It would be very hard for you to have not played at least one Nintendo game growing up and it would be equally as difficult for you to not have found a character that you enjoyed. It is safe to say that Nintendo was a pioneer in their field and they helped to save the gaming industry on more than one occasion over the years. After the video game crash, many felt that Nintendo didn’t have a shot of breaking into the console market, but they proved everyone wrong. They proved to themselves and the rest of the world that it wasn’t just about graphics on more than one occasion and they continue to do so to this day. It’s the stories that we find within their games and their character depth that keeps us coming back for more and the rest of the industry is starting to take note.

I can’t tell you how many hours I spent on my Game Boy on long car rides and I still enjoy playing on it to this day. After recently fixing my NES I can honestly say that I enjoy playing the whole host of iconic games just as much now as I did back then. It speaks volumes about Nintendo’s ability to create fantastic games and my hope is that they never forget how they started. Given that Nintendo has been a part of many generations the world over it’s no surprise at all that you will find so many wonderful renditions of our favorite characters. Each with a unique look and feel that is at times vastly different then what we are used to seeing.

25 Thrust Into Another World

There is just something about the Mario universe that makes it so captivating. It is one of those games that you can pick up and play off and on and still feel the same way about it as you did all those years ago when the first game was released.

Mario started out as a concept idea during the creation of Donkey Kong.

For one reason or another, many felt that the Wii U version wasn’t nearly as fun as the previous installments, but I found the opposite to be true. I felt that the company did a great job of adding new elements to the game and expanding upon its core theme. While Tohad tends to draw and color landscapes rather then characters we can see the tremendous amount of detail given to both within this rendition. The vibrant colors of the Mario universe are still there, but the setting has a much more realistic quality to it.

24 Beneath The Rain

Pokémon are rather strange creatures to be sure and while some of them don’t resemble anything within our reality, there are a lot that do. This isn’t too surprising though given that Satoshi Tajiri based the entire idea of the franchise off of his love for bug collecting. He wanted a way to introduce children to nature while also giving them a way to connect.

At the time of its creation, Tajiri felt that too many kids were no longer interested in wildlife and he felt that such a game would help to peak their interest once again. He almost gave up on the idea, but through hard work and perseverance, he was able to make a franchise that is growing stronger by the day. Anto-Z spends a lot of time creating highly detailed realistic renditions of our favorite characters and his take on the starter Pokémon is simply astounding.

23 Awaiting The Rift

Do a barrel roll is a phrase that I am not likely to forget anytime soon. Thinking back on it I wonder if the original creators of Star Fox had any idea how iconic a game they were about to create. After all, there were a lot of franchises that they were going to be competing with and they were trying a new approach to an old genre.

Though my first experience with the franchise was on the 64, I went back later on and played the Super NES version. Through playing each game in the franchise I quickly began to love the 64 version that much more and I hope that they release the next game with it in mind. While you can find your fair share of portrayals of Fox McCloud out there, I found this one by MoonSkinned to be something entirely different.

22 New Stomping Grounds

Ah Yoshi, the ever prominent companion of Mario throughout the franchise. When you acquire him in a particular level of the game you knew that you were going to have an easier time of things, that is, as long as you didn’t scare him into running away. He had similar attributes to Kirby and the amount of fanfare surrounding him has helped to spawn many standalone games.

Yoshi’s Woolly World became an instant success and put a spin on an all-time classic.

Given his presence within the Mario universe, it is hardly a surprise that you can find many renditions of him out there. Though there are quite a few fantastic realistic depictions of him out there you won’t find too many along the lines of what Daviddleoniuis has drawn here. I don’t think Yoshi would be running away if he looked like this.

21 A Narrow Escape

Perhaps one of the most revolutionary and impactful franchises ever, Metroid has stood the test of time. While not every game within the franchise has met expectations, each has its place within the storyline that has spanned many years and multiple consoles. Even with some lackluster titles, the demand for Samus Aran hasn’t seemed to waver in the slightest.

Many inside Nintendo were unsure about the female bounty hunter. They felt that perhaps gamers would not be ready for such a reveal after the first installment and it wasn’t until midway through development that the main character was switched from male to female. Artists have drawn her in pretty much every way imaginable and there are new renditions popping up with each new installment. When it comes to creating photo-realistic renditions of our favorite characters, Zeronis does it about as good as anyone. He does a fantastic job of adding detail and showing real emotion as well.

20 Not The Same Plumber

You would think that after all this time that Mario would start to lose a large part of its following, but through innovation and major changes Nintendo has managed to captivate younger generations while still holding onto past fans. In so doing, the company has proven that it can think outside the box and go outside of its comfort zone to create something truly spectacular.

