In 2023, game designers have almost infinite scope to design characters exactly as they want them. Graphic capacity is such that we can have hyper-detailed tattoos on characters from the lead of a franchise – Kratos in God Of War – all the way down to NPCs like Judy Alvarez from Cyberpunk 2077. Today’s developers enjoy computing power that couldn’t have been dreamt of when some icons were created. Mario was initially given his cap for his first outing in 1981’s Donkey Kong because the movement of his hair when jumping was too difficult to animate on the available tech; indeed, it wasn’t until Super Mario 64, a full 15 years later, that he gets to take it off.
Sunglasses can be an easy way of conveying an image, whether that’s of a rebel, perhaps an intellectual, or a bad guy. Back in the 8-bit days Roy Koopa got a pair of pink cat-eye shades for his first appearance in Super Mario Bros 3. He’s kept them since, although more detail makes him appear a little more comedic than the ‘evil eyes’ of his first encounter. Johnny Cage’s sunglasses have changed often during three decades of Mortal Kombat, perhaps as much to do with a complicated canonic timeline (where he’s died at least twice) as much as the tech. Let’s take a look at some of the sharpest shades on screen.
Kazuhira Miller
A fan favorite in the Metal Gear series, it’s fitting that Miller wears Aviators – the Ray-Ban sunglasses popularized by General Douglas MacArthur in the 1940s and then again by Tom Cruise in Top Gun 40 years later – they’ve always had a close affiliation with militaristic cool. In early life, the character joins the Japan Self-Defence Forces, becomes a drill sergeant in Colombia, and then joins up with Big Boss in Militaires Sans Frontieres. After perceiving his former ally to have turned evil, he helps Snake defeat Big Boss in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. His shades also have a medical purpose, with a Konami rep explaining Kazu has issues with light sensitivity. Miller is portrayed as a survivor, a stoic, and a rationalist in the face of seeming chaos. His name means ‘peace’ in Japanese.
Duke Nukem
While the Duke was pictured wearing sunglasses on the box for his 1991 debut, he wasn’t actually seen wearing them in-game until 1997’s Duke Nukem 64. With the character devised as an OTT version of the macho man action movie star – the late 80s and early 90s were the peak of the Stallone vs Schwarzenegger years – it’s perhaps fitting that he’s wearing what look very much like Persol Rattis; the shades sported by Arnie in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. While there’s not much understated about a character with lines such as “I’m not gonna fight you, I’m gonna KICK YOUR ASS!”, we’d like to think the shades may have helped Duke to go incognito and not be noticed by the public in his 9-year hiatus between Duke Nukem Advance and Duke Nukem Forever…
Raven –Â Tekken
One character who definitely uses shades to convey an air of mystery is Raven. First appearing in Tekken 5 (and confirmed for the upcoming Tekken 8, the character doesn’t have much backstory, only being described as an ‘agent’ whose age and nationality are unknown. The character is fleshed out in Tekken 6, finding the presumed-dead Heihachi and engaging him before being called back to headquarters midway through combat. Raven’s sunglasses look very similar to the Oakley Eye Jackets made famous by Michael Jordan in 1994. He’s played in the Tekken movie by Darrin Henson, who, with a shaved head and mustache, bears something of a resemblance to His Airness. Is Raven’s great reveal going to be that he’s related to the GOAT? It would take some heat off Jimmy Butler.