Scrimmy Bingus: Halloween Hack

Title/logo of Scrimmy Bingus: Halloween Hack

***Scrimmy Bingus: Halloween Hack*** (abbreviated *SB:HH*) is a full-length fan game of the SB:CS series that was released in 𐹠𐹳𐹣𐹶 by Coon Gas Games for the PC platform. Despite the name, it is not a hack of any title in the Scrimmy Bingus series or of any Crogus Interactive software, and is instead an original title created in Unity. It is an isometric RPG with turn-based battles that take place in small top-down arenas, much like the Fire Emblem series. It takes gameplay inspirations and theming from the RPG editions of Scrimmy Bingus, as well as from *Earthbound: Halloween Hack*, a fan work of the game *Earthbound* by Toby “Radiation” Fox.

The game’s download mirror on Coon Gas’ website only lasted for a few days, beginning on October 29th of 𐹠𐹳𐹣𐹶, which was enough time for word-of-mouth to spread among the community and have the game be downloaded and played by many. Coon Gas games have not made any titles prior to or since the release of *SB:HH*, nor have they made any comments regarding the game’s release or future installments. Due to the contentious nature of the game, copies are typically only spread via peer-to-peer methods, as fan re-uploads of the game have led to harassment of the uploaders by vocal groups in the fandom.

The game is very divisive in the Scrimmy Bingus community. Although the unique RPG gameplay, endearing characters, and large amount of replayability have garnered the game praise, many have criticized it for diverging too much from the source material; the art style and direction of *SB:HH* is far different from that of the rest of the series, the overall tone is more grounded, and the designs of certain characters are substantially altered. In addition, the negative characterization of some fan-favorite characters- particularly Scrimmy, the eponymous main character of the series- has led to outrage. The game’s most controversial aspect is the way it conceptualizes and envisions the Bingus, leading to a large split from canon that some have deemed a mockery of the original games. More general criticisms of the game surround the inability to directly control most Brongi in combat, particularly in the early game, which has caused frustration among players.

## Gameplay

The game’s fundamentals are much like other RPG Scrimmy Bingus titles, with characters levelling up and gaining Squares (the game’s currency) through battle and having unique skill sets that lend themselves to certain combat and overworld roles. Each character’s stats can be levelled up through combat, and specific stats can be increased through consumption/use of specific items, such as Magic Memory Drives or *For Fools!* guide books.

Horsepower, Magic, Coolness, Glow, and Clasp return as statistics, with Stench also returning but being much less important than in the original games. These stats are akin to health points, magic attack, charisma/dodge chance, energy points, and speed/agility for a more typical RPG, with Stench filling a non-standard role as a debuff resistance or application rate for niche situations. Some new statistics, such as Clank, Heat, and Bulbosity, are added, roughly corresponding to defense, physical attack, and intelligence/crit chance stats for a standard RPG.

Players can save at certain predetermined points, typically indicated by payphone booths. Changing equipment can be done at any time while free-roaming in the overworld, as well as during combat (at the cost of time for your turn in combat). Restorative items and equipment can be purchased for Squares from vending plants or shops, and high Coolness can improve the deals one gets from these vendors.

A great deal of the game’s unique challenge comes from the fact that Varik is the only directly-controllable character - the player can never directly control the other Brongi’s actions or see their horsepower/glow when in battle. In addition, Varik is mute and not the leader of his group, meaning that he is forced to act as an accessory to Scrimmy much of the time and struggles to communicate with other party members. These disadvantages seriously impact the game’s turn-based battling, overworld exploration, and relationship and party management.

