The Console

"The Console" is the eighteenth episode of Season 5 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the 174th episode overall.

Synopsis
When Gumball is given a cursed video game console, Elmore becomes trapped inside a fantasy RPG world. Gumball, Darwin and Anais have to battle their way through town, unraveling the secrets of their new virtual reality.

Plot
To make up for not getting a present for Gumball's birthday, Richard gives him a knockoff video game console called "Game Child," which he got from the Awesome Store. Gumball is slightly disappointed, but Richard reminds him how everything in their home is a knockoff of something and leaves the room. Gumball turns on the console to discover the game Inverted Paradox: The Enemy Within, a JRPG. When Gumball starts the game and selects to go to the bedroom, he finds the world around him starting to pixelate into blackness which terrifies him.

When the screen is back up, Gumball finds himself in his room, where Darwin asks him what his name is. Gumball looks at the screen and realizes, to his delight, that he has trapped the town inside a video game. He calls himself MYBUTT, causing Darwin and Anais' dialogue to sound funnier. Darwin and Anais join Gumball to fix the universe that Gumball messed up by turning on the video game.

They walk outside and encounter a shrub blocking their path. After seeing their limited options, Gumball kicks the shrub, forcing the team to go into battle with a large, flower monster. Gumball acts overconfident before being damaged by the monster. Anais suggests damaging the creature with fire and activates Science, where she mixes two chemicals and throws it at the monster, which burns it away and gives the trio the victory. When they enter back into the neighborhood, they find out that the monster was Leslie, who was briefly changed into the monster after buying some fertilizer from the Awesome Store. When they get tired of Leslie talking, Gumball uses the dialogue box to knock him out and the three run away.

They go to Mr. Robinson's house, where Gumball starts looting the place since he can get away with it in JRPGs, and grab the old man's VHS player. Despite Anais and Darwin objecting, Gumball is proven right when Mr. Robinson tells them that they may take whatever they need for their quest. Gumball then steals money from his wallet and takes a break by sleeping on his bed.

The siblings go outside and discuss possible outfit options for Anais. Gumball bumps into Penny, who challenges them to a fight with an electronic object stuck to her head. Gumball refuses to fight her, but Darwin tells him that it is the only way they can progress. As Penny charges her attack, Gumball tries to calm her down by giving her the VHS player as a gift, which unintentionally knocks Penny out and gives the team a bittersweet victory. Penny, now with a dented head, thanks Gumball for saving her, explaining that she was possessed by a cellphone bought at the Awesome Store. She then gives it to Gumball to help him on his quest, as he can use it to summon allies to the battlefield. Gumball apologizes to Penny for disfiguring her with the VHS player and gives her a kiss before they leave. Penny passes out shortly afterwards.

They find the Crocodile Woman, whom Darwin thinks has a clue for them. She asks Gumball to find her missing pigeons, which are all over the town. Gumball is distraught, as the tedious sidequest preys on his gamer weakness of the need to 100% complete the game. After finding all the pigeons and becoming a fat nerd, Gumball receives the "No Life" trophy.

In the world map, Darwin spots the Awesome Store to the west under a thunder cloud. Gumball suggests that the three grind by defeating menial enemies to improve their stats. After defeating some small woodland creatures in the park, they take out some bystanders to increase their levels enough to take on the Awesome Store. Once they finish, they resume their quest.

The siblings arrive at the mall parking lot, where Gumball panics as he forgot to save before starting the cutscene to take on the Awesome Store. The Van Shopkeeper greets them and begins explaining something, but the children don't listen and immediately destroy the van. The Shopkeeper tells them that he is not the enemy and that the Game Child is the true villain of the game. The console comes to life and challenges the trio to one, final battle.

