The Necklace Express

As the Goddess of Light and the rightful ruler of Angel Land, it’s Palutena’s duty to protect humanity from the forces of darkness. Her responsibilities are enormous, but she finds the time to maintain her regal appearance. Her ethereal white dress is adorned with numerous golden accessories, and her ensemble usually includes a laurel crown, luxuriant arm braces, and two oversized charm belts strapped to her waist. Her exquisite necklace might be the most impressive piece of jewelry she owns, and it helps accentuate her elegance. It’s an accessory befitting of a goddess, and I’d liken it to a shining beacon of light. In this capacity, it’s the perfect compliment to her trademark mirror shield. On the wrong person, gold accessories will look tacky or obnoxious. In Palutena’s case, they help frame her as a figure of high importance.

Etna is a walking contradiction if ever there was one. The manipulative demon wants to rule the Netherworld, but her lurid fashion sense is unbecoming of a queen. Her style is ultimately informed by a misguided desire to be seen as a sex symbol. Nobody is willing to entertain her delusions, but this doesn’t deter her from dressing like a slut. She couldn’t wear less clothes without raising the age rating of her games, and her gloves provide more coverage than her microskirt and bikini top do! The girl has an obvious affinity for leather, and her wardrobe wouldn’t be out of place in a BDSM dungeon. In this sense, the bondage collar really brings the outfit together! You would typically expect someone in a collar to be submissive, but Etna’s the most domineering character on this list. You can’t judge a book by its cover, and this is especially true in Etna’s case.

Alice is a self-motivated woman and a covert field agent for the Special Office of Internal Security. She investigates terrorist groups and crime syndicates around the globe, but the public is blissfully unaware that her department exists. People are generally shocked when they find out what she does for a living, and Alice’s wardrobe choices are meant to throw off any suspicion about her employment. Nobody assumes that she’s a secret agent, but she’s often mistaken for an ancient Egyptian priestess with a similar name. This theory is obviously farfetched, but I’ll concede that her unusual clothes wouldn’t be out of place in ancient Egypt. Her ouroboros-shaped necklace is especially impressive, and it’s large enough to cover her heaving breasts. I’m sure she saves a ton of money on shirts, but I can only imagine what her double-side tape budget must look like.

Several Street Fighter characters were in contention for a place on this list. Guile wears his best friend’s dog tags around his neck, while Akuma adorns himself with prayer beads that were obtained from his slain master. Amazingly, Dhalsim’s necklace is the most provocative of them all. The great yoga master usually has three human skulls stringed around his neck. This seems macabre and unnecessarily dark at first, and the entire situation becomes even more uncomfortable when you realize that they’re too small to be adult skulls. The skulls apparently came from village children who died during a plague, and it can be assumed that Dhalsim is somehow trying to honor their memory. I realize that skull-based iconography is prevalent in Hinduism, but wearing a garland of skulls around your neck like a fashion accessory is some next level shit.

Many amulets can be found in Skyrim, but none have a bigger impact on the narrative than the Amulet of Mara. The enchanted accessory reduces the cost of restoration spells by 10%, and its secondary function is even more useful. If certain conditions are met, wearing the amulet will allow the Dragonborn to propose marriage to a potential partner. Once the arrangements have been made, characters from completed quests will attend the wedding ceremony to show their support for the couple. Rest assured, married life has many benefits for the Dragonborn. Their spouse will shower them with affection, cook them homemade meals, and share any money they earn while their hubby is out adventuring. The amulet is named for the Goddess of Love, but I was still surprised by how effective it was. It can seemingly turn anyone into a GigaChad.

There are several reasons why Marnie stands out from other Pokégirls. She’s the only female rival in Pokémon Shield, and she’s one of the few gym trainers in the entire series to specialize in Dark-type Pokémon. She’s a girl who isn’t afraid to break from convention, and her punk-inspired fashion sense exemplifies this fact. She wears a studded jacket over a frilly pink dress, and this is allegory to how her stoic mannerisms obscure the fact that she’s a total sweetheart. Her choker necklace fits nicely with the leather motif, and she continues to wear it after she ditches the goth girl look in favor of neon spandex. The necklace compliments her entire wardrobe, and its pointed pendant is as unique as her personality. As an added bonus, the distinct shape of the pendant makes it easy to distinguish AI-generated fanart from the real deal!

During the first act of BioShock Infinite, players help Elizabeth choose between two decorative brooches. One brooch has a depiction of a beautiful bird, while the other features an intricate cage. Elizabeth had been imprisoned for most of her life and was explicitly referred to as a caged bird, so either choice would have a symbolic meaning for her. She’ll wear either brooch around her neck for the duration of her adventure, and she’ll keep it on through numerous wardrobe changes. It becomes an integral part of her visual identity, and you’ll know there’s trouble if she’s seen without it. It doesn’t really matter which brooch is chosen, however, and the decision has no barring on the game’s overarching story. Sometimes a brooch is just a brooch, and this notion has led to countless discussions about the role fate plays in our lives.

Military personnel often wear metal tags around their necks for identification purposes. These so-called “dog tags” relay basic info about the servicemen, and they’re primarily used to identify casualties. Most of the factions in the Metal Gear series wear dog tags, including mercenary groups. They play an especially important role in Metal Gear Solid 2, however, as Raiden can collect them from his adversaries and use them to unlock various rewards. When he examines his own dog tags, it’s revealed that they are marked with the name, birthday, and blood type that the player entered at the beginning of the game. Unfazed by this revelation, Raiden throws the tags away and makes it clear that he’ll pick his own name. The former child soldier won’t let anyone put labels on him ever again, and this rationale extends even to the player.

During the Age of Antiquity, an enlightened guru in the Kingdom of Zeal built a machine to siphon energy from a subterranean alien life form. The machine was made from an artifact known as the Dreamstone, and a pendant capable of controlling the machine was crafted from the same substance. As the Princess of Zeal, Schala was given the pendant as a security measure. Although the kingdom was ultimately destroyed, the pendant survived and eventually found its way to another princess. (Remarkably, the pendant was still fashionable 13,000 years after it was made!) Marle had no idea that the heirloom had magical properties, so she was caught off guard when it reacted with an experimental teleporter and somehow sent her back in time. Strictly speaking, the pendant was the inciting force that set the events of Chrono Trigger in motion.

KOS-MOS is a sophisticated android that was designed for battle. Her arsenal includes everything from triple-barreled Gatling guns to shoulder-mounted rail guns, but her most devastating weapon is the phase transfer cannon that’s installed in her chest. The blast is absolutely devastating, but her designers were apparently concerned that her clothing would somehow prevent it from working correctly. Their solution was to install a knife around her neck that could slice her top open and allow the cannon to be fired unobstructed. The blade maximizes her ample cleavage as a supplementary benefit, and this effect is even more pronounced in Project X-Zone than it is in Xenosaga. Her hidden boobie blade is one of the most enthralling fashion accessories in gaming history, and the folks at Monolith Soft deserve tremendous credit for their creativity.