'Tis the Season

Demo disks were fairly common in the early ’90s, and they allowed consumers to get a taste of a game before deciding whether or not to buy the full version. Psygnosis decided to take a creative approach with Lemmings in 1991. Instead of simply releasing a scaled-back version of the existing game, they came up with something new. Xmas Lemmings featured four Christmas-themed levels, it had a festive soundtrack, and it placed all of the eponymous Lemmings in adorable Santa outfits. The Lemmings were as mindless as ever, however, and their inevitable death screams somehow seemed more traumatizing given the seasonal atmosphere. Nevertheless, Xmas Lemmings gave potential buyers a unique preview of the full game. People liked the idea so much that Psygnosis decided to release a full, 32-stage version of the game.

Street Fighter V has fantastic holiday outfits, and they’re tailor-made for each character. Blanka dresses up like a reindeer, Falke uses a candy cane as a weapon, and Ken looks like a straight-up Christmas pimp. I’d love to put Karen on my naughty list, Laura apparently got the North Pole mixed up with a stripper pole, and I’m sure there’s a joke to be made about Poison’s chestnuts. Although most of the costumes are Santa-esque, G takes the extra steps to emulate Santa Claus. The outfit is complete from the hat down to the boots, and his beard outclasses everyone else on this list. In all honesty, the costume is probably less flamboyant than his regular clothes. G claims to be the “President of the World” and wishes to bring everyone together, so he can probably relate to Santa on a certain level.

NiGHTS into Dreams… was Sega’s biggest release of 1996, and the company went the extra mile to promote the game during the holiday season. Christmas NiGHTS was included as part of a Christmas Sega Saturn bundle, and it was also distributed to existing Saturn owners free of charge! The game only featured a couple of stages, but they were permeated by the spirit of Christmas. The grassy environments were covered with snow and gumdrops, item boxes were replaced with Christmas presents, and the players were required to fly through wreaths instead of rings. The music was also replaced with a rendition of Jingle Bells and the Nightopians were decked out in elf costumes. NiGHTS’ Santa outfit was basically just a red-and-white version of his default jester attire, but the white pom-poms gave it a distinct Christmas flare.

It’s a recurring trend in Fate/Grand Order for characters to assume the role of Santa Claus and apply their own values to the tradition of gift-giving. During the aptly-named “Nightingale’s Christmas Carol” event, Florence Nightingale dashes through the night skies in an effort to save lives. She disguises her gun-like syringe in an umbrella, floats down like Mary Poppins, and shoots painful injections without differentiating good and bad children. In lieu of presents, Nightingale gives the precious gifts of hygiene and health. Although she’s not especially interested in Christmas, she feels a deep connection to the Holy Night and realizes that she’s different from her usual self. She never fully embraces the spirit of the holiday, however, and wants all of the sweets around the world to be turned into medicine!

Halloween has become a haven for slutty cosplayers in recent decades, and Santa’s image has been corrupted in a similar fashion. (Ho, ho, ho!) That being said, Hatsune Miku’s “Christmas module” is completely tasteful. While the one-piece Santa dress leaves her legs exposed, there’s nothing about the ensemble that would put Miku on the naughty list. The outfit has been featured in nearly a dozen games so far, and it has created all sorts of merchandising opportunities for our favorite twin-tailed idol. The module has likely generated more revenue than any other outfit on this countdown! Female representation is important, and there’s no law that says Santa needs to be an overweight man with a massive beard. Santa doesn’t discriminate against anyone (except for Jews and poor people), so there’s no reason to leave Miku off of this list.

Every kid on Earth is familiar with Santa Claus, and he’s also known throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. He’s mentioned by name in Super Mario 64, for instance, and he appears as a VIP character in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. Incidentally, Mario has a lot in common with the big guy. He has a pot belly, he’s always jolly, and he brings happiness to boys and girls around the world. Perhaps this is why he’s mistaken for Santa in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Mario has dressed up like Santa on numerous occasions – dating back to German Club Nintendo comics from the early ’90s – so the Christmas outfit from Super Mario Odyssey was a natural fit. The adorable costume even came with a beard adornment! Mario was apparently fond of the outfit, as he wore it again in Mario Kart Tour.

The seasonal “Winter Wonderland” event in Overwatch was surprisingly comprehensive. It featured two new modes – including a snowball fight and a yeti hunt – and a ton of new items and costumes. Even the loot boxes were modified to fit the Christmas theme! The characters were given new skins, voice lines, and victory poses, and most of them were pretty cool. Tracer’s elf outfit was cute and Mercy looked great as a sugarplum fairy, but Torbjörn’s Santaclad skin was particularly appropriate. After all, the Swedish engineer already had the beard and physique to play the role. He was also used to cold climates, and his background in engineering would come in handy in the world’s biggest toy factory. Torbjörn is determined to keep his inventions from falling into the wrong hand’s, so he’d likely embrace the concept of a naughty list.

The Dead or Alive series has featured many festive outfits over the years. There have been sexy Christmas dresses, adorable reindeer costumes, and outfits comprised entirely of Christmas ribbons! That being said, this list is all about Santa Claus rather than Santa’s helpers. Bass has the closest built to the real Santa Claus and Gen Fu already has a white beard, but Ryu Hayabusa is the clear choice for this countdown. Although his red mask is uncharacteristic of Ol’ Saint Nick, it serves as a constant reminder that Hayabusa is a ninja. Santa knows when you’re sleeping, and his entire job rests on his ability to infiltrate homes around the globe. He’s obviously a master of stealth and espionage, and if I’d trust anyone in gaming to take his place, you can bet your ass that it would be the Ultimate Ninja himself.

One of the defining traits of the Hitman games is the ability to wear various disguises in order to gain access to restricted areas. It’s easy to imagine how assuming the identity of waiters, police officers, and repairmen could be advantageous to an assassin. Agent 47 can even steal Santa’s outfit! As part of the “Holiday Hoarders” bonus mission, Agent 47 travels to Paris to eliminate a pair of thieves who are after Christmas presents. (The thieves in question are named Harry and Marv, in a thinly-veiled reference to Home Alone.) During the mission, you’ll encounter Santa himself as he’s teleporting around the area. If you pacify him, you can steal his suit and use it to complete other tasks. The suit looks great, and it somehow gives Agent 47 the ability to use chimneys as special exits! Christmas truly is magical!

The original Dead Rising could be viewed as a critique on consumerism, and these themes are even more prevalent in Dead Rising 4 since it revolves around a shopping mall and Black Friday sales. The “Stocking Stuffer Holiday DLC” embraced the spirit of Christmas in an even more obvious manner. The zombies even got in on the action by dressing up like elves, snowmen, and gingerbread men! Frank West’s Santa outfit was standard fare, but he didn’t stop with the costume. He also rode a motorbike that was modified to look like a reindeer, and he used various holiday-themed weapons – including a baseball bat wrapped with Christmas lights. The game’s selfie mode was also appropriate for the season, since it provided a way for hordes of zombies to get pictures with Santa. They didn’t even have to wait in line!