Strong Badia the Free

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Current revision as of 09:17, 15 November 2023

"We can never be truly free until we reject the fat-thority of the King of Town."

Strong Badia the Free is the second episode of Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People. It has been rated E10+ for Crude Humor, Mild Cartoon Violence, and Use of Alcohol by the ESRB. Written by Chuck Jordan and The Brothers Chaps.

The King of Town becomes tyrannical and institutes an email tax. For not paying said tax, Strong Bad is placed under house arrest with an exploding collar strapped around his neck. After Strong Bad escapes, he announces that Strong Badia will secede from Free Country USA, and attempts to rally his fellow citizens into joining him. When everyone instead goes off to form their own countries, Strong Bad must unite the fractured nations under one banner (namely, his) in order to complete his mission to overthrow The King of Town's "fat-thority".

A brief trailer for the game is included in Homestar Ruiner.

Cast: Strong Bad, The King of Town, Homestar Runner, Strong Mad, Homsar, Coach Z, The Poopsmith, Pom Pom, Marzipan, Strong Sad, The Cheat, Bubs, Drive-Thru Whale

Date: Monday, September 15, 2008

DVD: SBCG4AP Collector's DVD

[edit] Preview Transcript

"Hey, that's the name of this—"

{The screen shows "In the next episode of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People" and fades to Strong Bad walking in from the right. The backdrop is the Strong Badian Flag.}

STRONG BAD: Friends and losers, my long incarceration has taught me that we can never be truly free until we reject the fat-thority of the King of Town. Hence to forthwith, I shall only refer to him as the Of Town. As of today, Strong Badia is its own, independent nation. Onward to Strong Badia, Strong Badia the Free!

{Record scratch is heard and Homestar comes into view}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Hey, that's the name of this—

STRONG BAD: {quickly} Shut up. {Homestar becomes sad}

{The screen shows "STRONG BADIA the FREE" and a no sign is covering the Municipality logo. The screen then changes to "Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People: New episode every month!"}

{Strong Mad is seen behind a cutout of a tarantula holding a guitar with the Taranchula logo underneath, and a red spider cutout in one hand and blue spider cutout in another}

STRONG MAD: {waves blue cutout} ICE BREATH! {waves red cutout} FIRE BREATH!

{On the Wii version, cuts to "Play it on Wiiware". On the PC version, cuts to "www.telltalegames.com"}

[edit] Screenshots

The Municipality	Protesting the Email tax	Bleak House	Homsar Reservation
Country

[edit] Inventory

• 3-Ring Binder
• BMW Lighter
• Clockwork Strong Bad Doll
• Fake Sword
• Glowstick
• Katana
• Paper Crown
• Pillow
• Pilot Wings
• Pottery Shard
• Power Strip
• Pretendix
• Quesos (Strong Badian currency)
• Red Towel
• Stuffing
• Taranchula Black Metal Detector (now with shovel attachment)
• Tony Stony
• Tuning Fork

[edit] Ranks

1. Neighborhood Watch Chief
2. Hall Monitor
3. Junior High Class Treasurer
4. Deputy Mayor
5. House Minority Whip
6. Secretary of the Posterior
7. President Elect
8. El Jefe Mas Grande
9. Chancellor of the 7 Realms
10. Lord High Fantasticus
11. Über-Pope (or Uber-Pope) {see glitches below}

[edit] Fun Facts

[edit] Explanations

• "Roi" is French for "King", thus explaining the pseudonym "Roy T."
• Strong Bad uses Morse code to communicate with the lighter.
• A charley horse is a painful involuntary cramp in the legs and/or foot, lasting anywhere from a few seconds to a day.

[edit] Trivia

• On the PC version, costume items unlocked in Homestar Ruiner carry over to Strong Badia the Free (these must be unlocked, either by getting them in Homestar Ruiner, or by editing the Windows Registry). On the Wii version, the costumes are automatically unlocked, regardless of if the player has the costumes on a Homestar Ruiner save file (or even if the player doesn't have a Homestar Ruiner save file at all).
• When visiting the King of Town at his castle in the extended play mode of Homestar Ruiner, he threatens to tax Strong Bad. Strong Bad responds with, "That sounds...ominous."
• The preview was added to the Nintendo Channel on September 15, 2008 under the title "Strong Bad Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free"
• This is the only episode where all twelve main characters appear onscreen; Homsar's only other appearance was Baddest of the Bands, which lacked The Poopsmith. 8-Bit is Enough also lacks Pom Pom.

