Viewtiful Joe (video game)

Viewtiful Joe is a 2003 beat 'em up platform video game developed by Team Viewtiful and published by Capcom for the GameCube. It was originally released as a part of the Capcom Five, under director Hideki Kamiya and producer Atsushi Inaba. It was ported to the PlayStation 2 by the same design team under the name Clover Studio, subtitled in Japan Aratanaru Kibō (Japanese: 新たなる希望; lit. "A New Hope"). The 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.

The gameplay features traditional 2D platform side-scrolling intermixed with 3D cel-shaded graphics. Abilities known as "VFX Powers" grant the player special actions for combat and puzzle-solving, such as slowing down or speeding up time. Viewtiful Joe was critically acclaimed for its unique visual style and gameplay, earning itself a number of awards from various media publications. A minor commercial success, the game spawned several sequels, with releases seen on other consoles such as the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and Nintendo DS. An anime adaption and a manga series were also produced.