10 Video Game Mistakes Left In To Troll You
4. Hotsuma's Scarf - Shinobi
"What's the least practical item of clothing for a super stealthy ninja whose moves require acute agility and unerring precision?" wondered SEGA, when they sat down to design Hotsuma, the titular ninja of their PS2 revival of shuriken-lobbing classic Shinobi. Having come up with the correct answer - a bright red, six-foot long scarf - they promptly equipped him with it, and called it a day.
On the one hand, the oversized muffler makes aesthetic sense; Hotsuma cuts a graceful figure as he runs along Shinobi's walls, his scarf twirling like a rhythmic gymnast's baton. Form also follows function when it comes to the eye-catching colour: SEGA picked bright red so the speedy protagonist would be visually identifiable amidst the on-screen action.
It seems maybe just a bit too long though - and that's because it sort of is: the scarf fit only for a giraffe was originally introduced as a gag on a programmer's behalf, but the team thought it looked so cool, they left it in - and in fact, stretched it out further!