Combat takes place in isometric square-grid arenas that vary in size and design based on the corresponding overworld region and enemy type. Certain arenas will have cover that can be used to hide from ranged harassment or ambush foes, while others may have environmental hazards and elements, such as cliffs or rivers. Foes and allied Brongi will appear in groups on opposing sides of the arena, and each side will have a turn where they can move around the arena, attack, or use items. For the player, each move will have a certain amount of actions that Varik can carry out, determined by a bar at the top of the screen. Moving around the arena, preparing for or carrying out attacks, and using items or communicating with the other Brongi take varying amounts out of the bar and potentially consume a character’s Glow or Horsepower. Importantly, once a certain move is selected and accepted, it will be carried out and cannot be undone, and fellow Brongi may react to the player’s moves. While the non-player Brongi will act based on their AI or following the guidance of Scrimmy, they can be influenced by Varik’s actions to choose different moves, allowing the player some degree of control and strategy in combat. The rate of success with Varik’s attempts to communicate and strategize via pointing or gesturing are affected by the strength of the relationship between Varik and the Brongi in question.

Due to the potentially slow pace of combat, encounters are typically either relatively short or provide large rewards to Experience and Squares. Unlike most Scrimmy Bingus RPG titles, encounters are not random, and come in the form of animated sprites on the overworld.

However, because Scrimmy is the leader of Varik’s group, the player’s exploration and movement in the overworld is limited by the fact that he largely decides where the group goes or does not go. Scrimmy is rarely subtle, and will usually seek out fights in order to “make the group stronger,” meaning that overworld monsters will almost always be encountered. While Varik can occasionally break away from the group to take a peek at nearby objects, extended leave will cause Scrimmy to chide you, and annoying him too much will lead him to kick Varik out of the party, resulting in a Game Over.

Varik can influence the group’s movement through certain actions, such as pointing to objects of interest, using certain key items at the right time, or prompting other Brongi to speak to Scrimmy and influence his decisions. Here, the strength of the relationships between Varik and the other Brongi will determine if they understand what Varik is saying, whether or not they will say anything about it, and whether the other team-members will support Varik’s decision. If enough teammates agree on one of Varik’s choices, then Scrimmy usually concedes and follows his advice, although it will increase Scrimmy’s “Resentment” towards Varik.

At certain points in the game, the group will stop, and Varik will have the ability to roam freely through an area, potentially bringing other Brongi to accompany him (although they may become sidetracked or insist on doing certain things). This is the best time for the player to explore for secrets, grind enemies, purchase items, or improve Varik’s level or those of the Brongi that choose to accompany him. This is also the only time  when Varik can effectively complete character side-quests. Sometimes, there may be a time restriction on this free-roaming period, and returning after this curfew will cause Scrimmy or the other Brongi to become angry, damaging relationships and potentially leading to a Game Over.

Although Varik cannot speak to the other Brongi, he can communicate non-verbally; he is able to give simple yes/no answers to the group’s questions, can ask questions by pointing to certain objects around a character, or bring characters certain objects/gifts. Varik can also choose to conduct specific actions at key character moments (such as patting Luckie on the shoulder in times of grief) in order to greatly boost the strength of the relationship with the Brongi. Actions in battle that assist the other Brongi, like coordinating attacks, bringing healing or support items, or being a “Battle MVP” will strengthen the relationships with the other Brongi as well. Certain out-of-battle actions or high enough relationship levels with certain Brongi will lead to special cutscenes and endings playing, as well as unlocking special combo moves or other perks for the rest of the playthrough.

Scrimmy is unique in that he also has a special relationship mechanic, unofficially known as “Resentment.” This increases when Scrimmy perceives that Varik is becoming more powerful or influential than he is, or if Varik repeatedly disobeys him during battle or in the overworld. Resentment reduces Scrimmy’s tolerance for future disobedience before the player receives a game-over, and is based on the average relationship level of all Brongi in the party, meaning that strong relationships with the other Brongi can allow Varik to get away with more and exert more influence on the group without fear of a Game Over.

A maximum of 6 Brongi can exist in a party at one time, although they can be sent to rest or retire at certain free-roam areas. The decision of who is kicked out of the party or sent to rest is mostly up to Scrimmy, but can again be influenced by Varik and his allies.

