Nintendo has given us plenty of iconic video game characters over the years. While Mario might be the icon that really made Nintendo what it was, Nintendo has also introduced a plethora of nonhuman characters as well. Whether it be the various creatures from Mario’s rogue gallery, from the goombas to Bowser, or it is one of the hundreds of Pokémon that the big ”N” has created over the past twenty years, Nintendo is no stranger to creating animal characters that range from the cute to the bizarre.
Many of these fictional creatures and characters have been given much love in the fan art community online as well. A simple Google search for some of your favorite video game characters will yield thousands of results showing images of your favorite characters in all sorts of different styles and variations. While many pieces of fan art keep the original style of the character similar to its actual design, many artists have taken creative freedom in transforming these characters into unique designs that stray from the norm.
These animal creatures that Nintendo has designed over the years are no exception. Artists all over the world have reimagined these fantastic creature designs and put a fun spin on them depicting them as human. While some might work better than others, here are some interesting looks at some of the greatest nonhuman characters than Nintendo has designed ranging from a wide library of the company’s past.
25 Genetically Altered
Mewtwo was already an experimental creature in the original Pokémon games, but there’s no telling where the minds of those crazy Kanto scientists could head to next. Mewtwo is an easy Pokémon to envision being human, considering he is already an anthropomorphic creature. While he may not look quite as intimidating in his human form, he certainly still looks like he can handle his own in battle, psychic powers and all. This is one genetically altered creature I wouldn’t want my Pikachu going up against.
24 Still Just The Same
Human or not, it doesn’t look like much has changed between Kirby and King Dedede. Always with his appetite in control over his common sense, it looks like Kirby will still consume anything that he comes across, even if it is to the king’s disliking. It doesn’t look like Kirby would be able to eat quite as much compared to his pink puffball self, however. And while Kirby might be able to swallow food whole, I think his human counterpart should probably slice that watermelon up before going to town on it.
23 The Whole Crew Returns
Star Fox is probably the game that first really resonated with the culture, and for good reason. Those anthropomorphic animals piloting starships were totally awesome, despite them looking like cuddly creatures. Here, we get a look at the entire original Star Fox crew, all of which have been transformed into human variations of themselves. From the wise mentor Peppy Hare all the way to the unbearable Slippy Toad, there is nothing that this crew of star fighters can’t handle when they are together.
22 Less Furry, More Shrubby
The Deku Princess from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask might not technically be a furry creature, but she certainly isn’t of the human variety. Furry or not, this human representation of the Deku Princess looks amazing, and she certainly looks less frightening than her Deku counterpart. While the Deku Princess may have had a relatively small role in the Zelda timeline, I wouldn’t mind her showing up again with this flashy new look, even if she is prone to getting captured.
21 Human Evolution
Pokémon is an obvious choice when looking at creature to human transformations, and with hundreds of Pokémon available, we could fill this list with Pokémon alone. In this picture, we get three for the price of one, showing the entire evolution chain of Charmander to Charizard, but in human form. While it looks like she starts out as a level one serf, this transformation shows us the journey all the way up to becoming an armored knight. Now we just want to see the Mega-evolution of human Charizard!
20 Still A Saving Grace
We haven’t seen much of Candy Kong in recent years. First making her debut in the original Donkey Kong Country back on the Super Nintendo, Candy’s purpose was to save your progress throughout the game. This version of the cute ape shows her further down the evolution line and in a human form. It doesn’t look like much has changed since her monkey days, however, as she is still toting her iconic look that has helped the Kong family out for many years.
19 An Outdoors Kind Of Dino
I always felt bad for Bulbasaur back in the first generation of Pokémon. He seemed like he was the starter that nobody picked (myself included) but I grew to appreciate him and his adorable nature further on in the series, using him more than I once did. This piece of fan art gives us three human variations of the first Pokémon dinosaur showing him as a group of young kids which seem to be the more outdoors type and can’t stop playing in the mud.
18 Going Through A Lot
I really can’t picture Bowser giving up his life of villainy and settling down in a suburban setting, but alas, here we have a human Bowser very much doing such. It seems like he has given up his lofty goal of keeping the princess captive and has migrated toward a more mundane existence. You know, walking the dog, taking the kids to soccer practice, that sort of stuff. He doesn’t look too thrilled with his new lifestyle, however, and he may be going through a midlife crisis.
17 A Better Musician Without The Paws
K.K. Slider has been playing us tunes on his guitar every Saturday night ever since Animal Crossing debuted on the GameCube so many years back. Whether he’s hanging out in coffee shops or playing in town square, there’s no denying that K.K. Slider is Nintendo’s original hipster, especially in human form. Though his human variation does make a bit more sense than his dog counterpart. Just how exactly was he playing a six string guitar without fingers anyway? Then again, I guess it’s not good to question a village inhabited by animals.
