Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble!

Last updated
Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble!
Viewtiful Joe - Double Trouble! (DS Video game) boxart.jpg
North American box art
Developer(s) Clover Studio
Publisher(s) Capcom
Director(s) Junichi Ota
Producer(s) Atsushi Inaba
Designer(s) Ryo Fujii
Yuichi Niijima
Writer(s) Hideki Kamiya
Composer(s) Takeshi Miura
Series Viewtiful Joe
Platform(s) Nintendo DS
Release
  • JP: November 2, 2005 [1]
  • NA: November 8, 2005 [2]
  • EU: February 24, 2006 [3]
  • AU: March 10, 2006
Genre(s) Action, platform, beat 'em up
Mode(s) Single-player

Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble!, known in Japan as Viewtiful Joe: Scratch!, [lower-alpha 1] is a video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom for the Nintendo DS. It was released in 2005 in Japan and North America. Capcom partnered with Nintendo to distribute the game in Europe and Australia in early 2006. Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! is the fourth game released in the Viewtiful Joe series. The game's story opens on the set of director Captain Blue's new action movie in an amusement park called Movieland. When a mysterious group of villains known as Madow steal the only copy of the film, the superhero Viewtiful Joe and his younger sister Jasmine quickly give chase.

Contents

Gameplay in Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! is a mix of the platforming and beat 'em up video game genres. The DS touchscreen is a key feature of the game's controls, enabling players to utilize Viewtiful Joe's unique VFX powers in order to battle enemies and solve puzzles. These include being able to split the level in half horizontally or to swap the top screen to the touchscreen and vice versa. The game was relatively well received by critics, but it sold poorly.

Gameplay

The Slide and Touch VFX Powers let the player swap the top screen for the bottom in order to flip switches with the touchscreen. Viewtiful Joe - Double Trouble! (DS Video game) screencap.jpg
The Slide and Touch VFX Powers let the player swap the top screen for the bottom in order to flip switches with the touchscreen.

Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! looks and plays similarly to its console counterparts Viewtiful Joe and Viewtiful Joe 2 . [4] The game is presented with 3D graphics set on a 2D plane and has both platforming and side-scrolling beat 'em up elements. Both screens on the DS feature the same gameplay with the top screen showing a magnified view of the player character Joe. The player controls Joe throughout a series of stages, or "episodes", which are divided into subsections with set goals such as defeating a group of enemies or reaching a checkpoint. Players combat enemies with punches and kicks and dodge enemy attacks by ducking and leaping upward. Successfully dodging an attack dazes the enemy, allowing the player to counterattack. [5] Defeating enemies and destroying certain boxes grant players coins called "V-Medals", which contribute to the overall score called "V-Points". Performing combo moves on enemies displays "V-Marks", which act as a bonus by converting to V-Points as well. Finally, V-Points are awarded at the end of each stage objective, with more points given depending on the player's performance, such as how skillfully and quickly it was completed and how much damage the player took. V-Points can be used at certain stage checkpoints to purchase new attacks and items. [6]

Much of the gameplay is centered around Joe's "Viewtiful Effects (VFX) Power", which is used in combat and puzzle solving. VFX Power is represented by a gauge located beneath the player's health. The gauge drains when in use but automatically replenishes itself. If it empties completely, Joe will temporarily lose his superpowers and will take more damage from enemies. The total length of the gauge can be extended by collecting "V-Tapes" scattered about each stage. There are five VFX Powers, and many of them are required to be combined for some puzzles. The first ability, "Slow", will decrease the speed of everything onscreen, increasing the player's reaction time and attack strength. [7] "Scratch" is performed by rapidly scratching the touchscreen and lets the player shake the screen around to make random pieces of debris fall on enemies and to dislodge larger objects. [8] "Split" allows the player split the stage in half by drawing a horizontal line across the touchscreen." [9] It is used to shift props in the background (such as flowing water), allows the player to traverse walls, and moves platforms and objects into or out of the player's perspective. The final two powers are used in conjunction with one another. "Slide" swaps the bottom screen with the top, both causing enemies to tremble in fear of Joe and giving the player access to more attacks. [10] After using Slide, "Touch" allows the player to flip switches or turn gears in the background. The combination of these two powers is also used to remove small, normally indestructible enemies, such as bats, from gameplay by tapping them on the touchscreen. [11]

