References

This article is about popular culture references. For the Seed Generator which doubles as a cheat code entry, see Seeds.

References is one of the speculation pages in The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. Besides the obvious seeds - (Seed generator which doubles as a cheat code entry), there's lots more references to popular culture in the game.

Super Meat Boy

• Ball of Bandages - Becomes Bandage Girl.
• Cube of Meat - Becomes Super Meat Boy.

• Dr. Fetus, Epic Fetus - Reference to the main antagonist from the game.
• Little C.H.A.D. - Referencing C.H.A.D. shrinking after his defeat in Super Meat Boy.
• SMB Super Fan - Gives Isaac an appearance similar to Super Meat Boy.
• C.H.A.D. - Reference to the boss C.H.A.D.
• Brownie - Shares the same name as a boss from the game.
• Little Horn - Shares the same name as a boss from the game.
• Larry Jr. - The presumed offspring of the Larries from the original game.

Edmund's other games

Gish

• Ball of Tar - Gives Isaac an appearance similar to that of Gish.
• Clot - Enemies that appear to be smaller versions of Gish.
• Gish - The protagonist of the original game.
• Little Gish - A familiar based off of the protagonist (and boss respectively.)
• Sisters Vis - A boss taken from the original game.
• Dross - Reference to a chapter from the original game.
• Gehenna - Reference to a chapter from the original game.

Time Fcuk

• Little Steven - The smaller steven attached to Steven.
• Steven - Attaches a small head to Isaac, similar to that of the smaller Steven.
• Steven - The protagonist of the original game.

Tri-achnid

• Triachnid - The protagonist of the original game.

Spewer

• Lil Spewer - A smaller version of the protagonist from the original game.

Fingered

• Finger! - The mouse cursor used in the game.

The End Is Nigh

• Morningstar - Resembles Ferals, enemies in the game.
• Fissure - Based on enemies of the same name.
• Floast - Name is taken from enemies in the game.
• Delirium when transformed into Steven - Resembles Ash, the protagonist of the original game.

Nintendo

Daily runs on the 6th of December will turn Isaac into former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata as tribute, Satoru starts with The Gamekid and Cartridge

Gameboy

• The Gamekid - A reference to the Nintendo Gameboy, with its effect referencing Pac-Man.

Super Mario

• 1up! - Reference to the 1-up power-up.
• Bobby-Bomb - Reference to the Bob-omb enemy from the Mario series.
• Gnawed Leaf - The item's appearance is a reference to the Leaf power-up, the effect to the Tanooki suit power-up from the series.
• How to Jump - The cover looks like the NES Super Mario Bros. cartridge
• Liberty Cap - Touch fuzzy, get dizzy (Reference to level 1-7 in the Super Nintendo title Yoshi's Island)
• Magic Mushroom - Reference to the Super Mushroom power-up
• Mini Mush - Reference to the Mini Mushroom power-up
• Mega Mush - Reference to the Mega Mushroom power-up

Pokémon

• Friendly Ball - The item is a reference to Poké Balls from the Pokémon franchise.
• Missing No. - Reference to the infamous Missing No. glitch from Pokémon: Red and Blue.
• Poke Go - Reference to the mobile game Pokémon Go.
• TMTRAINER - Reference to a glitch in Pokemon: Red and Blue.
• 'M - Reference to a glitch in Pokemon: Red and Blue.

The Legend of Zelda

• The general gameplay is a reference to the original NES title, right down to the HUD. Coins, Keys, and Bombs are used similarly to Rupees, Keys, and Bombs in the NES game.
  • The original flash version of The Binding of Isaac uses a HUD that is a nearly direct port of the original NES Zelda title's HUD.
• Pin, The Frail, Scolex, Needle, and Pasty may have all been inspired by Lanmola from The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past..
• Death's Head was likely inspired by Bubbles from The Legend of Zelda on the NES, as they are both skulls that are invulnerable and maneuver by bouncing off walls.
  • Cursed Death's Head also has a similar cursing effect which prevents the player from attacking.
• Mom's Hand and Mom's Dead Hand are a reference to Wallmasters from The Legend of Zelda.
• Spirit Sword Behaves like the Master Sword in 2D Zelda games, but acts closest to how Link's sword acts in Link's Awakening, which is also a reference to the challenge where it is obtained.
• I AM ERROR - Reference to an NPC's dialogue in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
• Mother - The ability to deflect the Fistula attack is a reference to the Dead Man's Volley.

