I grew up playing Nintendo. In fact, the first game system I ever owned was a Game Boy (which I still have). Like so many others who grew up with Mario and Link and Donkey Kong, you could say I have some fondness for the brand, its systems, and its characters. It means I’ll never be shy about an appropriately-placed Konami code joke, for example. However, it definitely doesn’t mean that I’ll automatically love everything that attempts to draw on that nostalgia—especially when it does it badly.

We’ve talked about questionable motorcycle jackets with you before. To be fair, there are a lot of questionable moto-style jackets that are clearly meant as fashion pieces. They’re not meant to protect you from anything other than a stiff breeze, and maybe the sun and rain for good measure. Still, I don’t think any of us ever thought that we’d be talking to you about a questionable Game Boy moto jacket. 

Yet, here we are. The GB Riders Jacket is made from cotton with corduroy accents meant to evoke the control buttons—and speaker—of Nintendo’s iconic handheld gaming unit. 

Gallery: Game Boy Moto Jacket

You’ve got a big corduroy D-pad on the right shoulder/chest area. The A and B buttons—also comically large and made of corduroy—are on the left shoulder. Start and Select are on the chest. To cap it all off, four diagonally-placed corduroy straps and buckles evoke the lines of the speaker, at the lower-left corner of the front of your jacket. 

When I first saw this, I thought it was meant to be an extremely ill-conceived, functional controller. Thankfully, it isn’t—I mean, if it had been, it’d make the Virtual Boy look like it wasn’t a completely terrible idea. (Which it was. Really.)

No, this jacket is simply meant to be a fashion homage to a system many of us have a great fondness for. Why a motorcycle jacket? Why not? I mean, inspiration strikes in the most random form sometimes. 

If this interests you as a curiosity rather than an actual motorcycle jacket, you can find it at Thunderbox, in your choice of indigo-dyed cotton or black. Size selection is somewhat limited, but a full measurement chart is on their site. Price is 34,800 yen (or about US $317.55). 

Source: Thunderbox

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