In 2003, the GameCube was gifted with numerous amazing titles, but one in particular really stood out for me as an amazing title. That game was Viewtiful Joe - a title that merged old-school side scrolling beat-em-ups with flawless cel-shaded graphics, incredible production levels, and extremely innovative features, not to mention a great story and the creation of a new videogame hero in Joe. The game was Steven Kent's (the highly-touted gaming journalist from USA Today) 2003 game of the year, and, despite low sales, gained a large fanbase, based around its tongue-in-cheek look at the simple movie concepts of good vs. evil and the hero saving the day, even if he looks like a bad excuse for a Power Ranger. However, as was said at the end of the first game, there's much more to the story. Thus, just like any other blockbuster motion picture, Viewtiful Joe has gained a sequel. Viewtiful Joe 2 continues the trends of the first game and still has the charm that made the first game so special, plus some new features have been added to make this game even better than the original. In the end, Viewtiful Joe 2 is a very worthy successor to one of the best GameCube games ever.

Sylvia didn't make the cheerleading squad, and she's about to take it out on this poor schmuck.

VJ2's story picks up exactly, and I mean exactly where the first title left off. No sooner has Joe defeated the evil forces of Jadow when the Black Emperor, leader of the Gedow Empire, appears. His goal is to obtain the seven Rainbow Oscars, each containing the power of the Happy Ending, and transform Movieworld into a twisted land of his own design. Of course, Joe has something to say about that plan, and heads back into the action once more to save the day…but this time, he's not alone. Sylvia, Joe's main squeeze who required rescuing in the first game, has gained her very own V-Watch, transforming into Joe's trusty pom-pom wielding partner. Players will be able to switch between the two by utilizing the new V-Touch feature, executed by pressing Z, and can hold the button for various team-up attacks. The game's levels run the gamut of popular movie blockbusters - there's a level based on Jurassic Park, one based on the Indiana Jones films, a level derived from Japanese Samurai movies, and scenes based on everything from Blade Runner to Japanese Super Robot anime. Once again, humor is what keeps the storyline in Viewtiful Joe 2 running, with a parody-ridden look at action films, Japanese anime, and the world of Hollywood in general. The game is highly entertaining, especially with all the enjoyable VFX powers which were such a central part of the first game.

There actually is a brand new VFX power in the game; that of Replay, exclusive to Sylvia. Using it, she can repeat any connecting attack three times, thus allowing her to solve various puzzles and really put the hurt on enemies. The downside is that Sylvia is also three times more susceptible to attack, and will take triple damage if she is hit while using it. Sylvia also can use Zoom and Slow, powers that Joe also shares, while keeping Mach Speed for himself. While Sylvia can wield a blaster gun for ranged attacks (and is able to upgrade to dual-wielding guns later) she really isn't too useful in this game; even though she is the quicker of the two characters, she's much weaker health-wise than Joe, plus her moves, while strong, are really not that effective, save for some of the game's numerous puzzles. There are many more puzzles in the sequel than were found in the series' first installment, some of which are truly mind boggling and will have players scratching their heads for quite some time, even though they are on what is essentially a 2D plane.

Even Joe knows a good pose is an important part of any movie.

That said, VJ2, while still retaining a sizable amount of difficulty (complete with more unlockable difficulty levels), seems to be a tad less difficult than the first game. For example, while there is once again a level forcing players to fight against previous bosses one after another, you can now save in between the battles, which you were not able to do in the first game. However, this brings me to another one of the game's slight drawbacks, being that the game is still much like the first one. While there's still a good amount of originality to the game, the storyline still has the same essential framework as the first Viewtiful Joe, right down to the big twist at the end that you may or many not see coming. There's only one level where players can use the Six Machine's vehicle mode (as opposed to the numerous levels promised by Capcom), and the endless beat-em-up action, even with the array of "Just Go For It!" missions and various puzzles, could get monotonous for some.

The graphics, however, are as top notch as they ever were. Viewtiful Joe did a great job of combining 2D and 3D graphics with a cool cel-shaded, comic-book style, and Viewtiful Joe 2 retains the style of the first to the letter, with super-deformed characters and effects that suit the action perfectly and work seamlessly with the game itself to create an amazing experience. The gameplay is pretty much the same as it was in the first game as well - considering that you'll probably play through most of the game as Joe, all of the controls from the first game are exactly the same, and everything is still responsive and a blast to play on the GameCube's controller, except for a couple tricky parts. The soundtrack still retains the unique music the first game had, with a few new, fitting tracks as well, which neither adds nor subtracts from the experience. However, just like the first game, the voice acting is top notch and really fits the characters and storyline.

Sylvia sure has some great…erm…moves…

In all, Viewtiful Joe 2, while not as revolutionary as the first game, is still an absolute blast to play and one of the best action titles available for the GameCube all year. While not much has changed from the first game, mostly everything else is bigger, better, and more Viewtiful this time around. Bring on Viewtiful Joe 3. Henshin A-Go-Go Baby!!!