## Brongi

***The following is an incomplete list of the playable Brongi in the game.***

Varik: The only directly-controllable character. Is mute and meant to be a blank-slate for the player to project onto. The little characterization he is given paints him as an internally-guided and goal-oriented person, often to a fault. He specializes in physical melee combat, but can use ranged weapons and some magic.

Scrimmy: “Protagonist” and leader of the Brongi, although his goals conflict with those of Varik. Has lofty ambitions and can be charismatic, but is often childish and vain, unlike his characterization in the source material. Typically attacks using ranged magic. Also directs the actions of the other Brongi during combat, which can lead to conflict with Varik.

Bippo: One of the starting Brongi. An unusually world-wise and intelligent boy that seems to be much older than he appears. His experience and knowledge, along with feeling that his life is repeating, make him somewhat jaded and distant, but he is not incapable of empathy. Uses hard-hitting magic and can buff the team (and debuff foes) with musical abilities.

Luckie: One of the starting Brongi. A young girl and talented mage that, much like Bippo, seems older than she appears. She harbors deep regret and sorrow for her actions on a previous quest with Scrimmy, and feels as if her life is out of her control. She masks this with an optimistic and cheery attitude. Uses powerful short-range magic, along with some basic horsepower-restoring spells.

Fifi: An optional brongus that has adventured with Scrimmy once before. A feisty child with baseball skills that wishes to prove themselves after a youth full of bullying and distant parents. Specializes in physical ranged and melee attacks, but cannot use magic.

Screwball: An optional brongus that can be convinced to join. Despite his cool and imperturbable personality, he is deeply insecure, and joins in the hopes of becoming more popular. A master of debuff-application, his high Coolness gives him a higher chance of dodging attacks that should have hit him, as well as making him good at bartering.

Mayaronara: A hidden brongus and an expy of Spooky Spud, instead having a human form whose only abnormality is mauve hair that appears to be sublimating. Found in a branching path in non-invaded Hungort territory. Can only be recruited following the completion of the side quest “A damsel...in a dress!” and having one of the other Brongi go on a dinner date with Mayonara’s adoptive mother, Nancy. Has several powerful physical attacks, a special attack known as “Freak Out!” and can act as support with her Pharmacology knowledge.

Mooflus: An optional brongus that has special recruitment steps. Runs a dentistry practice that has been struggling during the war, and is remarkably knowledgeable regarding monster physiology, filling a support healing and buffing role in battle. Is unique in that he can buff ally Bulbosity, increasing the chance of allied brongi scoring “Critacunga!” attacks on enemies regardless of positioning. Will not join if Tootsy is in the party.

Slooptis: An optional brongus that can be recruited in invaded Hungort territory. A pile of sentient rusted scrap metal with a tea kettle for a head, made by a powerful mage one drunken night. Searches for meaning to their existence, motivating them to join the quest. Has high Clank and specializes in short-range melee attacks, filling a tank role.

Tootsy: A hidden brongus found in the depths of the Gargalian thaumatite mines that can only be encountered once, meaning that failing to recruit them bars them from being a Brongus for the current playthrough. An impish, intelligent, and lonely creature with many enemies that yearns for someone’s trust. Must be convinced to join, and will not join if Mooflus is in the party. Has the ability to teleport around battle arenas, allowing easy “Critacunga!” attacks via ambushing enemies, as well as applying intimidation debuffs with his Katanas.

Parsh: A hidden Brongus found in the mid-game. Is a bipedal boar mage with a day-job at a Gargalian patent office, with a slight god-complex and opposition to the theocracy. Must be convinced not to join, as he will force his way into the party by default. Is a powerful physical and magical fighter, but tends to ignore attempts at strategy and does his own thing most of the time.

## Story

The setting of *SB:HH* takes many notes from different parts of the Scrimmy Bingus lore, picking and choosing names and ideas in order to build a world that is roughly in line with a 20th/21st century setting. It does not fully subscribe to any one of the series’ established canons, and acts as more of an interpretation of the lore than a faithful recreation of it. Various forms of magic and races of sentient non-human creatures exist in the game’s interpretation of the setting, as well as species of powerful monsters such as the Spingus.

