Line #35 ReferencedBy/Polybius


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5	[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame.Receiver2 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/polybius_receiver2.jpg]]]]
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7	Reference to the {{Urban Legend\|s}} video game ''Myth/{{Polybius}}'' in media.
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9	[[AC: ComicBooks]]
10	* In issue #1 of the ComicBook/New52 run of Creator/GrantMorrison's ''[[ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison Batman Inc.]]'', someone can be seen playing on a ''Polybius'' arcade machine in the background in a seedy bar.
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12	[[AC: {{Film}}s -- Live Action]]
13	* A Polybius cabinet (complete with "Out of Order" sign) is seen in the background of the arcade in ''Film/SummerOf84''.
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15	[[AC: {{Literature}}]]
16	* ''Literature/{{Armada}}'' is based around the premise that video games are secretly government training tools to prepare the world for an alien invasion. ''Polybius'' itself is mentioned as being part of this program.
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18	[[AC: LiveActionTV]]
19	* In "The Age of Darkness" episode of ''Series/TheGoldbergs'', some girls can be seen staring into a Polybius machine next to a freshly installed ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' game in the arcade. It was also mentioned in a list of arcade games in a commercial in the episode "The Spencer's Gift", and a Polybius machine is in the background of a convenience store in the episode "Jackie Likes Star Trek".
20	* In the RPG video game for ''Series/StrangerThings'', one of the arcade machines inside Hawkins' movie theater is ''Polybius''.
21	* In the self-titled ''Series/{{Loki\|2021}}'' series, Loki (specifically the Variant L1130) [[spoiler:is sent to the Void by the [=TVA=] and meets up with other Loki Variants whom were also pruned. He later ends up in a ramshackle lair owned by Kid, Classic and Boastful Lokis, the lair is an underground bowling alley and from certain shots a ''Polybius'' arcade machine can be seen in the background. Which is fitting considering all the HistoricalInJoke EasterEggs there are throughout the episode.]]
22	* ''Series/Dimension404'' has an episode dedicated to Polybius, where the protagonist actually manages to defeat it in the end to save himself and his friends.
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24	[[AC: {{Music}}]]
25	* A modified version of the Llamasoft interpretation of Polybius is the primary focus of the music video for the ''Music/NineInchNails'' track "Less Than".
26	* The ''Music/LemonDemon'' song "Cabinet Man" is about a man who [[ProfessorGuineaPig turned himself into]] a WetwareCPU for an arcade machine. He mentions eating a few people and driving gamers insane, but his popularity began to wane between the advents of the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Game Boy. WordOfGod would confirm that the song was "slightly inspired" by the urban legend.
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28	[[AC: VideoGames]]
29	* ''VideoGame/SeventySevenPEggwife'' has a Polybiius cabinet in the last area.
30	* Believe it or not, ''VideoGame/FarmingSimulator 17'' has a broken Polybius cabinet tucked away in the woods of Goldcrest Valley.
31	* One of the possible names for the arcade machine you can find in ''VideoGame/DeathRoadToCanada'' is Polybius.
32	* There are several cabinets in the arcade in ''VideoGame/Receiver2''.
33	* The ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' GameMod ''VideoGame/SnowdropEscape'' includes a hidden playable ''Polybius'' arcade cabinet. It was made by [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} Aperture Science]].
34	* A random event in ''VideoGame/NoDelivery'' has TheMenInBlack kick everyone out of the Arcade so they can get data from the cabinets. Considering how weird the pizzeria is, a Polybius machine is the least of their worries...
35	* ''VideoGame/TheFabulousFearMachine'': In the second campaign, a legend involving brainwashing video games can evolve into a legend about an expy of ''Polybius''.
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37	[[AC: VisualNovels]]
38	* The game Polybius plays a major role in the plot of ''VisualNovel/ArcadeSpirits'' and its sequel, The New Challengers.
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40	[[AC: WebOriginal]]
41	* ''Creator/{{Slimebeast}}'' has referenced it in a few of his stories.
42	** ''Bonus Room'' focuses on an arcade tournament where the final round is played on a game called I-Boy-Plus. The name is a SignificantAnagram for Polybius, [[spoiler:and the game is shown to have mind control effects, though it only properly works on the narrator, the other players being driven to madness by it]].
43	** The first story in the ''Attract Mode'' trilogy starts by talking about Polybius, and the effects legends suggest, specifically the inability to feel sad. The narrator plays a game called Skull and Crossbow, with a jet black cabinet, and it seems to have the aforementioned effect on him.
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45	[[AC: WebVideo]]
46	* ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'' done an episode for ''Polybius'' for Halloween of 2017, done in the style of FoundFootageFilms, playing up its frightening rumors and making for an episode of undiluted NightmareFuel.
47	* Creator/DavidJohnson had filmed a Halloween short film with his friends about ''Polybius'' in October 2021, due to his fascination with the myth, even going as far as to spend hours hand-painting a custom arcade cabinet. The project was cancelled, and replaced with an ''WebVideo/EconomyWatch'' Halloween special. The footage still exists on David's hard drive.
48	* The MacGuffin in the Creator/StuartAshen sequel ''Ashens and the Polybius Heist''.
49	* Similar to AVGN, WebVideo/ScottTheWoz covers the Polybius for his Halloween 2017 special. He covers the game's rumors, and debunks them by saying how none of the stories really add up, before concluding that the whole thing is just a myth. [[spoiler:And then a Polybius cabinet appears behind him, attempting to hunt him down.]]
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51	[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
52	* The second episode of ''WesternAnimation/GlitchTechs'' ends on the reveal that Hinobi Games corporate is monitoring main characters and recent hires Miko and Five, believing them to be the individuals capable of finding and containing Bolypius, which is an obvious reference to the arcade urban legend Polybius. [[LeftHanging The show was cancelled before the plot thread was followed up on, however.]]
53	* In ''WesternAnimation/InsideJob2021'', which is centered around conspiracy theories, a ''Polybius'' arcade machine can be seen in the background at the main cast's hangout bar, [=McUltra=].
54	* The "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS18E3PleaseHomerDontHammerEm Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em]]" episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' included ''Polybius'' in an arcade of "bad games", portrayed as property of the U.S. Government.
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Context ReferencedBy / Polybius