Viewtiful Joe

1001 Video Games

Viewtiful Joe appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Alternate Packaging

Europe saw two GameCube releases of this game; one with a yellow front cover and the other with a pink front cover. There are no gameplay or story differences between these two versions; it is purely cosmetic.

Black Cat

A black cat appears throughout the game: * Illustrated in posters on street scenes * Driving the runaway jet-powered buses * In a space suit at the beginning of the space station

Catchphrase

"Henshin" in Japanese means "transform", so Joe's catchphrase when he changes, "Henshin a go-go, baby!", translates (obviously) to, "Transform a go-go, baby!"

Influences

In an interview on 1UP, Hideki Kamiya mentions the movies that influenced the design process: Life is Beautiful inspired the Viewtiful Joe bonus video, and the bus in the movie Speed was the inspiration for the bus in Viewtiful Joe. Jaws was the inspiration for the Shark Boss.

References

• When holding down the X button, Joe will throw up a bomb, jiggle it on his knee, and whistle the first 6 notes of the Mario theme. If doing it in mid-air, he'll whistle another part of the Mario theme. In Slow Motion, he'll whistle yet another part.
• In level 2, Some Like It Red Hot, there are billboards with a scantly clad women titled Playguy, which is a reference to the Playboy magazine.
• Sometimes the third boss, Gran Bruce, spits out a Nintendo GameCube.
• Gran Bruce's name is quite possibly a reference to Jaws. More specifically, the mechanical shark used in the movie, which was nicknamed Bruce by the crew.
• The Japanese PlayStation 2 version is called Viewtiful Joe: A New Hope, after the later added subtitle of Star Wars.
• Most of the names of the stages are puns regarding famous movie names: Some Like It Hot, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Great Escape, Midnight Cowboy and The Magnificent Seven.
• Take a look at the back of the US GameCube box. It has a robot that looks very much like the R.O.B accessory for the NES console.

References

The final level has many references to Star Wars: * The space dock interior with the the ranks of troops on the black mirror floor looks like the Death Star reception for the Emperor in Return of the Jedi. * The Die Fighters have hexagonal wings. * Blue tells Sylvia: "I am your father, Sylvia". * In the end titles, the Joe and Sylvia poster is subtitled: "In a viewtiful galaxy, far far away".

Viewtiful Joe Revival

Capcom re-released Viewtiful Joe in Japan with some new content and a new, easier difficulty mode titled Suwito (Sweet) on December 18, 2003. The upgraded version is called Viewtiful Joe Revival and is priced at 3,980 Yen ($36).

Awards

• 4Players
  • 2003 – Biggest Console Surprise of the Year (GameCube)
• GameSpy
  • 2003 – #4 GameCube Game of the Year
  • 2003 - Most Stylish Game of the Year (GameCube)
  • 2004 – Better Late Than Never Award (PS2)
• Golden Joystick Award
  • 2003 - Unsung Hero Game of the Year

Information also contributed by CaptainCanuck, [Garland](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,48990/), [German Cruz](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,99948/), [Jiguryo](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,9748/), [piltdown man](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,168784/), [Rupert Breheny](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,40963/), [Tiago Jacques, [timebender](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,39366/) and [Thomas Dowding](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,532749/).](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,46057/)