Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble - Character Guide:
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By Clay "Klesk963" Johnson Version 0.95
(
[email protected]) 12.15.2006
::READ DISCLAIMER BEFORE CONTINUING::
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Version 0.95 - Added temporary Background Information.
- Began work on the Quotes section.
FAQ released to GameFAQs.com on 12.15.2006.
Version 0.90 - Updated Advanced Tactics.
Updated Pros and Cons.
Version 0.80 - Removed unnecessary ASCII art; updated move descriptions.
Version 0.70 - Groundwork for the FAQ up, expect major updating to come.
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1) Introduction
2) Background Information
3) Pros and Cons
4) Costumes
5) Move List
6) Advanced Tactics
7) Quotes
8) Disclaimer
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1) INTRODUCTION
Hello and welcome. In this FAQ I plan to provide an in-depth review of my
personal favorite "Viewtiful Joe" character, Viewtiful Joe. This guide assumes
basic gameplay mechanics, which can be found in the Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot
Rumble Instructional Booklet and on various internet sites and message boards.
If you have any information relating to Viewtiful Joe that you would like to
have added to my guide, please contact me by email. If you see anything missing
a detail, no matter how small, email me. I really want as much feedback as
possible in order to provide the most complete Viewtiful Joe FAQ available on
the internet.
Read and enjoy.
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2) BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Captain Blue is retiring and has decided that now would be the perfect time to
announce his directorial debut! But who will rise as Hero for the new
generation?
Captain Blue is about to return as Director Blue to film a brand-new superhero
movie. The only thing is, he can't decide on a hero. Sprocket comes to the
rescue with a brilliant idea! Director Blue loves it and holds an immediate
press conference.
"I have decided to have all the hero-wannabes duke it out on film to compete
for the top spot. So I'm sending out a call to all you guys and gals who
wannabe the next big superhero. Come compete for the top spot in front of our
movie cameras!"
And so begins Viewtiful Joe's next adventure...
*Portions of this background information provided by ViewtifulJoe.com.*
*Expect a newer, more Joe-oriented background in the near future.*
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3) PROS AND CONS
PROS
-GREAT versus bosses
-GREAT jumping ability
-Good moveset
-Good damage
-Good attack speed
-Good defense
-Good run speed
-Good range
CONS
-Nothing "special" (flight, hover ability, etc.); he's just an average guy.
-Can have a hard time versus characters with more of said "special" abilities.
Well, after looking at this, you may think that I'm biased. I probably am; but
you'll find that there really isn't much on Viewtiful Joe that sticks out as
being "bad". Everything on him seems to fall dead average, with the exception
of his superior boss fighting abilities. From his damage, to his defense and
specials, everything manages to stay competitive with the other characters
while not being over (or under) powered.
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4) COSTUMES
Every character has a total of five costumes. Four are usually just color
variations; while the fifth option is that character's EX Costume.
Below is a brief summary of each costume.
1st: The standard Viewtiful Joe outfit that we all know and love. A full-body
red suit with white gloves, boots, and V shape around his neck. A black
Zoro-type mask covers the upper part of his face, leaving his mouth
exposed. His eyes are colored yellow and he has a light pink cape--that
is in constant motion--draped over his back.
2nd: A full-body yellow suit with white gloves, boots, and V shape around his
neck. A black Zoro-type mask covers the upper part of his face, leaving
his mouth exposed. His eyes are colored yellow and he has a light yellow
cape--that is in constant motion--draped over his back.
3rd: Viewtiful Joe's "Boss Battle" gear. A full-body black suit with red
gloves, boots, and V shape around his neck. A glass screen covers his
eyes, which are now pink and metal plates cover his mouth and lower face.
4th: Viewtiful Joe's "Boss Battle" gear. A full-body white suit with gold
gloves, boots, and V shape around his neck. A glass screen covers his
eyes, which are now yellow. Metal plates cover his mouth and lower face.
5th: Complete all 12 of the V-Puzzles (in Story Mode) to unlock a character's
EX Costume--this is true for all characters, including Joe. Joe's EX
Costume is a much smaller form of Six Majin; a usually large, red robot.
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5) MOVELIST
UT U UT
\|/
T--0--T
/|\
DT D DT
T stands for Towards, UT and DT stand for Up-Towards and Down-Towards. I tried
a few different layouts, but this one seemed to work the best--even better
than the standard 2D fighting layout (which would be F, B, UF, UB, DF, DB).
STANDARD GROUND ATTACKS
YYY - 3-Hit Punch Combo. Includes two standard punches and an uppercut in
between them. Sends opponent across the screen horizontally.
Obviously you can punch a single time, if you need to recover from
the move faster.
