by Jin Lovelace, HSM team writer & filmmaker

Halloween on Home has been, for the most part, pretty amazing. The rewards on some of the Home games have been sweet and the thematic makeover of two lauded public spaces have likely seen more traffic than the Hub, which says a lot right there. Social impact!

To celebrate the Halloween season, here are some suggestions on Halloween fashions, items, and even a couple of personal spaces that you should be picking up this season.

• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Out of all the costumes on Playstation Home and the most that’re based off of the game property available, I still laud the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow line by Konami. It’s not that every day that we even receive anymore costumes from other games (aside from the much recent offerings of Diablo III costumes by Blizzard) and they were released in 2010. But even so, they still hold up to their own on the aesthetics and how iconic these fashions are. I mean come on, it’s Castlevania! 

While Claudia and Laura’s costume sets are available (Claudia for $2.99, Laura for $3.99), Gabriel’s set is no longer available. I only speculate that Gabriel’s costume bundle went through a lot of ordeals from pricing errors to missing costume parcels (which, at one point, I had to repurchase his set) and a redesign of his “Vampire Killer” whip made it the possible reason of the bundle’s demise from Home.

Which was a shame as well because out of all the available sets, he was the most detailed for the male avatars. If you’re one of the lucky ones to purchase the costume, kudos for you. However, if you’re still a fan of one of the greatest games to ever be conceived by Hideo Kojima, I implore that you check out this set.

• Strike Force

Yes, Granzella’s newest release of the U-man costumes truly taps right into the golden Sentai days of lore (huge Power Ranger fan here, which by the way a big shout-out to Mr. Jason David Frank),  from the unified poses to the LMOs available for the costumes, but my first purchase of the type went to this series by Konami.

The costumes (available for $3.99 each for both genders) already comes with a set of LMO poses and animations, which possibly holds more than any animated costume set available on Home (nine animations available). What I found so great about these styles were that they hit home to me a bit more due to the said animations (poses, blasters, and a weapon attack), which felt serious to me as opposed to being comical. Call it strange if you will, but that’s just me.

Plus, it brought back a lot of nostalgia for me when I purchased these suits. While I don’t recall to ever see a female Black Ranger, those who’re fans of a certain person that I just gave a shout out to would see the exact reason why the Green Sentai Suit is in my wardrobe right now. These items (along with the U-Man suits, which they are an honorable mention) are a classic and a lot of fun to play around with from time to time. If you’re looking to revisit the times when being “mighty” was the coolest thing since Jem’s hairstyle (or seeing Sealwyf IN said hairstyle) then check out the suits available for purchase in the Konami section of the store.

Here’s Kaptin Fathead’s review of the Strike Force costumes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0phQJ4tqBcw

• Granzella’s Costumes

Speaking of honorable mentions, this year Granzella has been on a roll with their costume fashions. The release of the Seductive Witch and Mischievous Imp outfits can be viewed a bit too sexy for some but that would be Granzella’s signature that everyone else enjoys.

Personally, I’m sticking with my love for the Succubus outfits by Granzella, simply because the items available are separate pieces, which you can combine with other fashions available in your wardrobe. As they play are playfully sultry and seductive (which are the natural representations of the actual succubi), Granzella’s touch here is nothing more but a mere costume to pronounce the essence of the female anatomy.

If you’ve managed to purchase one of the four available bundles (for $4.99), you can traverse over to the Granzella Plaza in Twilight public space and head over to the Customer Care Center and receive rewards for purchasing the bundle(s), ranging from the Succubus wings that you can match with any style of your choosing, a separate hairstyle without the head wings attached, to the Succubus suit without the Wings grafted.

However, if you have purchased the Seductive Witch and Mischievous Imp sets you can go to the Glittering Sands Beach where they’ve updated the public beach with a Halloween make-over. You can then try out the mini-game available at the space, provided with you own any of the two items mentioned.

For the fans of Great Edo of Nippon, you can purchase the very sweet looking  Bikini Armor and the Lance 2-piece Set to try your luck in the Operation: Edo game.

• Thunderstorm by Dani MtlDesigner

For regular costume fashions, Dani has a real treat for all with the release of the Thunderstorm clothing line. This set sports an electrical animation for the Top and Necklace and a shredded Skirt and Boots that you can “mix and match” with the non-animated top and the and the Shorts and Boots legs available. Unlike the rest of the costumes on Home, if you desire to sport a sultry look without the overt sexual nature, then this set is perfect for you. Available in two colors (black and red) as bundles for $2.99.

If you haven’t had a gander at the release, here’s an article on the collection.

http://www.twilighttouchinc.com/2013/10/thunderstorm-by-dani-mtldesigner.html

• Halloween Personal Spaces

This Halloween is just fantastic for personal spaces and Home has a few that I think are noteworthy of your purchase.

Phoenix Storm’s article http://www.hsmagazine.net/2013/10/a-dream-turned-dark-lockwoods-nightmare-yacht/ on Lockwood’s Nightmare Yacht is a good purchase for most that desire a bit of a spooky theme to the Dream Yacht. While it’s a reskin of an existing space at a expensive price, for $5.99 is a great buy if you want something decked out for you and your friends.

Another great space to check out is Konami’s Gothic Cathedral personal space and clubhouse. For $7.99, this space is laced with some of the greatest details to ever be put forth in a personal space since Game Mechanics’ SeaClyff Retreat, along with its greatest attribute: it’s flipping huge! Some would say that its size is the downfall, but it was my reason for the purchase of the space, aside from the resemblance of a Castlevania stage.

Lastly, this space isn’t “Halloween” if you’re not experiencing one of the greatest horror spaces of Home’s existence: the Cutteridge Estates. This space is packed deep with so much thrills that I literally have to invite a friend to this space to keep me company. Every word you’ve just read from that line is completely true, as I’m a big fan of the paranormal genre.

For those that don’t know, Cutteridge Estates (by Juggernaut) is a highly lauded personal space that truly defines paranormal in the finest limitations of what PlayStation Home can do technically. Apparitions of a child can be seen flickering in and out around the house (or upon your screen), a kickball is actually mysteriously kicked towards you, shadows that comes near you and can be heard crying, a figure traces around your house and out in the corn field….seriously, I’ve never been so beyond spooked by the details purveyed into this space.

At $6.99 for the space itself ($4.99 for the Clubhouse), this is definitely the funhouse for all of your friends to check out. However, don’t expect to be too much fun if they have the space’s adventure pack, because by then, you’re playing one of Home’s best DLC games to ever bring out the paranormal out of anyone, with a deep story that tells you the actual happenings behind every appearance of the apparition, every time you see that figure running outside, and why the mirror upstairs is telling you to get out.

I know that I’ve left some holes in this article on some quality Halloween items available on Home but I wanted to share some that really defines the experiences (for me) that I hope many will enjoy.

Happy Halloween, everyone.

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