The last boss turns out to be very powerful, as it knocks the three of them down to 1 HP with one attack. Gumball tells Anais that if they lose, they either die in the real world, or have to restart the game from the beginning. While avoiding the lasers from the Game Child, Darwin suggests using their potion, but Gumball ends up throwing it at Game Child instead. Anais suggests using the phone to summon allies in battle. Gumball activates it, allowing him to summon Sarah, Hector, Banana Joe, Carrie, Granny Jojo, Nicole, and Richard to defeat the Game Child once and for all. After one last victory pose, the game's end credits start. Anais and Darwin are glad that it is over, but Gumball is dissatisfied that he only achieved 89% completion. When it offers Gumball the option to start a new game, Anais and Darwin desperately try to stop him as he presses "Yes" on the screen, ending the episode.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Anais
 * Gamechild

Minor Characters

 * Richard
 * Leslie
 * Mr. Robinson
 * Mrs. Robinson (photo)
 * Penny
 * Crocodile Woman
 * Pigeons
 * Squirrels
 * Rats
 * Butterflies
 * Cats
 * Shape People
 * Betty
 * Neck Beard
 * Yellow Guy
 * Cyclops Dog
 * Gary
 * Marvin
 * Billy
 * Van Shopkeeper
 * Sarah
 * Hector
 * Banana Joe
 * Carrie
 * Granny Jojo
 * Nicole

Trivia

 * The plot of this episode is somewhat similar to the Gumball comic Fairy Tale Trouble.
 * The fourth wall is broken a couple times in this episode:
 * Gumball smacks Leslie's face with a dialogue box.
 * When Penny falls over, the dialogue box does too.
 * The credits for Inverted Paradox list Ben Bocquelet as the director.
 * When Gumball, Anais, and Darwin momentarily go into a fully pixelated town, the town looks similar to the one used in the promotional video for the Japanese ending theme song for The Amazing World of Gumball.

Continuity

 * This episode marks Awesome Store's fifth appearance. The other four were in "The Puppy," "The Origins," "The Disaster," and "The Rerun."
 * This is the second time Gumball kisses Penny on the cheek, the first time was "The Misunderstandings."
 * The butterflies from "The Kiss" return in the grinding sequence.
 * The rabid squirrels from "The Wicked" also reappear.

Cultural References

 * The "GameChild" console featured in the episode is a parody of the Nintendo Game Boy. Coincidentally, said knock-off also exists in real life.
 * The episode contains several references to the game Final Fantasy VII:
 * The logo for Inverted Paradox: The Enemy Within is a spoof of the Final Fantasy VII logo.
 * In one scene Anais equips a hat and giant sword similar to Luso's from Final Fantasy Tactics A2, and the sword doubles as a gun similar to Squall's Gunblade from Final Fantasy VIII.
 * In the dialogue sequence where Gumball, Darwin, and Anais grow "anime hair," Gumball and Darwin's resemble the haircuts of Cloud and Sephiroth, while Anais's resemble the haircut of Rizelea from Trinity Universe.
 * The episode's theme and the battle music of Inverted Paradox: The Enemy Within is extremely similar to the battle theme, "Let the Battles Begin!"
 * The victory fanfare of the Final Fantasy series is also referenced.
 * Banana Joe's pose is a reference to the Cactuar creature, and the attack "Thousand Blows" is the Cactuar's signature move, "1000 Needles."
 * The final attack when Gumball uses the phone to summon all his friends is a parody of Ultimate End, the strongest Summon in Final Fantasy VII. Both attacks involve a myriad of characters ganging up on an enemy.
 * "Chainor" is a misspelling of China, spoofing on Engrish, or the accidental misphrasing or misspelling of words when translated into English.
 * Darwin saying he forgot Gumball's name is a reference to RPGs where the player has to type in the protagonist's name.
 * Anais defeating the leaf monster with a fire attack is a reference to type effectiveness in games such as Pokémon and Mega Man Battle Network.
 * "Badman" is a parody of Batman.
 * "Soppy" is a parody of Sony.

Goofs/Errors

 * When Anais says that they could've just walked away from Leslie, it is spelled "could of" instead of "could've" in the dialogue box.
 * When Gumball talks to Mr. Robinson, "Welcome" is misspelled "Weclome" in the dialogue box.
 * When Darwin tells Gumball to use the potion he gave him, he says they only have 1 XP left when they only have 1 HP left.
 * When the party grinds for XP for the final battle, it shows them at a much higher level, but when they actually go to the final dungeon, their levels shrink.