi still lets you earn a V-Rank on damage in a mission (V-Rank and Rainbow V-Ranks being the best possible ranks,) it disqualifies you from earning the no damage V-Point (currency) bonus.
Viewtiful Joe's "V-Point", Defense, and Time based scoring system in missions served as the basis for the Time, Combo, and Damage based scoring system in The Wonderful 101 (though the system was first refined in Bayonetta, which The Wonderful 101's system is more closely based on.)
The hidden dive kick Skill that can only be used in "Solo Mode" is a reference to the Rider Kick, a signature finishing move in the Kamen Rider Series, but it's also a reference to the Red Hot Kick, one of Joe's signature moves in the Viewtiful Joe series.
The player death animation in The Wonderful 101 is based on the death animation in Viewtiful Joe.
Shocking Reds are named after the Shocking Pink bomb items from Viewtiful Joe.
An in-universe brand in The Wonderful 101 called "Red Hot Joe's" runs advertisements that can be seen all throughout Operation 001, 002, and 008. This is a reference to Viewtiful Joe and the recurring use of the phrase "red hot" for various moves and techniques in the series.
The ocean metropolis Neo Mu, the setting of Operation 004 in The Wonderful 101, is named after the underwater city Mu, the setting of "Episode 3: 2,000,000 Leagues Under The Sea" in Viewtiful Joe. Additionally, the deep sea sector of Operation 004-B includes submarines as level scenery that are identical in appearance to submarines found in Viewtiful Joe, and the levels in both games each feature a long falling sequence down a tube to reach deeper areas of the level.
A smooth move that lets you use the V-Emblem like a boomerang
The animation for Prince Vorkken's "backup attack" (when there aren't enough team members to create a Unite Morph), wherein he brandishes his Victor Boomerang from the Guyzoch emblem on his chest and throws it, is reminiscent of the Voomerang attack from Viewtiful Joe.
Other[]
The logo for Team Wonderful, the development team of The Wonderful 101, is based on the Team Viewtiful logo.
↑ 1.01.1Viewtiful Joe was developed by Team Viewtiful as a part of Capcom Production Studio 4. However, Team Viewtiful was turned into Clover Studio shortly after the release of the game. For this reason, Clover Studio is generally regarded as the developer of Viewtiful Joe, despite this technically not being the case.
