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Shout Out / Honkai: Star Rail

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As expected from a game developed by miHoYo, Honkai: Star Rail is a game rich in shout-outs.

  • From the very first trailer alone, it's shown that this series pays a big tribute to Galaxy Express 999 with its core concept of exploring the outer space with an interstellar train.
  • A whole gameplay mechanic can be considered a shoutout: the ability to use Ultimates at any moment in combat, regardless if it's that character's turn or not, is taken almost 1-to-1 from the S-Crafts from the Trails Series. The only major technical difference is that using an S-Craft on your turn uses it like if you were using any other action, while here using an Ultimate during a character's turn allows them to act twice. The game's producer David Jiang is a self-proclaimed superfan of the franchise.
    • Furthermore, the Fiendfire mechanic in the A Foxian Tale of the Haunted event functions similarly to the turn order bonuses in the Trails Series, and encourages players to use Ultimates in the same manner as well. In Trails, players can see that certain future turns will have bonuses, ranging from attack buffs to guaranteed critical hits. The most effective way to 'steal' these bonuses from the enemy is the input an S-Craft right before the turn bonus is about to happen. In A Foxian Tale of the Haunted, the best way to prevent enemies from getting Fiendfire bonuses is to input Ultimates in the same way.
  • Herta develops a digital copy of the universe that she initially wants to call the Metaverse. However, she later changes her mind and decides to call it the "Simulated Universe" instead. The Trailblazer even has a dialogue option pointing out that the Metaverse name is just a fad that will never catch on.
    Seriously? Don't ride that hype train.
  • When Herta muses about why Aeons exist, the Trailblazer can respond with with the number 42. Similarly, in the "Punklorde Mentality" Companion Mission, you can ask Screwllum "What is the ultimate meaning of the existence of the Universe?", to which he will end his speech with "Of course, I've also heard that the answer is nothing more than a two-digit number".
  • The Flavor Text for the Yucky Fried Rice, which was changed in a post-release update to make the reference obvious.
    Fried rice that is golden brown. Eating it almost feels like some punishment game. Just looking at it fills you with determination.
  • One of the possible Domain - Occurrence events in Simulated Universe is titled "Three Little Pigs". By the game's context however, you get the option to fight three Trotters; one is trembling, one is ready to flee, and one is in combat position.
  • Elation Blessings in Simulated Universe are named after books and films:
  • The flavour text of the Metal material references a planet in which the people gain superpowers by eating metals - a potential reference to the Mistborn fantasy novels.
  • After completing the "Hide and Seek" quest in Boulder Town, the succeeding moments and cutscenes entirely serve as a nod to Fight Club – Hook leads you to the aptly-named Fight Club boxing ring where Dan Heng is last seen, a dialogue option lets you inquire about the "First Rule", the next quest's title references the "Eighth and Final Rule", and so on.
  • An unmarked quest in Rivet Town references the story of Gascoigne's daughers from Bloodborne.
  • March 7th tries to open the gate to Svarog's lair by shouting "Open sesame!"
  • One of the early dialogue options the Trailblazer can choose to negotiate with Svarog is "To be or not to be... that is the question". Needless to say, Svarog is not amused and says you're wasting his time.
  • The Blaze/Ice Out of Space enemies are named after the H.P. Lovecraft story The Colour Out of Space.
  • Some of the achievements' names are also pop-culture references, including TV Tropes:
  • In the description of the Masked Fools faction, there is a quote from Ast Rickley which is... a massive Rickroll!
    Even an organization like the Masked Fools sing solemn praises of their Aeon. The Aeon will never give you up, never let you down, or abandon you. They will never make you cry, say goodbye, or tell a lie and hurt you.
    —Ast Rickley, super popstar of the Epsilon XII Galaxy
  • When giving a review of the Goethe Grand Hotel, you can elect to leave your name as Heisenberg.
  • Examining dumpsters in Jarilo-VI may randomly bring up this quote which parodies the Schrödinger's Cat with trash.
    A scientist once said, "When a dumpster is shut tight, it exists in a superposition of states where it is both devoid of trash and full of trash at the same time."
  • A young boy in the Exalting Sanctum brags about his pilot dad "making the Grey Sky route in 12 parsecs."
  • A lot of the enemy fighters in the Gladiator Subquest in Boulder Town have names that reference some sort of anime:
  • The side quest To a Faint Star has a few:
  • Pela is named after Russian folk rock singer Pelageya Sergeyevna Telegina.
  • One of the flavour texts for the various dumpsters has this:
    You vaguely recall a videogame in which a destitute police officer could not afford to pay for the night's room and dove into a dumpster like this amidst the taunting laughter of the shopkeeper.
