Don't Lose Your Head

Shovel Knight is an honorable treasure hunter who abides by the ancient Code of Shovelry. When the odds are against him, he uses his signature tool to slash mercilessly and dig tirelessly. His past is shrouded in mystery and his body is completely covered, so he’s largely defined by his blue armor. In this sense, his horned helmet is almost as iconic as the shovel he wields. (There is some evidence to suggest that Shovel Knight has a fish-for-a-head, but we can’t be entirely sure what he looks like without his helmet.) Sadly, the helmet’s only real purpose is to obscure his face. Shovel Knight doesn’t incorporate his helmet into any of his attacks, and we can’t even gauge its defensive contributions without a baseline to compare it to. Although the horns look dangerous, they’re mostly superficial. He should really incorporate a headbutt into his repertoire.

Shao Kahn is the tyrannical ruler of Outworld and a real son of a bitch. He has an insatiable thirst for power, and he relies on brute strength to achieve his goals. His ferocity in battle is matched only by his callousness, and he demonstrates an unnerving fondness for executions. He’s a force to be reckoned with thanks to his superhuman strength, his aptitude for magic, and his voracious appetite for souls. Shao Kahn is evil personified, and his distinctive helmet is a reflection of his wickedness. His headgear could be likened to a samurai helmet in certain respects, but its skull-like design is the embodiment of death itself. The dude wouldn’t look out of place in Masters of the Universe, and that should be taken as a compliment. The helmet doesn’t earn any points for subtlety, but it’s the perfect fit for Shao Kahn’s brazen personality.

Kain Highwind is an ambitious young man who leads a company of Dragoons. He typically arms himself with spears, and his armor has spikes protruding from the shoulders, elbows, and calves. The attire is well-suited for a Dragon Knight, and the draconic embellishments instill a sense of fear and authority. The helmet is the focal point of the entire outfit, of course, and it resembles a dragon’s head. When you wear the visage of an animal on your head, you run the risk of looking like an theme park mascot. This is especially true if you wear flamboyant colors like purple. Kain’s Dragoon helmet makes him look like a legitimate badass, however, and you’d never guess that he was a forever alone third-wheel. His outfit is standard-issue for his job class, but Kain is widely regarded as the most storied Dragoon in Final Fantasy history.

After the land of Hyrule was created, dark sorcerers sought entry into the Sacred Realm. At this point, the Spirits of Light sealed the power of the interlopers into Fused Shadows. Fragments were scattered across Hyrule, but they still radiated with immense power. Midna understood how dangerous the fragments were, but it was her intent to gather them together in order to save her realm from invading forces. Although the cursed princess enlists help to retrieve most of the fragments, she was already in possession of one of them at the onset of Twilight Princess. Midna wears a piece of a Fused Shadow as a helmet, and it’s an important part of her visual identity. It’s also a constant reminder of her determination. She intends to use the Fused Shadows as a weapon, so her helmet is basically an extension of the “designated bullet” trope.

Many of the individuals on this list are soldiers or warriors, but Isaac Clarke is essentially a blue collar worker. The reason why his equipment seems futuristic is because Dead Space is set against the backdrop of the 26th century. Isaac was part of an emergency maintenance team that was sent to investigate a communications blackout on a nearby spaceship. He wears Resource Integration Gear during his assignment, and this gives him access to health management and strength augmentation systems. The helmet is the coolest part of the ensemble by far, and the three glowing lights give it an otherworldly look. The pressure-sealed helmet allows Isaac to work in dangerous environments, and I appreciate its industrialized design language. I’d liken it to a futuristic welding helmet, and it’s the perfect compliment to Isaac’s plasma torch.

I had originally planned to include Mega Man on this countdown. No one on this list has appeared in more games than he has, after all, and his helmet is one of the most recognizable pieces of head gear in all of gaming. After careful consideration, I decided that Mega Man’s counterpart from Mega Man X would be a better fit for this list. This is mostly due to the fact that X’s helmet can be upgraded in various ways. By finding hidden capsules, X can gain the ability to destroy certain blocks or enemies with headbutts. He later finds upgrades that will seek out hidden items and passageways. There are also helmet chips that allow him to restore his health, generate force fields, or decrease energy consumption for special weapons. These permanent upgrades differentiate X from his predecessor, and they help define Mega Man X as a series.

Captain Olimar is a humble space freighter who visits many uncharted planets across the galaxy. His job is filled with uncertainties, so having a functional spacesuit is of the utmost importance. To that point, Olimar’s helmet protects him from poisonous atmospheres and hostile environments. It’s also effective underwater, and it allows Olimar to move around without requiring an external air supply. The helmet’s fishbowl design presumably provides pressure protection, and it feels like a throwback to 1950s sci-fi designs. The glass dome lacks a heads-up display, but the built-in whistle is an invaluable feature that allows him to issue commands to the peculiar creatures he encounters. Whoever designed the helmet had remarkable foresight. Without the whistle, it would be much more difficult to communicate with Pikmin.

West Tek’s Model T-51 power armor was deployed prior to the Great War of 2077. The nuclear powered suits could bolster a soldier’s strength and speed, and they were seen as the height of mechanized protection. For obvious reasons, the armor remained in high demand throughout the wasteland after the bombs dropped. The helmets protect against radiation and filter out hazardous materials from the air. Each helmet is also fitted with multiple accessory mounting points, and the visor can be modified with everything from a targeting HUD to recon sensors. The helmets even have high-beam headlamps and nifty voice modulation units. Although many variations of power armor were produced, the T-51b is the most ubiquitous model by far. It was prominently featured on the cover of the original Fallout, and it has appeared in every game since.

Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a towering super soldier who is seldom seen without his power assault armor. His titanium helmet connects directly to his neural implants and has all sorts of amazing features. It filters out toxins, acts as a communication device, and is fitted with thermal and motion sensors. It also has a really handy zoom feature! Even though Master Chief has several decades of experience under his belt, the developers were careful not to divulge too much about his personality. Players are supposed to feel like they are Master Chief, after all. The cutscenes are carefully designed so as to not show his face, and this helps players identify with the character. In an ironic twist, Master Chief became the face of Xbox even though nobody knows what his face actually looks like!

Samus Aran is gaming’s greatest heroine, but she’s defined by her actions more than her gender. Her entire body is usually obscured, and her helmet is more recognizable than her actual face. Her power suit is befitting of an intergalactic bounty hunter, and the helmet proves that it’s not always necessary to compromise between form and function. Metroid Prime allowed us to view the world through Samus’ eyes, and it was interesting to get a first-person look at how her x-ray and infrared visors worked. I’m also impressed by how durable the helmet is. If Samus builds up enough speed, she can launch herself into the air like a rocket and use her noggin to bust through ceilings (and anything else that gets in her way). Her helmet is an integral part of her identity, and you often have to jump through hoops just to get a glimpse of her without it.