With every year that passes, it feels as though love for retro gaming grows in popularity. Aside from the fact that the term itself is starting to include games that make many of us feel incredibly old, retro gaming has a genuine charm that wins over fans of all ages, even those that weren’t born when the games first found release. There’s a heavy dose of nostalgia involved in the resurgence of the 8-Bit era, but more than that, it’s a love of the pixelated aesthetic and brightly colored adventure that captures imaginations.

Once upon a time, whenever a new movie came out, there would be a video game to accompany it. From the early days of the NES, through to the Genesis and even the PlayStation, the catalog was filled with movie adaptations, spin-offs, and tie-ins. Of course, genuine 8-bit and 16-bit games largely ended long before a lot of modern pop culture properties took off, meaning that fans looking for pixelated versions of things like Stranger Things or any new superhero movies have had to either go without, or make them themselves. With that in mind, here at CBR, we’re pleased to bring you some of our favorite pieces of fan-made pixel art!

15 WAKANDA FOREVER

Every time a new superhero movie hits, there are a bunch of fans that would love to get a true video game adaptation. Sure, a lot of those old games sucked, but getting to play as your favorite on-screen characters has always been appealing, and throwing in pixelated graphics only sweetens the deal.

That’s why artist and designer ScrollBoss has created these awesome custom sprites for use in the M.U.G.E.N freeware fighting game. Black Panther, the Dora Milaje, and even Klaw are represented here, giving the fans that play the open source beat-em-up a chance to relive their favorite moments from one of this year's hottest superhero properties. Scrollboss has developed sprites for a lot of pop-culture properties, and it’s the community that keeps that game alive, as well as giving fans a chance to see what the world would be like if these sorts of games were still being released.

14 BATMAN THE PIXELATED SERIES

With a strong gothic aesthetic and a cast of dozens upon dozens of iconic characters, Batman: The Animated Series has stood the test of time as not just one of the best adaptations of the Dark Knight, but one of the greatest animated TV shows of all time.

Behance artist RGZNSK  has taken it upon themselves to recreate as many of Batman’s rogue’s gallery as possible for this piece, ensuring that characters like Clayface, Mr Freeze and Two-Face -- whose popularity soared after their appearances in the show -- get the awesome 8-bit treatment. Aside from being instantly recognizable, you can clearly see the personalities shine through too, especially with the Joker and Batgirl. This pixelated artwork really shows just how much the odds are stacked against the Bat-Family, and yet they are always triumphant.

13 THE MERC WITH A VIDEO GAME

Being able to find great pixel artwork online is brilliant, and the growing fondness for the medium is only making it easier to get 8-bit versions of all your favorite characters. Just looking at these pieces of art only gets you so far though; wouldn’t it be great if you could actually play a game with these creations?

That’s why this piece, by the folks over at  Deadpool Nes, goes one step further. This project is slowly crafting a mod for the classic NES game Ninja Gaiden where, instead of the main protagonist of that series (Ryu Hayabusa), you play as that loveable killing machine Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool. This rom hack is extensive and still a few months away from completion, but once it’s done it’ll be the closest thing to a real game you can find.

12 SLIMER TIME

The Ghostbusters franchise went from cult hit to multifaceted phenomenon, with sequels, remakes, video games, cartoons and comic books helping to scratch the itch that fans have for the bustin’ that makes them feel good. The original movies have been around for long enough that there were plenty of games from the NES era and beyond that attempt to recreate the magic of the movies, with varying degrees of success.

Found on OKTotally, this image is from a series of pixelated scenes of classic movies, with this one recreating the moment when Ray, Egon and Peter first come across Slimer. This still is actually from a gif that captures the moment of... capture... really well. There’s something about the streams from the proton packs that come across really well in pixelated form, and while those retro games often don’t hold a candle to the movies, this makes us crave a fully pixelated remake.

11 ASSEMBLE

Modern superhero movies seem perfect for a retro video game adaptation. Their bold cast of characters, iconic action scenes, and unforgettable soundtracks would make for some awesome pixelated recreations that you can play at home. These days the closest we get to blocky reimaginings of big-screen heroes is the Lego sets that accompany most of the movies, but a genuine video game would be a treat.

Deviantartist lustriouscharming has attempted to give us the next best thing, by recreating almost all of the major players from Marvel’s cinematic universe in pixel form. From the Avengers to the Guardians of the Galaxy and even the latest additions like Ant-Man and Black Panther, they are all here! This collection of characters seems perfect for an Avengers: Infinity War game that we’ll probably never get, but is one step closer to reality thanks to art like this.

10 PERFECT FIT

If there’s a TV Show that is perfectly suited to the pixelated format, it's definitely Stranger Things. The Netflix original is practically made for an 8-bit reimagining. The ‘80s-set series first made its debut in 2016, and since then it’s become a global hit, with the second season released last year and a third on its way.

This image from Pxlflx is just one of many adaptations you can find online, and in fact, there’s an official game of the show you can play, and it’s appropriately retro too. The second season of Stranger Things opened in an arcade, making video games a central part of the show -- as they were in any kid's life in the ‘80s -- so having a game that looks exactly like the kind of thing the characters themselves would play immerses you in the show in whole new ways.

9 MEGA IRON MAN

With the folks over at 8-Bit Cinema on the case, having to just imagine what most of your favorite movies would be like as a retro video game is a thing of the past. The YouTube channel regularly posts trailers and short films that look like they’re lifting snippets of gameplay from movie adaptations that don’t exist, like this one for Iron Man.

Taking their inspiration, appropriately enough, from the classic Mega Man games, this recreation of the first Iron Man movie is filled with cool moments, faithful recreations of some of the best scenes, and a fun sense of humor to boot. Let’s face it, Iron Man has a lot in common with Mega Man anyway, so taking cues from the latter to make a game for the former makes perfect sense, and it turned out great.

