Review for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game. Game for PlayStation Network and PlayStation 3, the video game was released on 10/08/2010
In December 2014 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game, the game inspired by Bryan O'Malley's comic, was being blacked out on the PlayStation and Xbox digital stores. For many who had bought it it was not a problem, but for a good chunk of players this meant for years the inability to play it. There disappearance of Scott Pilgrim's video game has become a case over the years: the most likely hypothesis is that it was a licensing issue between Ubisoft and the other owners of Scott's rights, which go well beyond its creator. After six years the ball was unraveled and a few months ago Ubisoft has announced the return of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, much wanted by O'Malley.
Meanwhile, the film by Edgar Wright and with Michael Cera as the XNUMX-year-old bassist has recently celebrated its XNUMXth anniversary becoming a modern cult, and the platforms have literally tripled: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have given way to the most recent Sony and Microsoft home consoles, without forgetting Nintendo Switch, PC and the incorporeal ones, or the cloud streaming of Stadia and Amazon Luna, giving Ubisoft a much more user base rich from which to draw compared to the past. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is finally available, we tested it on Nintendo's hybrid console.
Hello again, friend of a friend
Fresh from a breakup, Scott Pilgrim's daily monotony, who juggles between high school and an amateur band where he is the bassist, is suddenly broken by the arrival of Ramona Flowers, an introverted but charming girl. Ramona does not go unnoticed - in fact it is difficult not to be infatuated with her iridescent hair, roller blades and steampunk glasses - so much so that love at first sight is immediately struck in the boy's heart. The story aims to make Scott regain happiness and win Ramona's love, but it's not as easy as it sounds: Ramona had seven flames, which joined together to form the "League of Wicked Ex" with the aim of preventing the union from materializing. Scott will have to defeat all seven to the sound of fists, battles between bass and incredible vegan powers if he wants to have a peaceful future with Ramona.
This premise was later fueled by citations to the world of video games, from Super Mario and Mega Man to Kirby and Street Fighter, and therefore it was only natural that Scott Pilgrim had one of his own: the game is clearly inspired by River City Ransom, a 1989 game released on the NES (and available in the Nintendo Switch Online catalog) in which two students made their way through the local gangs to rescue a girl, kidnapped by an ugly thug.
Between beat 'em up and RPG, River City Ransom allowed players to enter stores to restore health and purchase upgrades. Scott Pilgrim is structured exactly like this, tracing that series of titles that made their fortune in the 90s with the scrolling fighting formula such as Streets of Rage and Double Dragon: i characters thus move in the Toronto in 2D pixel art designed by O'Malley making it a comic in motion, and the story does not differ from the original one, with the difference that Scott and his companions have to overcome many more hordes of minions before reaching the Ex.
Ramona on my console
Besides of course Scott Pilgrim it is possible to use Sex Bom-omb (his band composed of Stephen and Kim), Ramona Flowers, Wallace and Knives Chau. The latter two are Scott's tenant and obsessed girl who were previously additional DLCs and are now included in this edition. To unlock Knives, no longer relegated to a special “evocation” of the protagonists, just create or log in with your Ubisoft account, which will also open the doors to online. Knives will then appear by magic in the character selection screen, while Wallace is available immediately.
The key combinations that can be made are pretty standard for the genre and it's not uncommon to fall into button mashing: there are light and heavy attacks, jumping, the ability to pick up items (and enemies!) And summon Knives - which it has a different effect depending on who uses it - as well as making a wider range attack. The latter two cost Liver Points, which we could compare to mana and which are pendant with health and the classic lives, which lead to game over if reset. The game saves progress whenever you return to the main map or complete levels, so there is no danger of having to start the march against the seven Exs all over again.
I commands are slightly remappable, but unfortunately they do not always prove responsive and it is not possible to separate actions that require the same key: "B" for example has numerous functions, including lending money to a partner and jumping: it will often happen to jump here and there before realizing that "B" must be held down to perform the other action; or the A key is used both to hit and potentially heal a partner, which does not always work in the most excited phases of the game.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game carves out a lot of space for co-op: it is possible to play together with up to 3 friends locally, who can choose the character before resuming the story mode and other extras that we will list later. In addition to lending money or sharing life points, you can use your friend as a battering ram against enemies or even steal a life in the form of a ghost when you die. This mechanic becomes superfluous when you are left alone and we often have to wait about 30 seconds before the ghost perishes and we can start the game again. Other exclusive co-op features allow you to revive a fallen companion and provoke enemies in two, thus churning out a definitive attack. There is no doubt, however, that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is just that, that is the ability to easily share the adventure with someone else and be rewarded with new gameplay mechanics.
"If your existence had a face, I would punch it"
The game has a reputation for being quite hardcore, and it is in fact difficult to complete it without stopping for a moment to repeat a few levels, accumulate money and buy upgrades in view of the ever-increasing number of enemies: once you become familiar with the mechanics and statistics, the game will be less punishing and will give you several hours of fun despite the low price, as well as a featherweight and replay value not bad given by the different endings present for each individual character (but only one in particular is able to unlock the real ending). At the end of each level we will also be rewarded by funny skits featuring the two lovebirds, Scott and Ramona.
The overall offering is decidedly rich, but there is nothing really new in the Complete Edition of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game. In addition to the main campaign, with its goodies and secrets, including subspace highways, the four extra modes return: Assault Against Bosses is the most classic of the boss rushes; Survival Horror is a survival mode in which the character is surrounded by tough zombies; Dodge Ball allows you to play a game of captive ball against the CPU and finally, Total Battle is a multiplayer mode in which you can get into the ring against up to 3 other players. Online multiplayer is instead relegated to the main campaign only.
Among these, the most alienating was Survival Horror, as the lack of background music combined with the natural slowness of the undead soon makes it static, while the others are a pleasant 16-bit divertissement. Let's take this opportunity to open a small parenthesis on the audio: the sound effects of the punches and in general of the blows are very low compared to the music, which always proves to be shrill even if lowered. Let's hope for a small patch about it: the sound effects are important in a game like this, as they encourage immersion and concentration.
Of course Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game seems born to be part of the Nintendo Switch catalog, not only for the possibility of having two pads immediately available thanks to Joy-Con, but for its arcade nature that makes it usable and suitable for both a casual audience (given the different degrees of difficulty) and the most demanding, with the ability to play it anywhere, both on TV and in portable mode. The pixel art is delightful and true to the author's trait, and there's also a good variety of environments: between Toronto's snowy streets, movie sets, Japanese gardens teeming with ninja and other references to the classics, the variety certainly isn't. is missing.
The Amananaguchi soundtrack closes the circle, an American band that delights in composing chiptune music, or synthesized to remember the sounds of the old arcades and consoles. The tracks seem to come from an NES cartridge, to which a modern touch is added, and are immediately familiar. Definitely an added value to the collection, which returns to be available after two generations of consoles. The greatest merit of this operation is in fact this: to bring to light a game that was previously in the hands of a few. And no, chicken is not vegan here either.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game has been sitting in the attic collecting dust for too long and it's time to rediscover. The game offers the possibility to take down the League of Wicked Ex with our own hands, all in its full format for 15 euros. The affectionate title proved to be fun, varied and with an engaging and retro soundtrack, with little in regards to sound effects and controls in the agitated phases. Today we can all be Scott Pilgrim, a non-winning but combative boy with all the passion for music and video games that is poured into the official scrolling fighting game.
► Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game is a scrolling RPG-Sport-Beat 'em up game developed and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation Network and PlayStation 3, the video game was released on 10/08/2010