Plot

Unlike the other games in the series, Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! takes place primarily in the game's depiction of the real world instead of its fictional world of movies. [12] The story is set in Movieland, an action film-styled theme park. The game opens on the set of a film starring movie hero and director Captain Blue and an aspiring actress named Jasmine. Just as Blue comes to the girl's rescue at a critical moment in the film, Jasmine's brother Joe, dressed as his alter ego Viewtiful Joe, steals the scene. Joe's girlfriend Silvia shows up, greeting Blue and Jasmine and inquiring why they are there. Jasmine explains her ambition to become like Junko, a legendary actress from the past. Suddenly, a group of villains crash the set and make off with a canister containing the reel of Blue's film. Wasting no time, Joe sets out after them. Joe quickly realizes he cannot use his "Movie Energy" to transform into Viewtiful Joe in the real world. To solve this, Blue has Silvia record Joe on a special movie camera called a "V-Cam".

Joe travels through several park attractions, always one step behind the henchmen that possess Blue's film. His sister Jasmine also pursues Blue's film, finding it important because it contains her acting debut. Each time the duo catches up to the film, he is forced to fight an action cinema character whose "hero-ness" has been stolen by an organization called Madow. They include the robotic policeman Gadget-Cop, the android Killer Hands, the size-changing Alter Woman, and the fly-like Meta Rangers Digi and Log. Each one that Joe defeats seemingly comes to his or her senses. Joe and Jasmine eventually face a cloud-like entity calling itself Queen Heinderella, the leader of Madow. After easily overpowering Joe, Heinderella reveals to the siblings that she desires the film because it contains the very essence of Captain Blue himself, the "Super Hero-ness". The two eventually reach an attraction titled "Viewtiful Joe - The Ride", which terminates in battle with Blade Master Alastor, Joe's rival from past entries in the Viewtiful Joe series. After a heated battle between Joe's Six Majin robot and Alastor's own Rex Majin, Heinderella appears again and takes Blue's film. With Alastor's advice, Joe and Jasmine travel to a large castle in the center of the park in the game's last episode.

Joe and Jasmine reach Heinderella in the throneroom of the castle, where she transforms the top of the structure into a giant, mechanized monstrosity, which Joe fights and destroys it. He is then confronted by a humanoid Heinderella, who proceeds to steal Joe's hero-ness from him, leaving him devoid of his superpowers. All the action film heroes Joe has met during his mission suddenly arrive and give up their own hero-ness to Heinderella. The queen admits that everything had been planned out from the beginning and explains her intent Joe's power for world domination. A powerless Viewtiful Joe is quickly disabled by her and falls helpless to the ground. With encouragement from Jasmine and Captain Blue, Joe regains his hero-ness and defeats Heinderella in a final battle. Heinderella reveals herself to be the late actress Junko, Joe and Jasmine's mother. Prior to the game's events, Junko had once been rich and successful with her acting career. However, Junko's dreams were dashed as her career plummeted shortly thereafter, and she coincidentally died from injuries suffered from a car crash while on her way to an audition. She explains that she was allowed one day to visit her children from heaven and that she used it to teach her kids to follow their dreams and to test their value of fighting for justice. Junko says farewell to them, and as the reunion ends, a new threat arises somewhere in the distance. Using the sense of justice instilled in her by her mother, Jasmine transforms herself into a super heroine, and she and Joe set off to face it together.

Development

Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! was developed by Clover Studio, a subsidiary of Capcom. The game was first announced under the working title Viewtiful Joe DS at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2004 as an early third-party Nintendo DS release. [13] Development of Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! took one year to complete using a team of twenty people helmed by director Junichi Ota and producer Atsushi Inaba. [12] Hideki Kamiya, who was responsible for some previous Viewtiful Joe titles, acted as an advisor and a scenario writer for the game. Takeshi Miura composed the soundtrack.

