Video game series
Viewtiful Joe
(
Japanese
:
ビュ?ティフル ジョ?
,
Hepburn
:
By?tifuru J?
)
is a
side scrolling beat 'em up
video game franchise
created by Japanese
game designer
Hideki Kamiya
. It is primarily developed and published by
Capcom
and its subsidiary
Clover Studio
.
Games
[
edit
]
Viewtiful Joe
(2003)
[
edit
]
The first game in the series was directed by
Hideki Kamiya
, who had previously directed
Resident Evil 2
and
Devil May Cry
. It was the second title to be released under the
Capcom Five
, developed by a team of developers within
Capcom Production Studio 4
known as
Team Viewtiful
. The game was released for the
GameCube
on June 26, 2003, in
Japan
, and in October 2003 in
North America
and
Europe
.
Viewtiful Joe
centers around the avid movie-goer Joe, who is thrust into Movie Land, transforms into the
superhero
"
Viewtiful Joe
" and sets out to rescue his girlfriend Silvia. The gameplay features traditional
2D
platform
side-scrolling
intermixed with
3D
cel-shaded
graphics. A
PlayStation 2
version was developed in 2004 by
Clover Studio
featuring
Dante
from the
Devil May Cry
series as a playable character.
[1]
Viewtiful Joe 2
(2004)
[
edit
]
The second game in the series was directed by Masaaki Yamada, with
Hideki Kamiya
writing the story. The game was released for both the
GameCube
and
PlayStation 2
in 2004 in
North America
and
Japan
, and in 2005 in
Europe
and
Australia
. The game would be the first title to be fully developed by
Clover Studio
, a new studio within
Capcom
that was founded in 2004.
Viewtiful Joe 2
features both
Viewtiful Joe
and Sexy Silvia as playable characters with similar gameplay elements to the first game.
Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble
(2005)
[
edit
]
Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble!
(2005)
[
edit
]
Development and history
[
edit
]
Hideki Kamiya has expressed wanting to return to the series since leaving Capcom. In 2017, in an interview with
Dengeki PlayStation
, he addressed his former employer that he would want to work on a remake of the first
Viewtiful Joe
.
[2]
During
PAX East
2020, Kamiya told attendees to "email Capcom" to get sequels to dormant franchises, including
Viewtiful Joe
. He later said he would like to finish the series with a third entry, as well as seeing a
Nintendo Switch
version of the first game.
[3]
Other media
[
edit
]
An
anime
TV series based on the video game series, simply titled
Viewtiful Joe
, was produced by
Group TAC
and aired from 2004 to 2005.
[4]
A manga series was published concurrently in
V Jump
magazine.
[5]
Viewtiful Joe
appears as a playable character in the
Wii
version of the 2008
fighting game
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
.
[6]
He also appears as a playable character in the 2011 fighting games
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
and
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
,
[7]
and the 2013 mobile game
Combo Crew
.
[8]
Reception
[
edit
]
The first two
Viewtiful Joe
games received critical acclaim. However, the games that came after received a mixed-to-positive response and did not sell well.
Sales
[
edit
]
In Japan, the GameCube version of
Viewtiful Joe
sold through its initial shipment of less than 100,000 copies during the week of its release.
[16]
Preorders of the GameCube version sold out on Capcom's North American website prior to its ship date, and
Viewtiful Joe
debuted as the tenth best-selling game in the region.
[17]
[18]
The PlayStation 2 version sold a poor 9,912 units in its first week of release in Japan.
[19]
Worldwide, sales of the game reached 275,000 copies on the GameCube and 46,000 on the PlayStation 2.
[20]
Sales of the game in both North America and Europe were lower than what Capcom had predicted, but due to its small budget, the game was considered by Inaba to be relatively successful commercially.
[21]
[22]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Dunham, Jeremy (20 July 2004).
"A New Hope for Viewtiful Joe?"
. IGN.
Archived
from the original on 25 January 2007
. Retrieved
17 February
2009
.
- ^
Sato (November 20, 2017).
"Hideki Kamiya Wants To Do A Viewtiful Joe Or DMC Remake, And A Dante x Bayonetta Crossover"
.
Siliconera
. Retrieved
April 15,
2020
.
- ^
Doolan, Liam (March 3, 2020).
"Hideki Kamiya Would Love To Release Viewtiful Joe 3 And "Finish That Trilogy"
"
.
Nintendo Life
. Retrieved
April 15,
2020
.
- ^
Cole, Michael (September 1, 2004).
"Television is Viewtiful"
. Nintendo World Report
. Retrieved
August 27,
2020
.
- ^
"株式?社カプコン:Capcom World Japan"
. Archived from
the original
on August 14, 2015.
- ^
Gifford, Kevin (November 5, 2008).
"Viewtiful Joe Joins Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom"
. 1UP.com. Archived from
the original
on July 19, 2012
. Retrieved
August 27,
2020
.
- ^
Hamza CTZ Aziz (August 18, 2010).
"GC 10: Viewtiful Joe and Dormammu join Marvel vs Capcom 3"
.
destructoid
. Retrieved
August 27,
2020
.
- ^
Sarkar, Samit (August 29, 2013).
"Viewtiful Joe, Another World's Lester Knight join Combo Crew"
.
Polygon
. Retrieved
March 5,
2024
.
- ^
"Viewtiful Joe for GameCube"
.
Metacritic
. Retrieved
April 15,
2020
.
- ^
"Viewtiful Joe for PlayStation 2"
.
Metacritic
. Retrieved
April 15,
2020
.
- ^
"Viewtiful Joe 2 for GameCube"
.
Metacritic
. Retrieved
April 15,
2020
.
- ^
"Viewtiful Joe 2 for PlayStation 2"
.
Metacritic
. Retrieved
April 15,
2020
.
- ^
"Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble for GameCube"
.
Metacritic
. Retrieved
April 15,
2020
.
- ^
"Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble for PSP"
.
Metacritic
. Retrieved
April 15,
2020
.
- ^
"Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! for Nintendo DS"
.
Metacritic
. Retrieved
April 15,
2020
.
- ^
IGN staff (3 July 2003).
"Viewtiful Sales"
. IGN.
Archived
from the original on 19 December 2011
. Retrieved
24 February
2009
.
- ^
Altersitz, Samuel (18 October 2003).
"News ? Capcom: Viewtiful Joe is a Sell Out!"
. GamesAreFun. Archived from
the original
on 12 June 2011
. Retrieved
18 February
2009
.
- ^
Jenkins, David (24 November 2003).
"Latest US Console Sales Charts ? October"
.
Gamasutra
.
Archived
from the original on 22 September 2008
. Retrieved
23 March
2009
.
- ^
Mambrucchi, Steeve (17 September 2004).
"Top Ventes Jap (Sem n°37/2004)"
(in French). Gamekyo.
Archived
from the original on 4 October 2011
. Retrieved
13 March
2009
.
- ^
Drake, Shannon (8 May 2007).
"Vision Doesn't Sell Copies"
.
The Escapist
.
Archived
from the original on 13 June 2011
. Retrieved
24 February
2009
.
- ^
Sheffield, Brandon (11 March 2005).
"Postcard from GDC 2005: Lessons from Viewtiful Joe: Making a Creatively and Financially Successful New Game"
. Gamasutra.
Archived
from the original on 20 December 2008
. Retrieved
17 February
2009
.
- ^
"Capcom Annual Report 2004"
(PDF)
.
Capcom
. 31 March 2004.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 12 August 2011
. Retrieved
15 February
2009
.