Summary
One of the reasons why theScott Pilgrimcomic hit as hard as it did in the indie scene in 2004 is because it catered to a niche audience. There weren’t a lot of comics at the time that were as referential to video games as this. The comic was truly chock-full of fun Easter eggs for gamers to enjoy.
The same is true for the latest adaptation,Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, which is a Netflix-exclusive anime. Some of the video game-based Easter eggs are obvious, while others may be harder and more challenging for viewers to spot.
6Mario References
It’s-A-Me, Scott Pilgrim
One of the first Easter eggs appears relatively early in the anime. The title of episode one is “Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life,” and there are two Easter eggs within. First, the title of the episode shares its name with volume one of the comics. Second, the font looks a lot like the title screen of the firstSuper Mario Bros.game on NES.
There is one other slight Mario reference that happens in episode eight. The stage that the musical is being performed on has black and white tiled floors and red curtains. This is the same design choice forSuper Mario Bros. 3, which is hardly a coincidence.
5“You Know Sonic The Hedgehog?”
There Are Two Sonic Cartoons
When Scott meets Ramona at a party in the comic and film, Scott brings up a random fact about the origins ofPac-Man. In the anime, Scott instead tries to talk about thetwoSoniccartoonsfrom the 90s that aired at the same time. Ramona isn’t really feeling this bit of trivia, as she grew up watchingColumbomore.
This ties into one of the themes of the show as Ramona becomes a sleuth to find out what happens to Scott after the fight with Matthew. Also, in episode eight,Sonicgets referenced again when both versions of Scott think Ramona looks like Super Sonic after her merger.
4Street Fighter References
Round One: Fight!
TheStreet Fighterseries probably has the most Easter eggs in the anime. Episode two, “A League of Their Own,” is stylized likeStreet Fighter 2: Special Champion Edition. In episode seven, Scott explains where he was the entire time of the anime. He met an older version of himself who took him to a secret basement vault.
The code to get into this vault, which looks like a sideways Game Boy Advance SP, was the Shoryuken combo (Right, Down, Diagonal Right, Punch). In the finale, Older Scott looks like a gray version ofRyu fromStreet Fighter 6. Finally, there is also the fight between Scott and Matthew in the first episode, which is stylized like a 16-bit 2D fighter, but that might be more of an homage than a general reference toStreet Fighter.
3Console Appearances
Can You Spot Them All?
There are four major consoles advertised in the anime, although they are never officially called out by name. Young Neil can be seen playing what looks like a GBA in most scenes he is in, starting in the first episode. In episode six, Lucas and Gordon are playingon a SNES, and it looks like they are playing aMario Kartclone that they are in.
They’re also playing aGuitar Heroclone in this montage, but no console can be seen, although it’s probably on a PS2. There was the aforementioned GBA SP door vault, and inside that vault is a Virtual Boy clone that is revealed to be named “Virtual Guuy.” With it, Scott gets to relive the memories of his future self’s past in a red-tinted flashback of pixels.
2“What Was That Noise?”
Ramona Discovers Kojima
After Julie explodes on Lucas and Gordon for destroying her house in episode six, Lucas reveals some data to Ramona. The robot that crashed through Julie’s window belonged to the Katayanagi Twins. This creates two exclamation points to appear above her head with a sound effect similar to a guard catching the player intheMetal Gearseries.
The references toHideo Kojima’s workdon’t end there. The future Ramona has a metal frame backpack for delivering packages, like inDeath Stranding. Couriers and those metal frames existed before that game, though. What makes it more probable that this is a reference is when she returns home via an elevator that appears from the ground and takes her below the surface. InDeath Stranding, everyone lives underground, and players can access vaults via elevators like this.
1The Future Is Full Of Nostalgia
From Bands To Anime
When the future version of Scott is telling his younger self about his life, there is one scene that is filled with three references. First, Future Scott tells Scott that he is in a band that he forged with the Katayanagi Twins. The band’s name is Pop’n TwinBee,which is a SHMUP series from Konami. Future Scott then plays a music video of their latest hit, which is a cover of “Konya Wa Hurricane” from theclassic 80s anime,Bubblegum Crisis.
Those into cyberpunk will get a kick out of that anime. Now, in this music video, the Katayanagi Twins are dressed in gear that looks straight out ofJet Set Radio Future. It’s wild how many video games are referenced in the seventh episode, although it makes sense since it features two Scotts to rattle on about nerdy things.