U+Y - Standard Uppercut (except for the non-standard fire, I guess). Sends
opponent straight up into the air.
UT+Y - Roundhouse Kick. An extremely fast kick with decent recovery time.
Sends opponent along a parabolic path diagonally upwards.
T+Y - Sliding Punch. This is slightly more powerful than the one that begins
your 3-Hit Punch Combo; the added power comes at the expense of a
little longer recovery time. Sends opponent flying horizontally.
DT+Y - Spin Kick. An average kick that covers good distance; sends opponent
diagonally downwards (if you are both standing on a platform, that is).
D+Y - Hammer Drop. This overhead attack does good damage and will send your
opponent straight down into the ground; try it when both of you are on
a platform.
STANDARD AIR ATTACKS
YYY - Rapid Air Punch Combo. Sends opponent across the screen horizontally on
connection. The punches are very fast, so this makes it useful when
you're trying to hit a target in the air--moving or otherwise.
U+Y - Flash Kick. Hits opponents that are above you and sends them flying
straight up. Very long animation, so makes sure that you know what
you're doing before you commit to this move.
UT+Y - Roundhouse Kick. The same as your ground roundhouse, only now the
recovery time isn't nearly as fast. Sends your opponent along the
same parabolic path upwards and to the side as your ground version.
T+Y - Sliding Punch. Essentially the same as the ground version. Sacrifices
speed for slightly more power and sends opponents flying horizontally.
DT+Y - Red Hot Kick. A falling dragon kick which can be canceled into a Red
Hot Kick in the opposite direction or any other aerial move.
D+Y - Hammer Drop. When done in the air, this rather slow move will send
your opponents straight down to the ground.
SPECIAL GROUND ATTACKS
X - Red Hot One Hundred. Hold X down for full effect. This series of rapid
fire punches will send your opponent flying horizontally after just
three blows... unless you figure out a way to hold the enemy in place.
More on this in the "ADVANCED TACTICS" section.
U+X - Rising Vortex. A raging fire lead by a massive dragon head engulfs Joe
as he rises upwards, sending any enemies into the sky. Great for
surprise attacks from underneath platforms--not so great for trying to
hit people on the ground. Also note that this move can be cancelled
into another Rising Vortex or a Hurricane Kick.
UT+X - Hurricane Kick. Think Street Fighter, only it goes higher. This
continuously spinning kick can hit multiple times, and if it does, it
will do great damage and send your opponent flying diagonally upwards.
This move can be followed by another Hurricane Kick, or a Rising
Vortex.
T+X - Red Hot Dragon Punch. Hold down X to charge this move up to one of four
levels; each level increases the damage and range of the flaming dragon
projectile. A great move that can potentially let Joe hit multiple
people from across the screen. A nicely charged blast does great damage
and sends the opponent flying horizontally.
DT+X - Slide. Exactly what the name implies, this move makes Joe slide across
D+X the ground. Use it to trip up enemies, use it to cross short gaps...
Just master this great tool and you won't regret it.
SPECIAL AIR ATTACKS
X - Red Hot One Hundred. Hold X down for full effect. This series of rapid
fire punches will send your opponent flying horizontally after just
one blow. Also, when executed in the air, you will slowly descend while
punching furiously... instead of just dropping to the ground. How can
this move possibly be worthwhile? Read the "ADVANCED TACTICS" section
for more information.
U+X - Rising Vortex. A raging fire lead by a massive dragon head engulfs Joe
as he rises upwards, sending any enemies into the sky. Great for
surprise attacks from underneath platforms. Also note that you can
jump, perform a Rising Vortex, jump a second time, then follow that
jump with a second Rising Vortex. This method allows Joe to reach great
heights.
UT+X - Hurricane Kick. Think Street Fighter, only it goes higher. This
continuously spinning kick can hit multiple times, and if it does, it
will do great damage and send your opponent flying diagonally upwards.
Also note that you can jump, perform a Hurricane Kick, jump a second
time, then follow the jump with a second Hurricane Kick. This method
allows Joe to reach great heights.
T+X - Red Hot Dragon Punch. Hold down X to charge this move up to one of four
levels; each level increases the damage and range of the flaming dragon
projectile. A great move that can potentially let Joe hit multiple
people from across the screen. A nicely charged blast does great damage
and sends the opponent flying horizontally. Joe will descend very
slowly while charging in the air, allowing him to hit aerial
opponents/bosses.
DT+X - Falling Vortex. A raging fire lead by a massive dragon head engulfs Joe
as he falls downwards, sending any enemies into the ground. This move
can be canceled into a Falling Vortex in the opposite direction or a
Rising Vortex while in the air.