As Double Trouble! features 3D graphics like the previous installments in the series, Inaba explained that the most difficult aspect of the game's development was bringing the world of Viewtiful Joe to the DS with regard to the handheld's limitations, specifically the number of polygons possible for display on the screen. [12] The game requires use of the D-pad, facebuttons, and the DS touchscreen throughout the course of gameplay. Inaba stressed that the touchscreen functionality was designed for the player's finger instead of the DS stylus, as it creates a much more fluid experience during gameplay. [12] [14]

Reception

Reception of Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! were "mixed", but leaned more positive overall. The game has a score of 76% on Game Rankings and a 73 out of 100 on Metacritic. [15] [16] IGN rated it 8.5 out of 10, netting it an "Editor's Choice" award. The website stated "The game does have its quirks, mostly boiling down to the technical limitations: it's not as fast or energetic as past Viewtiful Joe games, and the touch screen sensitivity can get a little wonky in the heat of the battle. But even with these minor oddities, this game is one of the most fun and creative ways to move a 'traditional' console game onto the Nintendo DS." [20] The game received a number of honors from the website during its coverage of E3 in 2005 including "Best DS Game", "Best Action Game" on the DS, "Best Graphics" on the DS, and "Most Innovative Design" on the DS. [23] [24] It additionally won "Most Innovative Design" for the DS in IGN's reflection on the year 2005. [25] GameSpot had a similar opinion, rating it 7.6 out of 10. remarking that it "is a good place for the beloved superhero to break into handheld games" but that "[t]he action and puzzle-solving do feel a bit repetitive at times, and the touch screen VFX powers take a bit of getting used to." [19] Others thought it was excellent, such as 1UP.com, who rated it a B+. They stated that "Double Trouble! delivers a refreshingly solid, worthwhile action romp. Joe runs, jumps, punches, and defies the laws of physics just like in the console VJ titles, and a handful of new touch-panel VFX powers provide clever twists." [17]

Famitsu reported that Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! sold approximately 5,661 units in Japan between November 2 and November 27, 2005. [26]

Notes

  1. Japanese: ビューティフル ジョー スクラッチ!, Hepburn: Byūtifuru Jō Sukuracchi!

Related Research Articles

The Slime series is a spinoff series of games from Dragon Quest featuring its Slime character. Three games have been released, the second of which, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, has been released in North America.

<i>Super Mario 64 DS</i> 2004 video game

Super Mario 64 DS is a 2004 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was a launch game for the DS. Super Mario 64 DS is a remake of the 1996 Nintendo 64 game Super Mario 64, with new graphics, characters, collectibles, a multiplayer mode, and several extra minigames. As with the original, the plot centers on rescuing Princess Peach from Bowser. Unlike the original, Yoshi is the first playable character, with Mario, Luigi, and Wario being unlockable characters in early phases of the game.

<i>Viewtiful Joe</i> (video game) 2003 video game

Viewtiful Joe is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed by Team Viewtiful for the GameCube. It was originally released in 2003 as a part of the Capcom Five, under director Hideki Kamiya and producer Atsushi Inaba. The game was later ported to the PlayStation 2 by the same design team under the name Clover Studio, subtitled in Japan Aratanaru Kibō. The game's story concerns Joe, an avid movie-goer whose girlfriend Silvia is kidnapped during a film starring Joe's favorite superhero, Captain Blue. Joe is shortly thereafter thrust into Movieland, where Silvia is taken by the villainous group known as Jadow. After accepting a special V-Watch from Captain Blue, Joe transforms into the tokusatsu-style persona "Viewtiful Joe" and sets out to rescue her.

<i>Viewtiful Joe 2</i> 2004 video game

Viewtiful Joe 2, known in Japan as Viewtiful Joe 2: Secret of the Black Film, is a video game and sequel to Viewtiful Joe. The game was developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom in 2004 for the GameCube and PlayStation 2. The game's story begins where the original Viewtiful Joe left off, with the beginning of an alien invasion of Movieland by a villainous organization called "Gedow". The group is led by an unseen being known as the "Black Emperor", whose proclaims his goal to collect the special Rainbow Oscars, seven statuettes which contain the "power of the happy ending". Straight from their previous adventure, superhero Viewtiful Joe and his girlfriend Sexy Silvia quickly charge themselves with stopping Gedow's evil plans.

<i>Mario Kart DS</i> 2005 video game

Mario Kart DS is a 2005 kart racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It was released in November 2005 in North America, Europe, and Australia, and on December 8, 2005, in Japan. The game was re-released for the Wii U's Virtual Console in North America and PAL regions in April 2015 and in Japan in May 2016. The game is the fifth main entry in the Mario Kart series of video games, and the first to be playable via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection online service. Like other games in the series, Mario Kart DS features characters from the Mario series and pits them against each other as they race in karts on tracks based on locations in the Mario series.