8 THE FIRST RULE

We’ve looked at a lot of franchises that perfectly suit the retro video game aesthetic, but what about those movies where an arcade adaptation isn’t the first thing you’d think of? Well, this image, taken from the final moments of 1999’s Fight Club is a good example of what can be achieved with the 8-bit form.

Looking like a cutscene from the end of a Fight Club Sega Genesis game, this image is a good reminder that not all video game adaptations were taken from kids movies or family-friendly blockbusters. The Nightmare on Elm Street horror franchise had a game, as did Aliens and even Cliffhanger. What’s next, the Godfather? Oh wait, that’s had one too. Also, Fight Club actually did have a video game adaptation made in 2004; it came out on PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

7 RAISING HECK

When you realize that A Nightmare on Elm Street had a video game release for the NES, suddenly this Hellraiser fan-art doesn’t seem so far-fetched. In fact, it was fairly common for films to get video-game adaptations as far back as the mid-’80s, so in another reality, this could have been made.

A lot of movies still get the video-game treatment, but these days a lot of them are consigned to iOS or Android apps. Still, some of the most classic movies have had adaptations made of them, from Scarface to The Thing, from Goldeneye to Ghostbusters. We’re not quite sure how a retro Hellraiser game would work -- would you play as Pinhead, or is he the final boss? -- but if this image is anything to go by, we’d love to find out.

6 DOCTOR DONKEY

Sometimes a piece of fan-art comes along that just makes you angry that it’s not real, like this piece from Baznet. Designed for a t-shirt, this mash-up of Doctor Who and the original Donkey Kong game would be a great way to waste a few hours (or days).

There have been a few Doctor Who games over the years, from side-scrollers to puzzle games, but never one like this. Taking its inspiration from Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor, the Time Lord has to fend off as many Daleks as he can to rescue Amy Pond and get to the Tardis. As with any great fan-art, the best bits are in the details, like how the Hammer has been replaced with a Sonic Screwdriver, or how K-9 is patiently waiting at the bottom of the screen.

5 HEY YOU GUYS

Sloth never looked so good. The Goonies, much like Stranger Things, is a movie almost custom-made for a video game adaptation, which is why it must have seemed like a perfect choice for artist Jude Buffum to recreate in a pixelated style. A crazy cast of kids that go on a wild adventure involving pirates and lost treasure is practically a game idea itself, so seeing this piece of art feels extremely satisfying.

Much like a lot of movies in the ‘80s, there actually was a video game based on The Goonies. Released in 1986 for the Famicom, The Goonies game was a platformer developed by Konami that was never officially sold in North America, but the game is a lot of fun. It even comes with a chiptune soundtrack lifted from the movie, namely Cyndi Lauper's "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough."

4 HOWL'S 8-BIT CASTLE

The Studio Ghibli movies are beautiful masterpieces of animated cinema, with almost every one of them becoming an instant classic. That’s true of Howl’s Moving Castle as well. Hayao Miyazaki’s 2004 film follows Sophie, a young woman cursed into aging prematurely, and her experiences with Howl, a wizard who opposes the ongoing war between the kingdoms.

Artist Richard J. Evans has faithfully recreated the titular moving castle in his pixelated artwork here, and you can practically feel the castle chugging along in the sky as it moves through the clouds. Evans has created pixelated versions of many Ghibli films, including Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and My Neighbour Totoro. While designed predominantly as kids movies, the Studio Ghibli films always carry important messages and surprisingly adult themes about things like the importance of family and the savagery of war.

3 WATCHING THE WATCHMEN

Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins’ Watchmen was and remains a seminal Graphic Novel that has redefined the mainstream opinion of comic books since its release in 1987. While a lot of creators in the decades since appear to have taken the wrong lessons away from the work, there’s no denying the power of Moore’s creation and its impact on the world of comics and literature.

This pixelated Rorschach manages to capture the quiet, imposing form of the character and remains as instantly iconic as the man himself. Of course, a video game adaptation of Watchmen would be the opposite of what Alan Moore would have wanted for the novel, seeing as he has been vocally opposed to any recreation or usage of his works for many years; but as fans, we can only imagine what a retro game would have been like.

2 8-BIT LAST OF US

While it seems redundant to recreate The Last of Us as a retro video game, seeing as it already is a video game, there’s something beautiful about this piece by Deviantartist Ben3555. The focus of the art is definitely on the vastness of the open world in front of Joel and Ellie, which manages to perfectly capture the sense that they have a long journey ahead of them. While it seems fairly idyllic now, we all know the dangers that are waiting for them.

Released in 2013, The Last of Us is an action-adventure survival horror game following Joel and Ellie as they make their way across an unforgiving post-apocalyptic wasteland. Joel is a smuggler tasked with escorting Ellie across a ravaged United States, avoiding the zombie-like plague victims along the way. The game received universal acclaim upon its release, and it remains a hit with fans even five years later.

1 THIS IS MADNESS

Sometimes the best art is the most simple, as proven by artist Eric Palmer in his series of pixelated movie posters. This one, recreating the classic scene from Zack Snyder’s film 300, is a great example of a lot done with very little. The majority of the poster is blank space, but that only accentuates what we do get, which in this case is a “Mega-Manned” version of King Leonidas booting the emissary to the Persian King Xerxes off a ledge to fall to his death below.

The movie was released in 2006 and was an adaptation of Frank Miller’s 1998 graphic novel of the same name. Much like Sin City that came before it, 300 was highly stylized with CGI effects in order to faithfully recreate the look and feel of the original work.