Guardian Tales is a tribute to games and pop culture, in a game format! Making references to other games, anime, TV, films, and pop culture in general is the way the game shows its love. So the game has many references! Feel free to add references to everything you can find.
The way how the Dark Magician knocks Knight, Eva, the Little Princess and Queen Camilla out of the sky references to how Nightmare knocks Kirby off of his Warp Star.
A large number of references to The Legend of Zelda are made throughout this world:
And for the whole game when you are looking for shards for costumes on a stage is a reference to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess when link and minda are searching for mirror shards to get to the twilight realm.
In 1-2, Loraine says she'll be like an "annoying fairy" following you, referencing Navi from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
You acquire a weapon called the Master's Blade, a reference to the “Master Sword” which appears throughout the series. You even pull it out of the stone the same way as Link does.
Byrule's Hero Hyper is a reference to the series' protagonist Link. "Byrule" is a reference to Hyrule, the main setting of the series. Hyper's clothing design and hair color also reference Link's design. The evil pig that Hyper intends to fight is a reference to Ganon, The Legend of Zelda's recurring antagonist.
At the end of the quest, the Blacksmith quotes the original The Legend of Zelda by saying "it's dangerous to go alone" before giving Hyper a laser cannon.
Loraine makes the same quote before she gives the Knight a Cell Phone in 1-2.
In 1-6, you meet Vampire Girl Karina. In the quest The Lost Girl...?, you can initiate a battle with Karina by guiding her to a sunlit clearing. This is very similar to starting the boss fight in the Thieves' Hideout in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, where you also guide a girl to a sunlit area to dispel an illusion.
In 1-7, you find the Konami Code drawn on the map. It is also part of solving a secret map.
During the subquest Rising Force, you're introduced to two characters, Dragon and Blade, who are a direct reference, in both name and design, to Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter.
There are several references to famous moments from Dragon Ball Z. In one of the side quests, two fighters go up against an Invader who spouts off about his impressive Power Level (a concept from the series) and it being "Over 9000".
After Blade is killed, Dragon becomes enraged and turns into a "Super Teatan", parodying the "Super Saiyan" form.
Dragon and his friends later revive Blade with the "Blue Gem", which appears to have a similar function to the Dragon Balls, a staple of the Dragon Ball series. This also points at Guardian Tales' own revive feature, which also uses blue gems.
In Nightmare Mode, bringing Dragon to the quest point involving him causes the Invader to transform to have the likeness and attitude of series antagonist Frieza.
In the fight between the iron head and the harvester in 2-1, Marianne says “Ha! Teatan's science is the world's finest!”. This is a reference to the line “YOU UTTER FOOL, GERMAN SCIENCE IS THE WORLDS FINEST!”, spoken by Rudol von Stroheim from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
Marianne's Iron Teatan is a reference to The Iron Giant.
The champion of this chapter, Sohee, wields a weapon very similar to the "proton pack" from the Ghostbusters franchise.
The chapter's setting directly references the magic school setting of the Harry Potter series. There are also more specific references:
One subquest involves using the Invisible Cloak to avoid detection. The owner of the cloak (a potential SNS follower, the Invisible Student) is a student named Harry Weasley, a portmanteau of the names of two protagonists, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.
One stage involves destroying a blue flying car, a reference to the Weasleys' car from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in order to obtain a Star Piece. The NPCs will also talk about how much fits into the car.
The term "muggle" is used to describe you and your party as a distinction from magic users, similar to how it's used in the books.
Elphaba, the school's headmaster, is named after the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz as portrayed in the novel and musical Wicked. The first part of that series also revolves around the magical university of Shiz.
The whole setting of World 4 is a reference to the Mad Max series. The desert, water shortage, and desert elf cult specifically reference the events of the movie Mad Max: Fury Road. The cultists even shout "Witness me" while attacking the party during stage 4-1, directly quoting the movie.
The scenario behind World 4's Nightmare Mode, where wormlike monsters attack people from below the ground in a desert region, references the Tremors movie series. The opening scene of Nightmare stage 4-1 references the strategy of tricking the monsters into eating bombs, which appeared in the first movie of the series.
In Nightmare stage 4-6, entering a tent initially blocked by a large stone leads to a peaceful oasis-like island with light acoustic guitar music, where two meerkats request your help and a Dalmatian plays an acoustic guitar. This is a reference to the game series Animal Crossing. The guitar player is a reference to K.K. Slider, while the two meerkats are a reference to Timmy and Tommy.
The name of the boss in Nightmare stage 4-6, the Desert Bull Worm, is a reference to the Alaskan Bull Worm from SpongeBob SquarePants.
In Nightmare stage 4-6, the "second phase" of the boss fight, where Sandy duels against the Desert Bull Worm by following the party's orders, is a reference to the duel system of the Pokémon franchise. The post-attack messages even say "It's not very effective..." or "It's super effective!", directly quoting the franchise.
