With Halloween only three days away, it’s getting quite late in the game to figure out what you’re going to dress up as this year. Here to the rescue, as always, is VC&G with the second of two parts on last-minute Halloween costume ideas. The first part dealt with vintage computer-related costumes. This second part deals exclusively with video game-related costumes. So if you’re desperate for some ideas, feel free to take a look what we’ve cooked up for you below. And by all means, share any of your own ideas with us as well.

Special thanks to Matt of Video Game Obsession for providing the Urban Champion and 3-D World Runner scans used below.

If you like these, here’s even more costume ideas:
2010 Video Game Edition
2009 Video Game Edition
2008 Video Game Edition
2007 Video Game Edition
2006 Computer Edition

Urban Champion

With “urban” games so popular these days, the main character from Urban Champion for the NES should be a popular choice this Halloween. This costume would be best pulled off if you got a buddy to dress up as a rival “urban champion.” You could then duke it out on the streets, old-skool Nintendo style.

Urban Champion Costume Recipe:

• 1980s short-sleeved blue t-shirt pulled over a long-sleeved green t-shirt
• Green sweatpants
• A pair of red Converse Chuck Taylors with blue soles
• Pixelated manhole to knock buddy into
• The unending will to fight

In-Character Behavior: Be prepared to hold several no-holds-barred street brawls with random people on street corners that you encounter along your Halloween route. Avoid old ladies with flower pots, manholes.

—

Human Cannonball

I bet scores of kids in the late 1970s dressed up as Atari’s Human Cannonball every Halloween. Who could resist his incredible charisma? I bet he makes a mean pizza pie.

Human Cannonball Costume Recipe:

• Italian complexion
• Black handlebar mustache
• Evel Knievel star-spangled jumpsuit and helmet
• Flight goggles
• Large target to smash into
• And, of course, a cannon

In-Character Behavior: Wheel around your cannon and offer to shoot people out of it. When no one accepts your offer, do it yourself. Pretend to be launched from your cannon by jumping out of it and screaming, “Aaayyiiaiaaahhhh!” After landing, stand up, dust yourself off, and loudly announce, “Everyone relax; I’m alright.”

—

Keith Courage

Keith Courage in Alpha Zones was the TurboGrafx-16’s pack-in game for a long time, so everyone is bound to know who Keith Courage is. You could either go as the regular guy, or Keith in his mech suit thingy. We’ll concentrate on “guy mode.”

Keith Courage Costume Recipe:

• White shirt, pants
• Brown knee pads
• Red wrist bands
• Blue body armor
• Ultra-masculine demon-faced tiara
• Glowing plasma sword

In Character-Behavior: Walk stiffly without bending your elbows or knees, except when jumping. Thrust your sword at people dressed as monsters, making sure to kill them thoroughly. After a while, if you get tired of being regular Keith and come across a pagoda, you can jump into a mech suit and start walking really fast.

—

Treasure Master

Treasure Master for the NES was, without a doubt, one of the greatest games of all time. Its timeless, legendary status in the NES library will make you quite popular this Halloween. Be ready to fight the girls off with a stick.

Treasure Master Costume Recipe:

• Radical 1980s baseball cap with upturned brim
• Radical 1980s neon-pink digital watch
• Radical 1980s neon-yellow wrist bracelet
• Radical 1980s sunglasses
• Radical 1980s spiky hairdo
• Radical 1980s t-shirt
• Radical 1980s JAMS or similar iridescent shorts

In Character-Behavior: Essentially, try not to get beaten up. Although the Treasure Master is popular, some guys might be jealous of your awesome style.

—

Nintendo Power Cyborg Zombie

You have been recruited to the elite ranks of Nintendo Power proselytizers. Your mission is to spread the Good Word of the Big N to as many people as possible. And being a zombie, you can also eat their brains.

Nintendo Power Cyborg Zombie Costume Recipe:

• Stainless steel colander with oven knobs, AC power cords, plastic bottle caps, wires, and two rolled up Nintendo Power issues attached to it
• Blue/Green 1980s sweatshirt
• NES control pad, with cord leading to pants
• Pixelated yellow aura generator
• Ridiculous grin

In-Character Behavior: Hand people copies of Nintendo Power magazine and tell them how, unlike previously, they are now playing with power. Use your thumbs, use your eyes; find yourself Tetrisized.

—

Pick Axe Pete

Even though I have at least two copies of Pick Axe Pete for the Odyssey2, I don’t remember ever playing it. But I do know that he was one of the most popular characters on the short-lived Magnavox Odyssey2 game system.

Pick Axe Pete Costume Recipe:

• A pickaxe
• The name “Pete”
• Blue jeans
• Red/white checkerboard shirt with rolled-up sleeves
• Leather prospectin’ hat
• Leather prospectin’ vest
• Leather prospectin’ boots

In-Character Behavior: Prospect as if your life depended on it! Dig at random spots in the ground with your trusty pick-axe. Look for gold and…keys, I suppose.