[edit] Remarks

• Upon getting drafted into the Homestarmy, Coach Z claims to have never won anything before in his life, despite having the record time for completing the FCUTRER in Homestar Ruiner.
• It is unclear whether The Cheat has his own lighter or Telltale Games removed the BMW Logo from Strong Bad's lighter for trademark purposes.
• One of the emails Strong Bad receives is from Athens, Georgia, but Strong Bad pronounces GA as an unemphasized "Guh". The Brothers Chaps live in Georgia, and Mike went to the University of Georgia, which is in Athens. Their sports mascot is a live bulldog named UGA, pronounced "UH-guh".
• Pom Pom is notably absent in the Maps & Minions game at the Of Town's Castle.
• If the player uses the Glowsticks on Strong Bad in Pompomerania with The Cheat present, Strong Bad will say it's no time for a rave even though one is in progress.
• When Strong Bad talks to Strong Sad and talk about his constitution in Bleak House, he will show his flag. However, if Strong Bad already burned the flag, he will act like he never burned it and the camera will face where it was formerly placed.
• The Cheat uses a yield sign to write the name of his country in Strong Badia. On the map, the area cut out of Strong Badia is in the shape of the stop sign.
• In The Interview, Homestar states with absolute certainty that The Cheat would win in a fight against Strong Sad even if it was stacked in Strong Sad's favor. However, in the Maps & Minions Game, Strong Sad wins in conflicts against The Cheat.
• Strong Bad's email address is shown to be strongbad@strongbadshouse.res instead of his real email address, strongbad@homestarrunner.com.

[edit] Goofs

• On the Wii Shop Channel download page in Europe, Videlectrix is misspelled as "Videoelectrix".
• If Strong Bad plays Math Kickers while under house arrest, his collar is not visible.
• If the player skips speaking with Strong Sad about Cold Ones until after he has had his pretendix removed, he will complain about his alleged pretendicitis despite having already had the surgery for it.
• If Strong Bad activates the mysterious pylon in the Homsar Reservation before making the super-glowy drink in Pompomerania, he calls out to remind the astronauts to give him ice cream he has never asked for.
• When Strong Sad is commenting on one of the papier-mâché skulls, he claims it's "this week's jumble", but the subtitles read "last week's jumble".
• In Cave Girl Squad, when What's Her Face says "some kinda weird CG-filled special", the speech bubble leaves out the word "weird".
• Strong Bad gives the object-specific error response instead of the person-specific one when using inventory items on either Homsar or Marzipan.
• When Strong Bad is answering the email about Homsar, he types "brining" instead of "bringing", and the subtitles also spell it wrong.

