We played Bully: Scholarship Edition on Xbox Series X and nostalgically remembered one of the best games in history for which many fans wished for and never got a sequel.
In the game, you are Jimmy Hopkins, a 15-year-old who arrives at Bullworth Academy after being expelled from 7 other schools! Bully takes us through the first year at the Academy.
The first chapter begins after Jimmy's mother and last stepfather leave him in front of the school doors where he is greeted by Miss Danvers, the extremely irritating personal secretary of Principal Dr. Crabblesnitch. Mrs. Danvers is very devoted to the principal (,,This is yet another of the innovations Dr. Crabblesnitch. He is highly regarded in educational circles.'') and her job, but on the other hand, she doesn't really like the students of Bullworth! Throughout the game, you can hear her over the intercom saying, ,,Don't forget: we are watching you all the time, you little monsters..''
In the first chapter, you cannot leave the school grounds as the school doors are locked. This is also clearly stated by the principal's personal secretary (,,One more thing! New students are not allowed to leave campus during the fall. We want everyone to get to know each other before you head into town''). Although many find this first chapter boring and tedious, we must say that we do not share such thoughts. The first chapter introduces you to the game by teaching you about the school itself, student groups, school subjects, teachers, and your school obligations along with mini-tasks you complete while getting to know each other and navigating the school hallways. Just like in real life, no one likes new students. Thus, your first months at school will be spent in fights to establish yourself and compete. At the very beginning of the game, upon arriving at the boys' dormitory, you meet Gary. Without revealing too much about this character, we will only mention that he claims to constantly envision himself at the head of a great empire, while others do not have a good opinion of him, whether they are students or staff.
Algie describes him as a sociopath, Pinky claims he enjoys torturing people, and Mr. Galloway in chapter 5 in a conversational dialogue states that he saw Gary in the staff office and that "nothing good can come of it." Gary admits to suffering from ADD, and also exhibits traits of narcissism and paranoia, often imagining that he is in charge of a great empire. During the game, he was taking behavior medication, but later stops, which reflects on his behavior in the game itself. His backstory is unknown, but he is a character who mostly appears throughout the game by causing certain chaos around the school and beyond. At the very beginning, he pretends to be a friend, introducing us to the school and its specifics.
Within the game, there are 6 groups:
- The nerds are led by Earnest Jones, and they mostly hang out in the library and the comic shop Dragon's Wing Comics
- The bullies are led by Russell Northrop, and they mostly hang out in the parking lot and at the In-And-Out motel
- The preppies (rich kids) are led by Derby Harrington, and they mostly hang out in Harrington House and in Old Bullworth Vale
- The greasers are led by Johnny Vincent, and they mostly hang out in the Auto Shop and in New Coventry
- The jocks (athletes) are led by Ted Thompson, and they mostly hang out in the gym and on the football field
- The Townies are led by Edgar Munsen, and they mostly hang out at the Blue Skies Industrial Park and in New Coventry at night.
The most significant part of Chapter 1 is Halloween during which you perform various pranks. It is because of missions like these and the fun that Bully is a phenomenal game. We will intentionally not reveal details if you don’t know them, and even if you do, to encourage you to play it nostalgically again!
The first chapter ends with you fighting and defeating Russell, who was manipulated by Gary to spread misinformation and lies against you.
After this event, Gary emerges and operates from the background. Throughout the game, you are actually fighting against bullies and thugs, often using violence. The one you fight against the most is the manipulator Gary, whom you ultimately defeat at the very end of the game.
In the second chapter (after you defeat the leader of the bullies and gain their respect), you deal with the rich kids and the missions are related to them until you directly confront all of them in the boxing gym and defeat their leader Derby Harrington.
The third chapter, titled "Love Makes the World Go Round," begins with Jimmy's monologue, "Now, Derby is really stupid, malicious, and rich. So it won’t surprise you when you find out that he will end up in Congress in his future life. But this is my story, not his. Since the trust fund babies are under control, it’s time to turn my attention to their sworn enemies, those oily kids."
So, in this chapter, you deal with the Greasers, who think of themselves as real macho men. In this chapter, it is winter when it snows, and it is constant throughout the entire chapter, which contributes to the unique atmosphere of the game and the small but significant joys, such as throwing snowballs at other students.
Jimmy realizes in this chapter that he probably shouldn't have allowed himself to be expelled from the previous 7 schools. This is not stated in the game itself, but it can be inferred from comments like the statement that "Bullworth is probably the worst school in the state," and he certainly has experience from a large number of different schools or personal reflections like "What's wrong with this place? Everyone here either wants your help, wants to beat you up, or both."
A lot happens in this chapter, but the story revolves around the girl Lola, whom Johnny (the leader of the Greasers) thinks is cheating on him with Jimmy. In the end, as usual, the chapter concludes with you beating up the leader and other members of the group, but also with Jimmy stating that he is not interested in Lola and that the slutty Lola can be kept by Johnny!
