List of Drillimation references in video games

This is a complete list of Drillimation references hidden within video games.

ARMS

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Nintendo, Bandai Namco Studios


 * One of Twintelle's alternate costumes largely resembles Kagami Hiiragi. They were able to do this as Namco was involved in the production of the game.
 * Rank 7 is called "Driller", in reference to Drillimation's mascot.
 * Spring Man's default palette is based on the color scheme of Susumu Hori.
 * Springtron's hobby is "flawless victories", in reference to the mechanic from Super Smash Keyboards.
 * Part of the baseline for Ribbon Girl's theme uses a few of the exact notes from the Kagami Ochiai cover of Bad Apple!!.
 * One of Dr. Coyle's victory quotes is "Who's number one now?", in reference to Wataru's victory quote from the English version of Driller Engine Grand Prix 2x2.

Baby Alive: The Video Game
Ireland Amedisa
 * Origin: Island of Sally
 * Studio(s): Unknown


 * In the band part, the characters wear outfits that are nearly identical to a few characters from Touhou Project.

Bejeweled

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): PopCap Games


 * The beginning of the song Network sounds extremely similar to the beginning of Romantic Children from Touhou 5: Mystic Square.

Cuphead

 * Origin: Canada
 * Studio(s): Studio MDHR


 * The gameplay was inspired by the looks of Baraduke and Angry German Kid, according to reviews.
 * One of the proposed concepts for the main character was a design of Susumu Hori.

Dragon Tales: Dragon Seek

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): NewKidCo


 * Hacking the game results in a simulation of the Orange Screen of Death with references to Dragon Tales implemented.

Duke Nukem Forever

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): 3D Realms, 2K Games


 * One of Duke's quotes is "Duke wins... Fatality!", referencing the Super Smash Keyboards series.

Dynomite!

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): PopCap Games


 * The Skaven remix of Oriental Scarlet Garden ~ Omniphilia from Super Lucky Star 4 appears in the game as part of the game's "Stomped Puzzle" mode.

EKBA 2000

 * Origin: Japan/El Kadsre
 * Studio(s): Asmik Ace, Namco


 * In Create-a-Player, "Susumu" and "Takajima" are available name soundbites.
 * In Career mode, a poster with Susumu Takajima on it can be seen in the Gaah Wizards' locker room.
 * Various screenshots and footage from the anime are shown behind the menus.

EKBA: Shots Fired

 * Origin: Japan/El Kadsre
 * Studio(s): Capcom, Activision


 * One of the Capulco Dragonflies players looks like Jun'ya Ohta.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): Bethesda Softworks


 * In the Nintendo Switch port of the game, if the Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame Amiibo figures are scanned, Reimu and Marisa's costumes will be available to the player. However, this will only work if playing as a female character in the game.

Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): SNK


 * One of Grant's supers is based on one of Youmu's Spell Cards from Killer Minecraft 3: Hisoutensoku.

Grand Theft Auto IV

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): Rockstar Games


 * One of the achievements in the game is titled "Finish Him!" referencing the line spoken by Fred Fuchs in the Super Smash Keyboards games.

Gunslinger Fallen Roads

 * Origin: Alexonia
 * Studio(s): Streetwolf, Tenma Games


 * One of Sayaka's alternate costumes features Konata Izumi's driller outfit.

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): Blizzard Entertainment


 * As part of a deal with Drillimation, Reimu Hakurei, Marisa Kirisame, Patchouli Knowledge, and Yuyuko Saigyouji appear in the game as collectible cards, with their flavor text provided by ZUN.

Henry Stickmin series

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): Puffballs United


 * In the second installment, Escaping the Prison, when using the drill at the beginning of the game, he drills through the floor in a similar fashion to Mr. Driller, when breaking through the large jade green block to complete a stage.

Klonoa Heroes: Legend of the Star Medal

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Namco


 * Susumu Hori makes a cameo appearance in a village.

Larry Boy and the Bad Apple

 * Origin: Unknown
 * Studios: Unknown


 * The game's title is a reference to the song Bad Apple!! from Touhou Project.

Lions Breed Series

 * Origin: Alexonia
 * Studios: Tenma Games

Lions Breed 4

 * A hidden room in the game has a painting of Susumu Takajima and all of his minions sitting the style of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.

Lions Breed Assault X

 * In the Create a Fighter mode there are three outfits based on Touhou Project characters, that being Remilia Scarlet, Suikia Ibuki, and Cirno.
 * In the Senkaisen Tower there's a billboard announcing the Rage Kids band from Angry German Kid.