16 Still Cute, Always Tiny
Pikmin is a game that I wish Nintendo would give a little more love to. Only three main entries since the series’ debut is a bit sad, and would it be amazing to play on my Nintendo Switch. While the design of the little critters may not be highly original, I have to give credit to the artist for creating these adorable chibi variations of the various colored Pikmin. Considering the game has you pretty much committing mass genocide against the species, I might actually feel guilty knocking off these adorable guys in mass numbers.
15 A Surprising Combo
Yet another Pokémon turned human adaptation, this time we get to take a look at the mascot that started it all. Even people who have never picked up a Pokémon game in their life know who Pikachu is! Here, Pikachu plays the role of man’s best friend with an owner that looks surprisingly like his pet. While he might be wearing clothes that surprisingly resemble his pet, I have to wonder how he got his hair style to resemble that of the electric mouse’s ears.
14 No More Monkey Business
We’ve already taken a look at one of the members of the Kong family earlier on in this list. This time, we get to take a look at Donkey Kong’s up and coming sidekick Diddy Kong. While Diddy is likely up to monkey business whether he’s human or not, this variation of Diddy shows him sporting his usual red clothing and his iconic Nintendo hat. It’s a good thing that the artist opted to give this little guy some pants for a change though.
13 The King’s Peace Treaty
King Dedede might not be the most villainous villain in Nintendo’s rogue gallery, but he certainly is the most adorable. Even though he might be Kirby’s arch nemesis, we’ve rarely seen the giant penguin be outright malicious to the little guy. While King Dedede might not be likely to sign a peace offering with Kirby any time soon, at least we know the two still have the capability of getting along should they ever need to team up. Human Dedede definitely has the look down, I think I prefer his adorable penguin form.
12 Because He’d Totally Be A Punk Teen
Nintendo has given us glances at Bowser throughout his life from him as a young baby to him parenting a child of his own. Admittedly, I’ve never really thought what his teen years might have been like, but this gives us a pretty good idea of what he’d be like during those years… well, in human form anyway. There’s no surprise that Bowser would have totally rocked the punk look during those developing years. Too bad his angst-driven young adult years soured him as a grown up.
11 The Whole Clan Is Here
Speaking of Bowser and his child (and of course the Koopalings who might as well be his kids), here is a look at each of the seven Koopalings from Larry to Iggy all of them turned to human form. Maybe those magic scepters really do transform creatures into human form! It doesn’t look like most of the Koopalings really care for Bowser Jr., however. Even though the little guy might idolize his older siblings, the original crew seem to want little to do with him.
10 Less Raccoon, More Shark
Tom Nook has long been considered the antagonist of the Animal Crossing series by fans, despite him not actually being a vindictive character and Nintendo not intending him to be such. Still, there’s no denying that owing money to a debt collector is a pain in the neck in real life and the same goes in fictional video game villages. I’m not sure exactly what is happening in this picture or why a villager dressed as Luigi is so angry at Mr. Nook, but I’ve got to say that human Tom sure does look snazzy in his suit!
9 Too Cute For Words
I don’t know why, but I have always found penguins to be adorable, especially when they are in cartoon form. That is probably why Piplup has managed to stay as my all-time favorite Pokémon ever since the fourth generation debuted all those years back. I can’t even bring myself to evolve a Piplup in its original form. It only seems fitting that a human variation of my favorite penguin is just as cute as the actual one. Now… where can I get a hat like that?
8 Two Fan Favorites
We may never get Geno or the slightly less wanted Mallow in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate (come on DLC!), but at least we know that the characters of Super Mario RPG will never be forgotten. Even though Geno kind of already resembles a human, it definitely is interesting taking a look at a humanoid version of Mallow. We probably won’t be seeing much of this duo apart from cameos in the future, but at least the fan art community is keeping their spirit alive and well.
7 Less Spooky Than The Movie Version
Okay, I know that Sonic isn’t technically a Nintendo character. But ever since Sonic started appearing on Nintendo platforms back in the GameCube era… and especially since is unforgettably surprising debut in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, we can’t help but think that he totally belongs to the Nintendo family. Human sonic still looks just as cool as his hedgehog counterpart. At the very least, we certainly like this human version of Sonic more than the sneak peek we got at the character from his upcoming movie.
6 Still A Fox Even As A Human
Star Fox Adventures was a pretty strange departure from what we were normally used to at the time from the Star Fox series. While it may have gone a different route than most entries in the series, it still gave us one of Fox’s more memorable adventures. Love it or hate it, it’s an important title as it is also the game that introduced the beloved Krystal to the series. It wouldn’t be fair to take a look at Star Fox characters and not give Krystal a little love as well!