[edit] Glitches

• Sometimes Bubs will be stuck facing the black market door instead of the concession stand. As a result, the black market door will not open, and Bubs will be facing the wall when Strong Bad tries to talk to him from the front of the stand.
• When lighting certain objects on fire, sometimes the flames do not appear until Strong Bad leaves and returns to the area. This glitch is known to occur with the bush on the Homsar Reservation, the kimono in Club Technochocolate, the smoke detector and messy pile in Bleak House, and the skulls in Country.
• Sometimes, when in Extended Play, attempting to save to Slot 3 will result in the game freezing, buzzing and require a hard reset.
• While in Bleak House, examine the bookcase in Strong Sad's room while outside the room. Then walk by his bed. While Strong Bad talks about the bookcase, he may slide towards the bed without moving his feet.
• Digging up the Strong Badia shirt will cause another hole to appear in Strong Badia, in front of the flagpole, near the cinder block.
• An error in Math Kickers will give the rank of "Über-Pope" or "Uber-Pope" if Strong Bad exceeds a score of 4000 points, with everything else already maxed out. In the Wii version, the rank is "Über-Pope" (however, the Ü appears as a box) and is "Uber-Pope" in the PC version.
  • The reason the Ü appears as a box is because it is an irregular character. In systems that can only support regular characters, they will appear as a different symbol (usually a box) other than the irregular character.
• If the player saves in an area and plays the game again from where they left off, then it will sometimes cause characters to return to that area, usually all the ones from a certain time in the game. For example, if the player does this in Marzistar (a.k.a. Homezipan), it will make Pom Pom, Strong Sad and occasionally Strong Mad holding The Cheat reappear in their pre-castle attack positions.
• After making it to Marzistar, if Strong Bad returns to the Homsar Reservation, Strong Sad and Homsar will no longer be there. However, when the player clicks on the trunk, Strong Bad will still talk to Strong Sad's voice as if Strong Sad was there. Also, the bush will no longer be on fire if it was previously lit, and when lit again Homsar will say "AaAaAa...Nice try alligator!", even though he is no longer there.
  • Additionally, the bush will not be lit in extended play.

[edit] PC Version

• Occasionally some characters' eyes are not visible upon entering an area.
• Talking to Strong Sad at the end in Extended Play will sometimes make the mouse appear in the cutscene, allowing the player to click on any object while Strong Sad and Strong Bad are still talking.
• Sometimes, after focus has been removed from and returned to the game window, dialogue will start a split-second before where it was when focus was removed.
• Sometimes, after Strong Sad gets his pretendix removed, a gray slice will be on the top of the screen. This will stay there until Strong Bad leaves the Homsar Reservation.
  • This can happen only if the the screen is windowed and the mouse is outside the window.

[edit] Wii Version

• Skipping the speech before starting the Peace Draft seems to make the transition in to a straight cut to black with a small slice of cut out showing the screen. This stays a few seconds into the scene before stopping. It also happens at the end of the scene, and it appears when looking at the map.
• Playing Math Kickers will sometimes freeze the game, causing the game to emit a strange buzzing noise and require a hard reset.
• Pausing the game with the "home" button during transcript causes the last word in a phrase to be repeated.

[edit] PlayStation 3 Version

• The King of Town's castle does not appear in the background of Marzistar/Homezipan.