The fourth chapter begins with the announcement, "I'm starting to feel pretty good in my own skin. I've just taken control of the two worst school cliques, but I know that bigger problems are just around the corner. Problems with an overdeveloped pituitary gland and a pea-sized brain."
Can there be a better and more stereotypical announcement for a group of athletes?
The action in this chapter takes place in spring, and you fight against the athletes with the help of the nerds!
Earnest (the leader of the nerds) comes up with a good plan – the goal is to sabotage the big football game! Jimmy steals the mascot costume and thus infiltrates among the Jocks (athletes). He urinates in the water cooler that the athletes drink from, puts super glue on the bench so that the athletes get stuck when sitting, and throws marbles all over the field while setting explosives on the footballs to cause injuries to the athletes. The chapter once again ends with you beating the athletes on the field. The chapter concludes with Jimmy shouting that he has defeated the athletes in front of the whole school and that he now runs the school.
The fifth chapter begins with Jimmy's reflection, "So, here I am, suddenly the king of the school. I never intended for things to turn out this way. I just wanted to control a couple of psychopaths and be left alone. But now I guess I will definitely live a good life."
Due to the overall story and multitude of plots in this chapter, we intentionally do not want to recount all the details, but we will proudly highlight the resolution – Jimmy finally defeats Gary, who has been causing trouble behind the scenes while, at the very end of the game, he failed to bring about a state of emergency in the school where all the groups of students clashed in unprecedented chaos.
In conclusion, chapter number 6 begins with Jimmy's conclusion, "Everything is finally sorted. More or less. I mean, I don't want to say we'll live happily ever after or something like that, but life will definitely get easier."
The chapter is titled "Endless Summer." It is summer, even though classes are still ongoing. Jimmy has brought relative peace to the school and has 100% respect from all six groups. Since there are no further story-related missions, this chapter, as the title implies, does not end.
During this chapter, you can complete everything you haven't done up to that point in the game. The number of passed subjects will give you an idea of whether you've been too "slacking" in class and whether you're a campaigner or someone who regularly (and in advance) fulfills their school obligations.
The subjects in Bully (Scholarship Edition) are shown in the image, and classes are held in the morning from 9:30 to 11:30, and in the afternoon from 13:30 to 15:30.
The game, besides regular missions, also has (shorter) side missions.
Within the game, you can also perform various jobs, for which you earn money upon successful completion. For example, you can mow lawns and deliver newspapers. You then use the money to buy eggs, juices, haircuts, or clothes…
Within Bully, there is also a Carnival, which is a story in itself. Certain missions take place there, but it also serves for outings, playing games within the Carnival itself, such as shooting objects with a gun or throwing a ball to make the Carnival entertainer fall into the water. Within the Carnival, you earn tickets that you can later exchange for T-shirts, posters, or even bikes.
Bully also offers various types of races: bicycle and karting races. By successfully winning these races, you earn money.
We, of course, completed the game 100% in terms of achievements, and this is probably the most fun game to complete 100% that requires effort but is not exhausting. You will definitely need about 30 hours of gameplay for this, and probably more if you are playing the game for the first time.
One of the side things to highlight for completing the game 100% in terms of achievements is definitely finding and defeating the secret/hidden pirate. Since it is hidden, we won't reveal the location! Find it yourself. As a reward, you get the 'Pirate Hat'!
We bring you the list of what needs to be done for 100% achievement (perfectionist) below https://bully.fandom.com/wiki/100%25_Completion.
What we would highlight in conclusion are some technical aspects. You relate to other people during the game through two types of interactions: positive and negative. With positive reactions/comments, you gain a certain favor from people, while negative reactions consequently lead to conflicts. What is unclear in the game is that, for example, by wearing the uniform of a particular group, you do not gain at least some small favor from the group, as the group's attitudes are predefined during the story, and you cannot influence much with your own gameplay (behavior).
Within the game, romantic relationships, or kisses, are possible with both female and male classmates. Depending on the situation and progress through the game, sometimes it is necessary to give a flower or a box of chocolates to make someone like you and lead to a situation where a kiss on the school asphalt is the resolution of the situation.
Quests are fun and humorous, but there are also some illogicalities. For example, we mentioned that throughout the game you have school obligations (subjects, 10 of them). Each subject has 5 exams that you must pass. It happened that we marked a certain subject, and then during a mission, we performed a specific task for that same teacher. This is not a problem, but it is absurd when that same teacher is chasing us around the school (outside the classroom) at the moment when classes are taking place in the classroom taught by that teacher, while we are outside the classroom doing a favor for that teacher who is chasing us. If they catch us, the mission fails. This detail was not considered, and perhaps it should have been. When we nitpick about this, you know that we really don't have many complaints about the game.
This game also features multiplayer, which we consider the only real major complaint!
We know when the game was launched, so we accept the current state, but we are saddened that it has not been fixed with some additional update.
In multiplayer, two players compete to earn the highest score in the same mini-games used for teaching. One player controls Jimmy, while the other controls Gary Smith.
The final rating of the game: a masterpiece! If you haven't played Bully yet or completed it a long time ago, we hope this text has motivated you to (re)play!
