At some point in life, everybody considers getting a tattoo whether they want to admit it or not. Some go through with it, while others choose not to for various reasons.

I have three tattoos, all on my back so I can easily hide them if I need to, and I’m not really too sure if I will get another one. Neither of them hurt, so it’s not that. I guess it has to do with the fact that I’m not getting any younger, nor is my skin. Having elderly family members with visible, wrinkly tattoos has made me realize that what looks good now could look like complete shit in the next 30+ years.

The second tattoo I got I somewhat regret, but not the meaning behind it. A person dear to me had passed away the year before and he was Japanese. So, I went into a tattoo shop with the Japanese kanji symbol for ‘ten’ which translates into Heaven. It also is the same symbol that can be found on the back of Akuma, who is my favorite Street Fighter character. Having that tattoo was a simple decision, because I wanted it for all the right reasons. What I regret is letting the ‘artist’ add his version of wind bars around it, thus ruining the tattoo as a whole. I’ve thought about getting that portion of it covered up, but not only would it be expensive, it would end up being a pretty large tattoo. Oh, I also thought it would be a pretty unique, but not only does this former stalker of mine have it in the same place I do, but an ex-boyfriend got it on his upper arm knowing that I had it. Joy.

Chris has no tattoos, although he has expressed interest in potentially getting one. One idea of his (in which I think it’s ridiculous, and will result in him regretting it) is having Pac-Man on his upper arm with the pellets wrapping around it. It just wouldn’t look good, but hey, it’s not my skin.

There are some wonderfully executed video game tattoos out there, and, of course, some really stupid ones. Let’s take a look at the good:

The Nurses in Silent Hill are creepy as Hell, and the tattoo itself is fantastic. Done by Luke O’Donnell at Art and Soul in Whangarei, New Zealand.

From the popular Xbox Live Arcade game, Castle Crashers. Artist is unknown.

And finally, a piranha plant from the Mario series. While I personally wouldn’t get a tattoo in that location, it’s fucking gorgeous, and that had to hurt like a son of a bitch. Props to evethedemoness on LiveJournal for being able to sit through all of that. Her artist was Elize Casarjian from The Painted Bird Tattoo in Somerville, MA.

Now… on to the bad:

I can’t imagine why on Earth somebody would ever think that was a good idea, and I have to assume it was a painful session. How do you explain to the person you’re sleeping with that you have Pac-Man on your ass?

Everything about this is wrong from the hair to the creepy sideburn things. If this Ryu tattoo were placed somewhere else, and not on his ass either, it could be pretty cool.The hands just look a little off…

Excitebike. I loved it on the NES just as much as the next person, but clearly not enough to get it tattooed smack dab in the middle of my back.

So, dear readers, do you have any tattoos? If so, are they video game related or inspired? If you do, and want to share, put them in a comment down below, or feel free to email them to: [email protected] and we can feature them in an upcoming article. I promise I’ll be gentle

- Me