<i>Nintendogs</i> 2005 real-time pet simulation video game

Nintendogs is a real-time pet simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was released in Japan, and was later released in: North America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and other regions. It was originally released in three different versions: Dachshund & Friends, Lab & Friends and Chihuahua & Friends. It has been re-released twice, first as a bundled release with a special edition Nintendo DS with a new version called Nintendogs: Best Friends and later as Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends.

<i>Yoshi Touch & Go</i> 2005 video game

Yoshi Touch & Go, known in Japan as Catch! Touch! Yoshi!, is a video game that was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It debuted in Japan on January 27, 2005, in North America on March 14, 2005, in Europe on May 6, 2005, and in Australia on May 19, 2005. As of August 2007, the game sold 197,337 copies in Japan. Yoshi Touch & Go was produced by Takashi Tezuka and directed by Hiroyuki Kimura. The game was released on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2015.

<i>Metroid Prime Pinball</i> 2005 video game

Metroid Prime Pinball is a pinball video game themed after the Metroid series. The game uses the graphical style and various story elements from Metroid Prime. It was developed by Fuse Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in North America and Australia in 2005, in Japan in 2006, and in Europe in 2007. Metroid Prime Pinball uses the basic mechanics of pinball, along with typical pinball items. New mechanics are introduced, such as wall jumping and the ability to fire weapons. The Nintendo DS's touchscreen can be nudged with a finger to alter the pinball's trajectory while in motion.

<i>Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time</i> 2005 video game

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is a role-playing video game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in late 2005. It is the second game in the Mario & Luigi series, and is the prequel/sequel to the 2003 Game Boy Advance game Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. The game was later re-released for the Wii U as a Virtual Console title in 2015, available for purchase from the Nintendo eShop.

<i>Ōkami</i> 2006 video game

Ōkami is an action-adventure video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom. It was released for PlayStation 2 in 2006 in Japan and North America, and in 2007 in Europe and Australia. After the closure of Clover Studio a few months after the release, a port for Wii was developed by Ready at Dawn, Tose, and Capcom, and released in 2008.

<i>Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble</i> 2005 video game

Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble, known in Japan as Viewtiful Joe: Battle Carnival, is a video game for the GameCube and the PlayStation Portable. It is a slightly mission-based platform fighter/beat 'em up somewhat similar in style to Super Smash Bros. Melee and Power Stone, though it uses a modified engine from the previous games, featuring characters and powers from the Viewtiful Joe games and anime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capcom Five</span> Five Capcom video games for GameCube

The Capcom Five are five video games that were unveiled by Capcom in late 2002 and published from March 2003. At a time when Nintendo's GameCube console had failed to capture market share, Capcom announced five new GameCube titles with the apparent goal of boosting hardware sales and demonstrating third-party developer support. Capcom USA followed up with confirmation that they would be exclusive to the GameCube. The five games were P.N.03, a futuristic third-person shooter; Viewtiful Joe, a side-scrolling action-platformer; Dead Phoenix, a shoot 'em up; Resident Evil 4, a survival horror third-person shooter; and Killer7, an action-adventure game with first-person shooter elements. Though not directly related to each other, they were all overseen by Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami and, except Killer7, developed by Capcom's Production Studio 4. Capcom USA later clarified that only Resident Evil 4 was intended to be exclusive; the initial announcement was due to a miscommunication with their parent company.

<i>The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass</i> 2007 video game

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is a 2007 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is the fourteenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series and the direct sequel to the 2002 GameCube title The Wind Waker. Phantom Hourglass was released worldwide in 2007, with the exception of South Korea in April 2008. The game was re-released for the Wii U via the Virtual Console service in the PAL region in November 2015, in North America in May 2016, and in Japan in August.

Hideki Kamiya is a Japanese video game designer and director. He began his career in 1994 with Capcom, where he directed Resident Evil 2 (1998), Devil May Cry (2001), Viewtiful Joe (2003), and Ōkami (2006). From 2004 to 2006, he worked for the Capcom subsidiary Clover Studio.

<i>Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars</i> 2008 video game

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars is a crossover fighting game developed by Eighting and published by Capcom. The game features characters from both Capcom's video game franchises and various anime series produced by Tatsunoko Production. It was originally released in Japan for arcades and the Wii video game console in December 2008 as Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes. Following high demand from international fans, Capcom worked with Tatsunoko to resolve international licensing issues and a second version, Ultimate All-Stars, was released for the Wii in North America, Japan, and Europe in January 2010, featuring additional characters and online multiplayer.

