One thing to know about me is that I love a costume with a concept. Halloween, when you’re an adult, is no longer about candy, it’s about serving and wowing people with your commitment to the bit. The holiday is still a week away, so it’s still anyone’s game, but it’s one Sonic the Hedgehog fan’s race to lose right now, because she made a costume of one of the most iconic levels from Sonic Adventure 2, and I’m obsessed.
Sonic superfan (and one of the developers of last year’s April Fools’ visual novel The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog) Michal Shafrir posted her 2024 Halloween costume to her Instagram account, and reader, I was gobsmacked seeing her interpretation of a “Sexy City Escape” costume referencing the opening level of Sonic Adventure 2. The dress is the centerpiece, which depicts a city street with Sonic running down the road, passing cars as he dashes by. The shoulder pads are made to suggest San Francisco’s Victorian townhouses as Sonic zooms past them. The kicker is the headpiece, which is a headband adorned with a recreation of the giant G.U.N. truck that chases Sonic down the streets in the level’s final segment. Y’all, this shit rules.
“I started on my costume way later than normal this year but am so happy with how it came together,” Shafrir wrote on Instagram. “I think I really did transform into the general concept of Sonic running down San Francisco streets.“
The costume is relevant right now because Sonic X Shadow Generations launched today, and City Escape is one of the levels featured in Sonic’s campaign. But even if it wasn’t timely, most Sonic fans would be able to clock it any time of year. The level’s signature song, the pop-punk track “Escape from the City,” is one of the most recognizable in Sonic history, even haters must pay their respects. Will we hear a reference to it in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie like we apparently will for the game’s theme song? We’ll find out when the movie premieres on December 20.