The story of this world references the 2008 movie Kung Fu Panda. In Where Legend is Asleep, the heroes seemingly get defeated and the enemy opens the scroll your master gave you, only for them to learn that there was nothing inside it. Depending on the martial artist that you favored, they will get the insight that true power and mastery comes from within, just like Po learns in the movie that there is "No secret to being awesome, that you just got to be yourself."
In 5-3 First Training, the master trains his disciples by making them wear a heavy turtle shell in a race. In 5-4 Second Training, the master throws pebbles with a symbol in the jungle and sends his apprentices find it, saying that they otherwise won't eat anything for dinner. This is a reference to Master Roshi's training regimen from Dragon Ball.
The main story of World 5's Nightmare Mode, Shulin Dodgeball, is a reference to the 2001 movie Shaolin Soccer. Both stories involve forming a team of martial artists to play a sports game (soccer in the movie and dodgeball in Guardian Tales).
The whole stage could either be a reference to the movie "Ant Bully" as you are shrunk down and are fighting against ants, like the main character in the movie, or even to the much older Disney movie "Honey, I shrunk the kids!".
A gnome in the stage where you fight the fairy is sleeping and saying "Don't go too far Mr. Frodo" which is a direct reference to a quote by Samwise Gamgee from the Lord of the Rings. The quote references Frodo Baggins, the main protagonist of the series.
In the nightmare difficulty, an NPC talks something about making money out of this as a tourist island. Reference to the movie featuring Matt Damon, 'Downsizing'.
The relationship between Aspiring Warrior Craig and Relic Collector Ailie references the anime Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? with Craig referencing Bell, and Ailie the scavenger girl referencing Lilly.
Throughout the world, there is a team of contestants called the Teatan Rangers (Blue, Red, Pink, Yellow, and Green), who believe their teamwork and friendship will allow them to succeed. This is a reference to the Japanese superhero franchise Super Sentai (which, in North America, led to the Power Rangers superhero franchise).
In a hidden room in 7-1 The Fellowship of the Dungeon, there is an NPC who mentions a new game called Hyper's Awakening. This is a reference to The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Hyper herself is a reference to Link.
In 7-1 The Fellowship of the Dungeon, Fira the Fire Mage from Dungeon Link (or an NPC with a very similar sprite appearance) can be seen sitting in the tavern. Later, she moves to join the circle around Cecil and talks about "feeling the heat."
In 7-5 Lowest Floor of Dungeon, there are 2 NPCs standing around a pot who give you a quest to cook bizarre food, a blonde Elf using a wooden staff and a orange haired Teatan. The Elf can be added on FaceBreak as the Flustered Magician. This is a reference to the manga series Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi), which is about a group of adventurers journeying through a dungeon who cook food using the monsters they find along the way as ingredients. The elf and the Teatan are references to half-elf magician Marcille and halfling thief Chilchuck, two of the series protagonists.
Nightmare Mode
In 7-1 Back to Dungeon, there is a subquest with a shopkeeper who sells items for high prices. If you throw a bomb at him, he will turn hostile and run after the Knight. They are faster than the player and are able to kill you in one shot. This is a reference to the shopkeepers in the Spelunky games, who are similarly unforgiving of robbers.
In 7-3 Cliff Zone, there is a subquest with a spear-wielding bald man who lures the player over to see a light at the bottom of a deep hole, and then makes the player fall into the hole. After getting out of the hole, the bald man will apologize and can be forgiven or thrown into the hole. This is a reference to Patches, a character who appears in various games developed by FromSoftware with a similar trickster role.
In 7-6 Lowest Floor of Dungeon, the Dungeon Teacher (previously met in Normal Mode) can be met in an empty room, now teaching via videoconference. This is a reference to the COVID-19 pandemic between late 2019 to 2023, during which many countries and institutions implemented various stay-at-home procedures, including a shift to online classes by many schooling systems.
In 7-6 Lowest Floor of Dungeon, the Teatan Rangers can be seen again. This time, the green one use his sword as a flute to summon a dragon, just like the Green Ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
The prosecutor is a clear reference to the Payne family, from which the very first prosecutor in almost every Ace Attorney game comes from.
The judge that appears on the post-trial scene resembles The Judge from Ace Attorney. The one in the trial itself doesn't though.
In the trial sections, we hear renditions of the Witness Testimony, Objection!! and Pursuit themes from the first game (also known as the 2001 versions).
In 8-2, there is a girl with albino hair and a braid, wearing a light blue dress; locked up in a cell, singing, "Let me go!" to the prison guard, who tells her to shut up. This is a reference to Elsa from Frozen.
In 8-5 you will get a holy hand grenade which is particularly specific about the fact you need to count until 3 when throwing. This and the fact that you need it to kill a killer bunny with it is a reference to the scene from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
The rabbit is later mentioned by a group of Tiger Clan near the beginning of the "Dragon Detective Neva" Short Story level.