Little King's Story

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Cing, Town Factory, Konami, Xseed Games


 * There are a number of minor characters within the game who seems to be named after Touhou Project characters, including Lyrica, Lunasa, Merlin, Alice, Lily, Letty, Youmu, Yuyuko, Mokou, Kaguya, Marisa and Utsuho.

Magic Pengel and Graffiti Kingdom

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Taito


 * Reimu Hakurei has a cameo appearance under the name Hakurei no Miko, known as Flying Maiden in the international versions of the game. These are semi-official references since ZUN was involved in development of the game, who worked part-time at Taito from 1998 until 2007. Nonetheless, Drillimation is credited in both games' credits, with the text "Regardless of the above mentioned, the copyright of character Reimu Hakurei reserved by Namco Ltd./Drillimation Studios Co., Ltd."

Mario and Luigi series

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): AlphaDream, Nintendo

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga

 * One of the final boss's moves is based on the spell cards of Sakuya Izayoi from Touhou 6: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.

Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time

 * Kamek in-game wears an outfit that is nearly identical to Marisa Kirisame's clothes, even though it's blue instead of the normal black. The sleeves are also longer and the hat doesn't have a bow in it.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

 * One of the melodies in the song The End sounds very similar to the main melody of the ending song Peaceful from Touhou 4: Lotus Land Story.

Mario Party 4

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Hudson Soft, Nintendo


 * Bowser references Lucky Star in one of his lines during the final battle, with him saying "Thank your lucky stars you made it this far!" Many players are assuming that Konata and her friends helped the player get to Bowser.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

 * Origin: Japan, France
 * Studio(s): Nintendo, Ubisoft


 * The sentry "Killer Extinct" is a pun on the Killer Minecraft series.

Mega Man 9

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Capcom


 * Splash Woman's theme sounds similar to the song Angel's Legend from Touhou Reiiden: The Highly Responsive to Prayers.

Microsoft Solitaire

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): Microsoft Corporation


 * One of the card backs in early versions use the background on the title screen to Lucky Star.

Minecraft

 * Origin: Sweden
 * Studio(s): Mojang AB


 * Several fan-made mods based on The Drillimation Series have been made for the game, such as having the mechanics from Touhou Project in-game.
 * One of the splash texts reads "I wanna share love with you!" This is a reference to Konata's line when she meets Susumu Hori for the first time. Another splash text reads "Well, there you go!", referencing the famous line said by Marisa in Touhou 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom.

Overwatch

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): Blizzard Entertainment


 * The leader of the Shimada Clan is named "Soujirou", similar to Lord Soujirou from Lucky Star.
 * Tracer's voice in the Japanese version of the game sounds very similar to Kagami Hiiragi's voice, due to her being voiced by her second actress, Emiri Katou.
 * Mei's full name, Meiling Zhou, was said to have been named after Hong Meiling.

Pac-Man World Rally

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): Smart Bomb Interactive, Bandai Namco Entertainment


 * Susumu Hori appears as an unlockable racer in the PSP port of the game, along with Puchi.

Paper Mario

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Intelligent Systems, Nintendo


 * One of the items is collectively named Lucky Star. This item increases Mario's attack and defense power, and like in the games, the object is used as an invincibility power against a Magikoopa.

Pokémon series

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Game Freak, Nintendo

Pokémon Red and Blue

 * Satoshi Tajiri confirmed in an interview that Ninetales' tails are based on Ran Yakumo.
 * Lorelei also got her name from Mystia Lorelei.

Pokémon Gold and Silver

 * The name Lucky Channel is used for the radio in-game.

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

 * The Pokémon Froslass was said to have been based on Yuyuko Saigyouji.

Pokémon Black and White

 * Ken Sugimori, who worked at Drillimation Studios from 1984 until 1989, stated that Caitlin was said to be a Touhou-like character. During the time he was at Drillimation, he animated episodes of Lucky Star and provided the artworks for most of the games in the Driller Engine 1 Era.
 * Hironobu Yoshida, another artist who also worked at Drillimation, attempted a design of Caitlyn in the exact same style that is used in Pokémon Black and White as early as 1990. It was originally planned to appear in Touhou 6: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, before ZUN replaced it with Patchouli Knowledge. He worked on all Drillimation games up until the end of the Driller Engine 2 era, where he left.

Pokémon X and Y

 * Main Article: The Drillimation Pokémon Challenge


 * As part of a deal with Drillimation, they have added something for post-game players to chew on called The Drillimation Challenge, where players battle four characters from the Chuhou Joutai series in the style of the Elite Four. In this game, the characters are drawn in the Ken Sugimori style, not the standard Drillimation style.
 * Drillimation did this tribute for when Ken Sugimori worked at Drillimation at the time.

