Digimon Surviveis one of the most anticipated games of 2021 with its plan to take the series in a darker direction while still appealing to its core fanbase. Over the years, theDigimonseries has explored mature themes and evolved alongside its audience to be marketed towards teenagers and adults. With a number of reboots and sequels to the original series,Digimonhas plenty of callbacks for its original audience now that they’re grown up.
AlthoughDigimon Surviveis a brand new adventure, fans of the originalDigimon Adventuremight notice a few Easter eggs throughout the game. Fans quickly noticed a reference inDigimon Survive’sopening movie that introduces the cast and setting of the game. Miu, one of the main characters inDigimonSurvive,can be heard humming a familiar tune and it’s instantly recognizable for fans of the originalDigimon Adventureseries.
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Boléro’s Significance in Digimon
During theoriginal animation trailer forDigimon Survive,fans are introduced to the new characters and setting of the game. One of the new characters, Miu, can be heard humming the song Boléro before she’s taken aback by snow falling in the middle of spring. For many fans ofDigimon,the tune should be instantly recognizable given its history in the shows and movies. Over the years, Boléro has appeared in several Japanese versions ofDigimonmedia, often as a recurring theme for Agumon’s evolution.
Boléro was first composed by Maurice Ravel in the 1920s and although it was originally used as a ballet score, it has appeared in numerous films over the years. Although it’s unclear whyDigimoncomposer Takanori Arisawa chose Boléro, it has appeared in different Japanese versions ofDigimonshows and movies.Boléro appeared in the original 1999Digimon Adventureseriesduring episode 18 when Tai and Agumon try to overcome their fears of potentially digivolving into SkullGreymon. Over the years, Boléro would also appear in theDigimon AdventureOVA and the movies,Digimon Adventure: Our War Game!andDigimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna.
Easter Eggs in Digimon Survive
The neat little callback with Boléro seems to highlight the intention of havingDigimon Surviveappeal to older fansof the originalDigimon Adventureseries. Given the song’s history within theDigimonfranchise, it gives fans an instant feeling of nostalgia especially since Agumon remains the partnerDigimonfor protagonist Takuma. WithDigimon Survive’sdarker, more mature narrative direction, it’s no surprise that Easter eggs from the original show are appearing now that the audience is all grown up.
While Boléro only appears for a split second in the opening animation trailer forDigimon Survive,it does set off speculation for what other callbacks might appear for older fans ofDigimon Adventure.With the return of Agumon alongsideDigimon Survive’sunique emphasis on player choices, some fans havespeculated that SkullGreymon could appear in one of the bad endings. The parallels betweenDigimon SurviveandDigimon Adventureare hard to ignore and it certainly seems to be intentional. Although the Boléro melody appearing is only a small part of the trailer, it nonetheless is an exciting prospect for longtimeDigimonfans to see what elseDigimon Survivewill have in store.
Digimon Surviveis currently in development for PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