There is another reference to the same Monty Python movie when your group wants to cross a bridge, but has to answer some question like their favorite color first and "wins" by asking an absurd counter-question that makes the loser unsure of their answer and thrown from the bridge. This happens very similar in the movie, too.
Catherine's story about being a Canadian girl who reincarnated into this world after being ran over by a truck is a recurring theme in many isekai books.
In the first stage here, it makes a throwback to Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid where you move around in a box to evade enemy patrols.
In the hidden passage in the first stage, Elizabeth from BioShock Infinite appears, asking whether she is in Columbia. She will then add you in FB.
One of her messages mentions dancing with Booker.
The scene when you escape Shapira by hiding in the middle box and she eliminates the two side ones, only to be distracted by a phone call is a reference to Undyne from Undertale chasing you. You hide inside the grass and Undyne attacks you and misses, hitting the spaces beside you. Alphys then calls Undyne and distracts her causing her to abandon the chase. After Undyne leaves, Monster kid appears to be hiding in the grass with you just like the hero finding another person hiding in the crates.
There's a letter near the dumpster. The letter's about a reminder to Red (from the movie Shawshank Redemption).
In 9-2, an NPC asks you to buy soup for him from a soup counter because he's been banned from doing so himself. The soup kitchen manager has a mustache and scowl and a very specific set of rules that must be followed, otherwise, "no soup for you!" A very clear reference to the soup Nazi from Seinfeld.
There is a duo of alchemists that are looking for the Philosopher's Stone. Their names and objective resemble the two primary main characters from the anime Full Metal Alchemist, Edward and Alphonse Elric.
In 9-3 Refugee Camp Slums you run into a blonde man named the Great Katsby, this is a reference to the novel by F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby. The npc's model was also made to resemble Leonardo Dicaprio's depiction of the character in the 2013 film adaptation.
The dark magician teleporting you to another era at the end of chapter 9 might be a reference to Samurai Jack's storyline.
In the 5th stage, you can see a blue cabin. This cabin (and the scene inside) is a reference to Doctor Who.
In Nightmare stage 4, you can meet a mustached detective called Jercule Pierrot who speaks about the "little grey brain cells" before leaving on a train called the Orient Express. He also adds you on FaceBreak. This references Hercule Poirot, a fictional detective created by Agatha Christie. The scenario around him is a reference to the novel Murder on the Orient Express.
References in World 10 - Unrecorded World Part 1[]
In 10-2, you can find the "room of resurrection". In this room, Hyper is sleeping, talking about "4 divine beasts". Once you got the Star Piece, Hyper will awake and be surprised that the world is still the same, even after 100 years (not realizing only 10 years have passed.) This is a reference to Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
In 10-3, you will find a man (presumably Dolf) in the subterrain after you found the passage under a barrel, he will give you a star piece. It's a reference to an early scene of Zelda: A Link To The Past.
In 10-3, the Future Princess will have a scene where she's hanged to a rope to avoid explosives and a laser. This references a scene from the movie Mission: Impossible, along with a special background music track inspired by the main theme of the movie.
One of the dialogue options you can pick after she asks why you jumped carelessly is "Heroes never die". This is a direct quote made popular by Mercy from Overwatch.
The mouse bomb that appears in 10-3 is a reference to Sheer Heart Attack, a heat seeking bomb from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable.
If you drive a bomb mouse to an Invader, it will say "look at here". Sheer Heart Attack also say "look at here" when he come close to his target.
Like the bomb, Sheer Heart Attack also exploded in contact, has wheels, and can travel a distance.
In 10-4, if you talk to Rachelle, she'll ask you if you practiced the Emperor's Haki, a technique from One Piece.
Stage 11-2 is entirely referencing 2D The Legend of Zelda games, especially the Hyrule Castle dungeon (ie: the use of keys to access new areas withing the castle, the keys falling from above when completing certain room puzzles and the warping platform to return to the entrance in the last room).
Stage 11-4's Beta Weapon is a reference to Omega, a superboss from Final Fantasy V. Both are strong robots that appear on your way to the final boss and both are optional.
On the same stage, on the place where the Invaders drop the food, you can see a hideout that presumably belongs to Ranpang. In the hideout, you can see three volleyballs with faces painted on them and accessories that resemble Hoshida, DaVinci and the Knight respectively. These are a reference to Castaway, in which the main protagonist creates a imaginary friend called Wilson in a similar way.
Loraine's full-body appearance in Stage 11-5 is a reference to Venom Snake's appearance from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
One of the possible answer for the last math questions in Invader Lab stage is "The margin of this book is too narrow to contain the solution."
This is a reference to Fermat's Last Theorem. Pierre de Fermat, a mathematician, first stated the conjecture (not a theorem at the time) in 1637 in the margin of a book and said "I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this, which this margin is too narrow to contain." The first successful proof itself was only released in 1994 by Andrew Wiles.
