WEBVTT 00:00:02.400 --> 00:00:04.400 I hate references. 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:07.355 Remember when Wario was on SNL? 00:00:07.355 --> 00:00:12.282 Or that time Rick and Morty showed up in Space Jam 2? That was so pathetic. 00:00:12.282 --> 00:00:15.726 I will never forget this scene until the day I die. 00:00:15.726 --> 00:00:20.480 These faceless corporations and billionaires  think they can co-op our relationships with 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:27.760 beloved fictional characters just to make us like  them. No, thank you. However, if done tactfully, 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:33.440 references can actually be pretty cool. A lot  of indie games like to do references and cameos, 00:00:33.440 --> 00:00:38.560 but it’s usually to show appreciation for the  properties that inspire them. That’s why Meatboy’s 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:44.080 corpse can be found in Ori and the Blind Forest,  or why Chozo statues can be found in Guacamelee. 00:00:44.080 --> 00:00:48.240 Turning our attention to Hollow Knight, it  is a bit more subdued in its references. 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:53.680 Very few things stand out as blatant Easter  eggs, which helps Hallownest feel more 00:00:53.680 --> 00:00:58.400 believable. But the game isn’t completely  devoid of cheeky nods to other properties. 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:01.680 So in this video, we’re going to  poke around the world of Hollow 00:01:01.680 --> 00:01:05.440 Knight to see if we can find some subtle  references to other games and media. 00:01:06.240 --> 00:01:11.440 Metroid is a good place to start since that’s an  easy comparison to make. A big connection a lot 00:01:11.440 --> 00:01:17.200 of people make is the jellyfish of the Fog Canyon  and the titular Metroid creatures. Metroids are 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:21.840 artificial lifeforms that suck the lifeforce  out of their victims. Whereas the jellyfish 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:27.600 of Hollow Knight are maybe artificial lifeforms  that kinda just explode. While they aren’t very 00:01:27.600 --> 00:01:32.720 similar mechanically, it makes sense to consider  this a reference, seeing as jellyfish would be a 00:01:32.720 --> 00:01:38.000 pretty weird thing to put in your bug game for no  reason, unless you were paying homage to Metroid. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:42.560 The more blatant Metroid reference, I think,  is the Shade Beast where the Knight gets the 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:47.680 Shade Cloak ability. The way this creature is  positioned and how the Knight interacts with it 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:52.800 is very reminiscent of the Chozo statues from  Metroid. The Chozo are a race of bird people 00:01:52.800 --> 00:01:57.440 who have apparently been to every single planet  in the universe. They always leave behind these 00:01:57.440 --> 00:02:01.360 statues holding power ups that Samus can  use to help her progress through the world. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:07.680 Next up is Castlevania. Most Castlevania  games end with a fight against Count Dracula, 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:13.680 one phase as his normal design, and a second phase  where he turns into a giant cookie monster or a 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:21.040 Final Fantasy boss or a 1993 Toyota Camry. Grimm  himself obviously takes inspiration from Dracula 00:02:21.040 --> 00:02:26.080 in general, but the Grimm fight definitely has  some clear parallels to the phase one Dracula 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:31.200 fights of Castlevania. The pillar spikes are  very reminiscent of the fire pillars from 00:02:31.200 --> 00:02:36.240 Castlevania 3. And the cape attack with the  bats is also similar to the fireball attack. 00:02:36.880 --> 00:02:42.000 Another Hollow Knight boss, Galien, also appears  to draw from the fight with Dracula’s henchman, 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:47.040 Death. Both fights involve scythes flying  around the room. This one seems pretty vague, 00:02:47.040 --> 00:02:51.120 so it might not be intentional. Also,  this boss was created by a backer, 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:55.840 so it could be that the backer was the one  making this reference, not Team Cherry. 00:02:55.840 --> 00:03:00.160 In fact, backer content is where the  most blatant references can be found. 00:03:00.160 --> 00:03:05.360 Waldie in the Spirit’s Glade is an obvious nod to  the character Guts from the critically acclaimed 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:10.320 manga series, Berserk. And then, there’s  the super hidden area Shrine of Believers, 00:03:10.320 --> 00:03:15.360 where backers were able to leave simple  messages. One message is literally just an 00:03:15.360 --> 00:03:20.880 H. P. Lovecraft quote, except they replaced  the phrase “human mind” with “insect mind”. 00:03:20.880 --> 00:03:25.440 Another message says “Good Luck Skeleton”,  which I think is a reference to the messages 00:03:25.440 --> 00:03:29.840 people can leave in Dark Souls games. And  here’s another subtle Dark Souls reference. 