Video game attire isn't remotely novel at this stage, but I really wasn't expecting a jacket based on the 1998 arcade shooter Truxton. You've got Kumagumi, a Japanese merch brand, to thank for turning a whole bunch of Toaplan shmups into threads, and yes, the game that introduced me to the very concept of memes is included.

Yes, that latter game is "Zero Wing", the arcade shooter that gifted us "all your base are belong to us" via a terrible translation. Spotted by Time Extension, the range sadly doesn't include anything with that specific botched phrase on it, instead opting for the line prior, with antagonist CATS exclaiming "how are you gentlemen !!" (Don't forget the double exclamation mark; that's important.)

There are 27 pieces in the Kumagumi x Toaplan collection, covering some of my all-time favorite Mega Drive shooters, like Hellfire, FixEight, Btsugun, and the aforementioned Zero Wing and Truxton. Again, I know many of you will be here purely for the memes, but it was the $149 jacket based on the latter vertical shooter that really reeled me in as a retro console and arcade nerd.

Sadly, my plans to rock the fashion scene by turning the Truxton jacket into a fit have to go on hold since it's already out of stock. That has potentially ruined my Monday since I was planning an '80s-inspired getup for my next visit to the arcade, but alas, I'll have to join the waitlist. The thing that hooked me in the first place is that this bomber jacket, complete with skull bomb art on the back, looks like it's straight off the back of someone in '80s Osaka.

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