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

 * The Drillimation Challenge appears in this game again, but with a different arrangement of Pokémon and trainers. A notable difference is that Ryuta and Kumiko are not present as two of the challengers but Yumi Ochiai and Hiroki Takajima as replacements.

Pokémon Sun and Moon

 * One trainer on Route 5 is named Yuka in all versions of the game, in reference to Yuka Kazami.
 * One trainer in Mount Lanakila says Dr. Manhole's famous line, "Have at You!", before a battle.

Pokémon Sword and Shield

 * The Pokémon Raboot's overall design appears to be based on Susumu Hori. This is possibly a nod back when Ken Sugimori worked at Drillimation.

Pop'n Music series

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Konami


 * A small number of Drillimation remixes appear in the game starting from the 20th installment.
 * Susumu Hori, Konata Izumi, Reimu Hakurei, and Marisa Kirisame appear in the 23rd installment of the game as playable characters. Konami announced they will not return in any future installments due to licensing reasons.
 * Wataru Hoshi and Chuta Bigbang cameo in Susumu's winning animation on a newspaper article. Anna Hottenmeyer also cameos in Susumu's losing animation, with her laughing at him.
 * Susumu and Konata dressed in their Lucky Star Kingdom dress robes appear in Konata's winning animation. In her losing animation, Lord Soujirou cameos there, forcing Konata dressed as a maid to work on the house.
 * Alice Margatroid and Remilia Scarlet cameo in Reimu's animations.
 * Cirno, Patchouli, and Flandre Scarlet cameo in Marisa's animations.

Portal

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): Valve


 * The game was said to be inspired by the mechanics of Yukari Yakumo creating gaps and going through them.

Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Tamsoft


 * The song I am Dedicated to Lord Kurokage sound very similar to the song Septette for the Dead Princess from Touhou 6: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

 * Origin: United States, France
 * Studio(s): South Park Digital Studios, Ubisoft


 * One ultra move is called "Full-Bore", which is a reference to Holinger-Z's theme of the same name in Killer Minecraft: Immaterial and Missing Power. The user then uses a drill-like weapon much like Susumu Hori to attack the enemy.

Splatoon

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Nintendo


 * The song Calimari Inkantation sounds similar to Bad Apple!!.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 Xross

 * Origin: Japan, Alexonia
 * Studio(s): Tenma Games Tugaganda Capcom


 * In the Nintendo 3DS, PC, and Lunalia versions of the game, Taosuke can wear James Rolfe's clothes as an alternate costume.

Super Mario 64 DS

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Nintendo


 * One of the card minigames in the North American version is collectively named Lucky Stars.

Super Mario Maker

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Nintendo


 * Susumu Hori, Konata Izumi, Wataru Hoshi, Leopold Slikk, James Rolfe, Susumu Takajima, Kagami Ochiai, Reimu Hakurei, and Marisa Kirisame all make cameos for costume Mario if their respective Amiibo figures are scanned. Their voice clips can also be heard, voiced by their respective actors in both the Japanese and international versions. Specifically, their stage clear themes can be heard upon climbing the flagpole.

Super Mario Odyssey

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Nintendo


 * If the player tries to scan any of the Drillimation Amiibo into the game, it will simply not scan and give a humorous message mentioning the character's personality. The following list below is a list of messages that appear:
 * Susumu Hori - What's this? I don't think I have seen that pluckly driller who sounds nearly like Mario.
 * Wataru Hoshi - What's this? I don't think I have seen this astronaut who sounds like Luigi. C'mon, let's cross the stars!
 * Konata Izumi - What's this? I don't think I have seen this blue-haired lottie - who just looks like Princess Peach, in terms of her outfit. Wait a minute, wrong one.
 * Leopold Slikk - What's this? We've never seen this hacker who pounds keyboards and hacks into computers.
 * James Rolfe - What's this? An angry nerd? That reminds me, we need to replay some of the past.
 * Susumu Takajima - What's this? The president of another gaming world? Man, wonder how he's doing.
 * Kagami Ochiai - What's this? A rainbow-haired girl who loves to sing? I hear that she now has blue and purple hair - or perhaps a queen I may say!
 * Reimu Hakurei - What's this? I don't think we've seen this shaman from centuries past. I haven't played that game in years - wonder how my reflexes are doing?
 * Marisa Kirisame - What's this? A witch from the same time period? Sure, she can give Mario stars, but they're probably dangerous, as much as a bright beam.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Nintendo, Square Enix


 * The main lead melody in the song Beware the Forest Mushrooms ~ Rawest Forest sounds very similar to Bad Apple!!.