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:34.720 A lot of people claim that Dark Souls had  a lot of influence over Hollow Knight. And 00:03:34.720 --> 00:03:38.000 it’s undeniable that Hollow Knight  did draw a little from Dark Souls, 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:42.960 especially in terms of the respawn mechanic. But  outside of the backer content we just covered, 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:48.160 there really aren't any blatant references to Dark  Souls. You can make some broad comparisons of the 00:03:48.160 --> 00:03:52.640 story between the two games. The main comparison  being that they are both stories about discarded 00:03:52.640 --> 00:03:57.520 warriors who are tasked with fighting off a  curse by sacrificing themselves to prolong an 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:02.000 age of stagnation. So there’s sort of a  connection there, but I think Team Cherry 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:06.640 missed the opportunity to put the T-Posing guy  somewhere to really cater to Dark Souls fans. 00:04:07.200 --> 00:04:11.280 A similar fantasy themed game that Team Cherry  actually does mention in their interviews 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:17.760 is Faxanadu. This old NES game is about a traveler  arriving at their home town at the base of World 00:04:17.760 --> 00:04:22.640 Tree. The protagonist finds that an Evil One  has turned all the Dwarfs into monsters who 00:04:22.640 --> 00:04:27.600 are now attacking the Elves, and they now have  to free the kingdom from the Evil One’s curse. 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:31.520 Team Cherry has stated explicitly that Hollow  Knight’s story parallels Faxanadu at the 00:04:31.520 --> 00:04:36.560 beginning. There’s a wanderer arriving back to a  place they left long ago that is now under some 00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:40.800 kind of affliction. So you could consider the  opening sequence where the Knight arrives in 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:47.040 Hallownest as a sort of homage to the opening of  Faxanadu. But I’ll admit, a character arriving at 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:52.720 a place is such a standard plot point, it’s hard  to call this an Easter egg or direct reference. 00:04:53.280 --> 00:04:58.880 Another stretch I’ve seen people make regards  a certain charm known as Dashmaster. So many 00:04:58.880 --> 00:05:02.560 people have pointed out that the Dashmaster  charm looks like Sans the Skeleton from the 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:09.040 hit Earthbound-inspired indie RPG Undertale, that  it’s honestly insane. The charm has a white face 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:15.360 with black eyes and blue on the sides, a design  first made famous by Sans Undertale himself. 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:18.850 Do I think this charm is an intentional  reference on Team Cherry’s part? 00:05:18.850 --> 00:05:19.695 No. 00:05:20.248 --> 00:05:25.317 But would it be so bad to just pretend  for a moment that it is intentional? 00:05:25.317 --> 00:05:26.160 Yes. 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:31.840 One aspect of Hollow Knight I really love is how  Cornifer hums whenever the player is nearby. But 00:05:31.840 --> 00:05:34.743 something about this tune sounds oddly familiar. 00:05:39.200 --> 00:05:41.146 The main comparison I have seen a lot of people 00:05:41.146 --> 00:05:47.600 make is to the Luigi’s Mansion theme. Now to avoid  a copyright strike from Nintendo, I can only play 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:52.160 the song for a few moments, but it should be  long enough for you to hear the similarities. 00:05:53.282 --> 00:05:54.234 [Unknown music, probably nobody owns it, don't check ] 00:05:54.234 --> 00:05:57.680 Pretty similar, right? However, the  hum actually appears to be inspired 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:01.666 by a theme from Super Ghouls and  Ghosts for the Super Nintendo. 00:06:01.666 --> 00:06:10.616 [Spooky music] 00:06:10.616 --> 00:06:18.809 [Cornifer humming some mad bars] 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:24.000 It’s not an exact match, but it sounds like a  legally distinct enough imitation of it anyway. 00:06:24.640 --> 00:06:27.920 However, Team Cherry has denied  this reference when asked, so 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:30.240 who knows, it might just be a coincidence. 00:06:30.880 --> 00:06:35.520 I’ve seen a few people claim that Midwife’s  design is actually a reference to No Face 00:06:35.520 --> 00:06:40.720 from the classic Studio Ghibli film  Spirited Away. I dunno about this one. 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:45.520 I mean, I do see it, and both William Pellen  and Ari Gibson studied art and animation at 00:06:45.520 --> 00:06:51.760 university. They even have statues of various  anime characters such as Lupin the 3rd, Batman 00:06:51.760 --> 00:06:56.880 and that annoying ass cat from Digimon in their  office. So there’s no doubt they’ve seen Spirited 00:06:56.880 --> 00:07:00.240 Away, as it’s one of the most critically  acclaimed animated movies of all time. 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:05.360 Their designs are pretty similar, but their  designs are also just black blobs with legs 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:08.480 and a mask for face, so it’s not the most unique. 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:13.600 Probably the most defining feature of Midwife  is that her mask splits in half, which No Face’s 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:19.040 mask doesn’t do. But it’s not impossible  that No Face is where her design came from. 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:23.680 We do see him knitting at some point, so maybe  he’s even an inspiration for the Weavers too. 00:07:24.400 --> 00:07:31.200 Speaking of… anime, I think I should mention  Angel’s Egg, since Ari Gibson has explicitly 00:07:31.200 --> 00:07:36.320 mentioned this movie before as an influence.  I’ve talked about this 1985 film a few times 00:07:36.320 --> 00:07:41.120 on this channel, but I think it deserves more  attention. This is one of those “what the fuck 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:46.800 did I just watch?” kinda movies. It was directed  by Mamoru Oshii, of Ghost in the Shell fame, 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:50.800 and animated by him and Yoshitaka  Amano. The plot of the film, 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:56.480 if you could even call it that, is about an  unnamed girl living in a dilapidated wasteland, 00:07:56.480 --> 00:08:01.360 carrying around this egg waiting for it to hatch.  