In the game’s setting, the Bingus is a mythological figure whose existence is well-known and widely believed in the region the game takes place in. This is mostly due to the existence of Scrimmy, who proclaims to be the faithful servant of the Bingus, backed up by his proficiency in magic and apparent immunity to age (which he has conferred to several others, mostly other Brongi). Although public consciousness surrounding the Bingus has waxed and waned with time, most allied forces that the player meets strongly believe in its existence. While some enemy factions also believe in the Bingus’ existence, the central enemy faction that the player will combat does not believe in the Bingus, instead believing in a divine goddess called Aincyth Blythe, who has several magically-empowered followers similar to Scrimmy and the Brongi.

The player controls a mute main character called Varik, who is a bounty hunter living in the nation of Hungort, at war with the invading Gargalian Theocracy as part of a larger proxy war between the Gargalians and the Unified Ansippan States. The mayor of the town of New Runskle contacts Varik and offers him a hefty sum in order to join Scrimmy and several other young children on a journey to single-handedly defeat the Gargalians, as Scrimmy had asked the Mayor for assistance. However, the Mayor’s main goal is for Varik to eventually convince Scrimmy to stand down and avoid provoking the Gargalians into further hostility, as well as to avoid having the deaths of several children on his consciousness. Varik accepts this job, and the game becomes playable from there. Ultimately, the player can choose to fulfill the Mayor’s request or complete Scrimmy’s quest, or several alternatives in-between.

The game has a slew of different story paths and endings, with many good and bad endings whose exact nature is controlled by how much progress the player makes in the game. Special scenes will play during these endings (or even alter them entirely) based on the relationships formed between Varik and the other Brongi or major characters. Some examples include:

* Convincing Scrimmy to abandon his quest as soon as possible will cause a brief invasion of Hungort by the Gargalians that is driven out by the U.A.S. There are long-term consequences from political meddling by the U.A.S. and long-lasting civil instability. Scrimmy goes into hiding and the Bingus is mostly forgotten.
* Beginning to fight the Gargalians before abandoning the quest results in a violent invasion by the Gargalians. Hungort is razed, Varik and all of the Brongi are slain, and Scrimmy is presumed dead.
* Severely weakening the Gargalian forces before retreating results in the Gargalian invasion being repelled by the Hungort military, bringing an end to the proxy war and avoiding U.A.S. involvement. Scrimmy and his Brongi are labelled as heroes, and Varik lives a quiet life after getting his pay.
* Defeating the followers of Aincyth Blythe and toppling the Gargalian military leadership causes the U.A.S. - Gargalian conflict to end. Scrimmy uses the opportunity to replace the faith in Aincyth Blythe with faith in the Bingus, amassing an enormous following and having the Brongi become the equivalent of Saints. Varik lives a good life, but it is implied that Scrimmy eventually falls into disfavor with the U.A.S. and begins an invasion on Hungort in the far future.

 **TRUE ENDING SPOILERS**

The game’s True Ending can be achieved through careful play and deliberate relationship-management, often involving going against Scrimmy’s will during gameplay and amassing favor with the other Brongi. The player must also infiltrate several enemy intelligence compounds during their campaign and/or amass a good reputation with several high-level leaders on the Hungort side of the war during their playthrough.

By doing this, it will become evident that belief in the Bingus is not as widespread as it may seem, with most government leaders admitting that they believe the Bingus to have been destroyed several centuries ago.
>
> “It’s always been the word of one kid and his followers about the Bingus’ existence. But concrete records about the Bingus’ physical appearances ended at the end of the Cyclorian civil war… and, while Scrimmy’s vitality magic is powerful, the Grandmasters of the Saitan mountains have practiced it in isolation for generations. It’s hardly proof of being blessed. … ...  Now, you keep this between you and me, but... I think, if the Bingus does still exist, it’s nothing like what it once was. In all likelihood, it’s long gone.”
>
>

