History VideoGame / Bully

** Jimmy can buy [[TheCatcherInTheRye Holden Caulfield's]] Houndstooth Duffel Coat, and he calls his stepfather a "phony."

When the game was first announced, {{Moral Guardian|s}} Jack Thompson [[http://fanboys-online.com/index.php?comic=91#60 took issue with this game]]. Well, ''of course'' he did. Finding out that the game was a lot less violent than the ''GrandTheftAuto'' series (no blood, let alone death) didn't stop him; maybe he just wanted to maintain his image of hatred for Rockstar. Other MoralGuardians claimed the game was going to let kids think bullying was cool. However, the storyline of the game encourages standing up for those too weak to stand up for themselves, and treats hitting girls, authority figures, and children as ''the'' worst crimes you can commit (then again, one mission involves helping the [[{{Rape Is Ok When It Is Female On Male}} cafeteria lady rape a male teacher]]).

** "My girlfriend is going to be pissed at you, ugh."
** "Don't lie, Petey. Don't you lie. Because you know what we do to liars. [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch We kick them in the BALLS.]]"
** "Ooh, My Children!"

* DummiedOut: Hattrick Manor's indoors. Apparently early on in the game's development, Jimmy was going to have to break into the house. That idea was scrapped, but they left what little of the inside of the house that had been finished, in the game. It can be accessed by jumping with a bike and falling through the roof.

** Fairly early in the storyline Jimmy gets a skateboard to cruise around the map with. Sadly, there is not one skatepark in which to ride around; the bike park in New Coventry is close but the physics of boards and bikes in the air isn't quite right. There could have been a minigame where you start off barely able to ollie and eventually add some tricks such as benihana, airwalk, kickflip etc. Perhaps the publishers were worried about getting sued by the team behind [[TonyHawkProSkater THPS]].

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: Bully? That's the Columbine game, right?
* CryingWolf: You can pull the fire alarm a lot. Chances are the fire department only come when someone physically ''calls'' them considering how often you hear the fire alarm getting pulled. (One of the nerds even says, "Oh boy! A fire!" if you pull the fire alarm)

* DidNotDoTheResearch: As stated above, when the game was first announced, every MoralGuardian protested, saying the game was about a bully who beats up students. Some went as far as to say that it was going to be a {{Columbine}} simulator, simply because it was being published by the same company (Rockstar Games) that published the ''GrandTheftAuto'' series. When details of the game was released, it turned out to be the other way around. After the game came out, the same people then switched their protest due to the fact that there's an option to kiss some boys, crying that it was some kind of gay agenda. This is ironically considering this is only optional on the player's part.

* HelloNurse: Ms. Philips who is considered by far the most attractive woman in the school.

* LighterAndSofter: The game is this compared to Rockstar's other high profile releases before it, {{Manhunt}} and the GrandTheftAuto series. A T rated game with no blood, no guns, and no killing.

* LostForever: In the original version of the game this would happen to any mission you failed to complete before moving on to the next chapter, preventing you from getting OneHundredPercentCompletion. This was corrected in the ''Scholarship Edition'' which allowed you to do any mission you missed after completing the main game.

* MrsRobinson: Teased then subverted by Ms. Philips. She would've been the "hot older woman" variation if it had been played straight. (Though, not that much older...)
* MyNewGiftIsLame: Jimmy's christmas sweater.

** Mr. Burton, when asking Jimmy to go on a 'covert' Panty Raid mission, is practically shouting at him; it's a wonder the whole town doesn't hear him.
* NoodleIncident: One takes place during the game. It's never actually mentioned ''what'' Johnny Vincent did to get committed. From what you're told of Johnny, it would be more likely he'd get arrested instead. Jimmy doesn't seem to care though.

* RapeAsComedy: Jimmy helps the ([[{{Gonk}} extraordinarily ugly]]) cafeteria lady slip sedatives to a male teacher; she then takes him inside a nearby motel for the presumed and implied purpose of sex, and it's played for laughs. Imagine the Moral Guardians' reaction [[{{RapeIsOKWhenItIsFemaleOnMale}} if the sexes were reversed...]]

* SassyBlackWoman: Miss Peters, the music teacher. Though she first appears as a HippieTeacher, she turns into this in the "Nutcrackin'" misson when Jimmy refuses to help her at first and threatens to fail him.

** ApatheticTeacher: Mr. Galloway. While he's actually very popular with the students and doesn't seem to hate them, he does hate his job, as he drinks heavily even while at work.

** HippieTeacher: Miss Peters, the music teachers who only appears in the Scholarship Edition. However, she turns into a SassyBlackWoman in the "Nutcrackin'" mission when Jimmy refuses to help her at first and threatens to fail him.

