Resident Evil 3 - Beyond the Horror

Just in case predecessor was missed.

http://nukesandknives.blogspot.com/2019/08/resident-evil-3-nemesis-beyond-horror.html

But whatever, let's go.

Trophies/Achievements

Selection follows:

First Escape - Biohazard 3 was subtitled Last Escape.
Power Stones - no explanation needed.
I Need a Hero - Bonnie Tyler song Holding Out for a Hero features said lyrics.
RE: Master of Unlocking - Ask Barry Burton.
The Carlos Express - maybe a play on The Polar Express.

Miscellany

Inside Toy Uncle, the statue is based on the notoriously bad North American NES cover art for the original Mega Man.  Easy to forget, but yellow and blue design was playable in Street Fighter X Tekken.
Also, Arthur is the protagonist of the Ghosts 'n Goblins series. 

Dr. Wily (left) and Dr. Light (right)

Okay, they're not identical, but as science forum is about robots.

Nuff said.

Also.

Poster kinda smacks of Code: Veronica's title screen.

Big Wave is a recurring shop in the Star Force series. 

Monster Shooter is a play on Monster Hunter.
The eagle-eyed will also clock Famicom efforts Rockman 3 (as Mega Man 3), Makaimura and the obscure Pirate Ship Higemaru.

The Great Gladiator vs The Executioner (top right) whiffs of Conan the Barbarian and Fighting Story (middle right) has Street Fighter written all over angry face.

Meanwhile, outside Bar Jack.

A certain succubus is the face of A-board.

Morrigan (Darkstalkers)

Going further.

Halloween cocktails (Darkness Illusion, Cryptic Needle, Shadow Blade and Astral Vision) are actually names of her special moves.

Posters and more

Fictitious Skull Stalker franchise Adrift in Space and On the Red Planet reference Alien and The Terminator respectively. 

Coffee Shop Sigourney is named after Sigourney Weaver and sign is modelled directly on the USCSS Nostromo badge.

Oh, it was established in 1979, the same year Alien was released.

Now shit gets more interesting.

Air Combat¹ 1942 is obviously spoofing Top Gun, and biplane appears to be similar to one used in the arcade flyer of 1942.

¹Unintentional I'm sure, but Air Combat is a 1992 arcade flight simulator (ntbcw PS1 game of same name, which was known as Ace Combat in Japan).

Captain Commando manga reveals hero's real name is Mars Carlisle.

Capcom probably had Ferris Bueller's Day Off in mind.

These are dodgy.

Bad Luck Game vs Thumbs up (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)

Tyrant of the Deep vs The Meg

Underwater behemoth could be paying tribute to DeepStar Six or Leviathan (1989).

No doubt about this one.

Charlie head becomes the boulder from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Aliens

First off, Gorman (William Hope) voices Mikhail and Nathaniel Bard.

Wolf of the Battlefield² vs poster

²Commando was released in Japan as Senjō no Ōkami.

Mutated Nemesis vs Alien Queen

(Embarrassed laugh).

Eat this!

Famous quote is not said, but Jill's railgun is basically Hicks' shotgun.

The weird and wonderful

Zapata Beer vs Bewitched (1964 TV series)

Random as fuck.

But wait.

Finger Family Song

Daddy finger, daddy finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am
How do you do?

Etc etc.

Garage 88 vs Area 88³

³1989 arcade was based on manga of same name, and outside of Japan, classic shmup was renamed U.N. Squadron.

Home computer versions boasted this memorable tagline.

"Flying this mission is like shaking hands with the Devil!"

Ha ha ha!

For shits and giggles.

88 is slapped on rescue helicopter in Resi 5.

Hunter 𝜸 (Gamma) vs T-Rex (Jurassic Park)

If how they walk doesn't convince, sewer dwelling bastards having tails seals the deal.

Freak Cinema vs Roy Lichtenstein pop art

Sudden Death Bowling vs The Brain (1988)

Finally.

During the title sequence of Resi 2 (2019), I always found 'REDBU' strange.

A year later, word is revealed during ending.

REDBUSES

Not what I expected.

Significance?

Haven't got a scooby, but...

