In an industry rife with sequels and sometimes short on real creativity, Viewtiful Joe shone as one of last year's breakout original games. Its combination of innovative and cinematic side-scrolling action with a superstylized visual presentation made Joe's adventure a hit with gamers tired of the same ol' thing. Now developer Capcom is working on a sequel to Viewtiful Joe that will not only let fans play as Joe's girlfriend Silvia, but of course, will also give them more, more, more of the madcap action that defined the first game (with plenty of new surprises thrown in for good measure). We caught up with Joe's creator, Atsushi Inaba, and posed a few questions about the new game's inception and where it's heading in the months leading up to its fourth-quarter release.

　　Viewtiful Joe 2 will let you play as Silvia, Joe's formerly distressed girlfriend who's now a superheroine herself.

　　GameSpot: How pleased were you with how the original game turned out?

　　Atsushi Inaba: I am 100 percent, completely satisfied.

　　GS: How did feedback to the original game influence work on the sequel?

　　AI: We heard the game was a bit difficult for casual gamers, so we have made it more accessible to them while still making it challenging enough for hard-core gamers that liked the difficulty of the original.

　　GS: When did work on the sequel begin?

　　AI: We started to work on the sequel last summer.

　　GS: What can you tell us about the game's story?

　　AI: The end of the first game offers you hints as to how the sequel will begin. All I can say is "outer space."

　　GS: How is the gameplay changing in VJ2?

　　AI: The addition of Silvia in co-op mode has added a lot of depth. You thought you could do crazy combos in Viewtiful Joe; wait till you try a little simultaneous VJ action!

　　GS: Why did you decide to bring the game to the PlayStation 2?

　　AI: I wanted more people to get a chance at playing the game. I'm really proud of it and was hoping the company would let me release it on the PS2 so more gamers could see the great game that we created...I guess I got my chance.

　　GS: Are the graphics changing at all for the next installment?

　　Though the previous game was a GameCube exclusive, the new Viewtiful Joe sequel will hit both the Cube and the PS2 in the fourth quarter.

　　AI: The style is the same, but we have tried to add new themed environments so that the colors and backdrops you see are quite varied.

　　GS: How much information can you give us on the game's locations?

　　AI: Sorry, you have to let me keep some secrets.

　　GS: Are there any changes being made to the three original VFX powers, like slow mach speed and zoom in?

　　AI: The originals stay the same. A new power, replay, will be introduced, though.

　　GS: Will there be unique content in each version?

　　AI: The game will have the same content for both platforms.

　　GS: Thanks for your time.