Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game

aka: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: Das Spiel
Moby ID: 47880
PlayStation 3 Specs

Description official descriptions

Scott Pilgrim is in love with Ramona Flowers. There's just one problem: she has seven evil exes who must be defeated in order for him to win her heart, and they're not going down without a fight!

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a retro-style 4-player side-scrolling beat-'em'up loosely based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley. It is a throwback to 8- and 16-bit era beat-'em-ups, particularly River City Ransom, and features art by popular pixel animator Paul Robertson as well as a soundtrack by New York chiptune band Anamanaguchi.

Initially choosing from either Scott, Ramona, Kim Pine, or Stephen Stills, up to four players must fight their way through the streets of Toronto, Canada in seven levels. Each stage is made up of multiple sections, culminating in a battle at the end with one of Ramona's exes. Around each stage there are many shops, some of them hidden, as well as destructible objects and weapons that can be picked up. The way characters progress and level up is similar to Castle Crashers and earlier levels can be revisited.

Each character starts with only a handful of moves -- punches, kicks, jumps, dashes, and blocks -- but as enemies are defeated, characters earn experience which unlocks new moves like running tackles and leg sweeps. Defeated enemies drop coins, which can be picked up and spent at the many shops around Toronto. Items will often replenish health, as well as increase various character stats based around strength, speed, defence, and others.

Characters also have access to several special moves, which use a "Guts" meter: an area-clearing attack that has low power, but will knock nearby enemies away; and a special striker move, which will call in another character, usually Scott's romantic stalker Knives Chau, for a quick support attack. If a player manages to take out five enemies without taking a hit, their character will glow for a short time, increasing their speed and strength drastically. In the co-op mode players can perform attacks together and lend each other money.

The game has a large number of unlockables and secret bonuses, such as a secret character and a new striker move, a Boss Rush mode, and a Zombie mode.

Groups +

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (Xbox 360 version)

348 People (333 developers, 15 thanks) · View all

Based on the Oni Press Graphic Novels by
Developed by
  • Closed on Mondays
Powered by Onyx Game Solution from
  • Ubisoft Quebec
Producer
Technical Production Manager
Production Manager
Project Coordinator
Creative Consultant
Game Designer
Level Designers
Art Director
Lead Artist
Art Project Manager
Animators
UI Artist
Artists
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 78% (based on 49 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 16 ratings with 1 reviews)

A Love Letter (Brawler) To Video Games.

The Good
Scott Pilgrim was a surprise to me. After watching the movie and getting a feel for what the character and world was about, I knew that there were a lot of video game references in the movie, but how would that translate to a game?

From the second it powered on, I knew this game was special. It gave me tingles the way the old arcade titles used to back when playing in an arcade actually meant something.

Will you like this game? If you were a fan of:

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  • Golden Axe
  • Streets of Rage
  • Double Dragon
  • River City Ransom
  • Castle Crashers

Or enjoy references to games like:

  • Super Mario Bros.
  • Mega Man
  • Street Fighter II
  • Pac-Man
  • Guitar Hero
  • Legend of Zelda
  • Castlevania
  • Ninja Gaiden
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Final Fantasy

Chances are you're going to find some reference that will make you smile.

It is a straight old-school brawler against a wave of endless, nameless enemies. The game plays like a trope of every big name brawler out there, but instead of feeling rehashed and "been there, done that", it's all a loving homage. Sure, you've done some of the scenarios, but not all in the same game at once. It's fun to go it alone. It's crazy to go 4 players at once.

The music? I don't remember a lot of "modern" gaming music. Not in the sense like a NES or Genesis classic. I've been humming the music all week. It's catchy, infectious chiptune music that only complements the action further.

Other high points are the wonderful and well animated 16-Bit style graphics complemented by an excellent control scheme. The game keeps you busy with numerous moves, special techniques and special character assists.

The game even has codes that you can input with your controller. Not DLC downloaded features, but honest to goodness look it up on the internet or in a magazine.

The Bad
If there's anything that it perhaps TOO old-school is the lack of online co-op. It's a little frustrating to know that I could be playing this game with friends in other regions, but I can't. The game can recreate the classic gaming days, but it can't recreate my friends stopping by after school before the parents make dinner and I have to do homework.

An online patch would work wonders.

The Bottom Line
A few years back, Ubisoft published an excellent TMNT brawler for the Game Boy Advance that was probably the most authentic in recreating that classic beat-em-up feel I've played since Castle Crashers. And now we have Scott Pilgrim, a game that unabashedly revels in the glory of the arcade brawler. Everything is perfect. From the attract screen to secret areas, cheat codes to crazy 64+ hit combos.

Even if you didn't know who Scott Pilgrim was, the references would hit home to any old-school gamer. If you know the character, they do a spot-on job in telling his story to win the heart of Ramona Flowers.

I grinned like a fool all the way through the game from beginning to end. I went back and completed it with friends. And I'll play it some more because the levels are fun, and the music is fantastic and utterly toe tapping.

I've made comments in other reviews about downloadable games like Penny Arcade and Strong Bad in that these games capture the very essence and love of what it is to be a video game. Scott Pilgrim stands firmly in those ranks. It's a love letter to gaming. The people that created their game knew their stuff, and the end result is something special, once again reminding me why I love this hobby so much.

An exceptional title, and ridiculously fun.

Xbox 360 · by Guy Chapman (1748) · 2010

Trivia

Animations

Paul Robertson (famous animator for his work on Pirate Baby's Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006 and the music video of Architecture in Helsinki's Do The Whirlwind) was the lead animator of the game. GIF sprites of the characters can be found on his LiveJournal here and here.

Robertson's work also makes two cameo appearances in the movie of the same name, as a 1-Up symbol that Michael Cera's character nabs in a moment of need, and at the very end of the movie's credits, in which an animated Scott Pilgrim beats up a 'The End' title card.

DLC Errors

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World received a dose of DLC for both PS3 and X360, adding Knives Chau as a playable character among other extras, but a delay in an upgrade patch to the game over Xbox Live and PSN left players unable to use the new content straight away, as well as missing out on achievements and trophies.

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - Complete Edition
Released 2021 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...
Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon
Released 1998 on Windows, Windows 3.x
Bottle: Pilgrim
Released 2017 on Windows
The Watson-Scott Test
Released 2018 on Windows
Space Pilgrim Academy
Released 2017 on Windows
The Brain Game
Released 2007 on DVD Player

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 47880
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by j.raido 【雷堂嬢太朗】.

Additional contributors: Kartanym, Ozone Sama, Charly2.0, Starbuck the Third.

Game added August 28, 2010. Last modified February 12, 2024.