If you want a nostalgic yet modern beat-'em-up, this is it. Welcome to Scott Pilgrim's precious little life.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World the game gives almost no story at all, though it doesn't need to. Using the visual style of the comic's and playing a homage to plenty of old school games such as Mario, Double Dragon as well as integrating plenty of RPG elements simply make it a blast to play for those who grew up playing games in the 8 - 16 bit era. Scott Pilgrim is a game about capturing nostalgia, but it doesn't turn away new comers either.
The core gameplay is essentially a side scrolling 2D beat-'em-up in the vein of Streets of Rage or the aforementioned Double Dragon. There are seven levels in total to traverse through, each with a mid way point and boss fight at the end. The levels are selected from a world map that looks suspiciously like the snes Super Mario World map which can be selected and re-played at any point after completion.
There are four characters to pick from including Scott, Ramona and two others from Scott's band. Each character has their own types of attacks including what you would expect like punches, kicks, throws and occasionally random weapons. They all also have unique specials that can be used involving the character Knives running on screen and either doing an attack, giving them a regenerative health boost etc.
Regardless of the character you choose, as enemies are beaten black and blue you gather experience which eventually leads to a level up and more combat moves learned expanding on the basic light and heavy attacks available at first. This isn't the only way your characters grow though, spread throughout levels are various shops and cafes that sell drinks and food that not only heal your injured characters but can also improve their stats such as defense, attack and speed. To buy these you will need money though, which fortunately enemies drop when defeated in varying amounts depending on how tough they are.
Tough is exactly what Scott Pilgrim is. Fortunately levels can be re-played to money grind for stat boosts and you will have to at certain parts to make any progress. The game can be played up to four player local co-op though making things easier as the game doesn't change no matter how many players are on screen. The co-op mode is where Scott Pilgrim vs. the World really shines though as you can revive each other before death if you can get to your other player quick enough as well as share money in shops to help each other balance out stats. There is no online co-op available however I feel that would take away some of the nostalgic feeling if it did.
The visuals as you would expect are styled in a 16 bit era flavour with hand-drawn 2D sprites in a comic book style and they simply look fantastic. The character animations are excellent and often genuinely funny. Each level has a great deal of individual charm ranging from fighting on trains and snowy Toronto to underground clubs and zombie infested forests. The music is of a similar standard. Even though it is designed in an older style it is surprisingly varied and catchy.
Scott Pilgrim does suffer from some minor bugs and glitches here and there that mar an otherwise great experience though. A few times enemies have become stuck off screen literally stopping you from progressing as they need to die before your character can continue causing you to have to level restart. The menus are also a bit slow to come up and crashed on me twice.
The game isn't immensely long once you get the hang of strengthening your characters but each character has their own, albeit, short ending as well as plenty of hidden little extras and some challenging trophies make multiple plays worth while, especially with friends. There is also an extra downloadable character available with extra trophies for those that are inclined.
Overall Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a great game regardless of your knowledge of the series. It generates a warm fuzzy feeling for games of a long lost era without sacrificing anything in making a great gaming experience for modern times. I recommend you join Scott's World.
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+ Local co-op is a blast.
+ Visuals and music are excellent.
+ A fair bit of re-play value.
- Some minor bugs.