Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Complete Edition – REVIEW

OUR RATING 7/10

GAME OVERVIEW
The beautiful opening video presents the basic premise of Scott Pilgrim. Scott is a young man who falls in love with the mysterious Ramona Flowers. Despite being in love, there is a big obstacle in their path. In fact, they have 7 obstacles to overcome, before they have peace in their relationship.

Scott combines the streets (and concert halls) of the Canadian city with elements of fantasy. All those pop culture references that seemed in the original work have been transferred to the game with great success.

The 7 ex-boyfriends of Ramona’s bad, who are willing to do anything to stop his love. Therefore, Scott will face them to prove that he wants a serious relationship with Ramona, and on the way to discover more about himself and his potential.

Although the history of comics is rich in details, with charismatic characters, and exciting and funny situations, little of that ended up being brought into the game. In addition to presenting the basic premise during the introduction, the game does not explain anything else during the phases. Even for those who read the comics, or watched the great movie, the situations presented can be confusing.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World became a cult comic and movie and now even a cult video game.

GAMEPLAY
The game has 4 additional modes, aside from your main story. These modes are Dungeon Ball, Survival Horror, Total Battle, and Boss Rush (the classic boss rush). It’s a good way to multiply the length of the game, and they are almost as fun options as the story.

In Survival Horror, you have to endure as long as possible defeating waves of zombies, in a new setting and with its own soundtrack, Total Battle is an “all against all” for 4 fighters (in addition to Scott you can play with Ramona, Kim, Stephen Stills, Knives Chau, Wallace and two unlockable characters) and Prisoner Ball freely adapts this sport.

Considering the levels are essentially straight lines, there’s a brilliant amount of creativity in these too. Literally everything is a weapon, from a basketball to a mic stand to your own teammate. Since you can revive your partner at zero health without costing them a life, there’s a popular tactic for Knives and Ramona where, if either is ever on single digit health, the other picks them up and hurls them at enemies, clearing a path for easy revival while also dealing serious damage to everyone else.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: The Game is a Beat’em up with pixelated 2D graphics, where you will go through stages going from left to right, defeating several enemies along the way, culminating in a boss battle at the end. As is the standard of the genre, you have an arsenal of different attacks at your disposal. In addition to the fast and heavy strokes, there are several abilities to unlock as the characters evolve.

Yes, evolution, as it adds light RPG elements to the Beat’em Up formula, adding levels and status points to the characters. Therefore, it is essential to strengthen yourself to advance, either by raising your level by killing enemies, or by buying clothes and food that increase your status with the money earned.

PROs, CONs and OVERALL GAMING EXPERIENCE
This is a game that has many things to like. First of all, the art is beautiful, with an animation full of charisma and attitude, with very vibrant colors, scenes full of details and Easter Eggs to discover, in addition to a great fluidity in the movements. Boss battles present fans with several references to the comics, in addition to having the best worked animations in the game. Despite being in the 16-bit style, the songs have a very fun and delicious beat to hear. Matches the graphics and art style of the game.

The game map is a nod to Super Mario Bros 3, you are going to find many more “tributes” scattered throughout the levels; Movie and TV-inspired zones , Guitar Hero-style duels, or enemies executing an attack borrowed from Akira, and lots of details that enliven the fighting.

The enormous number of enemies that appear on the screen, the variety of their attacks and a balanced level of difficulty make the game addictive, and the depth comes from purchases. The money dropped by defeated thugs can be spent in different locations, to boost your stats with new pieces of gear, or regain health with food and drink.

Then, your combat is quite fun, and features several different mechanics to fight. For example, the game allows you to use the various items of the scenario as a weapon, in addition to letting use a fallen enemy to hit others. The various combos and special powers increase your arsenal of how to deal with these opponents, although normal blows will be your main weapon.

At times, you will have to return to levels you have already exceeded to “farm” a few more dollars or go into stores and buy pieces of equipment that were not available when you first passed. Above all, paying Scott’s expensive surcharge at the video store.

Both the extra modes and the campaign can be enjoyed in multiplayer, both online and local, for 4 friends. And while the campaign is cooperative, the extra modes allow you to play as a team or compete with colleagues. These online options are completed with a global scoreboard to compare your scores with other players around the world.

Even though this game has strong positive points, like its art, it also presents several problems that hinder the experience a lot.

Its main problem is linked to the difficulty and its evolution system. The first phase gives the impression that the game will be relatively easy. Although challenging, you will have no problem ending it with the 3 lives that the game presents you with. However, the second phase already demands much more from you, with the third being almost impossible to finish on the first attempt.

Evolve the characters and their status is mandatory to advance. For that, you will need to do a lot of Grinding. Yes, this game will force you to repeat missions after money and levels.

Although the game is not that long, with only 7 stages lasting about 20 minutes, it will take you hours to get the necessary statuses before you have any chance against the last boss. However, this is not the only problem.

A lot of care has been put into adapting Scott Pilgrim to the video game. The technical section, like the film, manages to reflect the “indie” style but with notable production values. The scenarios are varied and very colorful, with great animations (they may seem a bit slow at first, but you have to level up to unleash its full potential) and it has a great soundtrack with a classic flavor (and sound of 16 bits).

While gameplay has issues, both solo and multiplayer, everything else is a treat. As far as graphics go, it’s a remaster of a ten-year-old game that even in 2010 embraced a retro aesthetic, so don’t expect anything technically ground breaking or eye popping. Still, the colors are wonderful, and the art is bursting with creativity in every department. Not many games are this fun to look at. The same goes for the soundtrack, which sticks to the simplicity of the videogame cartridge era, but has such an infectious rhythm it’ll stay in your head all day.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: The Game  is a fun but frustrating game. Although its presentation is impeccable, with animations and songs that capture the spirit of comics, its gameplay is extremely ruthless and very repetitive.

Undoubtedly, the game’s grinding soured an experience that could be incredible. Even if the game is difficult, it is essential to present a challenge that the player can overcome by improving his skills, especially in a game of this style. Nobody likes to redo the same phase to achieve a minimal increase in the character’s numbers.

So this is a great game that is hidden behind several silly problems. If you are patient, you will discover a hidden gem with this game. However, it is sad to have to use the word “patience” when describing this game so full of energy and potential, but this is the reality.