** Lola Lombardi's appearance was based on actress Molly Ringwald in the 80s (think TheBreakfastClub).

** You can buy a ''[[GrandTheftAutoViceCity Love Fist]]'' poster and the Scholarship Edition even has a HairMetal style outfit just for fun.

* SpoiledSweet: Pinky can act as one when she grows closer to Jimmy. She's obviously a princess in that she's spoiled, (And a stereotypical one at that) but is actually ''quite'' willing to date outside her social class (Jimmy)

* DidNotDoTheResearch: As stated, ''long'' before the game was released, and all anyone had to go one was just the title, every MoralGuardian protested that the game was about playing a bully and beating up students. Some went as far as to say that it would be a {{Columbine}} simulator, simply because it was made by the same company that made ''GrandTheftAuto''. Even though the game is actually about ''stopping'' all the bullying going on in school. And then after the game came out, everyone switched their protest reasons to the fact that there's an option to kiss some boys, crying out that it was some kind of gay agenda. Even though technically you can only be straight or bi in the game, but not gay.

*** A lot of the early information on the game was scarce, with the game being presumably rated M and the only early images depicted Jimmy harassing other students. It wasn't until after the controversy arose that Rockstar came out with true information on the game that made it look like the backlash was overblown.
* DiscoDan: It seems that the Greasers are stuck in the '50's.
* DisappearedDad: We never see Jimmy's father, only his mother and stepfather.

* DummiedOut: Hattrick Manor's indoors. Apparently early on in the game's development Jimmy was going to have to break into the house. That idea was scrapped, but they left what little of the inside of the house that had been finished, in the game. It can be accessed by jumping with a bike and falling through the roof.

* {{Expy}}: Jimmy looks an awful lot like a younger version of James Earl Cash from {{Manhunt}}, another Rockstar game, and even has the same first name.

* FauxActionGirl: Zoe Taylor is a mild example. Although according to dialogue she enjoys and is very good at fighting, she's as weak as all the other girls in the game if she's actually provoked.

* {{Gamebreaker}}: It's debatable but perhaps the unlocked go-kart is ''too awesome for the game world''. It is faster than all the cars and will comfortably leave any police or prefects for dust.

* GayOption: Well, it doesn't really affect the overall storyline, but Jimmy can kiss a few of the guys in the game if the player chooses to have him do so. And it's more like [=Bi Option=] anyway. Getting girlfriends is a mandatory part of the game. Boyfriends are strictly optional - unless you're playing the [=XBox 360=] version and want all the achievement points. Then you ''[[ButThouMust must]]'' kiss 20 boys for the achievement "Over The Rainbow."

-->--'''Jimmy'''"

A videogame by Rockstar Entertainment following in the footsteps of ''GrandTheftAuto'', combining the WideOpenSandbox and questionable moral alignment of GTA with the fantasy of besting (or, if you prefer, beating up) {{the bully}} who made your own school years hell.

Jimmy Hopkins, a boy of 15 with a troubled past and a face like a dog who's just been kicked, is left at Bullworth Academy while his mom (on her 5th marriage) and new stepdad are gone on a year long honeymoon cruise. Expelled repeatedly, Bullworth is pretty much his last stop before Juvenile Hall, and he can't afford to get in trouble again. Unfortunately, trouble finds him the second he steps inside the school gates, when three bullies attack him.

Before the actual details of the game were released, {{Moral Guardian|s}} Jack Thompson [[http://fanboys-online.com/index.php?comic=91#60 took issue with this game]]. Well, ''of course'' he did. And finding out that the game was a lot less violent than the ''GrandTheftAuto'' series (no blood, let alone death) didn't stop him; maybe he just wanted to maintain his image of hatred for Rockstar. Other MoralGuardians claimed that it would make kids think bullying was cool, though the storyline encourages standing up for those too weak to stand up for themselves, and treats hitting girls, authority figures, or children as ''the'' worst crimes you can commit. (Then again, one mission involves helping the [[{{Rape Is Ok When It Is Female On Male}} cafeteria lady rape a male teacher]]...)

In 2008 ''[[UpdatedRerelease Bully: Scholarship Edition]]'' was released for the PC, Wii, and 360. This version featured a few exclusive missions, extra [[MiniGame classes]], new [[AndYourRewardIsClothes outfits]] and some minor improvements to the graphics.

In 2009, scorer Shawn Lee [[http://thegamingliberty.com/index.php/2009/11/10/tgl-exclusive-interview-reveals-possible-bully-sequel/ suggested that a sequel was in the works]]. In November 2011, Dan Houser of Rockstar games mentioned a potential ''Bully'' sequel in an interview about ''MaxPayne 3''. The interview, while promising, stated that work on ''Bully 2'' certainly wouldn't begin until after Max Payne 3 was finished.