[edit] Inside References

• Aside from the music reused from Homestar Ruiner, most of the music comes from toons.
  • The first part of the music that plays during the trailer is from more armies.
  • The Strong Badia National Anthem plays during Strong Bad's speech.
  • The first song that plays in Pompomerania is the remix from geddup noise.
  • The music in the Homsar Reservation is based on the music from his character video.
  • The music that plays at Marzistar is a remix of the Homestar Runner Theme Song.
  • The Peace Draft plays jingles from The Show.
  • The music in the King of Town's castle is based on the music from The King of Town DVD.
• Strong Bad calls himself "Strong Bad of the mighty tighty-whities".
• When doing the draft, Homestar uses his microphone from The Show.
• The first sighting of Pom Pom in Pompomerania mimics his pose from the Theme Song.
• Bubs was established as a black marketeer in licensed.
• The brochure for the On Point Kings and the Homestarmy poster are from more armies.
• The Teen Girl Squad was previously spun off in Teeny Tiny Girl Squad.
• Strong Bad notes (and tries to explain) the delay of Dangeresque 3.
• Coach Z's land cannot be conquered, as he is busy with Fhqwhgadi rebels.
• Homestar takes offense when Strong Bad asks people to take up arms against the King of Town, in part because he doesn't appear to have any.
  • In addition, during a letter from the front, Homestar says he can't wait "to be in Marzipan's, ahem, arms again."
• "Fat-thority" is a portmanteau of "fat" and "authority".
• One of Homsar's responses, "I'm a song from the '60s!", is lifted from interview, as is "'Twas the pride of the peaches!", which Strong Bad says after being enlightened to Homsar's ways, claiming that it is the answer to everything.
• The flag of the Homsar Reservation features Homsar's hat as well as his "parents": a cup of coffee and a chipwich, also after conquering the Homsar Reservation, the narrator says, "Raised by a cup of coffee indeed."
• One of the Whale's sayings is "Get your lighter from the anvil, please." Strong Bad actually gets his lighter from The Cheat, who was compared with an anvil in huttah!
• Strong Bad mentions Frank Bennedetto falling in battle during the events of army. Many of Frank's "brothers" are on the draft wheel.
  • Also on the draft wheel is Li'l Brudder, which upon landing on it, Homestar will start to break down crying.
• In Marzistar's garden, Strong Bad calls Strong Mad and The Cheat "Lugnut & Squeak", just as he did in narrator.
• Creamy Ding snack cakes, which the King of Town enjoys, look remarkably similar to Swiss Cake Rolls.
• Homestar says that Strong Bad is always "beating the various stuffings out of me".
• Many places on the "Maps and Minions" board have been mentioned before, including Scalding Lake, Rotten Egglund, and Stink's Reach.
• The collar and invisible fence are supposed to make Strong Bad's head a splode.
• Using the katana or the lighter on Pom Pom will cause Strong Bad to reference the events in pom pom.
• "Wearing animal heads is so 3rd issue!" is a reference to Teen Girl Squad Issue 3, in which Cheerleader wore an elephant head.
• One of the King of Town's saved email addresses on his Snacky 186 is thepizz@virtualpizz.biz.
• During the Maps & Minions game, when The Of Town battles Strong Mad, he exclaims "I regret everything", a line said by Coach Z in Fall Float Parade and the previous episode.
• Also in Maps & Minions, the player can instigate a battle between The Cheat and Strong Sad, although the outcome is different from Homestar's prediction in The Interview.
• "Sweet recently divorced lady freedom!" is an instance of Sweet Lady X.
  • It also is likely a direct reference to Strong Bad is in Jail Cartoon, in which Strong Bad metaphorically "makes out" with Sweet Lady Freedom.
• Homestar mentions bathroom privileges.
• The clockwork Strong Bad that Bubs sells initially sings the Strong Badia National Anthem and then malfunctions and gets the jibblies.
• Strong Bad may "knight" Coach Z as "Coach Zed, Lord High Protector of Butt-Pattery".
• Homsar's comment that Strong Bad's gibberish sounds like a "two-years-old boy" uses a line from Main Page 15.
• When Strong Bad gets up from the King of Town's computer stool, it plays The Standing Up Noise.
• Homestar nearly breaks the fourth wall with his statement of "Hey, that's the name of this—" (presumably going to finish with "episode" or "game"), but was stopped by Strong Bad, who tells him to shut up.
• Upon speaking to Marzipan, Strong Bad calls her "Marzip0wned ('Marzi-puh-owned'), or however you pronounce that". This is reminiscent of his confusion over "p0wned" in Teen Girl Squad Issue 10.
• Once, Strong Bad calls Strong Sad Dr. Dumpington.
• The King of Town was previously referred to without his title in Ever and More, in which he was referred to as "Brother of Town".
• The credits song uses the term "short children", similar to Sickly Sam's Big Outing.
• Strong Bad makes use of his email server's idiot filter, which had a precursor in candy product.
• Strong Bad yells at Strong Sad to "stop with all the food-make!"
• "I'd love to see him not not on fire, but not not not now" and "The feeling that I forgot to forget to make my bed" are multiple negatives. Additionally, the former is an instance of Not X, and the latter is reminiscent of "Don't forget to forget to wash your hands" from The King of Town's Very Own Quite Popular Cartoon Show.

