Digimon Survive is 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, the Digimon series 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, Digimon has plenty of callbacks for its original audience now that they're grown up.
Although Digimon Survive is a brand new adventure, fans of the original Digimon Adventure might notice a few Easter eggs throughout the game. Fans quickly noticed a reference in Digimon Survive's opening movie that introduces the cast and setting of the game. Miu, one of the main characters in Digimon Survive, can be heard humming a familiar tune and it's instantly recognizable for fans of the original Digimon Adventure series.
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During the original animation trailer for Digimon 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 of Digimon, the tune should be instantly recognizable given its history in the shows and movies. Over the years, Boléro has appeared in several Japanese versions of Digimon media, 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 why Digimon composer Takanori Arisawa chose Boléro, it has appeared in different Japanese versions of Digimon shows and movies. Boléro appeared in the original 1999 Digimon Adventure series during episode 18 when Tai and Agumon try to overcome their fears of potentially digivolving into SkullGreymon. Over the years, Boléro would also appear in the Digimon Adventure OVA and the movies, Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! and Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna.
The neat little callback with Boléro seems to highlight the intention of having Digimon Survive appeal to older fans of the original Digimon Adventure series. Given the song's history within the Digimon franchise, it gives fans an instant feeling of nostalgia especially since Agumon remains the partner Digimon for protagonist Takuma. With Digimon Survive's darker, 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 for Digimon Survive, it does set off speculation for what other callbacks might appear for older fans of Digimon Adventure. With the return of Agumon alongside Digimon Survive's unique emphasis on player choices, some fans have speculated that SkullGreymon could appear in one of the bad endings. The parallels between Digimon Survive and Digimon Adventure are 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 longtime Digimon fans to see what else Digimon Survive will have in store.
Digimon Survive is currently in development for PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.