25 of Your Favorite Video Games Recreated as Dioramas

Here are 25 classic scenes from various retro games from “˜duck hunt’ to “Donkey Kong” which have been recreated in detailed paper crafted form.

1.  Tomb Raider

This diorama immediately accesses one of the most prominent images of Tomb Raider (other than the obvious!) and is taken from the 2nd game in the series. In a simple yet effective manner it manages to incorporate so many of the aspects that made the game such a hit, sheer speed and force are not enough to evade the potentially fatal situation, instead quick thinking and skillful gaming are the solution.

2. Duck Hunt

 

Released back in 1984 Duck Hunt was perhaps the first game to make effective use of the light gun and ensure its future popularity. The scene captures the basic layout and interactive charm that makes it a game everyone remembers.

3. Mario

 

Always a classic, the iconic Mario Bros is featured here; this is the 3rd edition in the series which experienced its initial 1988 release in Japan before reaching the U.S market in 1990 and finally Europe in 1991. The first of the Mario Bros games to introduce the flying element, and add a new dimension to the game.

4.Sonic the Hedgehog

 

Nearly 20 years down the line (1991 release) and still continuing to experience a great level of popularity this is among the authors’ favorite games. Here we can see a delicately crafted scene from Sonic The Hedgehog mimicking the Green Hill Zone.

5. Tetris

The image speaks for itself. Tetris is considered by many to be among the top few video games ever released. With such huge success stemming back to the original 1984 release, even now every piece of technology capable of gaming has included one version or another of Tetris. So simple but so addictive, accessible to even the most novice of gamers, yet requiring a high level of skill to truly master.

6. Donkey Kong

Reminiscent of the earliest breakthroughs in the production of highly addictive video games this portrayal of the 1981 Donkey Kong appears somewhat basic and is symbolic of the simplistic, early programming used to devise the game. The first video game to use the damsel in distress plot Donkey Kong provided a template which has been reproduced countless times since.

7,8 & 9. More Mario

Ever wondered what a whole Mario Bros stage would look like laid out in front of you, well this is just a snippet of a much larger diorama. Showing the whole of the first stage from one of the earlier installments of the game the simple yet highly playable magic that caused the monumental success of the game is displayed in full.

 

Remember how you used to know you’d reached the end of a level? Many games in the past employed similar icons that let you know when the end of the level had been reached, the flag featured here being one of them. You always knew where you were with the likes of Sonic Mario, a touch that seems somewhat forgotten in the modern gaming world.

Showing many of the typical features of the Mario Bros this recreates the scene from Super Mario World 7 -3. A huge commercial success, selling over 20 million copies worldwide this is the most popular of all the series and has been modified for various consoles and re-released 3 times.

10. Megaman

  Showing the original Mega Man on the NES from back in 1987 we can see him engaged in battle with Cut Man. One of the simpler dioramas on display here but it still manages to conjure up the some of the old magic of the game.

11.  Contra

 

Originally released as an arcade game Contra in 1987 Contra made its way to the NES a year later. Still going strong with numerous sequels, including a release of “˜Contra Rebirth’ on the Wii this year.

12.Metroid: Zero Mission

 

Displayed here is Metroid: Zero Mission from the Game Boy Advance release in 2004. Samus is locked in battle with Mua the acid worm. Taking influence from both Mario and Zelda, Metroid combined some of the best elements from platform, shooter and adventure games to produce an extremely successful franchise. From the 1986 release of the game on the NES Metroid has remained a solid gaming platform and continues to enjoy popularity being re-released on just about every Nintendo console.

13. Final Fantasy Adventure

  I’ve lost many an hour of my life to this RPG series. Final Fantasy Adventure (AKA Mystic Quest -in Europe) on the Game Boy from 1991. Here the games hero meets a knight at a waterfall. The creator explains that he struggled with this one, due to the Game Boys graphics which made the concept hard to realize effectively. Nevertheless it still manages to capture the moment well.

14.  Megaman 2

 

Another paper craft take on the Mega Man series, this time taken from “˜Mega Man Battle Network’ on the Game Boy Advance back in 2001. Here he is depicted poised to engage in battle with some Mets.

15. Bionic Commando

 

This beautifully crafted scene from the 1988 release of Bionic Commando shows the games hero, Radd Spencer, swinging between platforms with the use of a grappling gun attached to his bionic arm. This is one of the few games that did not allow the player to jump, a source of frustration for many a gamer.

16. Pokémon

Bark Elm Town from the Pokémon series is where the generation 2 Pokémon’s reside. Small and scenic, there are only 10 characters spread between the four houses.

17. Kidd Icarus

 

1986 saw the first release of Kidd Icarus on the Nintendo FDS. Although a popular game the planned sequel on the SNES was never released, waiting an extra 2 decades before finally seeing the light of day again when it was released on the Wii in 1997. Mixing elements of Zelda, Mario and Metroid made for a fun and highly playable game.

18. Pokémon

From the first in the Pokémon RPG series we can see a battle taking place on the Game Boy with top attention to detail, even the battery light indicator has been modeled.

19.  More Mario

 

Another Mario Diorama, this time taken from “˜Paper Mario’. Set in the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario must rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. Here Mario and Koopa get ready to do battle with Jr.Troopa.

20.  Mario

 

Remember how much quicker and easier things were riding on Yoshi’s back, well here’s a nicely detailed diorama of his house, also known as Yoshi’s Fruit Tree. If you look closely you can see his name on the letterbox.

21.Mario

Designed to scale this diorama is from world 1-1 of Super Mario Brothers.

22.Game boy

This awesome diorama was constructed by gutting a broken Game Boy and scaling down the first stage diorama above.

23. Ninja Gaiden

Noted for its difficulty Ninja Gaiden was first released in 1989. Another intricately crafted diorama this includes some great detail.

24.  Marios Head

Taken from the mini-game in Super Mario 64, this was where you got to manipulate Mario’s features and make him as horribly deformed as you pleased. Although not enabling this original feature it is nonetheless some top quality papercrafting.

25. LOTR

Recognize this game, thought not. Well this diorama was constructed before a game was even made, although not mainstream and somewhat basic considering it was programmed by today’s standards it was merely originally designed as a hobby project which led to the intrigue of how cool it would be to actually play out the scene in a game. So the designer went ahead and programmed it. You can see the wizard portrayed battling with the dragon in his tower with echoes of the LOTR trilogy abounding.

Papercraft Museum (Source)

Nintendo Paper craft (Source)