[edit] Real-World References

• Many of the countries in the game are named after real-world countries:
  • Coach Z's territory is named "Coachnya", which echoes the Russian province of Chechnya. Chechnya also tried to secede and failed.
  • Bubs's nation of Concessionstantinople is a reference to Constantinople, the former name of Istanbul.
    • The country's alternate name of Concessionstan refers to several Asian countries whose names end in -stan, most of which were part of the Soviet Union.
    • Bubs refers to Concessionstantinople as "neutral territory", and the first things he says that he sells are Swiss stereotypes: watches, chocolate, and cheese. Switzerland is famous for its longstanding policy of neutrality.
  • Pompomerania takes its name from Pomerania, a region that straddles modern-day Germany and Poland.
  • Poopslovakia is a reference to Czechoslovakia.
  • Frontzeatserland is named after Switzerland, while Hatchbackistan is a reference to Pakistan.
  • The Stick is known as "Shticktenstein", which derives from Liechtenstein.
  • The nation of "Front-au-Fence" takes its name from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
  • The Brick Wall being renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Repubricks echoes the Soviet Union, formally called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
• Strong Bad addressing people in front of a giant flag is a reference to the opening scene in Patton.
• Strong Bad's exploding collar is most likely inspired by Battle Royale.
• When Strong Bad responds to the email from Paul in French he calls him Les Paul.
• Strong Bad refers to the King of Town's rule as "lazy faire".
• Strong Bad calls one of his email writers "JULES the VERNE".
• Bleak House is a novel by Charles Dickens. Also, when he drafts himself into the Homestarmy, Homestar refers to himself as an "Artful Draft Dodger", a reference to Dickens' character, the Artful Dodger.
• As ruler of Bleak House, Strong Sad refers to himself as "His Lordship, King Cooldearius Strong Sad Allan Poe the First", a nod to poet Edgar Allan Poe.
• Strong Bad once calls Strong Sad "Doo-doo-ronemy", a titular reference to the Book of Deuteronomy in the Bible and Torah.
• Despite what Marzipan may think, "Model UN" is a school-based activity in which students roleplay as ambassadors to the United Nations from various countries.
• The bonus costume that Strong Bad unlocks is the Max skull-and-crossbones T-shirt, which can actually be bought on Telltale Games' online store.
• Homestar's "letter" back to Marzipan, detailing the siege on the Of Town's castle is presented in a style similar to Ken Burns' 1990 documentary The Civil War, with sepia-toned backgrounds and violin music in the background.
• Strong Sad mentions the Of Town being featured on Fark.com.
• The Pompomeranian flag is based on that of Japan.
• The flag of Concessionstan, with its red background and yellow symbols in the upper left corner, resembles that of many communist nations, notably the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.
• Strong Mad exclaiming "Let my people go!" and Strong Bad asking for messages from a burning bush are both references to the Biblical figure Moses.
• "No taxin' without representin'" is Coach Z's unique twist on "No Taxation Without Representation", a slogan used by the American colonists against King George III of England.
• Coach Z calls the effigy, before being dressed like the King of Town and burned up, "Stickball Jackson." This references the great Confederate general, Stonewall Jackson.
• If the Darwin card is played in Teen Girl Squad, the girls will call him "Chuck D", the name of the socially-conscious member of the influential rap group Public Enemy.
• Strong Bad mentions he got the the Taranchula Standee at December to Dismember.
• By using the alien in the second scene of Cave Girl Squad, a monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey appears, while Strong Bad hums the theme from the movie adapation by Stanley Kubrick.
• Coach Z saying that "they've all overbid" and wagering a dollar after being picked in the draft is a reference to the game show The Price Is Right.
• Homestar and Marzipan dividing their land refers to the division of Germany into East and West, along with its capital, Berlin, complete with Checkpoint The Cheat substituting for Checkpoint Charlie, a famous crossing point in the Berlin Wall.
• The Homsar Reservation's name and Homsar's accent when he speaks normally are references to the Native American stereotype.
• When Strong Bad looks at the wall, he asks who "will be first up against it when the Revolution comes?", which is a quote from Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book series.
• When Homestar says "What is my major malfunction?", it is most likely a reference to the movie Full Metal Jacket.
• Strong Mad says "None shall pass", a quote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, if Strong Bad should attempt to cross the stone bridge before fighting the Taranchula standee.
• Strong Bad says the King of Town's fridge-throne is Energy Star compliant.
• One of the lines when highlighting the "preview" option in the Main Menu refers to Martin Luther King and his "I Have a Dream" speech.
• While worrying about his having an inflammation of his pretendix, Strong Sad fears that he may have a "rumble in [his] tumble." This refers to Winnie the Pooh, who, when he gets hungry, claims to have a "rumbly in [his] tumbly."
• One of Strong Bad's hints mentions "Kong-Quest", which happens to be part of the title of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.
• The three-headed spider in Country is like Trinexx, the guardian of the Turtle Rock dungeon in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
• When Strong Bad tries to ask Homestar to leave the castle, he calls Homestar "Dudley Dorkright", a reference to Jay Ward's cartoon Mounty, Dudley Do-Right.
  • The flag says, "If the nation's a-rockin', you know what to don't come do." This is a reference to Stevie Ray Vaughan's song, "The House Is Rockin'".
• Right before attacking the King of Town's castle, Coach Z shouts "Vive Le Revelation!", a reference to the phrase "¡Viva La Revolución!", which is commonly associated with Che Guevara.
• One rank is "Secretary of the Posterior". This is one title Max can convey to Superball in "Abe Lincoln Must Die".
• There is a line in one of the King of Town's emails about food that says, "There's an extra tuppence in it for you if you hurry." This is a reference to A Christmas Carol, when Ebenezer Scrooge offers a boy a small amount of money to come back with a prized turkey, and an extra tuppence if he hurries.
• Homestar says that Marty Benedetto has been classified "4-H". This is a mangling of the 4-F classification under the Selective Service System and a reference to the 4-H.
• Strong Bad's mention of the King of Town being stuck in the bathtub is a reference to William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States, who once got stuck in the White House bathtub and therefore had an oversized bathtub installed.
• When Strong Bad finds out that Strong Sad drank water from the Homsar Reservation, he panics and, when listing off the diseases it can cause, adds "Qatar! Libya! Mozambique!"
  • It should be noted that catarrh, the actual disease Strong Bad mentioned, is pronounced the same way as the country (although the official pronunciation of Qatar is KA-ter, not Ka-TAR).
• Bubs's line, "I've been everywhere, man!" echoes the Johnny Cash song "I've Been Everywhere", including the same beat and inflection.
• Strong Sad's line about the tuning fork, "It belongs in a museum!", is a reference to George Lucas's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when Indiana Jones says that about an ornamental cross.
• In the endgame, Homestar mentions an "attractive, female, robotic rabbit filled with dynamite", referencing a character of the same description from the Looney Tunes cartoon Operation: Rabbit (seen here).

