4th February 2010

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In Retrospekt: Imitating the Pixelated World

Written by Bethany McCarthy

Cosplay - the much loved and probably just as much laughed at phenomenon of dressing up as ones favourite character from a video game, anime series or film. Once a Japanese only novelty, the craze has rapidly spread throughout Europe, the West and abroad since the late nineties. Almost any major city will nowadays host some kind of convention where you can go to see the efforts of costume-loving con goers… Some do it right.

..while others leave much to the imagination (and not always in that gratuitous Chun-Li money shot fashion we all love and adore to see translated into the real world. What? I have a smoo and I’m sure as hell not complaining)

In the modern era of gaming, recreating the likeness of a character is as simple as finding an image of your character in game and recreating them detail by detail. The spectacular visuals provided by next-gen gaming titles make it easy to create a photo realistic character complete with details for keen costumers to refer to.

But what about the pixelated characters of old? How do you create a quality lifelike cosplay of a character whose face comprised of two or three black pixels? A challenge some might say. And a challenge it is, with some victorious and others… well, popular on the internet - For the purpose of fail related “lulzy” of course.

Below, we bring you some examples of retro gaming cosplay wins and fails. A what to do and what not do if you will, anyway you get the point. Enjoy our bittersweet combination of sweet, sweet eye candy and the sudden desire to gouge out your eyes with an arcade stick.

1. Link - Legend of Zelda Series (WIN)

Authentic Fantasy Textures: 8/10

Chuck Norrisesque range of facial expressions rating: 10/10

Brilliant. The pose, hair and especially the detail of the fabric are all winners here. Given its easy to do a good Link nowadays due to the continuity and recent releases of the series, but we’ve seen some pretty average Link’s. This aint one of them.

2. Cammy - Super Street Fighter 2 (AAAARG!)

“Is that a dude or a guy?” Rating: 6/10

Sweaty Spandex Crotcho-meter: OFF THE SCALE

We’re not sure whether this is a dude or a lady, although whichever it is they look at least well into their forties. Props for two reasons - 1. For being that old yet thinking Cammy from Street Fighter is cool 2. Pert gravity defying nature of boobies at such a late age. However, this still hurts our eyes. Please, next time use something a bit thicker then Spandex and maybe go for M. Bison instead… Balrog at least? WHY CAMMY?! WHY?!! Needless to say I do NOT want to see this guy do the arse to camera win pose.

(Thanks to the folks at www.destructoid.com for the amusing graphic)

3. Samus - Metroid Series (Very Nice)

Tatty Armour Rating: 7/10

Girl actually looks like Samus Win factor: 9/10

While this is not the coolest or most authentic armour I have seen on a cosplay, this girl still did a damned good job. One of the most important rules of cosplay is that the person should at least slightly resemble the character they are going to cosplay, either aesthetically or body/height/weight etc. This girl certainly looks the part and has obviously gone to some considerable effort to make this. Very, very nice.

4. Dr Robotnik/Eggman - Sonic the Hedgehog Series (O_o)

Stolen Mythbusters Moustache Factor: 9/10

Buttons Resemble Perky Nipples Rating: 10/10

LOOK OUT! Dr Eggman is out to steal your rings..and all your ring related food items. Fruity rings, donuts, cheerios, you name it. Chaos Emerald cravings? Vaccuum sealing a couple of empty Yogo cups to your nipples will do that.

5. Jill Valentine - Resident Evil 1 (Awesome!)

Bad-ass Factor: 8/10

Largeness of Gun: 7/10

I don’t know about you but I think I’m suddenly up for a spot of zombie hunting. The detail is good and mega points for the gun (for making it look realistic) A lot of people stuff up Jill and make her look to comicy whereas this adds a hint of realism. Now where’d I put my nightstick?

6. The Black Mage - Final Fantasy (Er..?)

Bathrobe-o-meter: 8/10

Polar Fleeciness: 7/10

Is this a dude chucking a hadouken or casting Bolt 3? Whichever the case, it is impossible to look cool or even amusing decked out in Uncle Steve’s used up old bathrobe and an old pillow case sewn over a witches hat. It’s ok..he tried.. well, if it gets sweaty in there I guess t he problem solves itself. Wait.. GURL ARE THOSE GARDENING GLOVES?! Oh no he di’int. OH YES HE DID!

7. Commander Keen - Commander Keen Series (Woah!)

Keenness: 9/10

Keen.exe: 7/10

As far as cosplay goes, this isn’t that great. But who are we kidding? Somebody cosplayed commander mother f@#*ing Keen! Let’s not forget the addition of pogo stick and that his t-shirt even has martian characters on it. Bless your dear bleeding retro gaming heart! We’re Keen on this one.

8. Mai Shiranui - King of Fighters (FUUUUUUU)

Wapanesiness: 8/10

Not so puny plum punt-ness: 10/10

No we don’t want to see your deadly ninja bees. And Mai would never be so modest as to wear shiny stockings on those tiny little pins.

Ok we’re sorry  -

9. Mario and Luigi - Super Mario Bros (*squee*)

Kawaii-ness: 9/10

Ability to pull of characters better than adults: 10/10

These kids cosplay better than you. They’re probably also better than you at Cat Mario and laugh at your fumbling use of an arcade stick. Although credit most probably goes to the parents, five stars for detail and head-exploding levels of pure cute.

10. Box - Metal Gear Solid

Stealthiness: 8/10

!: 0/10

Dude…

* * * *

Let’s not forget kids, at the end of the day cosplay is a bit of fun. No matter how good or bad others perceive  your costume to be, the most important thing is that you’re having a good time wearing it.

Peace and Pixels

-Azami

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Tagged: cosplayretrogamesavconotakuconventionanimevideogamearticlesubmission