When you think about it, the themes in the games are actually quite dark and for all intents and purposes, Mario brings a lot of Bowser’s henchmen to an unsavory demise. It is perhaps due to this fact that Nestoronfire decided to go away from the typical vibrant and joyful view of the Mario universe and depict it in a way that one might imagine it.

19 Plotting His Revenge

One thing that I never really understood about the Mario games was how Mario could overpower Bowser. After all, Bowser is a tall and strong dinosaur-like creature and yet Mario can simply grab him by his tail and swing him around or simply shove him off the edge. In reality, I don’t think that he would have such an easy go of things and I’m sure the battles would have a much different outcome.

M-Thirteen has been on DeviantArt for over nine years and in that time he has created tons of different art pieces depicting our favorite video game characters. He loves to play around with textures and he does a terrific job of creating very vibrant and eye-popping color schemes. While he tends to give a lot of his pieces more of a cartoon feel, his Bowser portrayal is something entirely different, containing many photo-realistic qualities.

18 Closer To Its Namesake

When you think about Pokémon, you are likely to think about a bunch of cute and cuddly creatures, but in reality, they are anything but. If you spend any amount of time looking through some of the entries within the Pokédex you will find that they dispatch of their fellow Pokémon in all sorts of horrific ways.

Gorebyss is one such Pokémon as it dispatches of it’s pray by sucking out its insides.

It makes you wonder what exactly happens to all those fainted Pokémon that you never are able to capture. For the most part, Pikachu is one of the most innocent looking creatures within the Pokémon universe, and yet, ReneCampbellArt is able to change that around a bit thanks to her realistic interpretation. Given that the origin for the name is derived from the sound a mouse makes and the phonetic for an electric spark this particular portrayal seems much more fitting.

17 An Unsavory End

Within the Zelda universe, there are all sorts of interesting characters and creatures. The level of complexity and the range of colors that are present within it allows for artists to come up with all sorts of amazing portrayals. While some games within the series provide more detail then others, artists seem to be able to mesh the two in a way that it creates some rather interesting renditions.

Throughout the series, Ganon has taken on many different forms and, as a result, you can find an endless supply of depictions of him in each one done by artists. Even though that is the case, there are a few that really take things in a whole other direction. This particular piece done by RyuDan, for example, does a great job of showcasing the immense power and size that Ganon has over Link.

16 A Frightening Transformation

As with a lot of Nintendo games, the themes inside the Zelda universe are actually pretty tarrying once you think about it. After all, it’s not as if Link is battling cuddly creatures on his adventures and no matter how you slice it, dead-hand is downright terrifying.

The introduction of alternate universes has allowed the company to expand the game into new areas.

It has come a long way since its early 8-bit days and I often wonder if the original creators ever foresaw it reaching the level of complexity that it is at now. It’s not easy to create a franchise that lasts many years, and yet, Nintendo seems to do it time and time again. This rendition of the iconic characters done by dhayman85 is truly spectacular. He does a great job of giving us a terrifying look at the evils that both Link and Zelda face.

15 A Very Different Look

Oddly enough, when I grew up playing the Kirby games I never really thought about how truly terrifying he was. I mean, you have a creature who loves nothing more than to eat random creatures that he comes in contact with. The prospect of being sucked in by him must be truly terrifying. Yes, Nintendo turns him into this cuddly little creature that doesn’t seem like it would hurt a fly. Kirby was voted as the best hero by fans during the 1993 Nintendo Power Awards.

While many artists like to stick with the traditional look for Kirby, there are quite a few out there who draw him in interesting new ways. Some of them will play on the aforementioned idea that I stated above and draw him in a rather frightening manner and others, like Chenanigans, will draw him in a more realistic sense.

14 The Stuff Of Nightmares

When you’re a reoccurring character within a long-running series, chances are you are going to have a fair share of fan art associated with you. This is for sure the case when it comes to the Happy Mask Salesman who has made his way into four different installments of the franchise. As far as characters go, it wouldn’t take a lot to push things into the darker territory with this one. If you search for artwork related to him you are likely to find some of the best out there.

If we take a peek through Zinrius’s gallery we can see that he spends a lot of time re-imagining our favorite characters in unique ways. He takes our favorite video games characters and thrusts them into the stratosphere by creating renditions of them that are often times better than the original creators.

13 Lurking In The Darkness

Originally, Boo was just a name for a multitude of ghost within the Mario universe, but over time it has evolved to be attached to a singular character who has made appearances in a large range of games since. Though Mario may be frightened by them, more often then not they are simply playing a practical joke or two without doing any real harm.

Super Mario Galaxy implied that the Boos were once human.

