Arcade Mania

"You're horrible!"

"Arcade Mania" is the 11th episode of season one in Steven Universe, and the 11th episode overall.

Synopsis
Steven takes the Crystal Gems to Funland Arcade, where Garnet learns the allure of video games.

Plot
The Crystal Gems are walking along a cliff ledge of an underground cave in search of the Gem Cave Creature. The mission requires stealth but Steven's coat is making a loud "swishing" sound, much to Pearl's annoyance. She lectures Steven about wearing the noisy coat during a stealth mission. Steven tries to explain that he is wearing the coat to avoid catching a cold but Pearl points out that he is still wearing sandals. Steven tries to avoid making any further noise but Amethyst mimics the sound of the coat's "swishing" causing Pearl to berate him again. Before Steven has a chance to explain, Steven falls from the edge of cliff but Garnet is there to catch him at the bottom. As she puts him down, the gem creature suddenly attacks them. Garnet is able to defeat the gem creature and collect its core but she allows the drill parasites to escape.

To celebrate their victory, Steven takes them to the Funland Arcade much to the other gems dismay. As Pearl and Amethyst struggle to come up with excuses not to go, Amethyst points to out that they do not have any money at which point Steven opens his coat to reveal that he has pockets, full of quarters. He then pairs each gems to an arcade game. He attempts to get Pearl to play to racing game "Road Killer" but unsuccessful because she does not understand the objective and is a cautious driver. After Pearl, He then tries to get Amethyst to play skee ball at which he is successful. However, Amethyst starts to cheat when she learns that she can exchange her tickets for prizes. Steven has the most difficulty with Garnet who breaks two fighting games due misunderstandings. However, she becomes entranced after Steven introduces her to the rhythm game, Meat Beat Mania to point that doesn't hear Steven when he collects the other gems to leave after Mr. Smiley discovers his broken games.

The following morning, Steven is out on the beach looking for quarters with his metal detector when the drill parasites ambush him. He cries for help to which Amethyst and Pearl come to his aid but they are ineffective without Garnet's guidance, who is notably missing, and they are forced to retreat. While running across the pier, Steven realizes that they need Garnet and rushes back to the arcade while Amethyst and Pearl attempt to hold off the parasites. Inside the arcade, Steven finds that Garnet still playing Meat Beat Mania and is reaching levels that he has never seen before. He tries to get her attention and alert her to the danger outside but she does not seem to be listening. He climbs on top of her and tries to snap her out of her trance. In his haste, he removes Garnet's sunglasses to reveal that she not only has a third eye but it is intently focused on trying to keep up with the game's rhythm.

Steven tries to beat Garnet at the game, in hopes that she will snap out of it, but he ends up losing each time. He then tries to unplug the game but Garnet uses her powers to allow her to continue to play the game. In his frustration, Steven rips control panel out of its stand and uses it to smash the game's screen which ultimately releases the game's hold over her. Garnet thanks Steven then goes to join the other gems thus turning the tide of the battle. Steven attempts to leave the arcade he is caught by an infuriated Mr. Smiley who believes Steven was the one who has been destroying his games. Steven is then forced to work off the cost of the damaged games while the other gems fight the drill parasites.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Garnet
 * Pearl
 * Amethyst
 * Sour Cream (cameo)
 * Onion
 * Mr. Smiley (semi-antagonist)
 * Gem Cave Creature
 * Drill Parasites

Objects

 * Road Killer
 * Teens of Rage
 * Meat Beat Mania
 * Punch Buddy
 * Skee-Ball
 * Coins
 * Onion's Moped (debut)

Locations

 * Gem Cave Creature's Lair
 * Beach City
 * Crystal Temple
 * Beach House
 * Funland Arcade

Soundtracks

 * Funland Arcade
 * Road Killer
 * Teens of Rage
 * Meat Beat Mania: Over Easy
 * Meat Beat Mania: FLAMBÉE!

Trivia

 * Pearl knows how to drive, despite not owning a vehicle, or needing one.
 * Garnet's third eye grants her the power of precognition allowing her to respond almost instantly to threats.
 * However, this episode reveals that certain rhythmic movement and activities that rely on reflexive action, such as Meat Beat Mania, can overstimulate her third eye and reduce her into a trance-like state.
 * If Garnet did not let the drill parasites escape, Steven may not have been as motivated to figure out a solution to free Garnet from Meat Beat Mania or found out about Garnet's third eye and its abilities.
 * Onion appears to be the ticket master, as he wins a moped from the ticket counter.
 * However, he only seems to get many tickets by opening the machines to get them, as seen in "So Many Birthdays", and "Onion Trade."
 * Pearl's face appears to be on the quarters Steven uses.
 * Garnet's eyes appear to be small, scarcely colored pupils without irises when Steven takes off her glasses, but in "Future Vision" when Garnet takes off her glasses, she appears to have irises.

Cultural References

 * The "Funland Arcade" in Beach City has the same name as the arcade in The Amazing World of Gumball.
 * Meat Beat Mania is a parody of the classic SEGA arcade game Samba de Amigo.
 * Teens of Rage is a tribute to the Sega Genesis game called Streets of Rage.
 * Note: Has a slight reference to character Skate (Fighting on skates) as a head with a cap on a skateboard.
 * Right before Teens of Rage's title pops up, a brief frame is seen displaying the Department of Justice's emblem with the phrase "WINNERS DON'T USE DRUGS." This directly references the anti-drug campaign that was used in arcade machines in North America from 1989 to 2000.
 * The game was made by a company called Carpcom, which is a parody of the real game company called Capcom.
 * Road Killer may a parody of another classic Sega game, Crazy Taxi.

Continuity

 * Pearl knows a lot about cars and machines in general.
 * She drives Greg's van in "Ocean Gem," repaired his van after it broke down in "House Guest," as well as figured out away to get it working again after its battery over heated in "The Message."
 * In "Space Race," she designed and built her own working spacecraft although it fell apart while attempting to leave the Earth's atmosphere.
 * In "Jail Break," she attempted to interface with the Gem Warship in order to pilot it back to Earth
 * This was the first time Garnet was seen without her glasses.
 * Garnet's heterochromia alludes to the fact that she is a fusion.
 * Her right eye is dark red (Ruby), her left eye is dark blue (Sapphire), and her third eye is dark purple.
 * This is the episode alludes to Garnet's precognitive abilities which are explored in depth in the episode "Future Vision".
 * Pearl states that Garnet has heightened perceptive abilities that guide them toward their mission objective. Amethyst believes this is why Garnet is "the boss" but Pearl contests this.
 * While the Crystal Gems are under attack by the Drill Parasites, Pearl wonders "...why didn't we see this coming?" to which Steven responds that they need Garnet.
 * Steven mentions fighting a giant foot, and in "The Return", the Crystal Gems had to fight the Gem Warship, which has the shape of a giant hand.

Errors

 * At first Steven's jacket's pockets are revealed to be full of coins, but when Steven was battling Garnet in a game of Meat Beat Mania, he only had a few coins left, although the Gems did not use many coins.
 * When the numbers of Meat Beat Mania get closer to zero, the change of scene they begin again from ten.
 * When Steven unplugged Meat Beat Mania, it was shown to be plugged in after that.
 * At the end of the episode, the drumstick controllers disappear after Steven destroys the Meat Beat Mania game.

Transcript
View the episode's transcript here.