Being based on the game Cuphead, there are many references to it in The Cuphead Show!.
Carn-Evil
- Prior to playing Soul Ball in "CarnEvil". Cuphead pulls up his shorts just like one of his pre-boss battle animations.
- The Devil takes on a dragon form just like one of his attacks in phase 1 of his fight.
Baby Bottle
Ribby and Croaks
- When Ribby and Croaks start attacking Cuphead and Mugman, the background music is a variation on Clip Joint Calamity; the frogs' battle theme from the game.
- Ribby and Croaks' fist fights result in the two being animated similarly to the Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs attack from the latter in the game.
Handle with Care!
Roll the Dice
- Cuphead's comment upon meeting King Dice references how big King Dice is in the game during his boss fight when compared to Cuphead and Mugman.Cuphead: You're way shorter in person!
Ghosts Ain't Real
- The Blind Spectre, a Spectral rat, and one of the Spectre Syndicate can be seen among the ghosts in one shot.
Root Packed
- Much like the above episode with Ribby and Croaks, a variation of the Pack's boss fight is heard when Cuphead and Mugman first see the party.
- When Chauncey sucks up the water, his eyes resemble the way they looked in his boss fight.
Sweater Off Dead
Sweater Luck Next Time
- The Obliterator ride shown on the newspaper ad resembles Beppi the Clown's form in the final phase of his battle in the game.
Dangerous Mugman
- At the end of the short, the dragon Grim Matchstick is shown in his in-game third phase form, which he has three heads.
Dirt Nap
In Charm's Way
- Ms. Chalice is revealed to be a ghost at the end of the episode—her first appearance as the Legendary Chalice has her as a ghost in a mausoleum.
Sweet Temptation
- When Baroness Von Bon Bon is chasing the brothers on Whippet Creampup, the scene is shown in a side-scrolling way, in a very similar angle to the final stage of her fight in the game.
Release the Demons!
- The song that plays when the demons are searching for Cuphead in the maze is a remix of "The Mausoleum" from the original game.
The Devil's Pitchfork
- The car on the cover of the comic Cuphead reads while on the bike is modeled after the toy car enemies in "Funhose Frazzle".
- "Carnival Kerfuffle" plays during the Devil's rampage on the surface.
The Devil's Revenge
- The tapestries in the devil's throne room show the different forms he takes in the first part of his boss battle.
Don't Answer the Door!
- Cuphead mentions, among the oddities they have to face, "people shooting bullets from their fingertips" which Mugman replies that nobody does that. This is an obvious nod at the main form of attack that the main characters have in the game.
Cupstaged
- The theatre has the same asbestos curtain as in Sally Stageplay's battle.
Down and Out
- The puppet Mugman uses is similar to the one Djimmi the Great uses during his battle.
Other
- At one point in the opening, the Devil looks at the camera with one eye showing Cuphead and Mugman in it, just as he does in his animation before his boss fight in the game.
