An inferior sequel, but still a fun action game.
WARNING THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS TO THE FIRST VIEWTIFUL JOE
Graphics: They remain largley unchanged from the first, so they're pretty good. The cel shagin is awesome, the environments are varied and the game is colorful. I feel that the art design as far as the basic enemies go is slightly worse than in the first, but it isn't bad by any means. This game gets pretty crazy, but it manages to keep a consistent framerate throughout. 9/ 10
Sound: Some of the tracks from the first are repeated and there are some new ones that sound distinctly Japanese. (Which is strange, because I'm fairly certain that the movies are supposed to be from Hollywood...) It all sounds good, and there is some hilarious voice acting by the guy who plays Joe's father. 8/ 10
Story: It picks up right where the first left off. Captain Blue promised that Earth would be threatened again, so he sends some giant missiles to Earth for Joe and, yes, Sylvia, to stop. However, when they arrive on the 3rd from the sun, a mysterious force known as the Gedow (I'm pretty sure that's their name) steals all the Rainbow Oscars. These statuettes hold the power for movies to have happy endings. So, Joe and Sylvia set out to find them. Along the way, they got through 7 stages of movie spoofs. The story is, I feel, is less charming than the original, but it's still pretty good. There is some great writing for the bosses and characters, and Alastor's conversation with Joe and Sylvia is easily on par with the one from the first in terms of hilarity. 8/ 10
Gameplay: The elevls in this game are much more puzzle heavy than the original, and there are some real brain busters. However, when you discover the solution, it will have been so obvious that you'll want to smack yourself. That's not to say that the game's light on action. Far from it, actually. There is plenty of bad guy beating and boss- bashing. In fact, there are some great and (mostly) original bossfights. The only one that seems recycled is the fight against Fire Leo's brother and Alastor. And, because there are 2 heroes, there is a new VFX. Joe still has all 3 from the first, and Sylvia has slow and zoom in. But, instead of Mach Speed, she has Replay. Basically, it takes whatever action you just did and makes it repeat twice. While there is little reason to use it, (aside from puzzles) it's actually pretty cool.
Sylvia plays much differently from Joe. She is slightly faster and instead of punching, she has a blaster. (Which you can upgrade so she can use 2.) You'll most likley play as Joe the majority of the time, but at least Capcom gave you a different enough character to use, if you so wish.
The levels, while less epic, are still very fun. My favorite is the Japan themed one. It just feels so cool. And another addition has been put into the game. Levels are broken up into much more small chunks and you can save after each checkpoint. This makes the game much, much less frustraing than certain levels from the first (level 6).
And to top it all off, there are these things called the Chambers of viewtiful. Basically, you must complete a specific challenge and then you clear a room. There are 36 of these and completing all of them gives you unlimited VFX, so it's much, much easier to do than in the first.
So, VJ 2 is a good action game, but an inferior sequel. 8/ 10
Final thoughts: VJ2 fixes many of the small frustrations that held the first back somewhat. However, there is less charm this time around and the levels aren't quite as epic as in the first. And there are no unlockable characters, giving it less replay value. Even with these flaws, this is still a great action game and is a good excuse to dust off your 'cube.
Thanks for reading.