Capcom vs SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001

We'll never know.

Smells Like Samurai Spirits

With subsequent Neo Geo version only available to the affluent, ordinary mortals enjoyed debut of SNK's flagship franchise in arcades.

Rather than harping on about what we already know, I dig much deeper.

Origin and Inspiration

Planner, producer, director and creator Yasuchi Adachi originally conceived game as side-scrolling beat 'em up, with green-skinned anti-hero kicking monster ass.

Unnamed protagonist was the only aspect carried over to finished article.

But thanks to Street Fighter II's success, 'Double Dragon meets Golden Axe' was scrapped.

Others cited as influences are Mortal Kombat (moody setting), Klax (effects and impact from blows) and even though Irem's Ninja Spirit existed, Namco's Dragon Spirit inspired Japanese title.

Alternative spelling

SNK's U.S. distributor believed Japanese title wouldn't mean anything to Western audience, so they suggested changing it to Showdown.  This soon evolved into 'Shodown', a reference to 1980 TV movie Shōgun (adapted from TV miniseries of same name).

WTF?

Feudal Japan setting aside, what has Will Adams, a real-life English sea-captain and adventurer got in common with game?

Ikari gauge

Logic would suggest a nod to Ikari Warriors, but...

When filled, character literally saw red and became stronger.

Yasuchi Adachi dreamed up the idea, but officially came to be when he and background designer Tomoki Fukui were smashing SF II (for R & D purposes) and Fukui won, which really pissed off man at helm.

After a moment of tense silence, Adachi suddenly shouted "Ikari gauge!"

So that instance of anger and frustration was incorporated into Samurai Shodown.

Ridiculous but true.

By the way, the kanji for 'anger' is 怒

Character design

Yagyu Jubei and Hattori Hanzo were (obviously) based on famous real life samurais.

Similarly, Haohmaru and Tachibana Ukyo were originally called Musashi and Kojirō respectively.

The two duelled in 1612, with Musashi quickly killing his rival using a bokken.

How intro climaxed was FUCKING GENIUS. 

Jubei appears to be modelled directly on Sonny Chiba portraying geezer in Kinji Fukasaku's 1981 film Samurai Reincarnation.

 Also.

The Yagyu Conspiracy (adapted from Shogun's Samurai).

Amakusa vs Kenji Sawada's villain of same name

The idea of Galford's mutt Poppy originated from manga Dobutsu no Oishi-san, as Masaki Nishine owned a Siberian husky named Chobi.

Fact.

He and Nakoruru were the first fighting game characters to utilise pets during battle.

Gen-an's glove wasn't inspired by Freddy Krueger.

Instead, Tim Burton's cult fantasy romance Edward Scissorhands was responsible.

Wanna know something else?

Great.

Devil's Island Dinner
Alien bones are cooking inside huge cauldron.

Backstory amongst development team is he was part of the Shiranui tribe that defeated invading aliens.

Such a smashing way to insert pop culture.

Kabuki enthusiast Senryo Kyoshiro is probably based on a number of sources.

The rest?

A combination of imagination and mythology.

Ninja Scroll

Let's just say, AMAZING sequel had a lot to thank anime for.

Caffeine Nicotine vs Dakuan

Just... HA HA HA!

Adachi came up with the name because at the time, he was addicted to both cigarettes and coffee.

Neinhalt Sieger vs Himuro Genma

Bionic arm seals it folks.

Here's how Tachibanya Ukyo looked in original.

Now compare sequel's portrait to Utsutsu Mujuro.

Hmmm.

Mizuki Rashojin vs Yurimaru

Rings bells yes?

In name only, the villainous Genjuro Kibagami could be a nod to protagonist Jubei Kibagami.

Backgrounds

Series has always been a massive fan of bamboo.

Samurai Shodown

Samurai Shodown II

Samurai Shodown III and IV

And.

Jubei vs Mujuro

Temple Mist vs random scene

Ippon.

Finally, Samurai Shodown III also got in on the act.

Basara vs Shijima

If not clear cut, then check out special move which takes unfortunate into shadow pit.

Even dilapidated temple steals setting.

UNBELIEVABLE.