[edit] Fast Forward

• At the end of the game, Strong Bad wonders if his Limozeen game had been delivered yet. This game is what kicks off the next episode, Baddest of the Bands.
• When the player tries to enter Strong Mad's room, Strong Bad says that it "should be cleaned out in a month or so", referring to how that room is accessible in the next episode, which came out a month later.
• Coach Z's sudden obsession for Marzipan at the end of the game carries over to Episode 3.
• The teaser poster for Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective in Strong Bad's room throughout the game foreshadows the events of SBCG4AP Episode 4.
• Bubs' reason for storming out after The Cheat plays a Two-O Duo record is later revealed in Baddest of the Bands.
• Homestar randomly chants "Save the bats!" when Strong Bad is under house arrest. The Cool Tapes plan to play at a benefit concert to save bats in Baddest of the Bands.
• The "Maps and Minions" board makes a reappearance in Poker Night at the Inventory.

[edit] External Links

• Archive of Official episode webpage
• IGN.com's sneak peek at "Strong Badia the Free" Spoilers
• Telltale Games forum thread re: "Strong Badia the Free"
• IGN.com's hands on with "Strong Badia the Free"
• forum thread re: "Strong Badia the Free"

[edit] Reviews

• Metacritic review summary
• Cubed3 review
• IGN review
• Game Pro review
• Cheat Code Central review
• Giant Bomb review
• Destructoid review
• WiiWare World review
• Gamervision review
• GameCyte review
• GameZone review
• MyGamer review
• Gaming Nexus review
• Wired gaming blog review
• Thunderbolt Games review
• Game Vortex review
• Adventure Classic Gaming review
• GameSpot review
• Adventure Gamers review
• Gamers Mark review
• Video Game Generation review