Kirby

• Camillo Jr. - Likely a reference to Kracko Jr. from the Kirby series.

Magic: The Gathering

• Chaos Card - Refers to Chaos Orb, which instructs the player to flip it onto the playing field and destroy any cards it touches when it lands, a behavior similar to how the in-game Chaos Card is thrown and instantly kills any enemy.
• Black Lotus - Refers to the Black Lotus, one of Magic: The Gathering's most powerful cards. The 3 hearts it adds to the player's health total are a play on how the lotus creates 3 mana of any color.[1]
• Lord of the Pit - Refers to Lord of the Pit, a creature that has flying similar to how the item gives Isaac flying.[2]
• Spirit of the Night - Refers to Spirit of the Night, a creature that was popular in early Magic. Also has flying, similar to Lord of the Pit.
• Contract From Below - Refers to Contract from Below, which allowed a player to add a card to the (now-defunct) ante in a match to draw cards.
• Huge Growth - Refers to Giant Growth, which increases the power and toughness of the creature the card is used on. This effect is similar to the effect in game as the card increases Issac's damage and size.
• Ancient Recall - Refers to Ancestral Recall, which allows the player to draw three cards from their library. In game, the card works similarly by spawning three new card items.
• Era Walk - Refers to Time Walk, which allows the caster to take an extra turn, which is an incredibly powerful effect for the game. Issac references this by granting the player the effects of both Stop Watch and Broken Watch; two time related items.
• Spindown Dice - Refers to Spindown Dice, a dice using on Magic to count life.

Dungeons & Dragons

The first released four main characters you could pick in D&D are some of the playable characters in BOIR, based on the health and abilities.

• Isaac - Fighter
• Magdalene - Cleric
• Cain - Thief
• Judas - Mage
• D4, The D6, D8, D10, D12, D20 - The main/required 6 dice types used to play D&D.
• Monster Manual - Reference to the book series of the same name that is used to reference what monsters do what in the game.

Minecraft

• Notched Axe - Reference to Minecraft and its creator/former owner, Markus Persson (Known as Notch).
  • Can also be "repaired" with the Iron Bar.
• Mine Crafter - Minecraft TNT.

Castlevania

• Whore of Babylon and III - The Empress display the message "What a horrible night to have a curse." upon activation. The text comes from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.
  • III - The Empress? shows the message "The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night.", which also comes from said game.
• Globin, Gazing Globin - may have been inspired by Red Skeletons from the series.
• Mask of Infamy - A reference to Carmilla from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.
• Holy Water - A weapon famously used by the many protagonists of the series.
• Rosary - A recurring item in the series.

Other

• Steam Sale - (Steam / Valve)
• Troll Bomb, Mega Troll Bomb, Envy, Super Envy, Pride, Super Pride - Troll Face, a famous internet meme.
• Shoop da Whoop! - Internet meme of the same name.
• Forever alone - Internet meme of the same name. Envy, Super Envy, Pride, Super Pride also reference this meme.
• Dople - Reference to the Doppelgänger from the Tomb Raider games.
• We Need To Go Deeper! - A quote from the film Inception.
• Humbleing Bundle - Reference to the Humble Bundle storefront.
• A Card Against Humanity - Cards Against Humanity.
• Endless Nameless - Reference to the nirvana song Endless, Nameless
• 8 Inch Nails - Reference to 9-Inch Nails.
• My Shadow - Description is a reference to the song Forty Six & 2 by TOOL
• King Baby - Item description is a reference to the film Army of Darkness.
• Mr. ME! - A reference to Mr. Meeseeks from Rick and Morty.
• Tar Boy - The name is a reference to the TARBOY animation by James Lee.
• Berserk! - Reference to the recurring power-up from the Doom series, where you can only punch enemies to kill them in one hit.
• VII - The Chariot? - Issac has a chance to gain the appearance of Edith in statue form, a cut character from the Antibirth mod.
• Coop Baby #537 is a reference to the Broken Vessel boss from Hollow Knight

Easter Eggs

• If you go to the tainted character select screen, the taskbar icon changes to tainted Isaac instead of regular Isaac.
• If the player obtains Glowing Hourglass as a starting item, using it in the first room will take the player directly to Home.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Achievements Challenges Completion Marks Items Trinkets Characters Chapters Rooms Transformations Attributes Bosses Monsters Pickups Modes Curses Objects Seeds Effects Endings
Collection Item Pools Version History Modding Music