Games Like Viewtiful Joe
Quick Answer
The closest games to Viewtiful Joe are Viewtiful Joe 2, Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, The Wonderful 101 and Hi-Fi Rush. Below are 9 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from Viewtiful Joe, and what does not.
What Made Viewtiful Joe Work
Viewtiful Joe is a 2D beat-em-up with a slow-motion button. Slow, zoom and speed-up are not effects — they are how you solve fights and puzzles, and the VFX-meter economy makes every encounter a resource decision. It is a Kamiya game, so the combat is graded and deep.
Viewtiful Joe is Capcom's 2003 GameCube beat-em-up, directed by Hideki Kamiya and developed by the team that became Clover Studio; a PS2 version followed in 2004. Joe, a film fan pulled into Movieland, uses VFX powers — Slow, Mach Speed and Zoom — that draw from a shared meter, so choosing when to use them is part of every fight and puzzle. Its cel-shaded, comic-book style still stands out. Fans usually want another stylish action game with a deep combat system built around one clever idea.
9 Games Like Viewtiful Joe
1.Viewtiful Joe 2
The direct sequel, with a second character and more powers.
Why it fits: Clover Studio's 2004 sequel for GameCube and PS2 adds Silvia as a second playable character with her own VFX abilities.
What is different: Adds Silvia as a second hero you switch between, with more puzzle rooms built around the pair.
Where to play it: GameCube and PS2.
More about this game →2.Devil May Cry
Same designer, and the style-grading came from the same place.
Why it fits: Capcom's 2001 PS2 game, directed by Hideki Kamiya, introduced the style-ranking system that grades how varied your combat is.
What is different: Fully 3D and gothic, with guns and a sword instead of slow-motion film powers.
Where to play it: PS2; the HD Collection is on PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One and PC.
Games like this →3.Bayonetta
Kamiya again, and Witch Time is Viewtiful Joe's slow button grown up.
Why it fits: PlatinumGames' 2009 action game, directed by Kamiya, slows time when you dodge at the last moment — Witch Time.
What is different: Fully 3D with Witch Time for its slow motion, and a much larger move list; nothing side-scrolls.
Where to play it: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, Switch and PC; later PS4 and Xbox One.
More about this game →4.The Wonderful 101
Kamiya's strangest game, and the most mechanically dense.
Why it fits: PlatinumGames' 2013 Wii U game, directed by Kamiya and remastered in 2020, has you draw shapes to form weapons out of a crowd of heroes.
What is different: You lead a crowd of heroes and draw shapes to form weapons, with the camera high above the fight.
Where to play it: Wii U; the remaster is on Switch, PS4 and PC.
More about this game →5.Hi-Fi Rush
Style-driven action built around one unusual central idea.
Why it fits: Tango Gameworks' 2023 rhythm action game syncs every attack to the music, with a cel-shaded comic-book look.
What is different: Every hit lands on the beat of the soundtrack, and it is fully 3D and much friendlier.
Where to play it: Xbox Series X|S, PC and PS5.
More about this game →6.Guacamelee 2
2D combat and platforming with the same cartoon energy.
Why it fits: DrinkBox Studios' 2018 game combines wrestling combos with 2D platforming and a colourful Mexican-folklore style.
What is different: A metroidvania with a luchador, so exploring the map matters as much as the fighting.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch.
More about this game →7.Shank 2
Stylish 2D brawling with a comic-book look.
Why it fits: Klei Entertainment's 2012 side-scrolling brawler has a hand-drawn comic-book style and fast combos.
What is different: Bloodier and plainer: a straight 2D brawler with knives and guns and no time powers.
Where to play it: PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
More about this game →8.Astral Chain
Platinum combat with a second mechanic to juggle.
Why it fits: PlatinumGames' 2019 Switch game has you control two characters at once — a detective and a chained Legion.
What is different: You fight alongside a creature chained to you, and half the game is police investigation in a 3D city.
Where to play it: Switch.
Games like this →9.God Hand
Clover Studio's other cult action game, and hilarious.
Why it fits: Clover Studio's 2006 PS2 brawler, directed by Shinji Mikami, lets you customise combos and adjusts its difficulty as you play.
What is different: A bruising 3D brawler with combos you assign yourself and a difficulty that climbs as you do well.
Where to play it: PS2.
More about this game →
Where to Start
Viewtiful Joe 2 is the direct sequel. Bayonetta is the pick if you want the same designer's combat at its deepest. God Hand is the choice if you want another Clover Studio cult classic.
How We Picked These Games
Every pick either comes from Kamiya and the Clover/Platinum lineage, or is a stylish action game built around a central gimmick. We favoured games with graded, skill-based combat and a distinctive visual identity.
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How These Picks Match Viewtiful Joe
Viewtiful Joe is catalogued here as a beat 'em up and 2D platformer on the Nintendo GameCube. All nine picks share at least one of its genre tags — eight fighting games, eight action games and three arcade games among them.
Going by the "where to play it" notes, six can be played on PC, eight can be played on a PlayStation, five can be played on a Nintendo system and five can be played on an Xbox. Guacamelee 2 and Shank 2 are from small or self-published studios.
| Game | Genre | Shares with Viewtiful Joe | Where to play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viewtiful Joe 2 | Fighting, Action, Arcade | Fighting, Action, Arcade | GameCube and PS2. |
| Devil May Cry | Action, Fighting | Fighting, Action | PS2; the HD Collection is on PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One and PC. |
| Bayonetta | Action, Fighting | Fighting, Action | Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, Switch and PC; later PS4 and Xbox One. |
| The Wonderful 101 | Action, Strategy, Fighting | Fighting, Action | Wii U; the remaster is on Switch, PS4 and PC. |
| Hi-Fi Rush | Action, Fighting, Arcade | Fighting, Action, Arcade | Xbox Series X|S, PC and PS5. |
| Guacamelee 2 | Platformer, Fighting, Indie | Fighting | PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch. |
| Shank 2 | Fighting, Action, Indie | Fighting, Action | PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. |
| Astral Chain | Action, Adventure | Action | Switch. |
| God Hand | Action, Fighting, Arcade | Fighting, Action, Arcade | PS2. |
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