—

Super Breakout Astronaut

Atari’s Super Breakout Astronaut was once so popular that I think he had his own balloon and float at the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Relive Atari’s glory days by dressing up as the definitive heroic space warrior this Halloween.

Super Breakout Astronaut Costume Recipe:

• Astronaut suit
• Three ping pong balls
• Dead-serious Clint Eastwood-like facial expression
• (Optional) rainbow piñata to break apart with a bat

In-Character Behavior: Pretend to play racquetball in zero-g conditions against an invisible opponent while stoically making blip noises out of the side of your mouth.

Alternately, repeatedly bounce a ping pong ball off the ground as you walk along a sidewalk. If you lose all three that you’re carrying, go home in shame without any candy.

—

3-D World Runner

For those of you with a more flamboyant streak, you can take a turn as the famous “3-D World Runner” from the NES game of the same name. Notice that the dash in the “3-D” was not inserted by me, but the game makers themselves.

3-D World Runner Costume Recipe:

• 3-D World Runner boots
• Flaming nipple jumpsuit
• Red/blue anaglyph 3D glasses
• An ounce of moxie

In-Character Behavior: Jump over everything you see, bounce off of columns on buildings, avoid mushrooms, drink liquids in Erlenmeyer flasks, and toast marshmallows on your flaming nipple jets.

—

Spike

Spike could almost be considered the mascot for the all-vector-graphics Vectrex system since it saw a few releases starring the character. The first one was simply called Spike, and it’s sort of a pseudo-3D Donkey Kong.

Spike Costume Recipe:

• Giant, inverted-star head-body
• Spindly little legs
• Gruff, digitized voice synthesizer
• Triangle shoes

In-Character Behavior: Begin by stating “Oh no. Molly.” out loud. Shuffle side to side down the sidewalk, jumping over random segments as if they were endless black pits. Climb any ladders you see. If you fall down while doing this in your weird costume, say “darnit.”

—

Klash Ball Player

Klash Ball is the premiere extreme sport of the future. You probably don’t know it yet, though, since you’re still living in the past. But someday you’ll understand. The best you can do until that day arrives is to play the NES implementation of the game handed down to us by time-travelling aliens.

Klash Ball Player Costume Recipe:

• All-metal football uniform with spikes
  (found at any local sporting goods store)
• Metal klash ball
• Somebody to elbow in the head

In-Character Behavior: Run around yelling “KLASH!” while elbowing people in the head. The goal of the game is to elbow as many people’s heads as possible within a 30-minute time frame while possessing the klash ball. When the cops arrive, tell them about the ways of the future.

—

Jumpman

The Jumpman I knew and loved as a child (from Jumpman by Epyx) didn’t look anything like this (he was more of a white stick figure), but I found a “live-action” version of him recently in an advertisement. If they made a Jumpman movie with real humans, this is what he’d look like.

Jumpman Costume Recipe:

• Shiny white warm-up pants
• Red vest with lots of pockets, loops, and a name tag
• Heather grey t-shirt
• White and red “jump boots” (felt booties)
• White and red “jump bands” (wrist bands)

In Character-Behavior: Just incessantly jump around and climb ladders. People will get the idea.

—

Pro Wrestling Referee

I heard that if you put the Konami code into Pro Wrestling for the NES that you get to play as the referee. He’s even stronger than the Great Puma because he has a special double-back-suplex-flip move.

Pro Wrestling Referee Costume Recipe:

• Generic referee uniform
• Blocky pixel chin
• Ability to cast shadows in weird directions

In Character-Behavior: Stand around smiling until somebody (usually drunk out of their mind) falls to the ground. Get down on your knees and pound the ground your hand while counting to three by repeatedly making a “Bwoooaaoow” sound with your mouth. Then, just to throw ’em a curve ball, give ’em the ‘ole double-back-suplex-flip for good measure.

—

Swimming Nolan Bushnell

A few years ago, I actually went out to a Halloween party dressed as 1970s Nolan Bushnell. I wore a corduroy suit, some brown loafers, and had an Atari 2600 in hand. But since then, that costume has become too predictable. It’s time to spice things up by looking to more modern incarnations of the Bushmaster.

Swimming Nolan Bushnell Costume Recipe:

• Curly white hair, beard, mustache
• Pipe and tobacco
• Swimming pool / body of water
• Tight red Speedos

In Character-Behavior: Wade around in the water, smoking, while talking about Atari, Sente, Axlon, Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theaters, uWink, how those scheming creditors took all your money, and about how much modern video games suck. Then do a few laps in the pool, humming the theme song from Pong (ok, you got me on that one…just stay silent).

—
So that’s all for the video game side of things. Feel free to share any ideas you have for costumes or report about your Halloween exploits in the comments below. Happy Halloween!

If you liked these, here’s even more costume ideas:

2010 Video Game Edition
2009 Video Game Edition
2008 Video Game Edition
2007 Video Game Edition
2006 Computer Edition

Tags: 2006, Costume Ideas, Halloween

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 28th, 2006 at 2:11 pm and is filed under Gaming History, Humor, NES / Famicom, News & Current Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.