>           -General Shmaltz after completing his side-quest.
>
>

Once in the game’s final area, Scrimmy will dismiss the rest of the party, claiming that he’ll be able to take on the followers of Aincyth Blythe on his own. Varik then becomes the party leader, and can free-roam at all times (although he may degrade his relationships if he messes around too much). Using information found in several Gargalian laboratories and from Hungort intelligence, Varik and the party must find and destroy several magical field generators developed by the Gargalian government that give the Aincyth Blythe followers their incredible power. Here, the party will learn that the predecessors to the Gargalians, the Cyclorians, did successfully defeat the Bingus when it attempted a coup during the Cyclorian civil war. The resulting conflict destroyed both the Bingus and undid the Cyclorian civilization in a city-razing battle. In a desperate act of self-preservation, the Bingus sent a fragment of its essence into an urchin boy on the outskirts of the capitol just before being eradicated, forming Scrimmy.

Armed with this knowledge, Varik and the Brongi must defeat the Gargalian generals and confront Scrimmy. Enraged that the group destroyed the magical field generators he intended to harness and threatens his plan for the revival of faith in the Bingus, Scrimmy unleashes the full power of the Bingus that remains in him and fights the group in an extremely difficult battle. If defeated, Scrimmy will be slain, finally ending the existence of the Bingus and, by exposing the falsehood of Aincyth Blythe and incapacitating the Gargalian leaders, ending the U.A.S. - Gargalian war. There is a long restoration process for the Gargalian nation and for U.A.S. disarmament, but peace eventually reigns. Varik and the Brongi are ostracised by most people back in Hungort for destroying faith in the Bingus, leading to their exile, but they are welcomed by neighboring states and live relatively peaceful lives afterwards.

## Trivia

* The name “Halloween Hack” serves as a nod to Toby “Radiation” Fox’s work more than it is a useful descriptor of the game, as the game is not a hack of any Scrimmy Bingus title. The game's setting does take place in Autumn, however, and Halloween is referenced a few times in the game. The tone is also decidedly more grim than normal Scrimmy Bingus titles.
* Varik, the game’s playable character, is the main character of the *Brandish* video game series and of *Earthbound: Halloween Hack*. His in-game design with reddish hair is based more strongly on his design in *EB:HH* than the original design, which was caused by a restricted color palette.
* Varik is literate and demonstrates the ability to write, but he seldom uses this ability to communicate with party members, opting to point or gesture instead. It is also unclear whether he is truly mute or simply chooses not to speak. It is never explained why he is mute, besides silent protagonists being a video-game trope.
* The game’s choice of currency - Squares - is in reference to the currency used by the player in *Scrimmy Bingus 17: 90 Degrees to Victory*.
* The game’s native language is in English, and has no official translations. However, due to the popularity of the game in the Korean Scrimmy Bingus community, a Korean fan translation exists. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to get this version of the game internationally.
* The game’s aesthetic, despite being 16-bit, does not fully abide by 16-bit graphical restraints, and neither does the soundtrack. This is most obvious in the battles against the followers of Aincyth Blythe, which use uncompressed orchestral instrumentation, as well as the game's widescreen resolution.
* One of the only commentaries made by Coon Gas studios about the game is in the comments on the original download page regarding Mayarona being a clone of Spooky Spud. A developer for the game commented that a part of the team “really wanted to have dating simulator elements in-game and liked Spooky Spud, so we changed her name, re-wrote her into being human, and gave her romance endings.” This is in reference to some of the potential ending scenes where Varik and Mayaronara get married if the player maxes out their relationship. Tootsy is the only other marriage candidate in the game, which is a reference to a possible ending in the original *Scrimmy Bingus and the Crungy Spingus*.

## Gallery

Talksprites for some Brongi in SB:HH. Characters going clockwise from the upper left-hand corner: Scrimmy, Luckie, Bippo, Mayonara, Slooptis, Mooflus, Tootsy, Varik.