* AdultsAreUseless: A ''duh''. It's a ''school''. Even the teachers who are nice during cutscenes are just as bad as the others on the very rare occasions they're encountered in free roam.

* [[AllThereInTheManual All There in the Data Files]]: There's almost no way to match the various adults in town with their names. The data files for the characters included the names, though, and some hex editors over on Bully Wiki exhaustively worked out who was who.
* AlphaBitch: Mandy Wiles, head cheerleader who mercilessly teases nerd girl Beatrice. She also keeps up a steady stream of catty remarks against Lola, who is her top competition for "hottest girl in the school". Slightly subverted in that it's hinted she's actually a nice person and that her Libbyness is a combination of peer pressure and insecurity.

* TheArtifact: A character named Bob was removed from the game fairly early on in development for unknown reasons. Problem was that one of the very first cutscenes completed had Bob in it. So they just left him in that one cutscene. (Bob is the huge-shouldered white kid in the wrestling uniform in the cutscene in front of the burning gym)

** Russell Northrop qualifies. He's the single toughest random fight in the game, and is capable of beating up a pro boxer (Bif). He's also your first boss fight. Later on, we see him doing such BadAss things as holding a shopkeeper in Old Bullworth Vale off the ground by the neck with one arm, chasing off two prefects, and ''stealing a police motorcycle,'' something not even Jimmy can do. [[spoiler: His simplemindedness also makes him the only person largely immune to Gary's manipulations.]]

* BiTheWay: Jimmy has the option of romancing and kissing certain boys in the school. Though there is never anything mentioned about it in any dialogue or plot. He seems to prefer the ladies.

* BlackAndNerdy: Cornelius Johnson

* BlondGuysAreEvil: Derby Harrington
* BoardingSchoolOfHorrors: Bullworth Academy

** AntiClimaxBoss / BreatherBoss: The final one-on-one punch-out against Gary on the school roof. Despite [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome truly epic]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFbCiqpVIZ0 final battle music]], he's no tougher than the standard enemy Mooks you've been beating up throughout the game, and may even be weaker, considering he spends most of the fight blocking your punches with his face.

** FlunkyBoss: The boss fight between Derby Harrington. He starts off fighting you alongside his minions, then after beating them up he hops behind a counter (Where you can't hit him for some reason) and then shouts, "Give me a hand in here boys!" and gets more preppies to come after you.

** HighSpeedBattle: The boss fight against Johnny Vincent is fought on a bicycle. However, you don't actually ''need'' to get on a bike for that since you could literally get in a corner (After taking out the adds) and fling slingshots at him.

* ButtMonkey: Petey Kowalski is, in his own words, "too cool to be a dork and too dorky to be anything else." Gary picks on him endlessly and even his only friend Jimmy won't treat him with respect.

* ButNotTooGay: The game went to a fair amount of effort to establish all the boys who Jimmy can kiss as bisexual, not fully gay. Cornelius pines for Mandy, Gord dates Lola, Trent and Duncan are both girl-crazy, Kirby at least likes women's [[FootFocus feet]]. Vance is sometimes thought to be fully gay, but he has a couple hard to catch lines of dialogue about hanging out with girls. Interestingly, the deleted character Bob was ManlyGay and openly disliked girls.

* CanonDiscontinuity: On the official Bully website, there were some canon differences from the game. Most notably was Tad Spencer, who was prominently introduced on the website before the game came out as Tad Smith-Althorp Smith. Then, when the "Facebook" section of the website was released months after the game, the old name errors were still there, along with a few new ones.

Jimmy Hopkins, a boy of 15 with a troubled past and a face like a dog that's just been kicked, is left at Bullworth Academy while his mom (on her 5th marriage) and new stepdad are gone on a year long honeymoon cruise. Expelled repeatedly, Bullworth is his last stop before Juvenile Hall, and he can't afford to get in trouble again. Unfortunately, trouble finds him the second he steps inside the school gates, when three bullies attack him.

* GoldenSaucer: The Carnival.

* HoYay: And not just the gay options, either.

** During the mission where Jimmy has to protect Earnest while he gives a speech, Earnest goes into unnecessary detail about how good looking Ted Thompson is, with an odd, longing tone in his voice.
** And for the distaff counterpart, Lola and Mandy are a [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial little too insistent]] when it comes to how unattractive they find each other.
** All Peanut ever seems to talk about is Johnny.

