As a love letter to your complete PlayStation franchise, Astro Bot is chockful of references, from immediately recognizable icons to extra obscure deep cuts for actual gaming heads.
Certain, you might go across the crash website and instantly acknowledge Nathan Drake, Kratos, and even Lara Croft, however would you be capable of acknowledge the extra area of interest references?
Even essentially the most devoted players would not be capable of clock the obscure characters Staff Asobi has chosen to incorporate.
It might be a Herculean activity to incorporate each reference on this sport, so we’ll have a look at the 12 stand-out references that many might contemplate area of interest.
Whether or not they solely loved short-lasting recognition or did not cross the borders of Japan, we are able to no less than take consolation in understanding that Staff Asobi has chosen to honor them.
12
Knack
Sony’s Most Bullied Sport
Developed by Japan Studio, Knack was purported to be Sony’s new flagship sport bundled with the PlayStation 4 launch in 2013. Sony wished to point out off the graphical capabilities of their new console, so that they designed a mascot made up of lots of of tiny shapes resembling a troll… factor.
Sadly, the reception was tepid at finest, principally as a result of uninspired narrative, repetitive gameplay, and bland character design. You possibly can inform that Sony wished Knack to affix their forged of iconic mascots, just like the likes of Kratos and Crash Bandicoot. However alas, Knack did not minimize it.
Seeing Knack talked about in Astro Bot is like seeing the bizarre child on the cool youngsters’ desk. Even Staff Asobi acknowledged that Knack is a failed franchise. It is unhappy, actually.
11
Ico
The Inspirational Cult Traditional
It is good to see Staff ICO’s work get some much-needed appreciation in Astro Bot. Greatest identified for the traditional Shadow of the Colossus (additionally represented in Astro), Ico was the sport studio’s debut work and was launched in 2001 for the PlayStation 2.
Ico turned the third-person narrative sport on its head and set the usual for the remainder of Staff Ico’s works. The straightforward gameplay, minimal dialogue, and vibrant visuals allowed Ico to correctly inform the story, and emphasize Ico and Yorda’s relationship with as little distraction as potential.
Though it was thought-about a business failure due to one deadly error throughout its launch to Western audiences, Ico impressed the gaming business and past, inserting a heavy emphasis on creative expression and efficient storytelling in video video games.
It is not stunning that Staff Asobi paid respect to Staff Ico by placing all three of their video games as references in Astro Bot.
10
Boku no Natsuyasumi
Nostalgic Digital Trip
Have you ever ever visited the countryside throughout your childhood, spending many days blissfully taking part in in the summertime warmth whereas cicadas screech beneath the canopies? It is an oddly particular description, however it is a fairly widespread reminiscence for a lot of Japanese individuals, finest represented by the 2000 journey franchise Boku no Natsuyasumi, developed by Millennium Kitchen.
The sport chronicles a younger boy named Boku (coincidentally sharing the identical title as “me” in Japanese) whereas he stays with family on the countryside for the summer time.
This sport is supposed to be stress-free; you get to decide on what you need to do throughout these 31 days and expertise a aspect of Japan you do not usually get to see in your typical sport or anime.
Summer time recollections like that imply quite a bit to many Japanese individuals, and together with the reference will need to have been significant to Staff Asobi.
9
Doko Demo Issyo
Sony’s Unofficial PlayStation Mascot
In the event you do not acknowledge this cat, you then’re not alone. Whereas Toro Inoue is tremendous iconic in Japan and most of East Asia, he’s largely unknown to the remainder of the world. His franchise, Doko Demo Issyo (lit. “Collectively In every single place”), is a big business success there and has principally solely seen launch in Japan.
The Doko Demo Issyo franchise primarily featured Toro and his buddies, who had been digital pet characters you might work together with. Suppose Tamagotchi again in its heyday. Due to the franchise’s success, Toro turned an iconic character in East Asia.
Whereas I am not Japanese, I acknowledge him as a result of Doko Demo Issyo was additionally used as a mascot for PlayStation promotional gear throughout my childhood in Hong Kong. Seeing Toro and Kuro in Astro Bot felt like bumping into a few outdated buddies.
8
Buzz
Data Is Energy
Developed by the now-defunct studio Relentless Software program and launched in 2005 for the PlayStation 2, Buzz! was thought-about among the finest quiz video games, even profitable a gaming BAFTA award for “Greatest Informal Sport,” and the video games even got here with their very own buzzers.
Buzz was so profitable that Relentless Software program managed to provide 14 video games inside 5 years, totaling round 10 million in gross sales.
However Buzz’s success did not final lengthy, as maintaining with the instances turned more and more costly. Buzz on the PS3 did not promote in addition toon the PS2, and the arrival of next-gen consoles additionally meant producing distinctive controllers would demand extra assets.