  • Investigating each of the doors in the Overworld's Goethe Hotel will have the Trailblazer overhear scenes that are references to The Shining. Listening to enough of these causes the Trailblazer to freeze, realizing some one is watching them. They turn to find two identical twin girls watching them at the end of the hallway, who want the player to play with them forever..., and then they wake up.
  • Clara is a small, white-haired girl with Svarog, her huge loyal protector. The two of them bring to mind a certain Master with her own hulking Juggernaut of a Servant.
  • The Trailblaze Mission "The Stars Are Cold Toys" in the Jarilo-VI storyline is a reference to Sergey Lukyanenko's space opera of the same name.
  • A genre shift to a turn-based RPG won't stop miHoYo from continuing to pay homage to their favorite action games, in the climax of the Jarilo-VI storyline, the Trailblazer gets run through by the Mother of Deception's lance which triggers an awakening of a new power, much like how the Devil May Cry series has its protagonists routinely impaled before unlocking some form of the series' signature Devil Trigger. The Trailblazer's Preservation form's basic attack is Dante's Stinger, while the Skill preparation animation has them twist their wrist to ignite the lance, like Nero's Red Queen. Even more, their Gathering Steam mechanic to enhance their basic attack can just as well be considered a reference to Nero's Exceed mechanic, with the animation looking similar to EX-Split.
  • An optional event in Luofu involves the Trailblazer opening a suspicious package only to find out that they've become the unwilling recipient of a Mini-Neutron Bomb, a handheld nuclear weapon that will detonate if it fails to detect the Trailblazer's vital signs. The Mini-Neutron Bomb's flavor text includes the quote "Maybe we can throw it in a lake somewhere...", referring to a sidequest in Death Stranding where Sam acquires a Small Thermonuclear Device with similar function and is forced to chuck it in a lake to safely detonate it.
  • The name of the first Supreme Guardian of Belobog, Alisa Rand, might be a reference to Ayn Rand, whose birth name was Alisa.
  • One of the registered enemy teams in the Boulder Town Super League is named Mechanical Crossing: New Horizons.
  • In the Central Starskiff Haven section of Xianzhou Luofu, if you try to access the southern portion of the map prior to completing "Devising Stratagems", one of the guards will say "How about we explore the area ahea...", before immediately correcting himself and formally says the area is closed, almost reciting a line from a certain fairy companion in another miHoYo game when attempting access to out-of-bounds areas.
  • In Bailu's Companion Mission, Banxia's boyfriend Liangmu goes missing, forcing Bailu to ask the Trailblazer to track him down. One of the Trailblazer's possible responses to this query is "dO yOu GuYs NoT hAvE pHoNeS?".
  • When the Trailblazer and Leonard discover that Silver Wolf gained access to the Herta Space Station by impersonating Leonard's credentials, one of the possible dialogue options is "Aha! You're the impostor! Among Us!". Another response is "I knew you were sus from the beginning."
    • During the Trailblaze Mission "Desolate Depths of Despair," Welt says Tingyun was "replaced by the impostor" to "sow seeds of doubt among us."
  • One mission from Pom-Pom involves visiting the space station to arrange for more supplies to be delivered to the Express, since the train is starting to run out. When Pom-Pom is explaining the problem to you, one possible response is "I'll just make you our emergency food."
  • During Bailu's Companion Mission, you can find a Golden Badge on an NPC that you have to knock unconscious. The flavor text is as follows:
    "A badge representing justice. It might shed some light on this Disciple of Sanctus Medicus' social identity. If you flaunt it carelessly, you'll only invite unwanted ridicule to yourself."
    • The debate sections from the "Aurum Alley's Hustle and Bustle" event and the "Crown of the Mundane and Divine" interlude missions on Herta Space Station are very similar to the testimony and cross-examination mechanics from the Ace Attorney series.
  • Luocha's Companion Mission, "A Knight Stranger," extensively mentions an in-universe series called The Angler Mystery, where a healer from the Alchemy Commission got on the wrong side of a mysterious Tea Society and was forced to consume poison — only for it to de-age him. The healer continues to pursue the Tea Society while solving various cases as a detective. Sound familiar?
    • The Tea Society members in March 7th's "detective show" also have tea-based codenames, referencing the alcoholic drink-based codenames of the bad guys in Case Closed.
  • In the "Aurum Alley's Hustle and Bustle" event, a dock worker A-Feng is found to have taken a bribe from the IPC to sabotage operations at the Aurum Alley docks. When you expose him, you can tell him "Be a man! Do the right thing!", a possible reference to comedian Russell Peters' story about trying to strike a bargain at a Chinese-owned store.
