For a video game, “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game” sure is a lot of things.
For starters, it is a unique game, due to its heritage.
Follow along now: “Scott Pilgrim” is a series of graphic novels by Brian Lee O’Malley. The comics frequently reference retro video games, among other things.
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” is a movie based on the graphic novels, directed by acclaimed director Edgar Wright.
And “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game”, or “SPvTWTG,” is a downloadable video game (based on the movie based on the graphic novels) created by Ubisoft. It is available on both the Playstation Network and the Xbox Live Arcade.
The cycle has pretty much come full-circle. Video games inspire a graphic novel, which in turn inspires a movie, which then inspires a video game.
“SPvTWTG” is faithful— it closely follows the plot of the movie, but with a few additions.
Up to four players can play as Scott Pilgrim, Kim Pine, Stephen Stills or Ramona Flowers, fighting their way through a horde of baddies to reach each level’s Evil Ex. Sure, having Ramona fight her Evil Exes is a tad continuity-breaking, but she sure does kick ass!
Fans of the graphic novel will pick up on some cool nods, especially the hidden debug-menu-esque Subspace Highways. Be on the lookout for some cute “Super Mario Bros. 3” references, as well.
“SPvTWTG” is 16-bits of pixelated gaming goodness. It has a distinct visual flavor that harkens back to the days of the “SNES” and “Sega Genesis,” bringing back fond memories for anyone that grew up in the ‘90s. The 8-bit over world map, for instance, is a delightful harkening back to the Genesis game “Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster’s Hidden Treasure”.
The pixelwork was done by the masterful Paul Robertson, whose “Pirate Baby Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006” should be required viewing for all fans of the pixel style.
Each area of the game, from the snowy Toronto streets, to a movie set, to seedy dive bars offers up a new visual design as well as new enemies and new items to use against them.
The game is a mix of genres, featuring the combo-y goodness of a side-scrolling beat-them-up and the stats of a role-playing game.
Make no mistake; this game is hard. Now, it is not “Megaman”-series hard but nonetheless: bring some friends, or make sure to increase stats early on.
It is not a far stretch to say that “SPvTWTG” was definitely influenced by classic NES games “River City Ransom” and “Double Dragon.” Suspiciously, both games feature stories about boyfriends fighting through hordes of enemies and bosses to win back the girls they love.
“SPvTWTG” is a masterpiece of audio bliss. Its music was composed entirely by Anamanaguchi, a punk chiptune band out of New York. Their distinctively retro-skewing tunes absolutely rock, and warrant a soundtrack.
Luckily, Ubisoft has this covered with the “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game” soundtrack already on iTunes. It is one of the very few downloadable games to get its own soundtrack release, and well deserved.
“SPvTWTG” does have a few shortcomings. In true retro style, some of the menus are rather clunky and slow to appear (whether this was intentional or not). Although it supports four players, it lacks both drop in/drop out game play as well as an online multiplayer mode.
These glaring omissions do bring the overall experience down, but thankfully, not by much. Like all retro games, sometimes the best way to play them is with all four people in real life, crowded together on the couch.
