Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble
Encyclopedia
Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble, known in Japan as , is a video game available for the Nintendo GameCube
and the PlayStation Portable
. It is a slightly mission-based fighting/beat 'em up
somewhat similar in style to Super Smash Bros. Melee
and Power Stone
, though it uses a modified engine from previous games in the series, featuring characters and powers from the Viewtiful Joe
games and anime.
, Captain Blue is working on his latest film, and in order to determine who will get the lead role, he holds a battle tournament between those who are auditioning. However, as the player progresses through the films, it seems that some strange things are afoot, as unauthorized equipment keep showing up and things seem a bit too dangerous. Suddenly, Rachel is possessed by the equipment, transforming into Tsukumo. He silently arranges to sabotage the picture by stealing and replacing props and putting the crew in increasingly dangerous situations. He is enraged that all the mechanical cameras, microphones, and other movie-making devices are never given an actual role in the very movies they help to make. After Tsukumo is defeated, Joe explains that the equipment plays an integral part in the process, so he leaves happily. Blue, meanwhile, decides to make Tsukumo the star of his picture, much to everyone's surprise.
into the air. Only one brawler loses.
sign. The one to start this battle will have a small timing advantage.
meter and knock the other brawlers up into the air.
. Producer Atsushi Inaba
noted that the game was inspired heavily by Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Melee
. Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble was originally developed as a two-player game rather than a four-player game.
In North America, the GameCube version of the game was included as part of promotion by the Johnny Rockets
restaurant chain.
score of 62 out of 100 and a Game Rankings
score of 63%. The PSP version of the game boasts slightly higher scores of 63 out of 100 and 66% on the two websites respectively.
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
and the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. It is a slightly mission-based fighting/beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
somewhat similar in style to Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBM or simply as Melee, is a crossover fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 game Super Smash Bros., and the predecessor to the Wii game Super Smash...
and Power Stone
Power Stone
Power Stone is a fully 3D arena fighting game series made by Capcom. Power Stone was initially released on the Sega NAOMI hardware and later ported to the Dreamcast...
, though it uses a modified engine from previous games in the series, featuring characters and powers from the Viewtiful Joe
Viewtiful Joe
is a video game developed by Capcom's Production Studio 4 for the Nintendo GameCube. It was originally released in 2003 as a part of the Capcom Five under director Hideki Kamiya and producer Atsushi Inaba. Viewtiful Joe was later ported to the Sony PlayStation 2 by the same design team under the...
games and anime.
Plot
In this game, based on the anime seriesViewtiful Joe (anime)
is a Japanese anime series based on the video game series of the same name.The series follows a similar plot of the games, but there are many differences. The series, comprising fifty-one episodes, was shown every Saturday on the Japanese television station TV Tokyo from October 2, 2004 until...
, Captain Blue is working on his latest film, and in order to determine who will get the lead role, he holds a battle tournament between those who are auditioning. However, as the player progresses through the films, it seems that some strange things are afoot, as unauthorized equipment keep showing up and things seem a bit too dangerous. Suddenly, Rachel is possessed by the equipment, transforming into Tsukumo. He silently arranges to sabotage the picture by stealing and replacing props and putting the crew in increasingly dangerous situations. He is enraged that all the mechanical cameras, microphones, and other movie-making devices are never given an actual role in the very movies they help to make. After Tsukumo is defeated, Joe explains that the equipment plays an integral part in the process, so he leaves happily. Blue, meanwhile, decides to make Tsukumo the star of his picture, much to everyone's surprise.
VFX Powers
In this game, the use of VFX Powers has been reworked so to make them more like power ups. All of them are limited-use: They have an effect that lasts for several seconds before ending. There is also a new power called S.E., which stands for Sound Effect.- Slow - Slows down all movement except for the user's.
- Mach Speed - Allows the user to fly at high speeds with a trail of flames. Anything the player flies through is damaged.
- Zoom - Makes the user larger and invulnerable to most attacks. Only basic attacks can be used in this form.
- S.E. - Gives the user a powerful ranged attack.
VFX Battles
Also included are VFX battles, button bashing tests that can either give the player an advantage and coins, or make the player lose coins. If a player (or the A.I.) picks up a VFX orb and throws it into the air, a VFX battle will begin.- RED- Button Smash - Four meters appear and the player must mash the face buttons again and again until it fills and the player knocks the others up into the air. Occasionally split into teams.
- GREEN- Rally - Split into two teams. Time the corresponding button press and knock the Bianky
into the air. Only one brawler loses.
- YELLOW- Quick Draw - The player must be the fastest one to press the button displayed on a
sign. The one to start this battle will have a small timing advantage.
