Summary
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off trulytakes off and soars past its 2010 live-action adaptationto deliver some astounding visuals and stories for the beloved cast of comic book characters. Most of the original ensemble returns to voice their Scott Pilgrim roles, and the Netflix anime fully embraces video games, inserting references to gaming nostalgia just about anywhere it can.
While you already have tons of Easter eggs you can find for director Edgar Wright and cameos from actors like Will Forte, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Finn Wolfhard, there are plenty more Easter eggs to scour related solely to gaming.
10Guitar Hero
During a montage where Lucas Lee and Gideon Graves are trying out a variety of games (even Twister), you can see the duo jamming out on guitars that serve as the controlsfor a Guitar Hero-like gameon the TV screen.
There’s a series of color-coded buttons streaming down the neck of a guitar, with the virtual character playing his guitar as well. Other Guitar Hero visuals include feedback like the word “Terrific” popping up, points acquired with correct hits, and an extended blue sustain note being performed.
9Metal Gear Solid
Did those two exclamation marks above Ramona strike you as peculiar? Sure, it’s a comic book adaptation and an anime, so the marks are warranted in scenarios where a character has something to exclaim about. But their design and blue color are also a clear nod to theMetal Gear Solidseries.
In Metal Gear Solid, whenever a guard is alerted, a blue, almost holographic-like exclamation mark is displayed above their head as the visual cue to hide. There are also Zzzs when they’re asleep and a question mark when a guard is uncertain.
8Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Games And Skate Or Die!
Episode 4 showcases the skateboarding skills of Ramona’s actor ex, Lucas Lee, and the whole episode isone giant homage to skateboarding video games. In fact, the color and font of the title card for the fourth episode resembles the 1987 title screen for EA’s Skate or Die!
7Game Boy, SNES, And Virtual Boy Consoles
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off features several nods to retro consoles throughout the episodes. In that same montage referencing Guitar Hero, Lucas and Gideon also play a racing gameon a console that looks identical to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, with similar style controllers and game cartridges.
When Scott time travels into the future through the portal, his older self takes him to a VR Chamber vault that’s in the exact shape of aGame Boy. Inside the VR Chamber is a ‘Virtual Guuy’ console and controller serving as a clever Easter egg to Nintendo’s 1995 Virtual Boy console, which was not as successful as their other products.
6The Legend Of Zelda’s Triforce
Older Nintendo consoles aren’t the only references you’ll catch in the anime. If you notice, all the ‘A’ letters in character bios appear very similar to a certain symbol fromThe Legend of Zeldaseries. The triangle separating the larger triangular shape of the ‘A’ to make an open space mimics the triangle pattern of the Triforce power.
The Triforce isan important concept in The Legend of Zelda seriesand one of the most iconic symbols in gaming that’s representative of the Zelda games just as much as Ganon, Link, and Princess Zelda. You’ll often see it on merch and sometimes even on the cover art of certain entries.
5Jet Set Radio Future
It’s revealed that Scott Pilgrim has a new band in the future during his visit there with his older self, one where he’s joined by the Katayanagi Twins playing the drums and piano keys. They both have spiked headphones and the twin with the black hair wears additional white shades with blue lenses, just like the protagonist of Jet Set Radio Future.
Since this section of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is indeed very well into the future, it’s no surprise that the creators went with the attire of the sequel rather than the original to fit the theme. Developed by Sega in 2000, Jet Set Radio is a graffiti skating game with rhythm elements. And if you missed out on that series,you can check out its spiritual successor, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk.
4Death Stranding
Metal Gear Solid isn’t the only nod to Hideo Kojima’s fantastic contributions to the medium. There’s a pretty obvious reference toDeath Stranding, where in the future, Ramona is not delivering Netflix DVDs anymore but instead has stacks of cargo packages strapped to her back precisely like Sam Porter Bridges.
Transporting cargo across the map is the core loop of Death Stranding. While Ramona may not have the same Bridges outfit that a Porter wears, she has a mask concealing her face and some ski goggles, an accessory the protagonist can wear in Death Stranding.
3Sonic The Hedgehog
The first Sonic reference comes early on in the first episode when Scott Pilgrim first meets Ramona Flowers, and it’s a reference to Jaleel White voicing Sonic across multiple animatedSonic the Hedgehogtelevision series in the ’90s. It’s also a meta-commentary about voice actor Michael Cera portraying Scott Pilgrim in two different mediums.
The other reference occurs again with Ramona when she fuses with Future Ramona to become a ‘Super Ramona’ shrouded in radiant flames in a form resembling Super Sonic. Old Scott and normal Scott quickly concur this is straight from Sonic the Hedgehog 3, where the Super Sonic ability has been on full display since.
2Super Mario Bros., Mega Man, And Pac-Man Title Cards
All the episode title cards in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off referenceclassic 8-bit video games, but the first, fifth, and sixth episodes have the most iconic callbacks in their designs. The first is titled ‘Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life,’ which has the same font and color palette as the originalSuper Mario Bros.title screen and still includes the dot at the end of ‘Life.’
Episode 5, ‘Lights. Camera. Sparks?!,’ has the matching colors of red, blue, and white and a 3D effect like theMega Mantitle screen. The title ‘WHODIDIT’ for episode six is smushed together on a rectangular background with yellow pixelated lettering and a blue outline, with holes in the letters ‘O’ and ‘D’ that evoke the image of thePac-Manlogo.
1Street Fighter
TheStreet Fighterreferences are prevalent throughout the episodes and are probably one of the heaviest gaming influences on the show. The first reference is during the ending fight sequence in the first episode between Matthew Patel and Scott Pilgrim. The announcer and distinct visuals of the health bar UI and character portraits are very on the nose.
The title card for the second episode uses the same green and blue colors and iconic slash from Street Fighter 2. Then you have the combination for the VR Chamber being the move input for the Dragon Punch move or Shoryuken. In the final episode, Scott meets another older version of himself who looks like he stole Ryu’s look, even more so in his angered form.
