Saints Row has been a mainstay in gaming since its debut in 2006 on the Xbox 360. It has been almost a decade since Saints Row 4 was released and next month the series will be rebooted. This reboot will slightly tone down all the wackiness the series became known for but it is worth looking back on all of the wacky shenanigans that defined the series. Since the reboot will be the fifth major Saints Row game, here are the top 5 Saints Row moments.
Top 5 Saints Row Moments
The Saints vs Brotherhood
Saints Row 2 begins with the Saints leader, the Boss, having to start from scratch and rebuild the Saints. In the process, the Boss encounters several gangs, one of them being the Brotherhood, a gang of tattoo enthusiasts with large trucks. When the Boss begins crossing paths with the gang, things get very personal.
The boss replaces the tattoo ink of Maero, leader of the Brotherhood, with nuclear waste. He responds by kidnapping one of the Saints named Carlos, who helps you escape prison at the beginning of the game. Carlos is dragged across town tied to a truck and killed by the Boss as an act of mercy. To get revenge, the Boss kidnaps Maero’s girlfriend Jessica and places her in a car at a monster truck rally where she is accidentally crushed by Maero. He is finally killed by the Boss during a demolition derby. Out of all the gang wars in Saints Row, this is probably the most brutal.
A Powerful Entrance
Saints Row the Third was introduced at E3 2011 with a CGI trailer set to Kanye West’s Power. The song ended up being a part of the game’s licensed soundtrack and plays a pivotal role in one of the game’s best missions, Party Time. The mission involves assaulting a penthouse owned by the Morningstar, the Saints’ rivals, during a party. The mission begins with the Boss parachuting from a helicopter as Power begins playing. They then land on the roof and begin their assault on the penthouse.
After fighting their way through enemies, the Boss heads to the elevator so that the rest of the Saints can join in on the fun. Eventually, the gang discovers that a bomb has been activated. This forces the Boss to leave the penthouse and track down a Morningstar lieutenant who knows how to defuse it. Once the bomb is defused, the penthouse becomes the Saints.’ This penthouse is where the player will spend most of their time in Saints Row the Third so it makes sense that its introduction would be so epic and exciting.
The Million Dollar Pack
This might not be a moment from the Saints Row games but it is worth talking about. To promote the upcoming release of Saints Row 4 in 2013, Volition released an exclusive edition of the game in the UK at GAME, a UK games store, known as The Super Dangerous Wad Wad Edition, also known as The Million Dollar Pack. Unlike most collector’s editions, The Million Dollar Pack didn’t include a steel bookcase or statue. Instead, the person who purchased it would receive the following for $1,000,000:
- Saints Row IV Commander In Chief Edition: $59.99
- Virgin Galactic space flight: $250,000
- Full-size replica dubstep gun: $500 (estimated value)
- Hostage rescue experience: $200.36
- Plastic surgery: $7,311
- Spy training day: $155.30
- Personal shopper: $39,000
- Capsule wardrobe: $12,104.30
- 7 nights at the Top Royal Suite at the Burj Al-Arab, Dubai: $19,057.99
- A week for two at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington DC: $4,900 (Martha Jefferson Suite)
- First-class flight to Dubai: $1,984.15
- First class flight to Washington: $1,451 (Virgin Atlantic Luxury Class, from London)
- Lamborghini Gallardo: $250,000
- Toyota Prius: $32,650
- One-year auto insurance: $1,836
- Supercar membership: 15,920.30
You might notice that I said the person who purchased this. That’s because only one of these was sold and you could only buy it by emailing Saints Row publisher Deep Silver. Sadly, it has never been confirmed if anyone ever bought this.
Saints Row 4 Remakes a Cult Classic Film
One of the most surprising moments in Saints Row 4 was the appearance of wrestling legend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. His appearance comes after Keith David (Yes, that Keith David) betrays the evil Zinyak just after selling out the Boss. Zinyak tosses Keith David into his worst nightmare which is fighting with Roddy Piper. This is a reference to the film They Live, which starred David and Roddy Piper. In the film, Piper tries to get David’s character to put on sunglasses that expose the world for what it really is. David’s character resists and this leads to one of the longest fist fights in cinema history.
As Keith David tries to escape his nightmare, Roddy Piper eventually teams up with the Boss to rescue him. Once he is saved, Piper is unlocked as a homie, meaning the Boss can call on him for help at any time. This cameo by Piper is just one of the many pro wrestling references in this game and the entire Saints Row franchise.
Return of the Gat
When most gamers hear the name Saints Row, they think of one person: Johnny Gat. Even though he was never the series protagonist, he was always front and center in each game. You could say he was the mascot of the series. This is why fans were outraged when he was killed in Saints Row the Third. Fortunately, he was brought back in Saints Row 4 in the most ridiculous way possible.
Gat is seemingly killed at the beginning of Saints Row the Third onboard the cargo plane filled with the Syndicate. In Saints Row 4, we find out he wasn’t actually killed. Instead, he was simply kidnapped by Zinyak, who feared that Johnny would stop his plans to take over the earth. The Boss embarks on a quest to rescue Gat which takes them through his mind. The level inside Gat’s make turns the game into a 2-D side scroller featuring events based on Johnny’s past. Fans were thrilled to see Gat back despite the weird circumstances surrounding his return. It’s also fitting that the last game/expansion set in the original canon of the franchise was Saints Row: Gat out of Hell, which starred him as the main protagonist.