- BLUE- Round & Round - The player spins the analog stick (or the D-buttons) to fill up the
meter and knock the other brawlers up into the air.
- PURPLE- Timing Battle - A bar moves across a meter and players must press a button at the exact time the bar reaches the end of the meter. The player with the best timing wins.
PSP exclusives
- The PlayStation Portable version of the game contains a few exclusive additions.
- More playable characters from the Viewtiful Joe and Devil May CryDevil May Cryis an action game developed and published by Capcom, released in 2001 for the PlayStation 2. Although it is the first game in the series of the same name, the events in Devil May Cry are second in the series storyline's chronological order, taking place after Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening and...
games. - Single-Player Trial Mode with an assortment of mini-games
- Game Sharing mode for limited multi-player action with only one copy of the game
- More playable characters from the Viewtiful Joe and Devil May Cry
Main playable characters
- Viewtiful JoeViewtiful Joe (character)is a fictional character in the Viewtiful Joe video game series. While normally a regular person named Joe, he obtains the ability to transform into Viewtiful Joe by entering a movie and gaining the ability from an older superhero named Captain Blue in order to save his girlfriend, Sylvia. He was...
(EX Color Change: Six Majin)- Movie Fan Joe (EX Color Change: White Tuxedo)
- Sexy Silvia (EX Color Change: Black wedding dress)
- Heroine Silvia (EX Color Change: White wedding dress)
- Blade Master Alastor (EX Color Change: Black Tuxedo)
- Stylish Alastor (EX Color Change: "Squid of Inescapable Doom" suit)
- Captain Blue Jr. (EX Color Change: Season one anime costume)
- Young Junior (EX Color Change: Young Joe)
- Captain Blue (EX Color Change: Helmetless)
- Director Blue (EX Color Change: Judo outfit)
- Young Captain Blue (EX Color Change: King Blue)
- Dark Emperor Jet Black (EX Color Change: Black Emperor)
- Manager Jet (EX Color Change: Basketball outfit)
- Dark Hero Jet Black (EX Color Change: Helmetless)
- Coordinator Sprocket (EX Color Change: Black dress)
- Charles the Third (EX Color Change: BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
-styled costume) - Hulk Davidson (EX Color Change: Body turns white; axe becomes a hammer)
- Gran Bruce (EX Color Change: Body turns red and white)
- Miss Bloody Rachel (EX Color Change: Cat suit)
- Fighter Bianky and Friends (EX Color Change: No skin; only its skeleton shows)
- DanteDante (Devil May Cry)is the primary fictional protagonist of the Devil May Cry video game series published by Capcom. The character and Devil May Cry are one of Capcom's flagship game franchises, which has sold over nine million copies worldwide as of 2008 and currently spans four video games...
(from Devil May Cry, PSP version only)
PSP exclusive characters
In addition to Dante, new characters appear as secondary EX costumes for the main characters. They essentially play the same, but with different effects, animations, voices and details.- Sparda (Dante's EX Color)
- Plasma (alternate color for Dante)
- "Un-Henshined" Dante (alternate color for Dante)
- Trish (Sexy Silvia's EX Color)
- Vergil/Nelo Angelo (Dark Hero Jet Black's EX Color)
- MarionetteMarionetteA marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
(Fighter Bianky and Friend's EX Color) - Junko (Sprocket's EX Color)
- Jasmine (Heroine Silvia's EX Color)
- Rex Majin (Blade Master Alastor's EX colour)
Development
The game was originally announced under the title Viewtiful Joe: VFX Battle, and early reports stated that it was to be released for the PlayStation 2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
. Producer Atsushi Inaba
Atsushi Inaba
is a Japanese video game producer for Platinum Games. He is also the former CEO and producer of the Capcom subsidiary Clover Studio, best known as the creative force behind Viewtiful Joe, Ōkami and God Hand.-Career:...
noted that the game was inspired heavily by Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBM or simply as Melee, is a crossover fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 game Super Smash Bros., and the predecessor to the Wii game Super Smash...
. Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble was originally developed as a two-player game rather than a four-player game.
In North America, the GameCube version of the game was included as part of promotion by the Johnny Rockets
Johnny Rockets
Johnny Rockets is an American restaurant franchise whose concept is to create a classic American restaurant atmosphere. The theme is the diner-style restaurant that had become a common sight by the 1950s...
restaurant chain.
Reception
Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble has received mostly average reviews from critics. The GameCube version of the game currently has a MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
score of 62 out of 100 and a Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
score of 63%. The PSP version of the game boasts slightly higher scores of 63 out of 100 and 66% on the two websites respectively.
External links
- Official website
- Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble at MobyGames
- Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...