Shout Out / BoxxyQuest: The Gathering Storm

It's a game about the internet, so a few shout-outs were expected. But BoxxyQuest manages to go truly above and beyond.

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• As promised by the official page, the game is filled with nods to the Paper Mario series, particularly The Thousand Year Door.
  • The main game is split into 8 chapters, much like the first three Paper Mario games.
  • The Hype Train's layout is virtually identical to that of the Excess Express. To add to that, you visit both in Chapter 6 of their respective games, and have to solve a mystery on the train. And both sections end with a Traintop Battle.
  • The Inbox is a pretty clear reference to the Trouble Center, and some of the missions are quite similar as well.
  • If you stand in a certain spot in the arena at night, you can see Mario and Vivian in the crowd.
  • The "Sacred Seeds" sidequest is an obvious parallel to gathering the Bub-ulb seeds in Paper Mario 64, right down to a doorway appearing in the garden once all the seeds are planted. The quest-giver’s name, Mint Leaf, is even similar to Minh T., the Toad who helps you in Paper Mario.
  • At one point in Chapter 6, Arianna, disguised as Jimmy Wales, will ask you what three enemies you fear most, seemingly for no reason but really to throw them at you later. This is identical to a trick pulled by Mimi, who also disguises herself as an ally to learn what you fear and send it back at you (and Bowser, though undisguised, does this as well in 64).
  • The Phisher Temple is very similar to the Crystal Palace from 64, in that it is an ice dungeon found at the end of a snow area and has a bunch of imposter enemies attempt to impersonate your party members, and you have to Spot the Imposter- both games even have a room where the imposters wind up copying a bunch of different characters instead of the one they are supposed to impersonate, all while insisting they are said party member. Also, both dungeons end with a battle against a mysterious king.
  • The Cap of Statuary and the Silver Sheet work exactly like the Stone Cap and Boo's Sheet: the first transforms you into a statue impervious to damage but unable to act and the later turns you invisible, allowing you to dodge all attack for one turn.
  • Chapter 5 bears some resemblance to 64's Chapter 3, the mandatory creepy episode that features a labyrinthine dark forest where one must look for the sightly different exit to progress and the Plot Coupon being located inside a windmill just on the outskirts of a town.
  • The Bitcoins are analogues to the Star Pieces: collectables that can be exchanged for unique accessories in a specialized shop.
  • The Danger Mode and Peril Mode accessories are named and based on the "Danger Mario" and "Peril Mario" builts. Those consists on keeping Mario's HP as low as possible and equipping all the badges that grant bonuses when in critical health. Similarly, the accessories increase the character's stats by a significant margin while sacrificing their max HP.
  • Alwaysland, like the Pit of 100 Trolls from the first game, is a reference to the Pit of 100 Trials found in many of the Paper Mario games. It is a gauntlet of 100 battles that must be fought all at once.
  • Though it only becomes apparent in the DLC, the Social Justice Warriors are expies of the X-Nauts, the antagonists of The Thousand Year Door. They are a cult that has a hi-tech secret base and serve as recurring antagonists, and are split up into three ranks- the Social Justice Warriors who wear white, the Science Justice Warriors who also wear white but have science gear, and the Elite SJWs who wear black- just like the X-Nauts, X-Naut Scientists, and Elite X-Nauts. And both have the goal of releasing a Demon Queen sealed behind an ancient door so she can usher in a perfect world for them- said queen betrays their active leader(s) and turns them into a powerless being.
  • In the area with the train tracks in the Artistry Highway, searching the small bush in the northern part will yield an infinite number of eggs, not unlike what happens if you do the same in the train station at Mt Rugged in Paper Mario 64.
  • Youtube seems to be modeled after Rogueport from The Thousand Year Door:
    • Both cities act the hub of the game from where most other places can be accessed.
    • Both cities are divided in several areas which include a harbor, a west and east side and a central plaza.
    • In both cities the West Side is noticeable cleaner and in better shape than the rundown, dilapidated East Side.
    • Both cities feature an Absurdly Spacious Sewer that can be accessed from the East Side and is inhabited mostly by shifty individuals. And in both sewers a bar and a shop can be found.
