Scott Pilgrim Review: The Brawl!

This review is based on the Xbox 360 version,  the PlayStation3 Version has the same gameplay, sound, graphics and gameplay. Both versions are equal.

Ben’s Xbox live arcade reviews from the online arcade: Scott Pilgrim, The Game

A few people have in fact reviewed the Scott Pilgrim game but not many. If you were in the same boat as myself you were perhaps bombarded by advertisements from the movie which in turn led to knowledge of the graphic novels. Most likely you did yourself the service of buying all 6 volumes and read to your hearts content. Luckily for fans Scott Pilgrim the game is more of a love letter to O’Malley’s work than the film. This isn’t to say the movie is bad but digitalized “real people” wouldn’t be able to capture the artistic flare of Pilgrim’s Canadian based cartoon-esque slacker romps down bruiser street. I’m giddy to report every pixel person looks as if he or she was drawn by Bryan himself. (In no small part due to Paul Robertson whom is a great sprite animator)

Scott Pilgrim, Kim Pine, Ramona Flowers, and Stills must fight Ramona’s 7 evil exes so her and Scott can date with no complications. In adherence with old school beat em up logic you have to fight hundreds of angst ridden mascara wearing goth goobers , irate hat sporting sluggers, heavy set bus drivers, dinosaur costume adorned chumps, conceited preps, and wannabe ninjas through the alleys, party zones, and highways of Ontario.

On the 360 B blocks, X punches, A jumps, and Y kicks. Right bumper is reserved for each character’s special devastator attack and Left Bumper calls in a helpful Striker to heal you or attack your foes. (Knives, Scott’s teeny bopper fan girl with a crush usually fulfills this duty.)

Though this seems simple it’s much deeper. For example tapping forward twice can make you dash across the screen  and experimenting with using combinations of buttons in unison opens up jump kicks, head butts, grapples, throws, slides, and utilizing objects in your environment as instruments of pain.

Perhaps new to all of this is your ability to “level up” while playing. To succeed you must grind a bit. For RPG fans, this will not be a problem but perhaps for our gamer brethren and sisters that preferred the simplicity of Streets of Rage or Final Fight over River City Ransom there maybe a bit of annoyance spawned from this issue.

Every character is a joy to fill the shoes of  because they all move and fight unique from each other. Ramona breaks out a “Thor-like” war hammer, Kim spins around into a whirling hurricane with her heavy coin purse, Scott does parody techniques reminiscent of Street Fighter, and Stills simply likes being the heavy hitter that can cause maximum damage with bone crunching savagery. In story mode, each protagonist gets a unique ending though the cut scenes before that are the same for everyone.

Each plot specific cut scene is done lovingly in old school pixel-bit map style. Remember the stuff we got back in the day whilst playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or The Simpsons in the arcade? It’s the same retro goodness in Scott Pilgrim and for most of us oldies looking to re-live our childhood glory days it is a real treat.

As you might expect no, events do not follow the graphic novels 100%. However this is okay because the things that were changed result in more epic boss battles. Whether it’s Envy Adams, Gideon, The Twins, or Nega Scott all the proper antagonists show up. There is even random point in which Knives’ father Mr. Chau appears on the over head map and if you defeat him he’s added as an additional helpful striker.

Locales have hidden shops. Word to the wise. You want to scarf down food, read a lot of books, and listen to as many records as you can. Buying things increases your stats, health, and  mystic points. Luckily all defeated foes drop cold hard Canadian currency thus there’s never a point whence you’ll be completely broke.

When you combine all this with great retro chip tune sound track by Anamanaguchi and secret unlock-ables such as a Zombie Survival mode and Boss Rush mode which are made available via old school cheat codes entered on your controller Scott Pilgrim is a steal for 800 ms points.

My only complaint is there is no online co-op. This could have been as fun to play with Xbox live friends as those lounging on the couch.

During November Ubi Soft is rumored to be releasing inexpensive DLC for SP that adds Knives as a playable character, patches some bugs, sports drop in/drop out functionality,  puts in a volley ball game, and even implements a versus free for all brawl.

If by chance you missed out on this hidden gem now might be the best time to pay tribute to sex bomb omb!

Breaking it down

Pros

1. Old school beat em up fun reminiscent of double dragon, streets of rage, final fight, and river city ransom.

2. The characters are diverse and do not play the same.

3.Great chip tune sound track!

4. Varied environments and truly epic (and at times hilarious) boss fights.

5. Decent variety of enemies.

6. Surprisingly in depth leveling up rpg lite improvement system beneath the fury of punches and kicks.

7. Rip roaring enjoyment to be had with your homies and sistas on the couch! Invite them over and remind them to bring their controllers! This is the ultimate 4 player house party game.

Cons

1. Yeah, ultimate house party game but not an ultimate online block party game. Your Xbox live amigos will be left out in the cold.

2. Kim’s character has a few glitch exploits with her Knives side-kick kiss technique. At times her mystic points will not go down. Certainly a good exploit but it’s still a bug.

3. No drop in/drop out functionality but Ubisoft promised the DLC would remedy that.

For you if: Like old school beat em ups? Have neighborhood friends? Bored on weekends? Good sense of humor? Love the retro scene? Get this game!

Not for you if: Hate 2-Dimensional 8-16 bit jagged pixels? Prefer games on the cutting edge? Are all your tight buddies long distance?  Can’t stand frantic button mashing? No patience for the grind? Stay away if you know what’s good for you!

Personal opinion: I really enjoy this style of game. Beat em ups were my genre of choice as a kid and it’s a shame they have sort of died out. Scott Pilgrim is “top tier” when it comes to this type of side scrolling brawler fest but if you are not a retro-geek or O’Malley fan it’s a tough sell. Scott Pilgrim is also the perfect party game for friends and family but only if you have them around in your immediate vicinity.

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