  • When asked to come up with a better name for her fake "incurable disease", Qingque names it "No-Game-No-Life Syndrome".
  • Late in the "Tales of the Fantastic" event, the child-sized Vidyadhara actor hired to play Dan Heng laments about another Immersia troupe wanting to paint him green and have him speak in backwards sentences as he played the role of an old master of a mystical martial art.
  • During an open world quest where you're trying to get a bundle of delinquent, seemingly-sentient cycranes to return to work for the Heron Express, one of them attempts to challenge you and make a bet to avoid doing so. When it tries to challenge you in the form of asking questions, you can respond with making the challenge about assembling a pistol the fastest, referring to New Police Story.
  • The name of Luka's Companion Mission, "Mo Cuishle", refers to Frankie's nickname for Maggie in Million Dollar Baby, which fits Luka's Boxing Battler style and reputation as a champion ring fighter. The end of the mission reveals that he's been fighting for the dreams of a Delicate and Sickly girl named Margie who wanted to be just like him but succumbed to an illness before she could.
  • March 7th's Companion Mission is titled "Total Recall".
  • The "Aetherium Wars" event is basically one massive send-up of Pokémon.
    • The quest names for the event use Excited Title! Two-Part Episode Name!, following the common naming scheme for Japanese episodes of the Pokémon anime series.
    • The Warp Trotter is a stand-in for Ash Ketchum's Pikachu, being a Starter Mon that is a somewhat rare and temperamental creature but nevertheless sought after by a Quirky Miniboss Squad.
    • When the Trailblazer obtains the Warp Trotter, one of their dialogue options is "Warp Trotter! Use Tackle!".
    • The general structure involves going through various challenges complete with puzzles and battles not unlike gym challenges in the Pokémon games.
    • Combat with opposing players is initiated by making eye contact with them like in Pokémon, complete with Alertness Blink.
    • The Trailblazer is regularly accosted by two IPC thugs wanting to capture their Warp Trotter and regularly refer to them as "twerp" in a vein similar to Jesse and James. Their voice actors even seem to be doing an impression of the duo.
    • The Illumination Dragonfish being a Joke Character with a useless move is likely a reference to Magikarp, another fish-themed creature famous for its uselessness.
    • An NPC in the Herta Space Station Victory Zone says "The power of science is amazing!", referencing the recurring "The power of technology is amazing!" NPC from the Pokémon games.
    • Hook even acts as a Superboss akin to Red, showing up on a snowy mountain and acting all silent (at least at first). The cutscene leading up to the final confrontation is also a shot-for-shot reference to the Ash vs. Red trailer from Pokémon Masters.
    • The sponsor of the Aetherium Wars is one of the Masked Fools named Giovanni di Giorgio da Epsilon, seemingly referencing Giorgio Moroder and his monologue on the Daft Punk song "Giorgio by Moroder", which famously ends "My name is Giovanni Giorgio, but everybody calls me Giorgio."
    • On the official soundtrack, the event's battle themes feature the naming scheme "Battle! [insert descriptive title]", which was popularized by the Pokémon soundtracks.
  • One of the consumables introduced in Penacony is the "Pika White Grape Soda". The flavor text describes it as having a side effect of inducing sneezing, leading up to a punchline quoting:
    "Pika Pika... Ah-choo...!"
  • The design on Huohuo's phone case resembles the Ghostbusters logo. The achievement of winning a battle with a team consisting of Huohuo, Sushang, Guinaifen and the Trailblazer is called "Who You're Gonna Call", accordingly.
  • There are two Outworld merchants in Aurum Alley named Kiryu and Majima.
  • A random encounter in the Artisanship Commission involves a man who's trying to control an Auromaton with his mind, but he fails due to the strain it puts on him. However, he then manages to get the help of the Trailblazer to synchronize their mind with his in order to control the Auromaton together. During the process, they are able to better control the Auromaton while sharing memories with each other before they lost control. The whole encounter sounds familiar.
  • During the fourth day of the "Stellar Shadowseeker" event, the Trailblazer gets hit by a tram in Jarilo-VI while taking a picture of it. When explaining the situation to March 7th while sending the pictures, the Trailblazer mentions that they "maxed out my DEF and didn't get hurt".
  • One of the statues that Dr. Ratio can summon with his Technique has him performing Jotaro Kujo's iconic pointing pose from Stardust Crusaders.