She eventually meets a man who tries to convince 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:05.600 her that the egg is empty, and that she needs  to break the egg to truly know what’s inside. 00:08:06.320 --> 00:08:09.360 The film is an inversion of the Noah’s Ark story, 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:13.680 so there is rain throughout a good portion of  the film. The characters visit an abandoned 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:18.000 city at one point that eventually becomes  submerged in the rain, and we see the bones 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:22.880 of several long dead creatures have now turned  into stone in the walls. All of these elements 00:08:22.880 --> 00:08:28.400 show up in Hollow Knight, even including a  fountain as an important landmark in the city. 00:08:28.400 --> 00:08:33.200 We can even see these influences from the earliest  art created for Hollow Knight, when it was still 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:38.880 forging its own identity. This image evokes the  rainy city and stone fossils pretty well. And 00:08:38.880 --> 00:08:43.520 the original art for the Hollow Knight soundtrack  is so similar to the poster art for Angel’s Egg, 00:08:43.520 --> 00:08:48.400 that I think it’s probably intentional.  So consider this a literal Easter egg. 00:08:49.040 --> 00:08:53.200 Speaking of weird media that Team  Cherry might reference in Hollow Knight, 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:59.040 let’s talk about Dune. Dune is a series of science  fiction novels centered around political factions 00:08:59.040 --> 00:09:04.720 vying for control of a desert planet rich with a  valuable mind-altering substance known as spice 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:09.760 melange. The original novel was  written in 1965 by Frank Herbert, 00:09:09.760 --> 00:09:13.040 and is considered by many to be one of  the best works of science fiction ever. 00:09:13.920 --> 00:09:18.480 Team Cherry read through the Dune books while  creating Hollow Knight, so naturally I started 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:23.200 reading through them myself to find any sort  of parallels. I just recently finished the 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:28.400 fourth book, God Emperor of Dune, and while there  aren’t any explicit references, there are a lot 00:09:28.400 --> 00:09:33.760 of similarities between certain elements of Dune  and Hollow Knight that might be worth discussing. 00:09:33.760 --> 00:09:38.880 For example, the spice in the Dune novels  can give people the ability of foresight, 00:09:38.880 --> 00:09:43.680 the power to see possible futures depending  on the present. In Hollow Knight, the Pale 00:09:43.680 --> 00:09:49.760 King also has a type of presence, although  the mechanics of it are left vague. In God 00:09:49.760 --> 00:09:55.440 Emperor of Dune a giant wormman takes control of  the entire galaxy, and uses his power to force 00:09:55.440 --> 00:10:01.200 all of civilization into a sort of stasis where  nothing really changes for thousands of years. 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:04.400 This is a little bit similar to what  happened to Hallownest after the Hollow 00:10:04.400 --> 00:10:09.200 Knight was sealed away, although the details  behind why it happens in God Emperor of Dune 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:14.640 are a little different. I would explain it to you,  but we’d probably be here another hour if I did. 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:19.680 But there could be one explicit Hollow Knight  reference to Dune in that of the Pale King’s 00:10:19.680 --> 00:10:25.440 Wyrm form, which is similar in design to Dune’s  sandworms, giant beasts that roam the desert 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:30.880 planet of Arrakis. In particular, the ingame Wyrm  looks a bit like H. R. Giger’s interpretation of 00:10:30.880 --> 00:10:37.680 the sandworms. H. R. Giger is the man behind  the iconic Alien design from Alien, but before 00:10:37.680 --> 00:10:44.480 that he did some concept art on an unreleased film  adaptation of Dune back in the 1970s. This is by 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:49.120 no means the most popular design for the sandworms  and I think it’s more likely that Team Cherry 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:53.760 didn’t actually reference it when designing their  game. But I figured it was worth pointing out. 00:10:53.760 --> 00:10:58.000 There’s one final Easter egg I wanted  to mention. This is Dung Defender, 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:03.360 a character who spends his time wallowing in shit.  This might be a clever reference to James Corden. 00:11:03.920 --> 00:11:08.240 As you can see, Hollow Knight is  pretty light on the blatant references, 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:12.240 since half the stuff I mentioned in  this video I’m not even very sure about, 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:17.120 but we can still find a few hints here and there.  There are probably a few other possible references 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:21.120 that I might have missed, so let me know in  the comments section how big of an idiot I am. 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:24.480 But all of this discussion does  raise an interesting question. 00:11:25.040 --> 00:11:30.240 Are there any references to Hollow Knight in other  games? That sounds like a fantastic topic for 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:35.200 someone to make a video about. It would even be  a great video for me to link on screen right now.