The Dead Rising franchise is a mish-mash of tons of different references. That’s not a bad thing at all, by the way. It’s a fantastic series of games, but there’s no doubt that they’re all at least 50% references or homages to other games, films, or TV shows.
For example, the whole concept of toughing out a zombie outbreak in a mall was sort of pioneered by Dawn of the Dead. And tons of films and games have taken inspiration from Return of the Living Dead as well. With that in mind, what are some of the best references throughout all four games?
10 The Entire Franchise: Tons Of Mega Man References And One Hard-To-Get Mega Buster
This had to be first right? There are just too many Mega Man references in all four games to only name one and move on. In particular, the unlockable Mega Buster is the one you’re least likely to see since you’d have to kill about 53,594 zombies total in a single run. On that note, what’s with zombie games and forcing you to go through some complex process just for a bit of extra content? Dead Rising does it, Dying Light did it, and even Call of Duty still does it in their zombies’ mode. But, anyway, once that’s done, Frank is given a functioning Mega Buster to use in the main game that really makes it all worth it. And, with the first game being a part of January’s Games For Gold, now seems like a great time to go back and check this Easter Egg out.
9 Dead Rising 4: The Briefcase From Pulp Fiction
The next Easter egg has to do with this seemingly mundane briefcase you can find in Dead Rising 4. It might seem like nothing, but this is actually referencing the briefcase from Pulp Fiction. How are you supposed to tell that this is the same case from that movie? Thanks to behind-the-scenes photos, fans of the film found out that the iconic briefcase was actually empty inside except for a battery connected to a lightbulb that would create a sort of “glow” when it was opened. Well, inside the briefcase on the table in DR4, is a lightbulb attached to a battery, essentially confirming that the Dead Rising developers are Quentin Tarantino fans.
8 Dead Rising: The Hidden Main Menu Cinematic
Everybody loves a good secret that simply asks for a bit of patience to trigger it. There’s the alternate ending from Far Cry 4, the button-pushing ending to The Stanley Parable, and Shadow Complex’s “Fish in the Sea” secret ending. Usually, these secrets just include an extra scene, maybe some credits played for laughs, and then players can get back to the actual game. Well, the first Dead Rising has one of these secrets too. If you wait for about two minutes or so at the main menu, a cinematic starts in which a woman & her daughter seem to be trying to escape from Willamette to no avail. This cinematic proves how scary classic zombies can be, since not everything has to be some overly complicated boss monster (looking at you Call of Duty).
7 Dead Rising 2: Unlocking Shaun’s Iconic Tattered Clothes
The Dead Rising series has a real thing for unlockables that require a bunch of grinding out zombie kills. It’s not bad, necessarily, zombie killing is what the games are about, after all, and this gameplay is what separates the Dead Rising fans from the Resident Evil ones. But, this particular secret unlockable in DR2 is a bit obtuse. To trigger it, you have to kill 1000 zombies unarmed. Can you imagine a zombie game where you’re the zombie having to run and survive from packs of humans killing all your brethren with their bare hands? Funnily enough, a game called Surviving the Humans is close to that concept, but that’s a topic for another day.
In any case, once Chuck’s stained his hands with blood enough, you unlock the Tattered Clothes, which bear a striking resemblance to the outfit of the main character of Shaun of the Dead.
6 The Whole Franchise: All Those Street Fighter References, Outfits, And Weapons
Much like the Mega Man references, the Dead Rising series is chock full of Street Fighter homages as well. Turns out Capcom has this thing for referencing games within a game. Now, there are a ton of posters, cardboard cutouts, outfits, and more you can find in these games that point towards the Street Fighter series. But, the ones involving Blanka, SF’s favorite electricity-generating jungle man, are particularly good. Specifically, there’s a combo-weapon you can craft in Dead Rising 3 that lets Nick Ramos unleash Blanka’s Electric Thunder attack.
5 Dead Rising 3: An Unexpected Funeral
Anyone who played Dead Rising 1 has to remember Otis. This chatty mall janitor is the one who lets Frank into the Security Room in the first place. He’s also constantly calling Frank West on the transceiver Walkie-Talkie in order to tell him about all things related to the Willamette Parkview Mall, which can get pretty annoying. Still, Otis is one of the more lovable characters in the game, so it’s incredibly sad when Nick stumbles upon his funeral service in the chapel.
4 Dead Rising: Why Ya Limping Frankie?
So, what’s the deal with Frank’s limp? The guy obviously has a bit of an odd walking/running animation, so what’s up with that? Well if you remember from the introduction in the helicopter, Frank West didn’t exactly get to leave the Helicopter in a safe way, he had to jump out. And rather than rolling and breaking his camera, Frank used his leg to cushion the blow, which is what injures it for the entirety of the game. It’s never directly mentioned after that introductory cutscene, but it’s still an extra bit of detail that adds more to Franks’ character.
3 Dead Rising 3: The Plot Dump Museum
The overall plot of the Dead Rising games is surprisingly deep, even if it still doesn’t make much sense at the end of the day. There’s the whole thing with Carlito’s Orphans from DR1, Chuck’s quest in DR2 against the pharmaceutical company Phenotrans purposely infecting cities, or John Hemlock’s crazy plans that Nick has to stop in DR3. And Nick ends up in a very unique museum in his path towards stopping Hemlock. There are multiple sections of this museum but one section, in particular, is specifically about past zombie outbreaks. This outbreak wing serves as both a neat little secret and a plot dump for anyone who didn’t really understand the overarching plot from both Dead Rising 1 or 2.
2 Dead Rising 1 & 2: Arthur’s Armor & Boxers
Ghosts & Goblins is one of Capcom’s most treasured classic titles. Basically, it involves a relatively short knight named Arthur fighting his way through some ridiculously hard levels. And, when Arthur gets too hurt, his knight armor breaks off and he’s left with just his boxers.
And, funnily enough, in Dead Rising 1 you can unlock these same boxers by lasting all 14 hours (or 7 days in-game) in Survival Mode, which is insanely difficult and time-consuming. In Dead Rising 2, things are a bit less difficult, as Chuck just has to gather all the armor pieces by completing a variety of tasks. Overall, just a neat reference to a cult-classic videogame that most people have never managed to beat.
1 Dead Rising 4: Some Hilarious But Well-Hidden Mass Effect References
And lastly, one of the funnier references comes from Jessa Yatsuda, a mechanic that Frank meets early on in the game who seems to like cars, killing, and video games. But, she’s also a player character option for multiplayer that you can take control of. And, if you do, Jessa has a bunch of dialog that can trigger while killing zombies. Most of it, hilariously enough, has her talking about how this zombie outbreak is interrupting her playthrough of a certain video game. The best line is when Jessa starts talking about “A blue alien with huge jugs” (Liara T’Soni the Asari) or the “turtle-looking alien with the hurt feelings” (Wrex the Krogan). Humor like this is one of the many things recent zombie games, such as Days Gone, are sorely lacking.
NEXT: Black Ops Cold War: 5 Zombies Maps That Should Be Remastered (& 5 That Should Be Left Alone)