  • The Wastelander of Banditry Desert Relic set describes a planet called Talia, whose depiction and technological advancement can basically be described as "Fallout in space".
  • In the "Welcome to Dreamville!" animated trailer, Clockie can be seen at one point performing a snippet of the Torture Dance as he shuffles offscreen.
  • After walking on walls in the dreamscape en route to Penacony, the Trailblazer has the option to say "Now I Am Become Trailblaze, the Perambulator of Walls."
  • When the Trailblazer crash lands into The Golden Hour, they are seen in the Yamcha death pose.
  • Penacony has technology that allows visitors to spy on the dreams of anyone in their contacts. It turns out that Herta's android puppets are in fact capable of dreaming, and that the answer to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is yes.
  • The dialogue option when approaching a Hanu's Adventure TV is "It's Morphin' Time! Hanu!".
  • The English dub's take on Clockie is a Mickey Mouse sound-alike.
  • At Dream's Edge, you can interact with a Sensor Light to get varying dialogue, including the following description:
    According to urban legend, on certain night, this lamp casts the silhouette of a giant winged mammal in the sky -- a signal that a superhero of the night is poised to strike.
  • Pela and Black Swan's fighting styles are very similar to the Sage and Astrologian respectively from Final Fantasy XIV, with Pela's Attack Drone greatly resembling the Sage's nouliths, and Black Swan wielding a star globe with floating cards, the main difference being that they are both offensive attackers instead of healers.
  • Sam's design and fighting style brings to mind Toku heroes, namely Kamen Rider, especially when he does a Rider Kick. His notably broad shoulders on the other hand, evoke the design of Tekkaman Blade, another armored hero.
  • Black Swan and Sparkle's shared quest is an Affectionate Parody of murder mystery games, especially Danganronpa. The reveal of Sparkle's dead body is identical to how body discoveries are stylised in Danganronpa, moving over a zoomed in image of the body while the camera shakes before zooming out on the whole picture. And the reveal that Sparkle is alive and just disguised as Sparkle's dead body is a nod at the huge leaps of logic those games can have, even called out by Black Swan for not making sense.
  • In the Hanu's Prison Break event, one of your "associates" in the dream bubble asks you to help Hanu find the key to the locked half of the prison, to which you can reply "Fine, I'll Do It Myself."
  • Any time she shows up, Sparkle always asks "Why so serious?" to whoever she's speaking to in a menacing tone, akin to the Joker from The Dark Knight. She's also shown to possess a pair of "mutually assured destruction" buttons that she claims can annihilate the holder of the other button (and the rest of Penacony along with it), referencing the plot of aforementioned movie.
  • One of the shots in Sparkle's official character trailer has her making the same expression as Yuno Gasai's infamous expression.
  • A nod to Steins;Gate can be found by talking to an Intellitron inside the Oti Mall. When asked about a dirty computer coated with dust, he will tell you that it's touted to be able to crack some special encrypted data and that a man in a flowy white robe once tried to purchase it from him, but he refused.
  • There is a visitor at the Golden Hour who takes the form of the teddy bear-like creature from Jarilo-VI. Their name is Beastar.
  • In a Penacony side quest, the Trailblazer has the option of telling Tizocic II that their name is "Luke Skybatter".
  • After Welt lays out their next moves upon Acheron joining their side, one of the possible dialogue options is "I Am the Bone of My Bat. Stellaron Is My Body and Trailblaze Is My Blood."
  • In one of Jingliu's stickers she's doing the iconic Sailor Moon's speech pose.
  • Mythus' design is said to resemble the destroyed cognitive center of the human brain. They also possess a humanoid body and seem to be posing while standing on top of a staircase, evoking the image of the vague figure from the art for Everywhere at the End of Time - Stage 5, fitting for an Aeon who presides over the path of Enigmata.
  • Master Gongshu's bonus dialogue in the Luminflux Pyxis challenges sees him design and iterate upon a Luminflux Pyxis-equipped aurumaton in his mind, adding features like Cloud Knight pilots, heliobus sabers, and psychosensory-controlled drone beam cannons, or gradually turning the aurumaton into a Gundam. He then ponders the need for legs on aurumatons (referencing Char's discussion with a Zeon soldier about Zeong's legs in 0079), and wonders if an aurumaton can push a comet with heliobus energy thrusters.
  • Quinn's Diary, a readable found in Penacony, describes a younger sibling breaking a violin and accidentally killing their older sibling by pushing her down the stairs.
  • Several of the songs sung by Robin are named after poems by Emily Dickinson, such as "If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking" and "Hope is the Thing with Feathers," the former of which even mentions a robin in it.

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