Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game, why rediscover a cult work in 2020

Scott Pilgrim is more than a comic, a video game, a movie. Scott Pilgrim is a little each of us, and I'll explain why.

I met this comic book, born from the pencils of Brian Lee O'Malley, Canadian, during my university years. I don't remember if it was recommended to me or if I heard, almost lost in thought, this name in a conversation not addressed to me. In any case, a few years ago I was looking for a western comic stylistically different from the usual suspects, one slice of life unconventional. I was looking for the story of a life similar to mine in a period in which, once my wonderful academic years were over, I elbowed in the world of work (precarious) not forgetting my passions, such as video games and music. In Scott Pilgrim I have found various parts of myself, taken to exaggeration, with a right dose of humor always unsettling but never vulgar and an avalanche of references to pop culture e videogame. I'll never forget when Scott improvised the bass line from the soundtrack of Final Fantasy II. I smiled almost shyly, because I knew what Scott was referring to; I stared at the cartoon with tacit consent, with Nobuo Uematsu's music in my mind for a while.

The origins of comics ...

Scott Pilgrim is a Canadian boy who goes to rent with another roommate in the suburbs of Toronto, he's 23, he's a slacker, he's a great video game enthusiast e play the bass in una band rock, i Sex Bob-omb. His life changes when - by chance - he meets a girl he falls madly in love with, Ramona flowers, roller-skating deliveryman for Amazon Canada. To speed up his deliveries, he passes - figuratively - from Scott's head, as if this were a space-time dimension. Yet getting engaged to Ramona won't be an easy task for Scott, to get to the final quest - just like a video game - he'll have to eliminate 7 bosses, Ramona's evil ex-boyfriends. Will he have enough experience points to do it?

In addition to the truly out of the ordinary plot, also faithfully reproduced in the film based on the comic with a very good Michael Cera, Scott Pilgrim's comic owes its success also thanks to the style: a "hybrid" between manga and western comics. Its author owes his stylistic inspiration to Ranma 1 / 2 by Rumiko Takahashi, the OAV entitled FLCL and the video game Koudelka.

The birth of the video game

In 2010, in collaboration with Ubisoft, the video game dedicated to the opera was released, a delicious one scrolling beat 'em up with pixelated and colorful graphics, which takes full reference from the tables and other retro works of the same genre. Released only in digital edition on PS3 and Xbox 360, it received excellent reviews on Metacritic becoming one of the best games on PSN in the year 2010. However, due to the non-renewal of the rights, theopera was removed from digital stores in 2014, no longer becoming available in any way. The announcement a few days ago at the Ubisoft Forward, sees the return of Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game in a complete and revised edition - in view of the ten-year anniversary - for the current generation consoles and PC at the end of 2020.

In the video game it is possible to step into the shoes of Scott and three other characters - in addition to the unlockable characters - with the same objective of the comic, to eliminate the 7 superbosses and evil ex-boyfriends of Ramona. Each player has gods Heart Points e Points Guts (Courage), the latter used to respawn players as soon as they are knocked out or can be used to perform special moves such as summoning special characters. By defeating the various enemies on the screen, you earn coins that can be spent in shops to buy useful items to restore health or increase your skills. They exist, like the old platformers of yore, bonus areas where you can earn extra coins. There is also a modality local multiplayer in which to defeat the various bosses through combined and special attacks. Part of its fun and high replay value is due to extra attività such as the Sound Test, Boss Rush, the Survival Horror Mode and other published content such as DLC: Dodge Ball and a battle royale there Super Smash Bros.
There really is something for everyone; all these contents have been confirmed and reproduced in remastered version in HD in the Complete Edition expected in a few months.

Why rediscover Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game today?

Pixel games today are anything but out of fashion. The retro charm involves gamers of all ages, especially the younger ones who - despite expectations - prefer playability to graphics, as demonstrated by cult video games. Fortnite e Fall Guys. Scott Pilgrim vs The World is a beat 'em up in the round just like the classics of the past, capable of enclosing within itself many extra activities truly for all tastes. Knowledge of the comic or cinematographic work is not essential but recommended. The books, published by Rizzoli Lizard, were reissued in 2017 in color and in deluxe format.

The "full" version for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC e Stadia, finally does justice not only to the work, it gives fans the opportunity to try the title again in a remastered version.

Comics are strongly linked to video game culture. Not only; O'Malley refers to videogame culture directly, the entire structure of the comic itself borrows the videogame concept in its history, reshaping it and exploiting it to its advantage, such as boss fights and experience points.
It is a real declaration of love for the gaming world as a whole.

It is good then to advise once again this timeless title, in full version and on current consoles. Is not conquering Ramona Flowers a pop reinterpretation of Super Mario that goes to conquer Princess Peach? Let's put it this way. I have already caught your attention.