The Ties That Bind

It’s a common trope to conflate penguins with tuxedos, and a simple Google search for “penguin with bow tie” will turn up thousands of results. There are numerous penguins that were considered for this list, but Sega’s Pengo predates them all… kind of. Although Pengo wore a large bow tie in promotional materials, he (she?) didn’t actually wear a tie in the original 1982 arcade game or any of its ports. Sega would rectify this with the 1995 Mega Drive sequel, however. Both of the penguin protagonists in Pepenga Pengo wore distinct bow ties. The game was light on story and the characters were not explicitly named, but the colorful ties spoke for themselves. It should be noted that Super Bomberman 3 featured an enemy penguin named Pengo who also wore a red bow tie, but he should not be confused with Sega’s character.

The Ace Attorney franchise is home to some of gaming’s most unique and interesting ties. I like how Ben Woodman and his ventriloquist dummy have matching bow ties, and Franziska Von Karma deserves recognition for having the most elaborate tie in the series. Athena Cykes’ tie is relatively plain in comparison, but you have to appreciate how animated it is. (I also like how the tie matches her hair ribbon and brings out the blue in her eyes.) The young defense attorney wears a standard apron tie under a shirt collar, but the tie is knotted at her chest instead of her neck due to the low cut of her shirt. The tie hangs so low that she has room to wear a necklace above it! It’s definitely not a look you see every day. Despite the low cut of her shirt, Athena doesn’t look out of place in a professional setting.

Without question, Cammy is one of the best dressed characters in gaming history. Her iconic green leotard from Super Street Fighter II was the perfect outfit for her debut, and her turtleneck leotard from Street Fighter Alpha 3 was even more provocative. This leotard provided more coverage of her upper body, and this ultimately accentuated the thong component of the outfit. Even though Cammy’s ass was still on display for the world to see, it was offset by a chic yellow tie that added a splash of color to the ensemble. The tie wasn’t long enough to get in the way during a fight, but it captured the eye and somehow made the entire outfit seem more tasteful. Although she’s surrounded by elite female assassins who have similar uniforms, Cammy is the only one who was inspired enough to experiment with the “leotard and tie” look.

As simple as it seems, a tie can make a teacher seem professional and help to establish a sense of order in the classroom. It would be hard to set high expectations for your students if you were wearing a wife-beater. Hideo Shimazu takes his role as an educator very seriously, so it would be unsettling if he wasn’t wearing a tie. The Japanese language teacher looks like a walking stereotype, and it would be easy to write him off as an awkward, 40-something salaryman. In actuality, he’s a ninth dan master of karate who would be right at home in the Street Fighter series. The dude obviously shares M. Bison’s fashion sense, and his movements are strikingly similar to Ken and Ryu. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, nor should you judge Hideo Shimazu by his green-and-purple tie. The guy’s a serious fighter.

Emilie De Rochefort is a bubbly teenage girl who resides in a luxurious Monégasque mansion with her father and their butler. She secretly competes in fighting tournaments around the globe, but you can tell that she was born into wealth just by looking at the clothes she wears. Her Victorian-style minidress must have been expensive, and the luxuriant white fabric really makes her red-and-black gingham ascot tie stand out. It’s strange to see a street fighter wearing a frilly dress, but Lili is anything but typical. Her repertoire incorporates gymnastics and ballet, so it’s only appropriate for her outfit to look as graceful as her fighting style does. Her tie seems trivial, but it highlights her every movement. I also appreciate how her tie matches her gloves and boots. Incidentally, Lili’s color coordination is as remarkable as her actual coordination.

Freddy Fazbear’s unusual name is an obvious call back to Fozzie Bear from The Muppets, and you can even see similarities in the way that they dress. Freddy’s large bow tie is somewhat classier than Fozzie’s polka dot necktie, however, and you’d never guess that he had homicidal tendencies based on his fashion choices. (What kind of killer wears a bow tie and a top hat?) For many of the characters on this list, ties are mere fashion accessories that compliment their outfits. In the case of Freddy Fazbear, his tie basically is his outfit. Even though he’s practically naked, the tie somehow makes it look like he’s wearing a proper suit. Bears don’t wear clothes in the real world, but animatronic mascots have standards. I doubt Freddy could have landed a gig working in a family restaurant chain if he didn’t look so distinguished.

The Persona series centers around high school students, and many of them wear ties as part of their school uniforms. There were many characters from the franchise that could have been mentioned here, but Mitsuru Kirijo was the obvious choice. Mitsuru is a mature and disciplined young woman, and her fashion choices underscore these traits. She’s the president of the student council and a mentor to younger classmates, so her standard-issue school uniform is a reflection of her entire identity. Although she doesn’t wear any additional accessories or personal effects with the uniform, the spectacular red bow tie provides more than enough flare on its own. The extravagant tie could easily be mistaken for a ruffle scarf, but our legal department has assured me that it still counts as a tie and is therefore eligible for this list.

It doesn’t make sense for a person to wear a necktie in a fighting tournament, but Vanessa’s the type of girl who breaks all the rules. She was the first female character in the King of Fighters with a boxing background, for example, and she broke from convention by fighting exclusively with her fists. At 30 years of age, Vanessa is also the oldest woman in the King of Fighters series. SNK wanted a character who could provide contrast to the younger girls on the roster, and Vanessa was created to fill the role. Vanessa is a housewife and a mother who lists “saving money” as one of her hobbies, and her fashion choices are a reflection of her relative maturity. Her attire isn’t exactly formal wear, but a collared shirt and a red tie is a lot more conservative than a short skirt or a slutty kimono.

An upperclassman at an all-girl shinobi school, Katsuragi is a blond bombshell who specializes in weaponless combat. Her acrobatic fighting style relies heavily on kicks, and she proves to be the most reliable source of panty shots in the entire Senran Kagura series. As an added bonus, she also goes out of her way to emphasize her ample cleavage. While her classmates all have hidden ninja outfits, Katsuragi simply unbuttons her standard-issue school uniform. She’s an aggressive lesbian who’s fixated on large breasts, so her boob-centric fashion sense is a perfect reflection of her personality. She doesn’t even wear a bra (despite having an obvious need for one), so her blue necktie really stands out against the canvas of her half-naked torso. If nothing else, her tie proves that you can be sexy and classy at the same time.

It’s hard to believe, but Donkey Kong’s iconic red necktie wasn’t part of his initial design. In fact, he didn’t start wearing a tie until the Donkey Kong franchise was over a decade old. The tie was first seen in the 1994 Game Boy remake of Donkey Kong, but it was actually implemented during the development of Donkey Kong Country. While Rare was working on the game, Shigeru Miyamoto faxed them a sketch and suggested that Donkey Kong should wear a tie. In Japanese culture, red ties are traditionally worn by heroic figures, so it was appropriate for Donkey Kong to wear one during his first outing as a video game protagonist. As an added bonus, the simple fashion accessory somehow made the iconic ape seem more dignified. No longer a stubborn animal who kidnapped women, this new version of Donkey Kong had class.