00:09Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we're diving into the wild, wacky, and often dark world of
00:15Cuphead to share some cool things that you may not know about the game and its creation. Let's
00:20get into it. Before we begin, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to
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00:36The reality of hand-drawn animations. Now, it's no surprise that Cuphead uses an incredible
00:47hand-drawn art style to capture its iconic essence. However, many fans of the game might
00:52not realize just how gargantuan of an undertaking this was for Studio MDHR. So, to put things
00:58in perspective here, every one second of animation for the game requires around 24 separate frames
01:04of art. Crazy. The studio has shared that while they don't have an official tally of every
01:10frame, there are likely more than 60,000 separate frames of art in order to achieve the gorgeous
01:161930s-esque cartoon style. Talk about one heck of a labor of love.
01:28Inspired by Super Meat Boy.
01:37Cuphead is a brutally hard game, make no mistake about it. And it's not really a surprise, given
01:43that Studio MDHR was inspired by 2010's indie darling, Super Meat Boy.
01:48After seeing the incredible success of Super Meat Boy, the team decided to dive deep into
01:53the creation of Cuphead, seeing that it could be both successful and a worthwhile investment,
01:58not to mention just super duper unique. Super Meat Boy and Cuphead, while two very different
02:03games do share many gameplay similarities, especially when it comes to overall challenge.
02:15Devil May Cry?
02:21Sometimes the smallest of details are the coolest ones, right? During the intense boss battle
02:26against the Devil, there comes a time when the harrowing boss will actually start wailing
02:31and crying. This detail is a fun and cheeky nod to the beloved Devil May Cry franchise.
02:36Yes, it may be a bit on the nose, but it's a great little reference that we are glad exists
02:41in the game. Perhaps we may see a Cuphead and Devil May Cry collaboration one day? Hey,
02:57let me show you how we modern the music.
03:04The 1930s hand-drawn animations in Cuphead, as we've previously chatted about, was a crazy
03:10labor of love. But what actually inspired it? Many things, of course, but most notably the
03:15animation stylings of Max Fletcher and Fletcher Studios. Fletcher Studios is responsible for the
03:21art style of Popeye, Betty Boop, and more. It's quite easy to see the comparisons once
03:26you know this. The Disney animation inspirations are, of course, a bit more well known and discussed
03:32regarding Cuphead at large. But it's a cool little tidbit to know that Studio MDHR drew from
03:37many different animation sources.
03:39Carry a rope around wherever you go. First spin it fast around and then turn it slow.
03:46All about that gold.
03:54Cuphead is joined by Mugman and Ms. Chalice, if we include the DLC, on his adventure. Well,
03:59Ms. Chalice actually has a really neat little secret where she can turn to gold during the
04:04Calamaria boss battle. If you happen to have the gold chalice filter equipped during your
04:09gameplay, then when slash if you get turned to stone, Ms. Chalice will actually turn to
04:13gold instead. It's such a tiny, small, fun little Easter egg that many Cuphead fans might
04:19not actually see it or notice it. By the way, to get that gold chalice visual filter, simply
04:24defeat every main game boss and DLC boss as Ms. Chalice. Oh, and talk to the cactus lady on
04:29aisle 4. Easy peasy, right?
04:37Color coded UFOs.
04:44Like the majority of bosses in Cuphead, the one against Hildeburg in the threatening Zeppelin
04:49level can be downright brutal for many players. So any info you can glean about the fight ahead
04:54of time to turn the tide in your favor will be most helpful indeed.
04:57So, you know those colored UFOs that fly around the screen in the second phase of the fight?
05:02Well, the colors aren't just there for visual flourish. They actually serve a gameplay purpose
05:07to kind of give you some info ahead of time. The red ones only fire after you pass under them.
05:12The yellow and brown ones anticipate your proximity and fire at you if you get closer.
05:17Basically, it comes down to positioning. Once you know how each color works, you can better move
05:21about the play area.
05:31A dark deal.
05:39If we are honest, there are a lot of classic platforming and platforming adjacent games where
05:45the goal is simply to save the day and rescue the princess or rescue the hapless citizens,
05:50etc, etc. Well, Studio MDHR wanted to buck this trend and make a tough-as-nails platforming and
05:57boss rush game that, while looking colorful and cartoony to be sure, actually imbued a darker
06:02storyline. Thus, we ended up with Cuphead and Mugman's harrowing deal with the devil
06:07that requires them to collect on soul contracts. Yeah, pretty dark, right?
06:12Toss in some gambling, mobsters, loads of violence, and more,
06:15and you have a game that looks lighthearted on the surface,
06:18but bubbles and brims with darkness just below the surface. Cliche, this is not.
06:31The announcer snail.
06:39Most Cuphead players won't even notice this small, really tiny, honestly,
06:44auditory detail during the Moonshine mob fight from the delicious Last Course DLC.
06:49But, once you do know about it, it brings a little smile to your face each and every time.
06:54It's a cheeky little easter egg. Typically, of course, there's an announcer who says things like
06:58knockout during fights and other lines that are in the game, not gonna name them all. However,
07:03at one point during this fight, a quirky snail with a bullhorn takes over the announcing
07:07duties for a brief period, calling the fight actually before it is called. It's kind of wild.
07:12After you wipe the floor with the Moonshine mob and the snail calls the battle,
07:16you hear the traditional game announcer clear his throat in frustration. Good stuff.
07:29Cuphead Soul.
07:37So, you know that white, sloshy liquid that you can sometimes see in Cuphead's, well, head?
07:42Yeah, well, that's his literal soul. Studio MDHR confirmed as such, and once you know,
07:48it's pretty hard not to think about it when you're playing. I mean, the character's soul is just open to
07:53exposure, sloshing around like it could just spill out at any moment. Not to mention, during all the chaos of
07:59the
07:59fights he gets into, in order to collect on soul contracts for the devil, because, you know,
08:03he made that deal, which probably shouldn't have, but he did. Whatever. If all of this is true about
08:08his soul being just sloshed around in his head, then why the heck is there a straw? Is it for
08:13the
08:13devil to suck out his soul if he fails his part of the deal? Okay, okay, I think I've asked
08:18too many
08:18questions here. Cuphead's bizarre inspiration.
08:34Okay, this one is truly wild, but it certainly makes sense for how Studio MDHR came up with the
08:40cartoony concept for the Cuphead character. You see, there's actually a 1936 Japanese propaganda
08:46animated short called Evil Mickey Attacks Japan. In this animated short, there's a scene where a
08:52character with a literal teacup head morphs into a powerful tank. Apparently, the brothers found it
08:58to be so odd and crazy that it inspired them to create the Cuphead character we all know and love.
09:08When you think about it, it's pretty torn wild that a cartoony propaganda film from almost a century ago
09:15inspired a beloved video game character. As they say, art begets art. Actually, I don't know if they say
09:21that. Maybe they do. Well, either way, it sounds lofty and cerebral.
09:32So what did you think of these cool facts about Cuphead? Are there any things you think others
09:37should know about this game? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
09:51Thank you for watching this video from MojoPlays. Be sure to subscribe for more gaming videos every single day.
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