TheViewtiful Joeseries used to be one of Capcom’s most promising franchises. After a big debut outing on GameCube and PS2 (the later featuring Dante from theDevil May Cryseries), it got a direct sequel, a multi-consoleSmash-like spin-off, and side story exclusive to the Nintendo DS.
For a while there, it felt like Joe would be around forever, and in some ways, he has. Like the cast of Capcom’s similarlyill-fatedDarkstalkersseries, Joe got ananime adaptation, loads of merch, and multiple guest spots in crossover titles likeTatsunoko Vs. Capcom,Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, and the most recent iteration ofPuzzle Fighter.
But what’s really puzzling is why Capcom let the series die after that. UnlikeOkami,also developed by Capcom’s former studio Clover, none of the Joe games have ever been ported to modern consoles. Fans have never stopped asking for more of both though. Those fans also include Hideki Kamiya, Joe’s humble creator. In a recentYouTube video, Kamiya-san lamented:
“I’d love to work on them if I ever get a chance. I actually had the story for a thirdViewtiful Joeall thought out. I’ve always wanted to make it. I wonder if Capcom would let me make anotherViewtiful Joe…Okami, too. I feel like I left that unfinished, so if we could make that happen as well, I’d be happy.”
The beginning of Viewtiful friendship?
Okamidid continue on in the form ofOkamidenin 2010, another DS exclusive, but Kamiya wasn’t involved there. By that time he had already moved on to co-found Platinum Games, a team born from the ashes of Clover, which was dissolved in 2006. Platinum’s initial releases were all collaborations with publisher Sega, includingMadWorld,Bayonetta, andVanquish.
They’d later partner with Activision, Konami, Square Enix, and even Nintendo, but never with Capcom. It’s been assumed that there may be some bad blood between the two companies, preventing them from revisiting any of Clover’s former franchises.
But now thatKamiya-san has left Platinum, the door may open for the legendary director and his former employer to make viewtiful music together again. With its Fred Durst-meets-Power Rangerslead character, 2.5D cel shaded graphics, and gameplay that bridges the gap between the platformers of yesteryear and the character action games of today, everything aboutViewtiful Joescreams early-2000s. It’s an era that many people today are nostalgic for, proven by the runaway success ofBomb Rush Cyberfunk,Metrid Prime Remastered, andthat “Woman is my favorite guy” songeveryone liked for about a month.
Testing out the waters with ports of the first two games on modern consoles couldn’t be such a risky move, right? Has the re-release of a GameCube game ever done poorly on Switch?
