There aren’t too many artistic media left that Nintendo has yet to conquer. From nearly four decades of acclaimed groundbreaking and iconic video games to musical tributes and licensed cartoons, comics, merchandise and toys ranging from Happy Meal collectibles to interactive Amiibos, there isn’t much new ground left to break.
(Yes, we know you’re looking up that bogus link promising that a live-action “Legend of Zelda” series is coming this year to Netflix. No, it’s no more true now than it was in early 2015 when Nintendo shot the rumor down pretty much immediately after it broke. Yes, that article’s image is from an IGN April Fool’s Day gag trailer. Yes, your friends are tired of pointing this out to you.)
That being said, we’re more than a little bit amused that Nintendo’s cultural imprint conquered wood carving before their IP could inspire a single watchable feature film that didn’t threaten to smother the careers of Bob Hoskins, Dennis Hopper and John Leguizamo in their sleep. Still, here we are: Etsy crafter Irvingtonly has given our generation carved idols befitting our time, a collection of handcarved tributes to Nintendo lore, heroes, villains and icons spanning the breadth from Mario, Zelda, Samus Aran and Mega Man to Bowser, Ganon, Coins, Rupees, Mega Man’s robotic dog Rush and even a few rivals such as Sega’s famous smug blue hedgehog Sonic and TurboGraffix 16’s favorite caveman Bonk.
Each 3D statue is painted by hand in faithfully recreated pixelated style that looks curiously at home just about anywhere you could want Dr. Mario or “Ice Climber” duo Popo and Nana to hang out.
