Scott Pilgrim EX: What You Need to Know About Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

If you are a fan of the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World film and the tie-in game, you are probably interested in checking out the new Scott Pilgrim EX title. Instead of being based on the original film, the game takes place after the Netflix animated series. You are probably wondering if you need to watch the show before jumping into the new game. I will outline what the show covers, so if you were planning on checking out Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and want to avoid any spoilers, I recommend that you stop reading this, as some things will be spoiled for you.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off features all the characters we know from the previous film and comics, with the show depicting Scott and his then-girlfriend, the 17-year-old Knives Chau, and how he meets the mysterious Netflix DVD delivery girl, Ramona Flowers, and falls in love with her. The two hit it off, but what they do not realise is that Gideon Graves, the leader of a group called the League of Evil Exes, has sent Matthew Patel, the first ex, to kill Scott at a Sex Bob-omb show. This sounds just like the film, but things change from here on out.

 

Instead of defeating Matthew Patel and his demon groupies, Scott gets destroyed and is killed in the very first episode. His death inspires “Young” Neil, who is roommates with Stephen Stills, the lead singer in Sex Bob-omb, to write a screenplay about Scott’s death. Despite his good intentions, he does not make much progress on the script. That night, he wakes up to find a shadowy figure using the computer. When he awakes in the morning, a completed script, credited to him, is awaiting Neil.

Ramona has reviewed the security footage recorded on the night Scott was killed. Apparently, he did not die; instead, he was pulled into a portal right before Matthew hit him. The rest of the series follows Ramona as she tries to figure out where Scott is and who is behind this, speaking with all her exes to learn what they know and, in the process, making amends with them.

I will not go through every episode, but with Scott being “killed”, all the exes end up becoming friends through their shared experiences of dating Ramona and being manipulated by Gideon and the League. We see things from their perspective instead of Scott’s, as in the film. The series focuses more on their lives and their own personal growth, rather than their obsession with taking out Scott, and they decide to create a play called Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, using Neil’s script, that imagines what would have happened if Scott had won that battle against Matthew.

The game begins after the show, and has Scott’s band, Sex Bob-omb, practising before their next big gig. Suddenly, Metal Scott, a robotic doppelgänger of Scott, appears and abducts all of Scott’s bandmates. Who its creator is and why he has done this is unclear; are any of the gangs behind this? It is up to you and your friends to find everyone scattered around Toronto and uncover who is responsible for the band's disappearance.

This is the gist of what the show covers, so now you have an idea of why these characters, who were once Scott’s rivals, are now working together to help him. I highly recommend that you check out the show if you have a chance, as you will understand more references that are made in the game. If you cannot, Scott Pilgrim EX is still enjoyable, especially if you are a fan of the Scott Pilgrim universe. It is a lot of fun getting to play as the different characters we once battled against.