2010 is the year for Scott Pilgrim. In all honesty, before this year I had no clue who the hell Scott Pilgrim was (like you did..and if you did my hat is off to you). It wasn't until I heard a great episode of Retronauts (RIP) that I finally got to understand what it was all about. I knew there was a Scott Pilgrim movie coming out and a video game beat em up which looked all 16 bit retro and awesome so I decided to do a little research on it.
Basically Scott Pilgrim started out as a graphic novel by Bryan Lee O'Malley which started in 2004 and ended in July 2010 with 6 novels in total. The series is about 23-year-old Canadian Scott Pilgrim, a lovable loser (in my opinion) who plays in a band named Sex Bob-omb. He falls in love with Ramona Flowers but in order to be with her he must defeat her seven evil exes. Now if Scott has something going for himself, that boy can fight. It isn't ever explained why he can fight so well but it is one of his best characteristics.
So instead of giving detailed in depth look at the whole series, I am going to do a quick summary of the comics, movie and the game.
Being one of the only comics I have ever read, I thoroughly enjoyed each issue of Scott Pilgrim. One of the best aspects of Scott Pilgrim is O'Malley love for video games, especially of the 8 bit and 16 bit era. O'Malley doesn't just throw blatant references in there, he uses them creatively and subtly, which if you recognize them makes it that much better. This also makes it so that you don't have to know a lot about games to enjoy it. A few references are easy and other not so much. However this comic helped me to finally remember the name of a game I enjoyed so much as a kid but couldn't remember the name, Clash at Demon-Head, which is the name of a band in the comic. Other references include, nods to Mario (Bob-ombs), River City Ransom gets a huge shout out also.
The best aspect about the story are the characters. They each have very distinct personalities but they all feel very human, each with their own past and flaws or regrets. It manifests in Scott in a very odd way but comes together very well in the final book. Overall I recommend reading these comics as they are very funny and entertaining stories. It also does the best job of telling the Scott Pilgrim tale.
The MOVIEEEE
I was really hyped to see the movie. This doesn't quite explain why I waited until it was On Demand but whatever. So after reading the comic I was curious to see how they would turn this into a movie. For the most part they did a pretty good job. Obviously corners were cut and many characters were under developed, but they did pretty good for what they had to work with. Unfortunately I think the movie tanked which is rather sad but ah well. As for the actors, I am a little burned out on Michael Cera but he does an admirable job at being Scott. Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays Ramona and I've had a thing for her since Live Free or Die Hard and she's pretty good. I think most of the actors fit their roles really well especially the evil exes. Without going into detail on each one, they all looked like they were really into their roles and they really all do a good job (except for the twins, cause they had too little screen time). I thought the actress who played Kim Pine did a good job, but she just looked a little weird to me, but that is just me. My only gripe about the movie is the flow. The movie is only about and hour and 45 minutes, and the first 45 minutes is very detailed recreation of the first book which is entertaining and needed to set up the rest of the movie. However the last hour of the movie crams the last 5 books into it and at times it feels a tad rushed. However I think the ending in the movie was done pretty well as an alternative to the book. I recommend this movie as long as you don't go in expecting it to really be on the same level as the graphic novels.
Oh yeah, If you love Zelda sounds and little video game sound bites, this movie is full of them. Charming I must say.
The Game
Now most licensed games based on movies or books or whatever just turnout bad. Usually they are quick cash-ins and rush jobs that will sell based on name alone.
Scott Pilgrim isn't that game.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game is a brawler that is very similar to River City Ransom minus the open world of that game. The game does a good job of capturing the feel of an old school arcade game. The sprites are well animated, the control is very good, and for $10 you quite a bit of game. The game has 4 playable characters that play similar but each has their own special moves and stats. 2 more secret characters can be unlocked (one through DLC, the other by beating the game with each character). Progression is done by levels on a world map similar to Super Mario Bros. 3.At the end of each level (these levels can be rather long), you fight a boss and proceed on. The game follows the books a bit more than the movie and if you read them you will certainly enjoy certain aspects of the game a lot more. The game also has certain other references to older games like Megaman and Kirby. One of the good standouts about the game is the music. The whole soundtrack is done by chiptune band Anamanaguchi. Even though at times it feels a little too 8 bit, some of the music is down right amazing. The soundtrack is on iTunes so you can support them there. If you download any one song, make it "Another Winter", the music from the first stage.
Well there is my quick take on the Scott Pilgrim explosion, I hope this isn't the last we see of him (even though it probably is). At least this may inspire other stories and such as this little series produced a lot of good times for me.
Oh man I didn't really mention Knives....(the girl that played her in the movies is CUTE)
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