People like video games. People like hilarity. In the words of a meme girl, “why not both?” Video games have long inspired devoted fan art from highly talented artists. Not all fan art is created equal, though, and not all fan art should be created (looking at you, bowels of Google images). You already know there are loads and loads of beautiful fan art pieces out there. Boring! Who needs to see another immaculately-rendered, life-like painting of renaissance Zelda? Who needs that jealousy in their lives? Today we’re going to bury the pain and celebrate hilarious fanart instead.
Once again, I’ve collected a bunch of pictures that’ll tickle your fancy. Some of these are extremely well-drawn. Others are as simple as a screenshot with a caption. All of them are clever. I make it a point of not adding anything to these lists that doesn’t make me laugh. That doesn’t necessarily mean I have to belly-laugh to include an entry; a heartfelt snicker will do. I don’t say this to be a snob. I simply pore over a lot of video game images for this job, so I’ve seen my share. The thinking is if something gets a rise out of the seasoned writers here, chances are you might like them too. Also, these images are pretty much uniformly one-panel with little-to-no dialogue. That means you can skim through without having to read the dull text I spent hours laboriously penning for you.
20 From Their Point Of View
Art by: BossTsengKuso
The world of Pokémon is a living nightmare from the perspective of Pokémon. Confinement. Slavery. Forced battling. It’s a wonder it’s a kid’s game. No world is stranger than the Pokémon Go world. Can you imagine what it looks like from their perspectives?
This is some legit Black Mirror stuff! For real.
The artist has done a bang-up job capturing the unthinking cruelty of trainers in this drawing. I hope it all gives us pause. Anyway, can’t wait for Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee and Pikachu!
19 Show Me Where The Bad Man Is
This isn’t the first entry on this list to draw the connection between Teenage mutant ninja turtles and Mario. While the other picture gives Mario the benefit of the doubt, supposing that he stomped on Megan Fox’s turtle pals by accident, we’re seeing an altogether different Mario here.
It’s so great when you can throw bigger bullies at smaller bullies.
Luckily he’s about to get his comeuppance. The little turtle fella’s got a big, beefier older brother.
18 The Legend Of Wazelda
Art by: hotdiggedydemon
This may be my favorite image in the bunch. The image comes courtesy of artist Hot Diggedy Demon. If you’re not familiar with her stuff, she’s a cartoonist force to be reckoned with going back to the Newgrounds days. Here she presents a modest proposal to improve Zelda games. Although Breath of the Wild is arguably one of the greatest games of all time, I think we all 100% that this would seal the deal.
17 The Treasure In Your Backyard
Art by: paraisofriki.com
A lot of interesting things can be found in tall grass. If you happen to live in Kokiri forest next to a giant tree with a mustache, chances are you should mow your lawn more often. You’ll find some choice things in the grass. Unfortunately, that means you might also live in the Majora’s Mask world, like this guy. He’s got… oh, I’d say about three solid nights to really enjoy his newfound toys before he won’t have the opportunity anymore.
16 I Did It… I Exhausted Mufasa
Art by: thecoffeedog
It wasn’t Scar that offed Mufasa— it was low stamina! Fans of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will recognize the pesky single stamina wheel from the beginning of the game. Link can’t even swim across a pond without running out of stamina and drowning.
Where’s Zazu? Mufasa can quickly replenish his stamina if he downs a quick snack.
You remember what it’s like to be stuck on a cliff about to fall. That gosh-darn Scar knew just how to wipe poor Mufasa out.
15 Me, My Link, And I
Art by: onceuponatee
Bridge of Spies, anyone? At least that’s what I think this is from. If this fan art is referencing a much more classical piece of art I should be embarrassed not to know about, please allow me to remind you I have a Master’s in pop culture, not real culture. Real culture doesn’t matter. Anyway, this image is deep. Link sees himself as a dark entity but portrays himself as wholesome toon Link… or maybe he sees himself as wholesome toon Link but he’s really the dark entity? You decide!
14 Mario’s Horrible Mistake
Art by: fullplatemail
Do you get what’s going on here? I’ll admit it took me a little while. For those who aren’t swell-versed in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or who haven’t seen the show or movies in some time, the Jason-looking Hockey Mask guy can throw you off. That’s Casey Jones aka April’s boyfriend.
The Koopa-stomping plumber has made a terrible mistake.
Why are they all looking so glum? Wellll take a closer look at those empty shells.
13 Attack On Chicken
Art by: sectorn
Now, who WOULDN’T watch this anime? Weebos everywhere adore Attack on Titan, a manga and TV series about villagers trying to survive a world overrun by man-eating giants.
This is much less scary than the original Attack on Titan with its underdressed, middle-aged Japanese giants.
But what if the enemies were Kakariko’s chickens? The ones that peck Link to his end for one little mistake of kicking one. It’s long been known that the chickens are the real villains of Zelda, not Ganondorf.
12 They’ll Make You Grow High
There’s always been something… let’s say strange about Mario deriving his powers from mushrooms. The sweet and innocent The Gamer fans may be wondering why.
Hey kid, you want a power-up?