Though we may never know for sure, it’s a good explanation for their existence seeing as their true origin is never really discussed. CarSoda doesn’t have too many pieces of artwork to speak of, but from what is there you can see a good grasp on color shading and detail work. This Boo rendition may seem simplistic, but it does a good job of detailing what Mario himself might actually be seeing.

12 Lingering In The Distance

Being one of the first games that I ever played on the NES, Zelda has remained one of my all-time favorite franchises of all time. The storyline never seemed boring at any point and the gameplay always kept me engaged. While there are some aspects of the later games that I didn’t enjoy, for the most part, each game has ended up being an overall good experience.

Seeing as the franchise has spanned many generations it is hardly a surprise that you will see many artists trying their hand at drawing its ever iconic cast of characters. In looking through the gallery of Eddy-ShinJuku, you can clearly see that they have a good grasp on not just color blending, but the creation of depth of field as well. We see plenty of it within this Princess Zelda depiction and the level of detail in her armor is simply awe inspiring.

11 Emerging From The Clouds

If you went back in time and told me that Pokémon would still be going strong today I probably wouldn’t believe you. In truth I felt that it would simply be a generational thing and that it wouldn’t appeal to later generations that would come along. Instead of fading away the franchise continued to grow with each passing year and today it is one of the highest earners for the company. Satoshi Tajiri developed the idea for the game from his time insect collecting as a child.

At first, the company didn’t feel that consumers would embrace such a game and they were hesitant to invest in the idea. It was Shigeru Miyamoto who would step in and convince the company to give Tajiri’s Pokémon a chance. Dragolisco, like most of us, became a fan of the games and he has spent his time as an artist creating some rather terrifying renditions of the creatures such as this ghastly Gengar.

10 Time In Full Effect

There is no doubt at all that some of the company’s most iconic characters live a rather hectic life. There isn’t a moment within the Mushroom Kingdom that Mario can actually relax and he is on constant guard against the ever-looming threat of Bowser, who could strike at any moment.

Shigeru Miyamoto was originally going to name the character Mr. Video.

It doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it and I can wholeheartedly agree with Miyamoto’s sentiments that the name would have ensured Mario’s demise before his career even started. Throughout all this time one could imagine that Mario has seen some pretty traumatic things and SpineBender does a good job of depicting the toll that it has taken on everyone’s favorite plumber.

9 Exploring A Different Land

Every once and a while you will come across a game with a truly strange concept that ends up being one of the best games you will ever play and Pikmin was certainly that. Its one of those games that you can play for any length of time and never feel as if you are burnt out.

It’s always fun to play and every once and a while I will fire up my GameCube and play some Pikmin just as I did when I was a kid. Though this particular rendition isn’t as creepy as the others on the list, DrMistyTang draws the characters from the game in such a way that it gives that impression. She gives them a realistic quality that is vastly different from their animated art style and it shows them in a whole new light.

8 The Silence Of Space

Only time will tell where the Metroid franchise falls into place when it’s all said and done, but it isn’t likely that we will find that out anytime soon. Even today fans are figuring out new things about the older games that they didn’t know before and it helps to generate new interest in a franchise that has stood the test of time.

It’s strange to think that the game might not have even become what we know of today and I am sure that many on the original design team have no problem pointing out that their decisions were the right ones. Due to its success, the company was able to continue to think outside the box and they have continued to do so ever since. While we get a good idea how terrifying some of the creators are in the Metroid universe I think that Zesiul does a great job of capturing Phantoon in a darker manner.

7 Up Close And Personal

Yet another in a long list of successful platformers, Donkey Kong has continued to live on through multiple platforms. Like Mario, the concept started as a rather complex arcade game and quickly evolved into the franchise that we know of today. While it does share similarities with Mario, it offers up a different take on not just the controls, but the way in which you interact with the world.

Universal Studios sued Nintendo, claiming that Donkey Kong was a copy of King Kong.

In the end, the court chose to favor Nintendo claiming that Universal didn’t actually have the right to the concept of King Kong and that there was no actual confusion between the character of King Kong and that of Donkey Kong. Due to the games long history, you can easily find countless renditions of its characters. This particular piece depicting King K. Rool by FischHead adds an extra level of detail to the character.

6 Putting Things Into Perspective

As you can probably imagine by now, there are many pieces of artwork within this list that gravitate towards photo-realism. For Mario, there is a good amount of variation when it comes to that and you will see varying levels of photo-realism placed into many art pieces. Some artists choose to add only a small amount of realism while others tend to add a lot more.

It's always good when you stumble upon an artist who invites you to give your own critique of their artwork. In the case of Der-Reiko, you will find that under the majority of his pieces, he invites you to level your critique as well as give him suggestions on how to improve as an artist. Within his drawing of Mario, we see that he has added a great deal of realism to the Piranha plant in a fantastic way.