A puzzle in Nightmare Stage 11-1 involving pushing around carts to slide one cart out of the box they are all stored in references the puzzle game Rush Hour.
The hidden testing facility in Nightmare Stage 11-5 is an entire segment referencing the game Portal.
Stage 12-1 is a reference to Super Robot Wars, a Japanese tactical RPG video game series. The stage resembles its turn-based strategy, as well as its one-liners and animations as characters attack (or perish) in giant mechs.
Stage 12-3 mini-boss in Some Restaurant is a reference to That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, a Japanese light novel. In the anime, a starving Orc was granted a wish and transformed to a powerful entity who lost his senses.
A Teatan NPC mentions a store called Sunbucks, which is a reference to the real-life Starbucks.
The rest of this world uses mechanics inspired by Grand Theft Auto II such as money that drops from missions and civilians and the iconic star system.
MK.2 mentions Friday Night Live and Mangtan Girls, both references to Saturday Night Live and Bangtan Boys, a.k.a BTS, respectively.
"House of Paper" mission houses some references:
The clues in the drinks reference 1942, a top-down arcade shoot-em-up. The password is the title itself.
The mission's title translated to spanish is "La Casa de Papel", the title of Money Heist in Spain, the country that produced it.
The outfit we are given is the iconic red hoodie and Dali mask, which is the outfit that all the heist members wear in the show.
Stage 12-7 Demon Money Bank mission is reference to a bank robbery scene of "The Dark Knight".
Stage 12-1 Nightmare when Lilith eats the madeleine, a text will appear, saying Lilith will remember this madeleine. This is a reference to numerous games created by Telltale Games.
The war and the discrimination against androids in the demon world is a clear reference to "Detroit: Become Human", a game which centers around the android's fight for their rights and equality with humans.
The "Demon May Cry" cafe is a reference to Devil May Cry.
The overall plot of World 13, a skyscraper under siege by terrorists, references the plot of the movie Die Hard.
The "Hard to Die Man", a potential SNS follower, references Die Hard protagonist John McClane in name and appearance.
In Nightmare Mode, the Star Piece subplot in 13-5 The Final Investigation involves helping a respawning android "stalker" named P create an "inventive" weapon in order to defeat a large android "Party Master." This is a reference to the 2023 Soulslike game Lies of P.
A particular female vampire NPC variant with a red dress and wide-brimmed hat, appearing throughout World 14, seems to reference Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village.
The first stage features a gacha machine for "Yu-Gi King", a reference to Yu-Gi-Oh.
The first figure to appear from the gacha machine is nicknamed "Cursed Golemancer Alef", referencing both Alef and his status in the Guardian Tales fandom as one of the weakest hero.
In Stage 14-5, a side activity involves a young restaurant employee who is suddenly a master chef. It is revealed that the employee's cooking abilities come from a rat that can control him. This references the Pixar movie Ratatouille.
In Stage 14-6, a vampire hunter named Belonged is a reference to Simon Belmont from the Castlevania series.
At the start of Stage 14-9, there is a cutscene discussing fluctuations in the timeline. During the cutscene, you have the dialogue option “This must be the Stein’s Door’s choice”, a reference to one of the catchphrases of Okabe Rintaro: “This must be the choice of Stein’s Gate”, from the visual novel/anime series Stein’s;Gate. Soohee follows up with “Al psy kong…”, another reference to a catch phrase of Okabe: “El, psy, kongroo”. Both catchphrases have no meaning and are used at random by Okabe, sometimes during very serious discussions about time travel, as he pretends to make calls about fighting a nonexistent evil organization.
In Stage 14-9, a laboratory labelled the "SDP (Secret Demon World Project)" houses four specimens with varying classes and serial numbers. This references the fictional secret organization SCP Foundation and its SCPs.
The second "SDP" found, called the "Shy Ghost" is a reference to a Boo from Nintendo's Super Mario franchise.
In Stage 14-10, glowing writing can be found on the floor in multiple places. This writing seemingly references the same type of writing found on grounds in the Dark Souls franchise.
In stage 14-11, a scientist mentions a box of drinks named “RedMonster”. This seems to be a reference to the very popular energy drinks Red Bull and Monster Energy.
In Stage 14-11, four men in fantasy armor with suns printed on it can be seen praising a star piece and calling it their “sun”. This is a reference to Solaire from the Dark Souls franchise.
When shown the artificial sun model, all four of the men will move their attention and start dancing to a beat while singing lyrics from A-ha’s song “Take On Me”.
In Stage 14-11, one of the options to distract a room full of guards is to literally "Distract" them by dancing. This may be a reference to the Henry Stickmin series.
In Stage 14-11, one of the options to distract the guard blocking an entry way is to throw your spare helmet.
