Drawing your favorite video game characters into what feels like a school life anime genre feels very specific, doesn’t it? Give them some backpacks, a coffee, school uniform, or books and suddenly they blend in with a college campus or school hall. Despite this feeling like a specific and unique idea, alternate universes (also known as AUs) that involve school are very popular among fandoms and artists.
School is not so common in the video game world because the characters are often too busy with adventure and survival. Maybe the protagonist from Persona 5 managed it, but we definitely don’t expect Sora from Kingdom Hearts to know his Algebra anytime soon.
The fanart and fanfiction that revolve around college, school, or student/teacher AUs are pretty fun to look at and think about. For example, what would Princess Zelda take a major in? What clubs would Mario join? Do they live in a dorm? What sort of student stereotype would they fall under? Jock? Hipster? Nerd?
It’s these questions that practically make a school-based story its own genre. School is like a whole other world sometimes with its own social hierarchy, secrets, and way of life. Perhaps the biggest question of all for these characters is what classes are they taking?
With that in mind, let’s look at this school AU fanart of video game console characters!
31 Princess Zelda
There is little doubt that Zelda would be at the top of her class as a student. She’d be an honors student and would focus deeply on history and politics.
She’d be a nerd, but she would be the cool nerd that everyone aspires to be like.
This particular Zelda design has an edgy vibe to it, like this Zelda is more street-smart than her other incarnations. There are beautiful details from her game, such as her “Wisdom” shirt and the three pendants on her necklace to stand for wisdom, power, and courage.
Art was done by artofcelle
30 D.va, Junkrat, And Lucio
D.va’s backstory is that she’s a professional gamer that the military hired to be a mech pilot. She’d definitely be into engineering, robotics, and do live streams at night. She and Lucio would be good friends since it was confirmed they are fans of each other’s work in the game.
Lucio would be into volunteer work and definitely major in music.
He also knows a lot about electronics so he could be in an AV club. Junkrat would probably study to be a demolition and/or construction expert since he loves blowing things up.
Art was made by onepancake.
29 Tifa Lockhart
Tifa would be a student activist due to her in-game relation to AVALANCHE. Out of her friend group, she’d be the tough-as-nails surrogate mother. There are many of those in school life and it usually creates drama because the surrogate-mother takes care of everyone but themselves.
She’d be the shy student who doesn’t talk much if ever in class.
Her shyness would not stop her from joining the martial arts club though. Due to being a bar-hostess in-game, she might hold a part-time bar job while studying at her high school or college.
Art was done by danilocassonato.
28 Samus
If anything, Samus would be a foreign exchange student. In the games, she’s raised by aliens and because of that, she doesn’t relate best to other humans. For school clubs, Samus would be all about martial arts and basketball since she’s a bounty hunter in her games and can jump really high and fight well. She’d be an aloof jock type character. By aloof, we mean she’s the type of person who would hike by themselves in their spare time.
Artist is samanatorclub.
27 Morrigan And Leliana
These girls are known to many fans as polar opposites in Dragon Age: Origins. Perhaps in this AU, opposites attract?
Morrigan would probably like to study biology and sociology due to her in-game love of elf history and her shapeshifting ability. Leliana would major in English literature and music due to her love of stories and music from her bard days.
Leliana would be the sweet girl and naïve student on the outside but would reveal her jaded and intelligent personality to those she really trusted. Morrigan would be known as the goth/emo student who isn’t afraid to break rules.
Art was done by pandaleonsaa.
26 Student Peach
This looks like a more serious and troubled Peach than the happy and bright one we are used to I the games. One thing to consider is how a school environment could affect their personalities and interests. What if Peach was actually put through the ringer a bit? Schools can be a difficult place, and that could be why she looks troubled.
What if she is a tough villain in the school herself due to the fear of becoming a recipient herself? The dark possibilities are endless.
Art was made by ediiee.
25 Shepard And Liara
Shepard and Liara would be the biggest power couple on their campus due to being the best at their fields and also studying things that are considered opposite. Shepard would be a jock and in a military program while in college.
The military program would pay for her tuition since in the games she either comes from a poor or military background.
Liara would definitely be in anthropology and be the brightest in her field. Like this art suggests, Liara is probably always in the library.
Art was done by ddojasik.
24 Mario And Luigi
Mario and Luigi would go to a plumbing trade school. We have to admit that they’d probably get into a lot of trouble due to their use of mushrooms. To make the story more interesting, maybe their RA’s are Wario and Waluigi. Maybe there is a constant battle between them where Wario and Waluigi try to catch Mario and Luigi in the act of consuming mushrooms and get them kicked from school.
Luigi is probably known as a lazy student and Mario to be one who takes plumbing very seriously.
Art was made by amiruhafiz.
23 Princess Peach
Peach loves to travel and gets into a lot of predicaments, so she’d probably be that student who is almost always absent from class.
She’d be known as the preppy girl who has enough family money for the best clothes.
She does not seem to be the kind to enjoy it, but maybe she’d study politics to satisfy her family but her real love is for the fine arts. If she isn’t traveling, she sometimes appears at the painting, sewing, or cooking club for some fun.
