It can’t be denied that Friday the 13th: The Game isn’t perfect. As of now, the main problems are: connection issues ranging from basic matchmaking to connection timeouts and peer hosting; bugs and glitches galore, which are slowly being fixed; and general replayability, considering there are only 3 maps and so many things to do to escape or stop an escape.
But one of the greatest things about Friday the 13th: The Game is the feeling that you are, literally, playing the film franchise. This is accomplished by how detailed the game is in reference to the Friday the 13th films. So, franchise nerd that I am, I broke down all of the film references in Friday the 13th: The Game.
Next up: the counselors. Keep in mind that these reference ideas have less to do with specific gender and racial profiles and more to do with clothing, style, and assumed personality.
Vanessa Jones
Movie References: Julius Gaw from Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Right off the bat, we’re dealing with a gender-bender. Considering Vanessa has insane stamina and a track suit, it’s pretty reasonable to believe that high school boxer Julius Gaw from Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan could have been the inspiration behind her.
Adam Palomino
Movie References: Eddie from Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood (1988), Clay Miller from Friday the 13th reboot (2009)
(Editor’s Note: The basis of Adam is from a Kickstarter contributor.)
Adam Palomino is one of the counselors that seems like a hybrid of two equally possible characters from the film franchise. One is Eddie from Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood with his shaggy hair, fanboy-pinned jacket, and high intelligence on engineering. On the other hand, Adam also has the strength and biker dude air of Clay Miller from the Friday the 13th reboot to go with the shaggy hair.
Eric “J.R.” Lachappa
Movie References: Shelly from Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)
(Editor’s Note: The basis of Eric is from a Kickstarter contributor.)
It’s been discussed that the actor who played Shelly in Friday the 13th Part 3, Larry Zerner, would love for Friday the 13th: The Game to adopt his goofy character. Well, I’d hate to break it to you, Larry, but the game already has a goofy, chubby OP counselor that wears his grandfather’s hand-me-downs: The Great LaChappa!
Brandon “Buggzy” Wilson
Movie References: Steven Freeman from Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
(Editor’s Note: The basis of Buggzy is from a Kickstarter contributor.)
I know what you’re going to say about this comparison: “Buggzy doesn’t wear glasses!”
Still, Steve Freeman from Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday seems like almost the perfect inspiration for Buggzy. He strong, fast, and is still rocking the varsity jacket after graduating from high school 10 years ago. Of course, if Buggzy is still in high school, this comparison loses a bit more of its luster.
A.J. Mason
Movie References: Violet from Friday the 13th Part 5: A New Beginning (1985)
We don’t really know too much about Violet from Friday the 13th Part 5: A New Beginning. She either has issues with social interaction, substance abuse, or is an orphan, since she’s living at a halfway farm. We don’t know how intelligent she is, but we do know that she likes music and dresses like an 80s new wave fan. Pretty good likeness for A.J. Green.
Chad Kensington
Movie References: Paul Holt from Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Russell and Melissa from Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood (1988), Trent from Friday the 13th reboot (2009)
It shouldn’t be surprising that there have been so many “chads” throughout the Friday the 13th film franchise. It’s just so damn fun to watch a “Chad” personality get hacked down by a serial killer. If you take the snobbishness of Melissa and the clothing of Russell from Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood, give him the dick-ish personality of Trent from the Friday the 13th reboot, and add the blonde mop of nice-guy Paul Holt from Friday the 13th Part 2 (sorry Paul), you have the Frankenstein’s Monster of a-holes: Chad Kensington.
Deborah Kim
Movie References: Maddy from Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood (1988), Eva Watanabe from Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Deborah Kim is another character-splice from the Friday the 13th film franchise. The obvious inspiration would be science-whiz Eva Watanabe from Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan, but something was obviously missing: glasses for Deborah to “Velma” around with. That’s where Maddy from Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood comes in.
Jenny Myers
Movie References: Chris from Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)
This one’s pretty obvious. Striped shirts with white collars, medium brown hair, no-nonsense attitude: Jenny Myers is the perfect likeness of Chris from Friday the 13th Part 3. There’s really not much more you can say.
Kenny Riedell
Movie References: Rob from Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter (1984)
(Editor’s Note: The basis of Kenny is from a Kickstarter contributor.)
He may not have facial hair or shorts, but Rob from Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter seems like the perfect inspiration for Kenny Riedell. Rob is a master of none, like Kenny, since he dies in the film after doing pretty much nothing of value. And they both wear plaid, so there’s that.
Tiffany Cox
Movie References: Terry from Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Tina and Terri from Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter (1984)
One again we have a character-splicing to create a character from Friday the 13th: The Game. This time it’s the sexy Tiffany Cox. Terry from Friday the 13th Part 2 is an obvious partial inspiration. Even before the added content gave her the “Muffin” shirt as a homage to Terry’s dog and the “obviously not Mickey Mouse because we’d get sued” cartoon shirt, those shorts were a dead giveaway. But let’s not forget the twins, Tina and Terri, from Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter. They provided the hair and bare shoulder.
Tommy Jarvis
Movie References: Grownup Tommy Jarvis from Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives (1986)
This one is pretty direct. Tommy Jarvis from the game was lifted directly from Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives. That jacket liner is on point, along with the term, “Maggot-head.”
Unknown Guy Killed in the Cut-Scene
Movie References: Rob from Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter (1984)
Look at Rob getting multiple appearances! To be honest, I thought Kenny Riedell was the one killed in the cut-scene, since the counselors don’t really line up with the characters that people selected. I decided against that pretty quickly, but that it can’t be a coincidence that a playable character and a constantly murdered character are wearing plaid. It has to be due to Rob from Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter.
La Chapa is actually based on a real person who backed the Kickstarter project.
I think Julius inspired bugzy beacause of his high strength like bigzy
Good point, Danny! I just have a hard time getting away from that Varsity jacket.