When you throw the spare helmet, the guard slowly walks towards it, and bursts into tears, referencing the future ending from the last level of World 11 - Unrecorded World Pt. 2, 11-6 Heavenhold Top Floor, when the princess bursts into tears upon seeing the helmet thrown from the future. The same music also plays.
The entire chapter itself may be a reference to Stein’s;Gate, having a very similar plot. Both have a character which time travels repeatedly in order to save someone else. In some timelines, Okabe attempts to sacrifice himself, similar to how Count Claude sacrifices himself to save Princess Pricilla. Additionally, the actions of both characters were initially driven by the death of another close character. Both characters intentionally wait for the one they try to save to die before looping back in time. Also, both characters work towards their goal solo until the end despite being leaders, as they are the only ones to retain their memories across timelines, with a few exceptions (knight+Soohee, and a few characters in Stein’s;Gate).
The four A.M.M.I.s which hunt down the Knight in several of the levels are references to the E.M.M.I.s from Metroid Dread, which are similarly hulking, one-eyed robots which hunt down the protagonist.
The android name M-800 is a reference to Terminator T-800.
The Loner Android, a FaceBreak follower met in 16-5 Lightning Temple, is an expy of Hitori Gotoh, the protagonist of Bocchi the Rock! (all but identical in appearance except for being purple rather than pink and being an android). The Loner Android even mimics one of Bocchi's glitch-out sequences.
In 16-5 you will be asked to retrieve three Comics, which are called Green Lock, Demon Island Issue 148 and Hero X Hero were found to relate to the popular Manwahs Blue Lock, (Higan Island?) and Hunter X Hunter.
After defeating Beguiled Marvin in 16-7, The Knight and KAI will perform an "All Out Attack" along with the androids they recruited, with a dialogue option stating "THE SHOW'S OVER" appearing at the end. This is in reference to the All-out Attack from the Persona series, specifically the iteration of it that appears in Persona 5.
The dialogue option itself is a reference to the cinematic that plays when the All-out Attack defeats all of the remaining enemies. When initiated by the main protagonist, Joker, that same text appears at the side of the screen when the cinematic ends.
The arcade-style shooting minigame at the end of 17-1 Demon World Conference Hall may be a reference to the 1994 game Virtua Cop.
The Low Evolutionary, an optional boss in 17-4 Passage to Saul, is a reference to the High Evolutionary, who is the antagonist of the film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The raccoon and the three dead animal test subjects are a reference to Rocket and his three friends, who also featured in the film.
The first section of 17-5 Saul Square where the player must obtain an valid ID to enter Saul references the 2013 point-and-click game Papers, Please. There is a clear nod when the Knight gives the fake ID to the worker: one of the dialogue options reads "I'm with the Order of Demon World Star!", which references the Order of the EZIC Star.
In 17-5 Saul Square there is a reference to Anya Forger and her dog, Bond, from SPY x FAMILY, who joins the player on FaceBreak. To add to the reference, the "mind-reading" girl physically looks almost identical to Anya, can read minds, gets really excited about interesting people even in dangerous situations, and loves eating peanuts; while her dog can see the future.
The Knight's disguise outfit (a blue suit with a yellow stripe around the collar and down the center of the body, plus black boots) in the Saul stages resembles a Vault jumpsuit from the Fallout video game series. In 17-9 Isolated Battlefield, the Knight also has a dialogue option saying "War never changes.", a phrase which is used throughout the Fallout series.
The subplot of the Saul soldier brothers in 17-3 Demon World Battlefield and 17-9 Isolated Battlefield is a reference to the the South Korean film Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War, which follows two brothers who are drafted by the South Korean army during the Korean War. The older brother's diary mentions how he wants to earn a medal of honor to send his younger brother back home, which is also a detail in the movie. Both stories involve the brothers becoming separated, with the older brother thinking the younger has died and swearing revenge on the opposing side, and dying as a result.
In 17-14 Someone's Hideout, a "Mama John's" pizza coupon used by Lilith can be found, referencing the real-life pizzeria chain Papa John's.
Morrian's hideout also has a "FullFlower Alchemist" comic book, referencing Fullmetal Alchemist.
The secret boss in 18-4 Eroded Suburbs, Worker287634, is a reference to the 2023 video game SANABI. The worker's appearance, attack method, and tagline ("getting to the end is...") are all references to the protagonist of SANABI, while the ghostly girl who appears before the fight is a reference to the protagonist's daughter.
One puzzle in 18-5 Inside Heavenhold is a homage to Pac-Man, with identical gameplay; the Knight is also given a special costume that makes them resemble the titular character.
In 18-8 Inside the Barrier, the Knight can optionally destroy two shield generator machines, but they must first defeat waves of one-eyed Guard Robots. The second time this happens, the robots will shout "Exterminate! Exterminate!" This is a reference to the Daleks from Doctor Who.