D+X - Flame Flip. Joe punches downwards and does a flip, leaving a trail of
fire below him. An enemy who is hit by the flame will immediately be
sent to the ground, resulting in moderate damage. This will also
cause enemies who are standing on a platform to fall through it and
land (well, kind of) on the ground.
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6) ADVANCED TACTICS
COMBAT SPECIFIC
: When executing your 3-hit punch combo from a close or medium range, only the
first punch and the following uppercut will connect; this will send your
opponent flying horizontally. The third hit becomes useful when trying to
deflect an object or enemy. With the span of the 3 hits and the short
recovery time between each volley of punches, you're bound to hit something.
: The Red Hot One Hundred--one of the most powerful moves in Viewtiful Joe's
arsenal (everyone remembers the SlowZ-RHOH from previous VJ titles). But how
do you unlock its full potential? Well, when fighting other selectable
characters, one tactic you can try to exploit is the "RHOH Kill Zone". The
"Kill Zone" is the area just a few steps from the lower corner of the stage.
If you can get behind your enemy while he/she is in the Kill Zone, you can
RHOH them to death; no matter what their health was prior to the
attack. That's right. About a full second of punches will kill ANY
opponent--provided they're in the right spot when you start swinging.
Explaining the exact position of the Kill Zone is nigh impossible to do with
text. And since a diagram or image isn't possible right now, you'll have to
figure it out for yourself. There is, however, a way to get a good idea of
how the RHOH Kill Zone actually works.
Go into practice mode and set both characters in the middle of the stage, on
the bottom floor. Have your sexy Real Joe knock Training Joe into the right
wall using a standard punch. Now, stand SEVERAL steps away from the now
standing Training Joe. Then start your RHOH (you shouldn't be hitting him
yet) and don't stop until Training Joe gets knocked down twice, stands up,
and gets locked into the RHOH Kill Zone... then dies shortly thereafter.
That's not how a true RHOH Kill Zone looks/works, but it's a good demo. Try
setting the Training Joe up in different positions (you can move him ever so
slightly by standing right next to him and staying there) and then executing
your RHOH. Once you find the Kill Zone a few times, you'll be able to do it
with some consistency later on. But there is a problem with this seemingly
godlike technique...
It's rather hard to pull off in actual gameplay. But it can be done. I make
an attempt at it whenever I can and it usually pays off--if they don't die,
they at least walk away with some damage. With practice, the RHOH Kill Zone
can be a great boost to your game; just don't expect it to win it for you
every time.
: Bosses--Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble is full of them. But what is Joe's best
offensive weapon to use against these behemoths? Your trusty Red Hot One
Hundred, of course. Used against bosses (and usually from the air) the RHOH
simply destroys anything in its path. The rapid fire punches bring the damage
total up FAST. Also, when used after a jump, you descend rather slowly,
allowing you to stay in place and focus the damage where in really counts.
The RHOH has another benefit that comes when it's used against a boss...
The final hit. You're attacking so fast that you're almost guaranteed the
final hit, (and the Viewtiful Bonus that comes with it) even though someone
else may be using a stronger attack to do damage against the boss at the same
time.
There is a downside to using the RHOH against bosses, however. When you're
hovering in the air, minding your own business and watching the boss' life
bar dwindle at an ever quickening pace, three other people are looking at
the large target sign that's now painted on your back. If you see someone
coming at you and suspect that they will try to use a melee attack, simply
turn around; you don't even have to stop your RHOH. Just turn around and
greet them with your fists of fury.
MOVEMENT SPECIFIC
: Viewtiful Joe has a decent jump--a double jump, no less. But if you ever find
yourself in a stage with a platform you just can't reach, there is a method
you can use to get that extra height needed to reach your goal.
First, start out standing. Then jump; at the vertex of your jump, do a Rising
Vortex and follow that with a Hurricane Kick. After the Hurricane kick, jump
a second time, do a Rising Vortex and end it all with a final Hurricane kick.
The easiest way to memorize this extremely useful technique is to just learn
this simple letter pattern: J-V-K, J-V-K, Jump-Vortex-Kick, Jump-Vortex-Kick.
Once you have it down, it will be like second nature and you can make full
use of this great tool.
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7) QUOTES
"Henshin a go-go, baby!"
"Red Hot Kick!"
"Red Hot Punch!"
"Too Slow!"
"Hmmm, yummy!"
*More to come.*
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8) DISCLAIMER
This guide may be not be reproduced or edited under any circumstances except
for personal or private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise
distributed publicly without advance written permission from the author. Use of
this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display without
expressed written permission from the author is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.
Copyright 2005 Clay Johnson
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
End of Document