• One of the guards in Partnership Towers turns out to be a Boss in Mook Clothing. What makes him so much stronger than the others? He's been eating spinach!
• The Partnership Towers dungeon itself seems like a reference to the Shinra Headquarters from Final Fantasy VII. You can take the stairs to bypass the guards and fighting, but it results in your partners whining the whole way up. It also resembles the Silph Co. building, and one employee even says they used to work at Silph.
• The village of /x/ calls out to a number of famous Creepypastas:
  • The SCP Foundation is referenced twice: the endless stairway in the school is based on SCP-087, and in the nearby forest, you can find a blue key that unlocks an area inspired by SCP-860.
  • Deep in The Woods, you may find a piece of paper labeled "Page 1/8." The other seven pages are nowhere to be found, but Slender Man himself does turn up later in the chapter, ironically as a benevolent ally and guardian.
  • After you beat the chapter boss, the village NPCs will simply say "Watch the Sky."
  • In one house, three kids are clustered around a TV watching static, which may be referencing the Candle Cove story.
  • The creature living in the cabin in The Woods bears strong resemblance to W.D. Gaster, and by extension Uboa.
  • Speaking of Uboa, recreations of Poniko’s house and the "trap world" can be found mixed in with /x/’s map data, although there’s no way to access them in-game.
  • In one part of The Woods, a mysterious staircase can be seen in the distance through the trees. There's no way to reach it, though.
• There are several Pokémon shout-outs:
  • The vending machines seen throughout the game sell exactly three kinds of drinks: Fresh Water, Soda Pop, and Lemonade. True to form, the lemonade heals the most, followed by the soda and water.
  • A certain vendor in YouTube is selling furniture to "pimp out your secret base." He's disappointed to learn that secret bases aren't a thing in this game until the DLC, in which you can buy furniture for your house in Etsy.
    Vendor: Well, shit. I've made a terrible career decision.
  • There's a very rare chance of catching a Feebas at the 4chan fishing pond… but only if you fish on certain tiles.
• As mentioned on the main page, the Summit sequence is filled with cameos. Finn and Jake play a minor role, and so do the Equestrian Princesses. Meanwhile, Samus and Pikachu appear in the background, along with Simon, Lewis, and Duncan of the Yogscast. (Sips turns up later, in charge of the Let’s Play Speedway in YouTube).
  • Also at the Summit, 4chan tries to intimidate the other sites by having a bard play "The Rains of Habbo". Two shout-outs in one!
• In the prologue, one of the ship's sailors is a guy from Minecraft. After the shipwreck, you find him exactly where you’d expect to find a Minecrafter who just woke up in a strange new land: punching trees on the beach.
• When you finally meet Cracky the Sky Queen, she excuses her absence from the plot by saying that she was in the middle of binging Stranger Things.
• About half of what Tyalie says is a reference of some sort. In Tyalie's debut scene, she runs through a list of cosplays she might've been wearing. She names Princess Peach, Nunnally vi Britannia, and the Duchess of Elstwhere.
  Catie: Frilly pink dress, I get it.
• If you explore off the beaten path on Artistry Highway, you can find a wearable Kokiri Tunic. Bottled fairies are also present as a revival item, and the description says they were imported from a faraway land.
• A rare blade can be found in the Deep Web called the Crissaegrim, named for an Infinity +1 Sword in the Castlevania series.
• The Flavor Text for the Hackerberries item says they "taste like retextured snozzberries".
• The Slime Shield for sale in GameFAQs looks like a classic Dragon Quest slime.
• The description for the Fishing Rod is a garbled-up "g Rod hing "RodCopper fishin For fishing", mimicking a text glitch◊ from Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town.
• Two of the guests at the Fanon house party are an adventurer and his follower. If you talk to the follower, she'll say she’s only there because she's "sworn to carry that guy’s burdens".
  • Pinkie Pie is there too, and can be temporarily recruited if you keep speaking to her.
• Catie and Shift discuss Neopets in his second support scene. Back in the day, Catie had an Acara and a Chia, while Shift had a Blumaroo, a Buzz… and a frog that neither can remember the name of. (It'd be either a Nimmo or a Quiggle).