The Top Cop, a FaceBreak follower in 18-8 Inside the Barrier, is a reference to Satoru Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen. The Knight helps him fight against the "King of Monsters," possibly in reference to the "King of Curses" Sukuna, the series' main antagonist. The encounter also makes reference to several moments involving the character, including the meme "Nah, I'd Win" and his usage of the phrase "Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am the honored one."
The design of the Otherworld in the last stages of World 18 resembles the Copied City from NieR:Automata.
In 18-9 The Otherworld, the Knight meets Loraine again, and again gets the option to kick her away repeatedly, in reference to the previous two times this was possible.
There is an optional puzzle in 18-10 Otherworld Passage which involves venturing through eight liminal passages to reach the exit, with the Knight being told to go back down if they find an "anomaly" (by spotting minor differences from the original passage). This references the horror game The Exit 8, which similarly involves walking through a series of eight liminal passages while looking for "anomalies." There is be a business-suited demon civilian who repeatedly walks the opposite way down the passage, again in reference to The Exit 8, which similarly features an unnamed man as the only other person in-game. Upon succeeding, birdsong can be heard, which also occurs in The Exit 8.
In 18-11 Depths of the Otherworld, the Knight can refuse to give Kaden the Champion's Sword by calling it "my precious." This is a reference to Gollum from The Lord of the Rings.
One of Marianne's dialogues "Teatan's science is the world's fineeest!" is a reference and a tribute to the famous line "You utter fool! German science is the greatest in the world!" quoted by Rudol von Stroheim from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency series.
When Sohee says "Do you remember the number of breads you've eaten? Mine is 4797." she's making a reference to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood [1].
When Dio, a vampire, was asked "How many lives have you sucked to heal those wounds!?" he replied "Do you remember how many breads have you eaten in your life?"
Both her appearance and basic attack are a reference to Ghostbusters.
"Great enemies come with great rewards." is a play on the quote "Great power comes with great responsibilities", which comes from Uncle Ben from Spider-Man.
"Is this a non-optional social convention?" is a quote from the TV series The Big Bang Theory.
"You got mail. You got mail. YOU. GOT. MAIL." is a quote from Mail.
When Sohee says "nuqneH!" she's saying "What do you want?" in Klingon, a fictional language from the sci-fi franchise Star Trek.[2]
Eva is very similar in design to Kamelot the Knight from Dungeon Link, similarly a pink-haired lance-wielding knight of Kanterbury, and one of the three starting characters.
Marty Junior and his mech's appearances are based on Simon and Gurren, the protagonists of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. This is evidenced by his mech being equipped with what appear to be black Kamina glasses.
Her personality shift from shy gentle soul to mean berserker that enjoys fighting and vice-versa seems to compare to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the regard of the two personalities being very different.
"There's one reason you lost, one single reason, You angered the lady" is also a reference from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Jotaro's phrase "There's one reason you lost, one single reason, you pissed me off".
Mk.99's negative interaction quote "I'm sorry, master. I'm afraid I can't do that. I'm not in the mood." is a reference to the line "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that" spoken by HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Erina first appeared in Dungeon Link as Erina the Legendary Hero. Legendary Hero Erina's appearance is identical to Erina's 5-star appearance in Dungeon Link.
Mk.2's comment to the player's compassionate decision "I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but I would if I could." is a reference to the film Avengers: Age of Ultron where the exact same dialogue is spoken by Ultron.
Her Book collection achievement "Pavane for a Dead Princess" (亡き聖女のためのパヴァーヌ) is a reference to Remilia Scarlet's theme, "Septette for a Dead Princess" (亡き王女の為のセプテット), in Touhou Koumakyou: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil. This is more notable with the JP voice actress for Clara being the same voice actress for Remilia Scarlet in Touhou Cannonball.
Additionally, it is also a reference of the classic song of the exact name although the spelling in Japanese is slightly differentiated to denote the saintess part, hence the translation of the Japanese name is "Pavane for a Dead Saintess" instead.
Two of her Voice Lines are references to the song "Poor Unfortunate Souls" from the Disney movie The Little Mermaid. The specific lines are "Attack 2" ("Those poor unfortunate souls.") and "Touch reaction - Positive 1" ("Okay, I fortunately know a little magic."). Ara very strongly resembles the character who sings it, Ursula the Sea Witch: both are villainous, humorous, octopus-based sea witches, who grants wishes but also sabotages them for their own amusement/gain. This may be an indication that Ursula is the main inspiration for Ara.
Rey's clothing appears to be inspired by the Bride, the protagonist of the Kill Bill films by Quentin Tarantino, who wears a similar yellow tracksuit with black stripes on the sides.
One of his Voice Lines is a reference to All Might famous line "It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!" in "Coop - Trust me".
Another on of his lines, in "Touch reaction - Positive 2" (That time I got reincarnated as a S-tier hero?! Hmm… So this is Demon World's trend!) is a reference to how popular those names have become, especially in Japanese media.