--> Gary: "If you’ve proved to be one thing this year, it’s slow. [[GetBackHereBoss You’ll never catch me, Hopkins!]] [[IdiotHero You’re too trusting, Jimmie. From the start, you were pathetically naïve.]] Poor little Jimmie, all alone in big scary Bullworth, under fire from Russell and his goons, desperate for help. So sad, so hopeless, just needing a friend, any friend. [[TheChessmaster You were so easy to manipulate,]] Jimmie. And once we were friends, it was all so clear! [[AcquiredSituationalNarcissism You had your lust for power, but without intelligence to back it up.]] [[UnwittingPawn Using you as a pawn was so wonderfully obvious.]] Let Jimmie have his fun! Let him play his childish little games with Earnest, Ted, Darby, Johnny, and Edgar, and just wait for the right moment to swoop in and take it all. It was like lining up dominoes, it all fell together so perfectly. While you were off wasting your time with whores like Lola, I was in the dorm planning. [[SideQuest While you were racing bikes, while you were playing at the carnival like a child, my plan was coming together.]] [[XanatosGambit And the thing is, if I win, you’re just another punk! You win, and you get sent away even quicker for beating up the Head Boy!]]"

* FiveManBand: [[TheHero Jimmy]] and his allies ([[ThesmartGuy Petey]], [[TheBigGuy Russell]], [[TheChick Zoe]] and [[TheLancer Edgar ]]) durring the last mission.
* {{Five Token Band}}: Each clique includes one black kid, one bisexual kid, and excluding the Bullies one girl. The Nerds go for a {{Twofer Token Minority}} with Cornelius, who is black ''and'' gay.

* AdultsAreUseless: A ''duh''. It's a ''school''. The nicest adults, like Mr Challaway or Miss Phillips, are never seen outside their classrooms or individual missions.

* AdultsAreUseless: A ''duh''. It's a ''school''. The nicest adults are never seen outside their classrooms.

Before the actual details of the game were released, {{Moral Guardian|s}} Jack Thompson [[http://fanboys-online.com/index.php?comic=91#60 took issue with this game]]. Well, ''of course'' he did. And finding out that the game was a lot less violent than the ''GrandTheftAuto'' series (no blood, let alone death) didn't stop him; maybe he just wanted to maintain his image of hatred for Rockstar. Other MoralGuardians claimed that it would make kids think bullying was cool, though the storyline encourages standing up for those too weak to stand up for themselves, and treats hitting girls, authority figures, or children as ''the'' worst crimes you can commit. Though one mission involves helping the [[{{Rape Is Ok When It Is Female On Male}} cafeteria lady rape a male teacher]]...

[[caption-width:350:Jimmy Hopkins is happy to see you.]]

[[quote-left:350:Jimmy Hopkins is happy to see you.]]

[[quoteleft:300:Jimmy Hopkins is happy to see you.]]

[[quoteleft:250:Jimmy Hopkins is happy to see you.]]

Jimmy Hopkins, a boy of 15 with a troubled past, is left at Bullworth Academy while his mom (on her 5th marriage) and new stepdad are gone on a year long honeymoon cruise. Expelled repeatedly, Bullworth is his last stop before Juvenile Hall, and he can't afford to get in trouble again. Unfortunately, trouble finds him the second he steps inside the school gates, when three bullies attack him.

In 2008 ''[[UpdatedRerelease Bully: Scholarship Edition]]'' was released for the PC, and 360. This version featured a few exclusive missions, extra [[MiniGame classes]], new [[AndYourRewardIsClothes outfits]] and some minor improvements to the graphics.

** Stand in your dorm room at the edge with a slingshot or fire extinguisher. As people walk by, spray them or shoot them. The idiots don't think to go in your dorm room and get you. You can also do this with fireworks or other stuff, but you'd probably want to be careful about it accidentally bouncing off the doorway and hitting you.
** Feel free to fight among your own age group all you like...but hit girls, little kids, adults, or prefects, and the game will immediately turn your [[WantedMeter wanted bar]] full red, meaning if a cop, prefect or teacher so much as touches you, you're busted immediately, do not pass go. What's more, hitting girls, little kids, adults, and authority figures will cause prefects or police to ''spawn'' near you and charge immediately.

** Extremely rare for this type of game, this punishment holds true for ''everyone'', not just you - If an enemy accidentally hits an adult, little kid, or prefect, The Law will spawn nearby and go after them. The lone exceptions are scripted interactions, such as a bully taking a little kid's textbook and hitting them with it.

In 2009, scorer Shawn Lee [[http://thegamingliberty.com/index.php/2009/11/10/tgl-exclusive-interview-reveals-possible-bully-sequel/ suggested that a sequel was in the works]] but nothing has appeared so far.