<i>Ōkamiden</i> 2010 video game

Ōkamiden, known in Japan as Ōkamiden: Chiisaki Taiyō, is an action-adventure video game published by Capcom for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is a spiritual successor, rather than a sequel, to Ōkami, a game released originally for the PlayStation 2 and later ported first to the Wii, then to other platforms.

<i>Mega Man Zero Collection</i> 2010 video game

Mega Man Zero Collection is a compilation of all four Mega Man Zero video games, which were originally released for the Game Boy Advance between 2002 and 2005. It was developed by Inti Creates and published by Capcom, and was made available worldwide in June 2010 for the Nintendo DS. The collection contains new features such as a beginner-friendly "Easy Scenario" that grants power-up items and abilities from the beginning of each game, as well as unlockable character art and the ability to display artwork on the Nintendo DS's bottom screen as the game is played. A similar compilation, Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection, was released in 2020.

<i>Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition</i> 2011 video game

Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition is a fighting video game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. It was released as a launch game in all continents, but in Japan first on 26 February 2011. It is a port of the console game Super Street Fighter IV. The game has sold 1.3 million units worldwide for 3DS.

<i>Viewtiful Joe</i> Video game series

Viewtiful Joe 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.

References

  1. "任天堂カンファレンス】DS最新タイトルの画像大公開! 豊富なソフトラインナップも" (in Japanese). Dengeki. October 5, 2005. Archived from the original on 2011-09-20. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  2. Bloodworth, Daniel (November 8, 2005). "Two Viewtiful Joe Titles Ship". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  3. "Nintendo - Press Release: It's Lights, Camera, Action as Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble Battles Its Way". Gamers Hell. December 5, 2005. Archived from the original on 2008-12-28. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  4. Berghammer, Billy (May 26, 2005). "Viewtiful Interview: Clover Studio's Atsushi Inaba". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 13, 2006. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
  5. Capcom staff, ed. (2005). Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! instruction manual. Capcom Entertainment Inc. pp. 12–13.
  6. Capcom staff, ed. (2005). Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! instruction manual. Capcom Entertainment Inc. pp. 10–11.
  7. Capcom staff, ed. (2005). Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! instruction manual. Capcom Entertainment Inc. p. 15.
  8. Capcom staff, ed. (2005). Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! instruction manual. Capcom Entertainment Inc. pp. 16–17.
  9. Capcom staff, ed. (2005). Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! instruction manual. Capcom Entertainment Inc. pp. 18–19.
  10. Capcom staff, ed. (2005). Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! instruction manual. Capcom Entertainment Inc. pp. 20–21.
  11. Capcom staff, ed. (2005). Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! instruction manual. Capcom Entertainment Inc. pp. 22–23.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Morcos, Antoine (January 23, 2006). "Viewtiful Joe Interview" (in French). GameKyo. Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
  13. Harris, Craig (May 11, 2004). "E3 2004: Nintendo DS Third Party Support". IGN. Archived from the original on 2010-01-03. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
  14. GameSpot Staff (April 6, 2005). "Viewtiful Joe to grace PSP, GC; more DS details". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2005-09-09. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  15. 1 2 "Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! for DS - GameRankings". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  16. 1 2 "Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble (ds: 2005): Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2011-10-22. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  17. 1 2 Parish, Jeremy (November 15, 2005). "Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble Review from 1UP.com". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-05. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  18. la rédaction (October 27, 2005). "Trois jeux Nintendo DS testés par famitsu" (in French). Wiiz. Archived from the original on 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  19. 1 2 Mueller, Greg (November 17, 2005). "Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! Review for DS - GameSpot". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  20. 1 2 Harris, Craig (November 8, 2005). "IGN: Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  21. Pallesen, Lasse (December 20, 2005). "Nintendo World Report - DS Review: Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on 2009-03-28. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  22. "Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble review". G4 . Retrieved 2009-03-23.[ permanent dead link ]
  23. Harris, Craig (May 27, 2005). "DS Best of E3 2005 Awards". IGN. Archived from the original on 2010-05-14. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
  24. Harris, Craig (May 27, 2005). "DS Best of E3 2005 Awards". IGN. Archived from the original on 2012-02-06. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
  25. "IGN.com presents The Best of 2005". IGN. Archived from the original on December 23, 2005. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  26. mariods mariods (January 9, 2006). "Gamekyo : Blog : Japon:DS vs PSP (+GBA inside)". GameKyo. Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2009-07-24.