The name of the event is a reference to the TV and film series 21 Jump Street, where a drug called HFS (In the movie) is being spread at a high school. This is also the plot for this event, where invaders (and another student) are spreading crystals which make the students become popular, violent, and addicted to them.
The moment when students in the cafeteria stand on the tables and recite "O Captain! My Captain!" is a reference to the film Dead Poets Society where the same scene happened.
The answer in the test in cafeteria "How many breads have you eaten in your life?" can be a reference to this line being said by Dio in the first season of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
Grand Admiral Marina and the Four Elites' appearances are a reference to the anime Kill la Kill. When Satsuki appeared, big red letters appeared with her [3]. This may also be a reference to Pokemon games where you must first defeat the Elite Four (an elite group of other Pokemon trainers) before being able to face the current Champion. [4]
In the third level where Scientist Sohee dictates students in the classroom, she recites part of the lyrics of the song "Popular" from Wicked the Musical. Her whole dialogue in the same scene is a clear reference to it.
The way you challenge Grand Admiral Marina and her elites is a reference to the Mega Man or Rockman (in Japan) franchise
You meet The Bride (Kill Bill), a version of the main theme plays when you talk with her and you can also re-enact the scene where she gets weapons from Hattori Hanzo's sushi restaurant.
The level select screen is a clear reference to Megaman level select screens. [5][6]
The Moment when you obtain a Star Piece by sitting in a student's "spot" is a clear reference to Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory who has a tendency of sitting in a specific spot in the couch.
A background character in the War of the Stars level who comments on the "I am your father" scene is a reference to George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars.
In the Guardian Quest level, there's a section in which you have to do an obstacle course as fast as possible. This is a reference to stunt shows like Ninja Warrior.
In the Queensman level, there's a side mission in which you have to give props to fans. One of them is the Infinity Gauntlet from the Marvel universe.
A parody poster of Iron Man 3 can be seen around the buildings.
In the Queensman level, another side task involves entering a person's dream to help wake them up. A spinning top is used to show that they are in a dream. This is a reference to the movie Inception.
In each Stage, when you defeat a sub boss, you get a screen with the word "retired". This is a reference to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, where most of the enemy Stand users get sent off in the same way.
When Alef defeats Carmen in the last part, there's a scene where he punches her for a long period, screaming "adi adi adi adi" before ending with the catchphrase "Adios, muchacha." This is another reference to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and Alef's battle cry is incredibly similar to Bruno Bucciarati from Golden Wind's battle cry ("Ari ari ari ari! ...Arrivederci.") Both "adios" and "arrivederci" mean "goodbye." In the background, you can hear a music similar to that of il vento d'oro, the main theme song for Jojo part 5 and is associated with the main character Giorno Giovanna. The famous "7 page muda" is also referenced in this scene as Alef beatdown Carmen in 7 different camera shots.
The event is largely a spoof on YouTube, Twitch, and other video platforms, specifically their content creators.
The first scene of this event shows Carmen in a scene that looks like a livestream on Youtube (chatbox, donation scene, "live" icon on a part of her screen, etc...).
People who donate to the streamers on the Carmen team donate Energy, which is handled very similarly to Bits on Twitch (or just normal money), except the Energy is actually life force.
Emily can be seen as a spoof on content creators who expect their fans to make it their priority to donate to them and berate their fans if they don't do so.
The Troll Girl is an obvious spoof on content creators who prank people, specifically those who go beyond being annoying to the point of being harmful and don't do it on themselves.
Papermask is a spoof on content creators who cover drama, oftentimes manufacturing said drama or just plain lying.
Carmen is a spoof on VTubers, content creators who use a virtual avatar to represent themselves. Behind the attractive avatar of Carmen is a stereotypical "otaku" male and their popularity plummets once it's revealed.
In the third part, you can meet "Keralt", a parody of "Geralt", the protagonist of The Witcher. You can also see Annefer, a parody of Yenefer and a succubus called Tress, a reference to Triss Merigold. The footprints you are required to find are a clear reference to The Witcher games.
In the second act, you can see characters that resemble Jaina Proudmoore, Uther Lightbringer and Arthas Menethil (in his Lich King state) from the Warcraft series.
In the first act, you can see a scene that parodies old turn-based battles from RPGs and how dated they are compared to Action RPGs. The girls you help out look strikingly similar to Tifa and Aerith from Final Fantasy 7. One of them mentions a "blond mercenary", likely referring to Cloud. Funnily enough, and likely the source of the jokes here, Final Fantasy 7 made the switch from turn-based to real-time action in its remake, which the girls decide to do after seeing you fight.
It is somewhat of a reference to Welcome to Demon School Iruma-Kun.
Golem Rider Alef and Caim Kamui both can detect if a person is a woman or man.
Demons, both have demons.
