Switch 2: 10 GameCube Classics That MUST Be Added

3. Viewtiful Joe

"Henshin a-go-go, baby!" 

If you've never played Capcom's sorely underrated brawler, the above phrase likely elicited nothing more than a puzzled head tilt and your local equivalent of "You wot, mate?" But for those who experienced the brutal ecstasy of Viewtiful Joe firsthand, the eponymous hero's signature battle cry likely evokes a mix of pain and pleasure.

Make no mistake, despite its Saturday Morning Anime aesthetic, Viewtiful Joe is an unforgiving monster of a game. Had it been released post-2011 it would have been labeled as the Dark Souls of beat-em-ups, but back in 2003 it was best described by the sound a controller makes when it's slammed against a desk after one failed boss attempt too many. But much like Miyazaki's masterpiece, Viewtiful Joe made a virtue of its difficulty. 

By forcing players to engage with the game's combat system, Capcom ensured that anyone who beat Viewtiful Joe walked away with a genuine appreciation of what the developer pulled off. The game's self-consciously cinematic fights - where the player has to make use of silver-screen techniques such as slow-motion and zoom lens to avoid attacks and power up - make each fight feel like a silver screen brawl. You're not just fighting bad guys, you're directing and starring in your own action movie where each hard-won triumph makes you feel like James Cameron at the 1998 Academy Awards (minus the immediate backlash from your peers).