A comic book hero who slows time just to strike a pose, and a visual punch that still lands twenty years later.

On gut feeling, Viewtiful Joe 2 lands right in the middle, ahead of roughly half the games. Nothing spectacular. But the detail tells a sharper story. The art style blows everything away: ahead of 96% of titles, the highest line on the sheet by a wide margin. The soundtrack follows well, ahead of about 8 games out of 10. The rest drops off: fun and the wish to rediscover it fall low, attachment stays below average, and controller feel lands dead center, which is surprising for a game built around its slow motion mechanics. That's the tension: the image and the sound stick, the memory much less. Desert island and attachment rest on few votes, so treat them as early signal.

Next to the beat'em ups and platformers of its era, Clover Studio's sequel goes for more of everything: more style, more moves, more enemies. That's often the fate of sequels, they add instead of reinventing, and the shock of the first one never comes back.

So, who is it for? For you if you love razor sharp 2D, unapologetic cel shading and a visual identity that looks like nothing else. Much less if you want a game that clings to you long after the credits.