Unrecorded World Opening Event[]
All 3 unrecorded world opening events (Unrecorded World, Part 2, and Nightmare mode) contain a reference to the visual novel/anime series Stein’s;Gate. The cover image for each event has a very similar style to those of Stein’s;Gate.
The font and styling of the titles are very similar to how Stein’s;Gate displays its title. The fonts are slightly choppy, both have black text with white borders, both have two words with the first letter of the second word being white and inside a black square. Additionally, centered behind the words of “Unrecorded World” is some sort of symbol. It’s unclear what exactly this is or if has any meaning, however it looks very visually similar to the modified logo for Stein’s;Gate 0, which has a white/black 0 behind the title text.
The rest of the cover images are similar visually to Stein’s;Gate covers as well. The cover images for the Unrecorded World events all contain a large clock in the background. While this is more speculative, it appears as if the clock style was chosen to match with Stein’s;Gate’s use of large gears in the background behind the characters in some posters. Clocks are also frequently used as a symbol within Stein’s;Gate, and the shattering clock in the Nightmare opening event is very reminiscent of the shattering clocks featured in the outro for Stein’s;Gate.
Additionally, the positioning of the characters in the first event cover is reminiscent of character placement in one steins gate cover, though this is even more speculative.
While some pieces of evidence are questionable, it is clearly a reference to Stein’s;Gate, and is thematically fitting as well, since Stein’s;Gate is a series about time travel.
Rue the Red references[]
The whole story is a reference to Christmas.
The third part makes you harvest resources to craft items. This is an obvious reference to crafting/survival genre of games, like Don't Starve.
The subquest SkiFree is a reference to the game SkiFree.
The 4th part is a space shooting game like Gradius, Ikaruga, and Touhou Project. The orientation of this part is akin to RayStorm and RayCrisis.
In the end of the 5th part, Rue turns into a giant reindeer monster, like Tony Tony Chopper (more specifically his Monster Point) from One Piece.
Short Story References[]
The short story Elite Idol Agents: Episode Bianca references the DS video game "Elite Beat Agents": the story is a rhythm game, the title is "Elite Idol Agents", there are 3 characters dressed like Elite Beat Agents: Cecil, Eva (in her "Idol Captain" form) and a third one who appears to be T-Rex Doll Tinia. They cheer up people in distress with their music.
The Halloween short story is a reference to the infamous "Endless Eight" arc from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, a set of 8 episodes that play roughly the same with the characters becoming more and more aware of the time loop they are in.
In Lynn's Bento Shop, there is a plot involving the food "Soylent Red," a meat made of suspicious secret ingredients. Lynn can even claim that it is being made from human meat. This is a reference to the movie Soylent Green.
In Lord of Summer, Hana's optional quest involves using a pocket watch to travel back in time to investigate a murder, turning the world greyscale and playing dramatic string music. This setup references the video game Return of the Obra Dinn, in which the main character uses a mysterious pocket watch to see the events of a crime scene in the past. Furthermore, the item description of the watch, "I know what you did last summer.", may reference the 1997 slasher film of the same name.
Cloud Two-Handed Sword - based on this name and its image, it's a reference to Final Fantasy VII and it's main protagonist, Cloud Strife, who carries the Buster Sword. Image
Blue Rose - Although it has no visual representation of any reference, the name may be a reference to the Devil May Cry Series, as one of the main protagonist's (Nero) gun is also named Blue Rose.
Sharp Shooter - its icon is a reference to the Dragon Ball's "scouter", the equipment used by aliens to measure power levels.
The running shoes have a similar shape and color to Sonic the Hedgehog's shoes. It is also supported by the fact that they enhance the user's speed when worn.
The shoes you get later are a reference to the Pegasus Boots, a recurring item from the The Legend of Zelda series, which make you run even faster but have the effect of bonking into walls if you collide with them while running. Unlike the latter, however, you can change your direction while running.
The Lonely Ear Pair's description pokes fun at how wireless earphones get lost with ease. The design is a reference to Apple's Airpods, specifically.
In Dangerous Temptation, a man resembling Aaron Paul's depiction of Jesse Pinkman with a buzz cut, beard, and a yellow hazmat suit from hit show Breaking Bad offers you several curses, a reference to the fact that in the show Jesse Pinkwoman is a drug dealer who cooks high grade crystal Methamphetamine
The Hunter's Amulet and the Hunter of Hunters artifacts reference the crewmates and impostors from the game Among Us. When you have both artifacts, a special event may play where the latter eliminates the former (and removes it from your artifact list), referencing how the imposter must eliminate the crewmates.
The Rapture Breaker is a reference to BioShock, specifically the first game in the series. Rapture references the game's setting, while the first weapon obtained in the game is a pipe wrench of the same design as this artifact.
The Bank Owner's Rifle is a reference to the Cash Cannon popularized by Supreme. [7]
