It’s a me, Anthony!
Okay, I had to get that out of the way. Why, you may ask, would I make such a terrible joke? Well, it’s because today we are going to be diving head first back into the vast world of the Nintendo corporation. You see, Nintendo is one of the oldest and most successful gaming companies in the world. One of the pioneers of the video game industry, the company is responsible for some of the most well known franchises to hit a player’s console. From the early days of Super Smash Bros. and Donkey Kong to the more popular Mario Kart and Legend of Zelda days of the present, Nintendo has always been a fan and family favorite company for both players young and older to enjoy.
Two reasons for the company’s success can be found between the characters of these franchises and the fans who support them. The gaming industry has churned out some truly memorable characters over the years, but none of them may have been possible if not for the groundwork laid by characters such as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and several other heroes and villains. The fans themselves have built the company’s success and over the years have grown to show their appreciation to the company by using their own creativity and giving life to some truly one of a kind artwork.
That’s why today we are going to bring you the very best Nintendo fan art on the internet. Enjoy these truly breathtaking pieces of art.
25 Princess Zelda: Ruler Of Them All
From her first appearance in the 1986 game The Legend of Zelda to the more recent Breath of the Wild game, Princess Zelda has been the titular hero.
Her story has evolved over the years.
Starting out as the classic damsel in distress that Link has to save from an evil dragon, her role has evolved to include her role as the Hyrule royalty to her magical abilities that allow her to become a warrior in her own right.
24 Link: The Hero
One of Nintendo’s most iconic figures and a true fantasy hero, Link is the protagonist of the Legend of Zelda franchise. Depicted throughout the years as a boy, a teenager, and a young adult, the hero often has to fight the forces of evil, including main antagonist Ganon, to save Princess Zelda and the kingdom of Hyrule. His journey often takes him to locate the Master Sword or light arrows, which allow him to defeat Ganon and save the day.
Artist unknown.
23 Waluigi: The Fan-Favorite
An internet icon and master villain to Nintendo hero Luigi, Waluigi is the green-hatted plumber’s arch-nemesis.
Often teaming up in spin-off games with Wario, the purple suited villain often causes mischief and mayhem, leaving nothing but chaos in his wake.
He made his debut in the Nintendo 64 game Mario Tennis, and over the years his character has become something of a cult icon. Here we see him depicted in a nicer suit to make him look more dashing yet dangerous.
22 Wario: The Nemesis
Originally made to be the arch-rival to Nintendo icon Mario, Wario has had quite an incredible journey in the company. Going from a villain and nemesis to a protagonist and anti-hero in his own Wario Land and WarioWare franchises. The official Nintendo lore states that Wario was a childhood rival to Mario and Luigi, who grew jealous of all of their success, and thus the reason why he copied their looks and added his own initials and color scheme to his ensemble.
21 The Mario And Link Crossover
One of the more popular things to do in the modern age of entertainment is crossover two popular characters or franchises and watch the fun unfold. This next artist took that inspiration.
They created a Mario wearing Link’s armor and weaponry with Link taking on Mario’s classic red plumber’s overalls and hat.
It’s a strange thing to witness two iconic characters taking a step in one another’s shoes and imagining what would happen if they were transported into one another’s worlds.
20 Rosalina: The Magical
One of the more current characters in the Nintendo and Mario franchise is none other than Rosalina. Featured in Super Mario Galaxy, she was a non-playable character who ran the Comet Observatory. The adoptive mother of the fictional species known as Lumas, she watches the cosmos and is very powerful. However after being attacked by Bowser, she makes a deal with Mario to have him power up the Observatory and save her, allowing her to help him rescue Princess Peach from the villain’s clutches once more.
19 The Splatoon Effect
This next piece of amazing fan art takes fans into the world of Splatoon, a newer series in the Nintendo arsenal that explores the world of the Inklings, creatures that can transform between humanoid and squid like forms.
This allows them to hide or swim through any surface that has been splashed by an ink gun, ink bucket or even ink brush based weaponry.
The artwork is true to the series, very colorful and bright to signify the unique gameplay of this fan favorite series.
18 The Super Mario Bros Squad
This next piece of art explores the one of a kind brother relationship between Mario and Luigi, the company’s iconic plumber characters that have become a staple of the video game community. This unique artwork takes a realistic look at their hit game franchise Super Mario Bros, complete with new heroic, action star figures and their loyal ally Yoshi, who looks more like a Kaiju-style creature similar to Godzilla than just some cartoonish dinosaur they befriend.
17 Ash Ketchum: Gotta Catch 'Em All
This next character has to catch em’ all, as we take a look at the most iconic Pokémon trainer in the franchise’s history, Ash Ketchum.
This character is a major Pokémon trainer and the protagonist of most of the games and manga/anime properties based on Nintendo’s popular game.
