usually when it comes to stylish action games, the first thing you look for are crazy combos, long move lists, and insane movement to navigate the battlefield. viewtiful joe doesn't follow this traditional approach. as an example, a game like devil may cry uses 3 different subsequent commands are used to launch an enemy, and in viewtiful joe you only need 2. despite an overall simplified approach to combat however, the game is not lacking in depth. using the vfx gauge (your main resource in combat) you can slow down time, speed up joe, or zoom the camera in and show off some unique actions. all have their time and place, and for the most part don't feel underdeveloped. none of these actions are nearly as cool as the primary scoring tool however, in which you stun an enemy, slow down time, and use every enemy on screen as makeshift projectiles that multiply your score with each successive hit. on their own these mechanics already make viewtiful joe a refreshing action game, but the thing that really pulls the game together is the visual presentation. taking place in the world inside a theater screen, everything feels like it's being filmed on a movie set. the cardboard cutout backdrops, the film grain when draining your vfx, the camera shutter sound effect that plays when you land a hit, or even the edges of film that appear in cutscenes or during combat. nothing feels out of place. i've only mentioned a few examples, but there's so many little touches that really bring the whole piece together that i’d be here all day if i mentioned them all. i think if anything could have been touched up, it would be the bosses. none of them are outright bad (beating a boss is usually one of the most satisfying feelings in the game) but they usually end up falling apart from one dominant strategy and never really get the chance to shine. this is especially unfortunate as a boss rush near the end of the game is concluded by arguably the best fight in the game, but we didn't see the game go beyond that (i think the final boss was great in it's own right, but not without its own issues). for all i know, these issues could be resolved in the sequel, it's a game i know so little about but I'm incredibly interested to see what it has in store. i would highly recommend any action fans check this game out, it's sharp, it’s witty, and it's not an experience you can really find anywhere else.