Relentless Software program additionally shut down in 2016, however its key members later made a non secular successor named Data is Energy in 2017.
In the event you bear in mind taking part in Buzz along with your family and friends, then seeing it referenced in Astro Bot was most likely a pleasing shock.
7
Puppeteer
Do not Lose Your Head.
Lots of the deep cuts featured on this checklist are most likely just a few generations outdated, however this one is comparatively current. Launched on the PS3 in 2013, Puppeteer is a whimsical platformer that conveys its story and gameplay by means of the pretense of a stage play.
The headless protagonist is Kutaro, a boy-turned-puppet who can swap heads and use a pair of scissors to cut up his atmosphere.
Created by Japan Studio, Puppeteer was undoubtedly artistic and cute, however in a world the place PS3 video games had been changing into extra gritty and practical, it merely could not discover the fitting viewers.
6
Polygon Man
The Forgotten Mascot
In the event you’ve performed PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, you then’ve most likely seen this creepy mug earlier than, since he was the ultimate boss for Sony’s model of Smash Bros.
Initially supposed to be an “edgy” spokesperson for the console, Polygon Man was an early idea character for Sony to marketplace for the PlayStation in North America. He was purported to enchantment to youngsters postpone by the “Play” in “PlayStation.”
However that did not fly in any respect. Folks hated it as a result of it seemed scary, and the PlayStation model head, Ken Kutaragi, thought it misrepresented the console and the model. Polygon Man was shortly shelved and forgotten, doomed to fade into obscurity.
5
Vib-Ribbon
Vibin’ On Musical Strains
This one’s a little bit of an oddball. Stuffed with messy and scratchy traces with a contact of a minimalist aesthetic, Vib-Ribbon is a novel rhythm sport that was launched on the PS1 in 1999.
The sport encompasses a foolish little bunny named Vibri as she skips alongside a single line, navigating by means of summary shapes procedurally generated by the sport’s soundtrack.
What made Vib-Ribbon particular was the enjoyable twist that you might insert your music CD and generate phases that match the track’s depth.
Actually! Yow will discover some footage on-line the place individuals placed on Daft Punk and even Michael Jackson, and the sport would generate essentially the most insane tracks.
4
Unbelievable Disaster
A Nuclear Household’s Surreal Hijinks
Mini-game compilations had been widespread in the course of the early days of the gaming business. Video games like Cooking Mama and WarioWare had been all the fad, and one of many wackiestcompilations has received to be Unbelievable Disaster, developed by Polygon Magic for the PS1 in 1999.
Unbelievable Disaster follows Taneo and his working-class household as they make last-minute preparations for the household’s grandmother’s birthday.
Of their desperation to not disappoint Grandma Hatsu, your complete household rushes into unlikely shenanigans that change into the loopy mini-games that you simply play, starting from saving a UFO and escaping a financial institution theft to preventing a kaiju teddy bear.
Unbelievable Disaster depends closely on slapstick and surreal humor, so saying this sport is zany would grossly undersell it. And it is so obscure that we do not actually have a tag for this sport!
3
Arc the Lad
Pale Into Obscurity
Named “Guardian of Mankind” in Astro Bot, this little lad is Arc, the primary protagonist of the aptly named Arc the Lad, a tactical RPG launched solely in Japan for the PS1 within the olden days of 1995.
The sport was widespread sufficient to spark a trilogy and a manga and anime spinoff, however for the reason that video games weren’t printed within the West, Arc the Lad inevitably pale into obscurity.
2
Mister Mosquito
This One Sucks, Actually 
Mister Mosquito is a bizarre sport about–you guessed it–a mosquito whose mission is to infiltrate a home and suck the blood of its residents with out getting caught.
Launched on the PS2 in 2001 and developed by Zoom, Mister Mosquito was unusually widespread when it got here out. It turned the fifth best-selling sport in Japan throughout that week and acquired recognition as one of many weirdest video games on the market. Imagine it or not, It even sparked a sequel.
1
Leaping Flash
A First Individual 3D Platformer
When hanging out along with your rescued buddies in Astro Bot, you may need rescued this man in some unspecified time in the future and seen him leaping across the crash website. For the longest time, I believed following his jumps triggered some secret occasion, but it surely seems that was simply his gimmick.
Robbit is a robotic rabbit who stars within the 1995 3D platformer Leaping Flash, and it is performed with a novel first-person perspective.
Like how Astro’s Playroom was a tech demo for the PS5, Leaping Flash was designed to be a tech demo to showcase 3D graphics for the PlayStation console. Leaping Flash additionally holds a Guinness World Document because the “first platform online game in true 3D.”