Ash, for the most part, has come across more as a young boy and pre-teen rather than an adult, but this piece of artwork brings Ash a much more mature and heroic look.
16 DuckTales Meets Mega Man
Two very popular franchises in the Nintendo corporation’s arsenal back in the 80s and 90s were none other than Disney’s DuckTales games and the major Mega Man franchise. DuckTales was the story of Scrooge McDuck and his nephews, a multi-billionaire who travels the world in search of adventure. Mega Man focused on the boy robot of the same name, who fought the evil Dr. Wily and his army of evil robot villains. This fan art puts those two franchises together in a very creative way.
15 A New Mega Man
As we already mentioned, Nintendo had an incredibly powerful franchise with the character of Mega Man. The beoy robot traveled around the world, stopping the threat of Dr. Wily and his evil robot army.
He is still considered one of the most iconic heroes of the video game industry.
This next piece of fan art looks at the hero in a whole new light. He’s given an almost Iron Man level look, with a powerful blade suit of armor giving him enhanced abilities.
14 There's Something About Kirby
Another iconic character that put Nintendo on the map was none other than Kirby. The character is known as this giant pink blob who goes on adventures. He is from the planet of Pop Star, and uses his unique ability to consume objects and enemies and gain their special powers in return to protect his home in the country of Dream Land. He is a positive thinking being who uses his gifts to protect the world and he has one heck of an appetite.
13 Samus Aran The Brave
The power suit-wearing hero of the Metroid franchise is the next hero to be featured in the fan art display we have here today.
Seen in a heroic display of metamorphosis from her everyday wear into her power armor, the hero of the Galactic Federation is known for defending the galaxy and saving the universe as a whole from space pirates, dark versions of herself and the original villain of the franchise, Mother Brain.
She has become one of the company’s top iconic characters.
12 A Different Take On The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Another popular franchise that Nintendo benefited from was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The story of four turtles exposed to a mutagen and transformed into large humanoid turtles is a fan favorite in the pop culture society. From the popular films and comic books to their string of video game hits, Nintendo brought these incredibly powerful brothers into the fray and gave fans the ability to become ninja turtles themselves. Seeing Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael coming to life in the fight against Shredder is truly amazing.
11 Pac-Man: The Classic
One of the most original games in the industry that Nintendo is also well known for is Pac-Man.
Originally an arcade style game, the franchise moved into the home console scene with the release of 90s hit game Pac-Attack.
From there the game that featured a yellow dot eating fiendish ghosts and fruit took off in the world of Nintendo and other consoles. This artwork shows the titular character in a whole new light, in his monstrous form that allows him to eat the ghosts chasing him.
10 Yoshi And Mario: A Feminine Touch
Or should we say, Yoshi and Maria? In this one of a kind and unique fan art, we see the character of Mario reinvented, depicting a female version of the heroic plumber alongside a very realistic dinosaur version of the classic hero Yoshi. Nintendo’s one of a kind characters are known for the icon status, and yet seeing a hero like Mario given a modern day and gender-swapped look truly makes this one of the most creative pieces of fan art we’ve ever seen of the character.
9 Little Mac: The Strong
The protagonist of the critically acclaimed Nintendo series Punch-Out!, Little Mac made his first appearance in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!, a direct sequel to the original game.
He is depicted as a young boxer, considerably smaller than his peers and always is shown to be a white man in green shorts and a black tank top.
Here in this fan art we see the protagonist given a modern day and adult look, given more muscles and showing where his years on the circuit have brought him.
8 Warrior Princess Peach
Throughout Nintendo’s history, Princess Peach has normally been depicted as a damsel in distress. Always stolen by Bowser or some other villain, she is taken to the game’s last level where heroes like Mario have to come and rescue her from the monster’s lair. Yet what if Peach were to be given a more modern look and more modern interpretation? Could you not imagine this fan art in a game, where Peach has great power herself and is able to face the monsters of her kingdom?
7 The One, The Only, Fox McCloud
Another major franchise that Nintendo fans love to play is Star Fox. The series features the main character Fox McCloud, an anthropomorphic fox who leads other characters in the Star Fox unit.
Flying spaceships and fighting to protect the galaxy, the character finds himself the hero of a heavily science fiction and epic space fighting adventure series.
This unique piece of fan art shows the fox hero in all his glory, ready to tackle any assignment given to him.
6 Luigi’s Last Stand
Or so it appears. In this unique fan art, we see the brother and hero Luigi in some apocalyptic nightmare, fighting off the forces of evil in some sort of hellish landscape. Luigi is seen with Bowser and ghosts overlooking the scene on the ground. While known to be the taller and slimmer heroic brother to Mario, Luigi is an icon in his own right, and seeing him facing these monstrous foes alone in his new heroic style is one for the ages.