It’s because certain mushrooms in real life also have stranger properties… the property to power-up the flavor of everyday dishes! I can’t tell you how many meals are improved by throwing a good ‘ol mushroom in there. Super weird Mario gets his powers from the same kind of power-up flavor mushrooms.
11 Crashing The Pokécentre
This one never gets old. There is a certain level of cognitive dissonance that goes into some video games. Onix’s official height is 28’10’’ or 8.8 m. In the immortal words of Derek Zoolander:
How are we supposed to build a Pokécentre for Pokémon who can’t heal well if they can’t even fit inside the building?
He’s depicted here at about the same height as his trainer! Okay, we can make some allowances for sprites. They don’t have to realistic. That doesn’t explain how he can get through the door, son. It needs to be at least three times bigger.
10 Once Again, I’m Crying
Kids today. No respect. While the rest of us have never quite recovered from the forge scene in Toy Story 3, some kids would rather play with their iPads than sentient toys. I’m sorry, does your free-to-play, micro-transaction, lootbox-heavy mobile game contain the smooth vocal strains of everyone's sweetheart, one mister Tom Hanks? Huh? Does it? Huh? That’s right, I didn’t think so. Tom Hanks is the one lootbox none of us deserve.
9 Metal Gear: Up!
Art by: cad-comic
Too clever. I’m surprised nobody has done this before. There are certain major overlaps between Up’s Carl Fredricksen and Metal Gear Solid V’s Kiefer Suther— er, Big Boss. Both protagonists share a penchant for tying things onto balloons and sending them sky-high for later use. Carl sets his house soaring. Big Boss ties up items and soldiers and sends them on a balloon ride to his base, Hoarders-style. That’s not where the similarities end though. Both are famous curmudgeons.
8 Nice Damsel Saver’s Creed
Art by: jkateel.tumblr
If there’s one person who could save Rapunzel from her tower… well, it’s Rapunzel. Have you seen that girl with a frying pan? Daayyyumm. But the second best person to save Rapunzel would no doubt be Altaïr.
I really hope Altaïr’s there to save her and nothing else. The game is called Nice Damsel Saver’s Creed, right?
Hopefully, Rapunzel will invite Altaïr in and explain the whole Gothel situation. I’ve got a feeling Altaïr will be able to help her out much quicker than Flynn Rider.
7 She’s Such A Baller
Metroid’s Samus infamously has the power to morph into a ball. I don’t know how that is physically possible but let’s not question it. One of the unfortunate side effects is that people are always looking for a good ball to toss around. If Samus isn’t careful, she could end up becoming an unwitting player of the NBA as seen here. I don’t know enough about Basketball to make any jokes about the game. This site is called TheGamer, not the Basketballer.
6 Look Where You’re Going
If you’re going to run fast, make sure you look where you’re going. That’s solid advice which would have saved me while I was playing Pokémon Go. I didn’t hurt myself or anything, I just ended up watching two years of my life go by.
Keep your heads up for the Sonic the Hedgehog movie coming out next year starring a live-action Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik.
Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most famously speedy characters in gaming. But even he can end up with his head in the sand if he doesn’t watch where he’s going.
5 Link Takes His Time
Art by: thejedhenry
It’s no secret that Link is enjoying his time around Hyrule. Dude’s been having a beauty asleep for a hundred years. Why shouldn’t he get to enjoy himself? Not unlike Mr. Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid V, Link has the power to tether goods and baddies to balloons and send them off into the ether to meet Mary Poppins. Here he can be seen riding a Lynel, one of the most powerful creatures in the game.
4 He Doesn’t Know He’s Beautiful
Art by: BlancaVidal
We all look different in our minds. Poor Mario. He still thinks he looks 8-bit when he’s mushroomed into a strong, handsome fully-rendered man. Maybe this is why he’s inhaling mushrooms all the time. If you like this image, guess what? It exists in t-shirt form —I believe that’s where the design originated but don’t quote on me on it. You can find out more looking up the artist.
3 It’s Over, They Have The High Ground
Both Link and Mario have celestial bodies to contend with. In The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Link has to save Clocktown and Termina from an evil moon. Originating in Super Mario Bros: 3, evil suns try to take down Mario and Luigi. What would happen if the evil sun and moon teamed up to take down our heroes? Basically, the same thing as if one of them tried to— face it, there’s no surviving a normal star or moon.
2 Another Day Down The Drain
Wow, looks like Mario is getting sick of Peach’s problems. Can you really blame him? She goes missing every other day and perpetuates old damsel-in-distress stereotypes.
Mario perpetuates unrealistic plumber stereotypes— mainly that plumbers will show up to do the work when called.
Sorry, not to disparage any plumbers among you. Hopefully, you will enjoy Mario taking revenge on congested pipes. It looks like Mario he’s doing the clogging now. Take that, Piranha Plants.
1 The Look Of A Born Assassin
Look into his beady eyes. That is the look of your doom. I know this image is a parody, but I straight-up am more afraid of that cat clubbing me with a fish more than I fear Enzio or Atari or whatever their names are. The soldier bunny is just realistic enough for this to be properly creepy. Do you guys ever think about how our cats would eat us if they were our size? Like, they wouldn’t hesitate for a second? I think about it a lot.