Warning: Spoilers for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners to follow.
History doesn’t provide this feat much of a challenge, but there has never been a better time in history for video games to get adapted for the big screen and streaming queues alike. For what regressions we’ve had in the likes of Netflix’s latest Resident Evil adaptation, the art of converting video game content to film and television has scored big wins with The Witcher, Castlevania, and, most recently, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. This high-octane, dazzlingly flashy anime series is based on CD Projekt Red’s high-profile action role-playing game Cyberpunk 2077.
Developed by Studio Trigger in partnership with the aforementioned game studio, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners follows the plight of David Martinez. He’s a street kid looking to live another day in the depths of Night City, a shady dystopia obsessed with invasive body modifications and technology. Choosing the life of a mercenary, or “edgerunner,” he quickly falls in with a posse of other such outlaws as they fight to stay alive in a city that would prefer them dead.
Edgerunners received acclaim from critics, firmly cementing it as not only one of Netflix’s best video game adaptations but also as one of the best animes to ever come out of the streamer as well; a far cry from the misfortune that its source material launched with, receiving an infamous amount of backlash for the amount of bugs within the game.
Perhaps there is a reason, then, that Cyberpunk: Edgerunners only borrows so much of its material from the game itself, mostly in the form of the deliciously intriguing Night City setting. Evidently, however, it doesn’t end there; despite the majority of Edgerunners‘ characters being unique to the anime, there are quite a few personalities that serve to link the series to the canon that began with Cyberpunk 2077.
The recent 2.0 updated version of the 2077 video game helps thereby giving a memorable overall wink and nod to the characters that audiences saw in the Edgerunners episodes.
Here’s a list of all the characters who share appearances in both Edgerunners and 2077.
David Martinez
While the anime’s protagonist didn’t technically appear in Cyberpunk 2077, the game does mention his name.
In the nightclub known as Afterlife, the player can purchase a drink named after David; a drink that honors his status as one of the greatest edgerunners to have ever graced the depths of Night City.
His name is also mentioned in the Edgerunners DLC sidequest “Over The Edge” which, upon completion, will grant you David’s jacket as a cosmetic item.
Falco
David’s go-to driver is Falco, just the same as it is in the anime version. He appears as part of the “Over The Edge” sidequest, contacting the player after the sidequest is completed. From there, he’ll lead the player to a location where David’s jacket can be found.
It’s too bad he can’t show off more of his driving skills as the police have been upgraded in the 2.0 version to be much more of a challenge than before, during chases of wanted criminals throughout Night City.
Pilar
Pilar is a cybernetics specialist and a member of Maine’s crew in the Edgerunners anime. He does not physically appear in 2077, as is the case with most of these characters, but his voice can be heard on a recorded conversation during the gig known as “Old Friends.” The player can pick the conversation up off of a random Valentinos gang member at the Jacked and Coke bar.
The conversation entails job negotiations with Valentinos member Jose Luis, who seems to have made contact with a reluctant Pilar about a high-paying but low-profile job. Pilar eventually accepts, but his fate remains unknown.
Adam Smasher
One of the few characters to feature prominently in both 2077 and Edgerunners, is the Arasaka cyborg known as Adam Smasher. He is hellbent on eliminating anyone who poses a threat to the aforementioned corporation, and “anyone” happens to include both David Martinez and V, the player character’s name in 2077. Indeed, both protagonists find themselves facing him during the events of their respective adventures.
And in the 2077 2.0 update, the Arasaka cyborg is also mentioned as a brief conversation topic with Johnny Silverhand, during an apartment visit that takes place in the Little China area of Night City.
James Norris
Last but not least, we have James Norris, the disgraced Lieutenant Colonel of the New United States Armed Forces whose rampage claimed 27 lives before a bullet found its way into his head, as we learn in the first episode of Edgerunners.
During the previously mentioned Edgerunners DLC sidequest “Over The Edge” in 2077, V can find a braindance (an insert that allows its user to view a memory with the same emotions and senses that its original owner had at the time) in a trashcan with a note that suggests they do not end up like David Martinez, which then kicks off the sidequest.