• You get to visit a Vocaloid concert as part of the main plot. Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin even put in appearances if you head backstage.
• Several cameo fights can occur at the Battle Arena, including Markiplier, the Game Grumps, Brizzy Voices, and (formerly) TotalBiscuit. If you participate in the secret Fight Night tournament, you also get to fight SquirrelKing and the Time Cube guy.
• During the postgame Beach Episode, Eddie says the memetic "I don't like sand" line from Star Wars Episode II.
• On the way up to the Summit meeting room, Jimmy Wales pauses the elevator to show off his true life's work: Jurassic Park. After a moment of puzzled silence…
  Jimmy Wales: Wait, this isn't even why you're here, is it? Never mind, get back inside the lift.
• In GameFAQs, there's a grassy pen with several assorted Chocobos wandering around.
• The Crystal Gems appear in the Tower of Plot's fake credits sequence.
• The Playable Epilogue location Intersite Town features a surprise cameo by none other than Sans the skeleton. He makes a few of his usual bone puns, and even gives the player his autograph (it's written in ketchup) if you talk to him a second time. See the full scene here.
  • Also, the true ending's "Extra Special Thanks" credits play out as a clear homage to Undertale’s backer credits.
• The Echo of Virtua boss has a move called Virtua's Last Reward.
• Virtua's Angels are a big reference to the Angels of Neon Genesis Evangelion, being Angelic Abominations with bizarre designs and even more bizarre battles- Cracky's is the only one that makes any sort of sense.
  • The hidden "PC Ending", which occurs after defeating Esoteraphim (who is possibly one of the Angels), recreates the iconic final shot of End of Evangelion, with Esoteraphim in place of Rei... which is fitting, because the events of that ending would do Gainax proud.
  • They're also (unintended?) references to Touhou Project and Persona 4 as those are part of a Persona X Touhou Project crossover by an artist called Mazeran/Magellan where Touhou character were reimagined as shadow bosses from the Persona games. Now you know why Cracky resembles a warped, distorted fusion of Alice Margatroid and her dolls.
• Trahald and Trahald Prime resemble a Sidelle, a recurring monster from the Wizardry franchise.
• The map where the Anon Barricade is located is called Bilibin Barricade in the game's files.
• One NPC in Newgrounds talks about revitalizing it by housing a venue where people can "go funkin' on Friday night..."
• The Science Justice Warrior enemy has an attack called "She Blinded Me With Science".
• One Science Justice Warrior says "Huh, you’re acting pretty sus... I don’t think you belong Among Us!"
• Project GG- Entry #4 in the SJW base theorizes on what "Project GG" can possibly mean. Two such answers are "Gilmore Girls" and "Goofy Goober".
• An Edgy Furry pulls off the "Heh, nothing personal kid. (Teleports behind you)" meme.
• When told of the Gamer Gate, which sealed away a great and terrible power, Tyalie asks if Half Life 3 is the treasure.
• The password to the crypt in the Artistry Highway is 3301, referencing the Cicada 3301 internet mystery (the main hint to the password is the soundtrack of cicadas buzzing).
• In the DLC, two Scalies working in the slave mines paraphrase lyrics from "Where There's A Whip, There's A Way," a song from the Rankin/Bass version of The Return of the King.
• When Tyalie joins the team, a little bit from Your Reality can be heard instead of the normal "new party member" theme, as a hint to the character's self-awareness, much like Monika.
• The Arena works exactly as the Dragon's Neck Coliseum from Final Fantasy VI: you bet one item from your inventory, chose one member of the team for the fight and get a better item if you win. Just watch out for the bonus bosses you might end up facing when betting a thing in particular.
• Orangered and Periwinkle are references to a 2013 April Fools joke featured in Reddit where the website claimed to have brought Team Fortress 2 from Valve. The site changed to a "battle" between two teams, Orangered and Periwinkle, analogues to the RED and BLU teams respectively, where the users could equip weapons and armors found in messages and links and use them to "disrupt" the posts of the other team.