Super Smash Bros. series

 * Main Article: The Drillimation Series in Super Smash Bros.


 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Nintendo, HAL Laboratory, Bandai Namco Entertainment

Super Smash Bros. Melee

 * Masahiro Sakurai stated that Susumu Hori and Reimu Hakurei were originally planned to appear in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but were scrapped due to time constraints and Nintendo did not have the time to get the rights to use both characters in the game. They were later greenlit in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
The list below shows the alternate color palettes for both characters:
 * Susumu Hori and Reimu Hakurei appear in the game as playable characters. Their moves from Super Smash Keyboards and Killer Minecraft were used in the game, as Susumu Takajima wanted Sakurai to use their existing moves from both games they appear in. Takajima was able to port the player models from both games to Brawl, which used Maya.
 * As a result of the partnership, ZUN and Drillimation are credited in the credits for Brawl.
 * Reimu Hakurei, Marisa Kirisame, Mima, Yuka Kazami, and Alice Margatroid all appear as trophies as well.
 * Sakuya Izayoi appears as an assist trophy, and when she is released, she will use one of her time-freezing spell cards to freeze everyone on-screen except the player and their allies while she sets up the knives. Once the time-freeze is over, the knives move in a straight line, damaging all fighters they hit.
 * Marisa's Mini-Hakkero appears as an item. When used, the fighter can fire Marisa's trademark Master Spark in a similar fashion to Samus's Final Smash.
 * Snake's Final Smash is based on Nitori Kawashiro's last word from Killer Minecraft 4: Hopeless Masquerade. Nonetheless, Nitori also appears as a collectible series-related trophy in the game.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

 * As a result of Bandai Namco signing on to Nintendo's project, Susumu Hori and Reimu Hakurei appear once again, but as DLC.
 * A Pooka appears as a stage enemy and trophy in the Nintendo 3DS version of the game. A Pooka also appears in one of Pac-Man's Namco Roulette taunt.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

 * Susumu Hori and Reimu Hakurei appear once again as part of the roster. Two echo fighters based on them, Susumu Takajima and Sanae Kochiya, appear as well.
 * Konata Izumi was originally planned to be an echo fighter to Susumu but ultimately became her own fighter, alongside Miyuki Takara as an echo fighter for her.
 * In order to commemorate The New Star Trigon, players can play as Susumu Hori's and Konata Izumi's adult forms, as well as Miyuki Takara's adult form.
 * Several different costumes based on the Drillimation characters appear in the game, with Susumu Hori, Konata Izumi, and Miyuki Takara being able to fight in their Lucky Star Kingdom outfits. As well as Reimu Hakurei's Driller Engine 1 Era outfit, and Sanae Kochiya's schoolgirl uniform as well.
 * Two stages based on the Lucky Star games, as well as remixes of 34 songs from the series, appear in the game.
 * Remilia Scarlet, Sakuya Izayoi, Yukari Yakumo, and Kagami Ochiai are all appear as assist trophies, with Remilia and Sakuya regaining their roles in this game.
 * Yukari Yakumo just sits around the stage watching the match, but when the user of the assist trophy gets hit by a move that could potentially KO them, she'll throw in a gap to save the user, which then warps them back onto the stage.
 * Kagami Ochiai pulls out her microphone and begins singing any vocal Touhou Project song, which slows the match down and eventually puts them to sleep (except the user).

Tenma All-Star Fighters

 * Origin: Alexonia, Vicnora
 * Studio(s): Tenma Games Tugaganda


 * One of Taosuke's alternate outfits is inspired by Sumireko Usami's outfit from Killer Minecraft 5: Urban Legend in Limbo.

The World of Eliases series

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): EliMATION Games


 * The central protagonist, Elias, was said to have been inspired by Susumu Takajima, but not as a rip-off of the Chuhou Joutai series, even though The Drillimation Series was expanded into RPGs.

Wario Land II

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Nintendo


 * One enemy in the game appears to be named after Chuta Bigbang.

Wario: Master of Disguise

 * Origin: Japan
 * Studio(s): Suzak, Nintendo


 * Terrormisu's human form has her wearing nearly the exact same gown worn by Konata in the anime, with the exception of her long yellow gloves.

World of Warcraft

 * Origin: United States
 * Studio(s): Blizzard Entertainment


 * Commander Nazrim from Touhou 12: Undefined Fantastic Object  appears in the game as an enemy that the player must kill in the quest A Tiny Clever Commander. The quest also references her musical theme, A Tiny, Tiny Clever Commander. Blizzard was able to do this since one of the programmers involved is a former Drillimation Studios California employee.