From bans to controversial mechanics... Curiosities about Bully!

For those who played video games at the end of the PlayStation 2 generation and the beginning of the Xbox 360 generation, Bully was certainly one of the great titles that we had the opportunity to see as children, and if at that time it already caused trouble for its owner, Rockstar Games, nowadays we wouldn't have anything to say, since the game would be even more misunderstood.

The game, in turn, has several curiosities in the midst of its story, whether for its missions, its production, or even the bans that the game received around the globe, which did not exactly understand the idea of the game, which was to portray a very poorly managed school that created the worst possible delinquents.

Today I want to talk about some of these curiosities about the game, and explore a little more about its history, which honestly, is quite interesting if you look closely!

Production Delays

Being a major production of Rockstar, the game certainly took a long time to be made, along with this, at the end of the generation, the company faced problems with the hardware, which caused the game to be delayed to 2006, its original release date was October 2005. Since then, most of Rockstar Games' games have been delayed by at least a year, of course, to focus as much as possible on game development and to polish more and more, even if a bug or two slipped through, Rockstar always maintained a level of quality and impeccable care since that time!

Too Many Stereotypes!

Full of violence and physical and moral humiliation, Bully can be considered a true union of everything that is politically incorrect. The game works with stereotypes to represent students belonging to different social groups. All athletes, for example, do not stand out for their intelligence. The rich are shallow, the nerds are unattractive, and women - from any social group - only kiss Jimmy after receiving a gift. In addition, by controlling the protagonist, the player can put other students in trash cans, lock them in lockers, insult them, and even apply the famous practice of pulling their underwear out of their pants. For this reason, the game collected controversies wherever it was seen.

Obviously, bullying practices would reach the ears of NGOs against violence, which is somewhat expected, since the game had an adult theme, so it would be more up to the parents not to give the game to their children, but it didn't help much and the game received several bans, being also banned in Brazil, by the way!

Homophobia Against the Game

As is normal to see, some criticisms make sense and others don't, this is the case here. Bully, like GTA San Andreas, gave the possibility of kissing same-sex characters, which unlike violence, would not exactly become a habit, but still Rockstar Games received criticism for the mechanics, but countered by saying that they wanted to give as many options as possible to the game, making it balanced!

Cheat Codes Within the Game

A characteristic of Rockstar's games at the time was the cheat codes that could be used during gameplay, and Bully is no different, having its own codes such as unlocking all moves, infinite ammo, among others. I'll leave them below in case you want to try them on your emulator, or even on your PS2!

• Unlock all grappling moves - Hold L1 and press up, left, down, down, triangle, square, X, and X.
• Get infinite ammo - Hold L1 and press up, down, up, and down.
• Unlock all weapons - Hold L1 and press up, up, up, and up.
• Get extra money - Hold L1 and press triangle, square, circle, and X.
• Get extra life - Hold L1 and press R2, R2, and R2.
• Unlock all fighting moves - Hold L1 and press up, left, down, right, triangle, square, X, and circle.
• Get extra ammo - Hold L1 and press up and up.
• Unlock all clothes - Press L1, L1, R1, L1, L1, L1, R1, and R1.
• Immortal in the dodgeball minigame - When opponents have the ball possession during a match, press L2 to open the help screen. By doing this, your team players will not take damage, even if they have been hit by other players.
   

The Protagonist Jimmy

Bully has one of the most striking protagonists of the generation in which it was released. Voiced by Gerry Rosenthal, Jimmy Hopkins is a 15-year-old teenager who, despite being shorter than most other students, is more robust and uses this to his advantage to intimidate students who try to intimidate him. He was placed in Bullworth Academy by his mother and his new stepfather, described by the character as a "fake old rich man." Jimmy's major problem is that the boarding school is his last hope of not ending up in juvenile detention, as he has been expelled from the last 7 schools he attended for various reasons, from misconduct, violence, to a possible arson. The game developers reported that they based the protagonist's personality on Holden Caulfield, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye, one of the greatest classics of American literature.

The Villain Gary

Another very striking element in Bully is its villain. A boarding school does not seem like an environment to create such a sadistic villain, after all, it is an environment surrounded by teenagers who are constantly monitored. Still, Rockstar's game manages to create a memorable antagonist who poses a great threat to Jimmy and other students at Bullworth Academy. Gary Smith is voiced by Peter Vack and is mainly responsible for disrupting the player's life in the game. Taller and thinner than Jimmy, he has a more cruel personality than the juvenile delinquent, being frowned upon by other students and staff at the boarding school and described as a sociopath and narcissist who enjoys torturing others. His main dream is to dominate the institution where he studies.