Art was done by lirhya.
22 The Witcher Family
A lot is going on in this picture. We’ve got Geralt, Ciri, Yennefer, Dandelion, Zoltan, and Eredin. Roach, the horse in-game, is now a hover-board.
You don’t have to be a certain age to be a college student so we don’t have to assume that Ciri (the youngest) is the only college student in this group. This looks like a typical late-night college hang out. They got the card games, the music, and the video games. It appears Yennefer and Geralt may be arguing about whether to end the party or not.
Art was done by Maria Lonyuk.
21 Goku And Chichi
Goku and Chichi are more of a part of the anime community than the gaming community, but there are a surprising amount of Dragon Ball Z games for all consoles.
If there is anything the fans know about Goku other than his love of food is his tendency to act rather than think. This would make him a struggling student when it comes to grades. Chichi is probably a very devoted student since, in the show, she becomes one of the martial artists in the world in order just yell at Goku.
Art was donne by alkaidx10.
20 Zelda And Malon
Zelda and Malon are both gifted women. It’s easy to see Zelda befriending someone with her opposite talents, but same strong demeanor.
In this art piece, only Malon appears to wear a schoolgirl outfit. Does this mean Zelda could be a teacher in this scenario?
She’s certainly dressed like a teacher would be. Certainly, she would have a lot to teach her peers about the world of Hyrule.
19 Ash And Clemont
Though Ash is not from the Pokémon games, Clemont is from the X and Y games. Due to their age and matching uniforms, it’s safe to assume this is a boarding school AU. Do Pokémon still exist in this AU or are they now more like us and just have a lot of Pokémon merchandise? Pokémon school merchandise is huge. You can get Pokémon backpacks, notebooks, pens, pencil cases, keychains, binders, folders, lunchboxes, and clothes.
Ash is average intelligence, but Clemont would definitely be on the top of his class due to being an inventor in the games.
Art was done by opallene.
18 Mario Characters
We need to talk about Bowser as a professor. According to the art, he is Mr. Kooper in this AU. What would he teach? It’s easy to imagine him as a gym teacher. He could be that cliché cruel gym teacher who constantly punishes students by making them run a dozen laps around the school or doing push-ups until their arms no longer work.
He’d be one of those teachers who would not treat his students equally.
For example, he’d let Peach get away with not doing anything while making Mario and Luigi run a million laps.
Art was done by bulgariansumo.
17 Final Fantasy Girls
From left to right are Lightning, Yuna, Tifa, and Rinoa from various Final Fantasy games. Due to their school uniforms all being different in design, it’s probably safe to assume they all go to different high schools.
Having oversized chibi keychains is definitely part of otaku student fashion, so that’s a nice touch. Lightning’s pink hair and masculine outfit gives her a Revolutionary Girl Utena vibe. Yuna would probably study religion while volunteering at a local shrine. Rinoa would, like Tifa, also be a student activist to due to her in-game part is a resistance movement.
Art was done by rina-liu.
16 Skyward Sword’s Zelda
In Skyward Sword, Zelda is actually a principal’s daughter. He’s the headmaster of the Knight Academy. So this Zelda AU would have her be the daughter of just a regular principal. What is it like to be the child of a principal? A lot of students would probably treat her differently and be wary of her since her father has power over the school.
There is a moment in the game where she sings, so she would probably take at least one singing course. Maybe choir?
Art was made by rainbowdoodles.
15 Phoenix Wright And Miles Edgeworth
According to the artist, Izzymatic, this college AU features Miles studying to become a defense attorney and Phoenix to be an art major. We did not quite need to utilize our imaginations for this AU.
We know from the games that Phoenix has been both an art and law student at Ivy University.
As for Miles though, this would be if DL-6 never happened and he lived the life of a regular law student instead of being privately trained.
Art was done by izzymatic.
14 Assassin’s Creed Students
In this fan art, we have Altair, Ezio, and Malik. Ezio would be that student that everyone has a crush on. He’d be the guy who would be invited to all the high school parties. He’d just be a cool kid who is not on any sports teams but is still super fit.
Malik and Altair would be those boys that have a close friendship but are very quiet and are not a part of any big group of students.
Art was done by allahdammit.
13 Jeanne From Bayonetta
Bayonetta’s Jeanne is canonically a teacher who acts as a vigilante who spends her free time defending her students. In other words, she would be the coolest teacher in the school. This is reinforced by the fact that she’s literally a witch in the games.
She’s very serious in the games, so she’d make a strict and intelligent teacher.
If you skip her class, she’d either find you or never mention it and just give you an F. The students would either love her or fear her or both.
Art was done by joiski.
12 Lina And Rylai
Lina and Rylai from Defense of the Ancients (DotA) would be infamous for their sibling rivalry in the classroom. Lina would be known for her anger issues but would also be very popular due to her beauty and confidence. She would be known to the teachers as a troublesome student, but smart.
Rylai always refers herself as the “good one” between herself and her sibling so she probably takes every chance she can to be kind and suck up to her teachers.
Art was done by mars-reiko.