Captain N: The Game Master | |
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Genre | Action Adventure Comedy Science fiction |
Written by |
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Directed by | Michael Maliani (Season 1) Chuck Patton (Season 2) John Grusd (Season 3) Kit Hudson (live-action sequences) |
Voices of | Garry Chalk Ian James Corlett Michael Donovan Matt Hill Alessandro Juliani Andrew Kavadas Doug Parker Levi Stubbs Venus Terzo Frank Welker Tomm Wright |
Composers | Haim Saban (Season 1) Shuki Levy (Season 1) Michael Tavera (Season 2–3) |
Country of origin | United States Canada |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 34 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Andy Heyward |
Producers | Michael Maliani (Season 1; supervising producer, Season 2) John Grusd (Season 3) Jamie Edlin (live-action sequences) |
Editors | Lars Floden (Season 1) William P. Magee (Season 1) Warren Taylor (Season 2) Mark A. McNally (Season 2–3) Susan Odjakjian (Season 2–3) Mel Ashkenas (Season 3) Jill Goularte (Season 3) |
Running time | 22 minutes (Season 1–2) 11 minutes (Season 3) |
Production companies | DIC Animation City Saban Productions (Season 1 only) Nintendo of America |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | September 9, 1989 – October 26, 1991 |
Captain N: The Game Master is an animated television series that aired on television from 1989 to 1991 as part of the Saturday morning cartoon lineup on NBC. [1] The show was produced by DIC Animation City and incorporated elements from many of the most popular video games of the time from the Japanese company Nintendo. There was also a comic book version by Valiant Comics, despite only featuring characters from games produced by Nintendo. The show is also part of an hour-long block in Season 2 with The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and with Super Mario World in Season 3 in a half-hour block. [2]
The character Captain N first appeared in Nintendo Power magazine, created by Nintendo staff member and magazine editor Randy Studdard. The original concept involved Captain N (originally known as "Captain Nintendo") as a Nintendo employee and the Mother Brain as a piece of programming from a Nintendo game pack that went rogue. Captain N had the power to temporarily give life to characters and items from Nintendo games. [2]
The story left a door open for a sequel (Mother Brain is temporarily defeated but her return was said to be inevitable, and Captain N vows to stop her when the time comes). Nintendo of America, Inc. later decided to follow Studdard's ideas and create a cartoon series, opting neither to credit nor to compensate its creator. DIC Entertainment was shopped as the animation studio, and changed various aspects of the original idea while keeping the main premise of the Captain opposing Mother Brain as he interacted with a number of video game characters. [3]
Captain Nintendo also appeared in a prerecorded Nintendo Universe tip line series by Nintendo that was updated weekly. Captain Nintendo was joined by a computer companion named Emerald to offer tips on popular Nintendo Game Paks, as well as upcoming game announcements. [4]
At the outset of the first episode the hero of the series, Kevin Keene, a teenager from Northridge, Los Angeles, California, and his dog Duke are taken to another universe known as Videoland when they are sucked into a vortex called the Ultimate Warp Zone that formed in his television.
To fulfill an ancient prophecy, Kevin is destined to become the hero "Captain N: The Game Master" and save Videoland from evil forces led by Mother Brain from the floating world/fortress called Metroid. By the time Kevin arrives on the scene, Mother Brain has almost succeeded in capturing the Palace of Power and conquering all Videoland. Kevin (who in Videoland is armed with a Zapper and a belt buckle shaped like an NES controller) and Duke appear suddenly on the other side of the Ultimate Warp Zone before the N Team, which consists of Princess Lana (the acting ruler of Videoland as the first episode explains the absence of her father the King), Simon Belmont, Mega Man, and Kid Icarus, none of whom show any confidence in Kevin's ability in the beginning. However, after Lana is kidnapped by the enemy shortly after Kevin's arrival, the reluctant group puts their differences aside to go on a rescue mission where Kevin eventually gains the others' confidence. During season 2, Game Boy (a human-sized supercomputer shaped like the console) joins the N Team.
In most episodes, the N Team's enemy is a group of video game villains, usually led by the boisterous and loud Mother Brain who is accompanied by her minions, the Eggplant Wizard from Kid Icarus , the thuggish King Hippo from Punch-Out!! , and the scheming Dr. Wily from Mega Man . A "villain of the week" is featured in some episodes when a particular video game becomes the setting (such as Malkil of Wizards & Warriors ). Several other characters make recurring appearances, including Donkey Kong, The Count from Castlevania and Dr. Light from Mega Man. The cast of the Legend of Zelda cartoon reprise their respective roles for several guest appearances during the series.
The focus of the show is mostly action-adventure sourced from the video games they feature, with comic relief in the form of the character's interactions with one another and the environment and their quirks and catchphrases. Sometimes humor (intentionally, or unintentionally) also stems from the comparatively loose interpretations of the laws of reality that apply in Videoland.
The following characters appear in at least 2 episodes:
Because Captain N: The Game Master took place in a world where video games existed as reality, a multitude of video games were used in the thirty-four episodes of the series. In some cases only areas and elements from the game were used, but the protagonist was absent (some examples include Wizards & Warriors, Dragon Warrior, and Metroid). The following video games were portrayed at least once during the series' run with the ones that appeared having their own world in Videoland:
Although nearly every major Nintendo franchise at the time was represented at some point or another in the show, the Super Mario games were noticeably absent, although a line mentioning the game is included in the pilot episode comparing the Ultimate Warp Zone that brings Captain N to Videoland to the warp zones in Super Mario Bros. This is likely due to The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, which aired around the same time and featured the characters/world of the Mario games.
Writers:
Madeleine Bascom – Recording Director (season 3) Marsha Goodman – Recording Director (season 1) Greg Morton – Recording Director (seasons 1–2) Doug Parker – Talent Coordinator Stu Rosen – Recording Director (season 1), Casting (season 2) Alvin Sanders – Recording Assistant (season 2)
The Captain N comic book was published by Valiant Comics as part of the Nintendo Comics System in 1990. Despite being based on the television cartoon of the same name, the comics differed heavily from the show. Along with a more serious tone, all third-party characters (Simon Belmont, Mega Man, Dr. Light, the Count, and Dr. Wily) were absent from the comic. Samus Aran, who never appeared in the cartoon, was a recurring character who falls in love with Kevin, and becomes Lana's rival for his affections. When asked by a fan why Samus did not appear in the television series, Jeffrey Scott said that he never heard about her. [12] An article at 1UP.COM describes Samus as "rambunctious, reckless, and gets into @#!*% contests with Lana over Kevin's affections, which makes for some of the most entertaining situations in the series". The reviewer added: "Not to say that the deadly quiet, contemplative Samus who fights for truth and justice in the more recent Metroid games isn't awesome, but there's something compelling about a Samus who's greedy and conniving – and is proud to admit it". [13]
Mother Brain's second-in-command became Uranos, the God of the Sky based on a regular enemy from Kid Icarus. Pit's toga was changed from white to yellow and, in most of the stories, Lana's dress was purple. However, in the comics Lana has a weapon – a scepter she had in concept art, but only had a very brief appearance on one episode of the show.
In the last printed issue of the comic book, a letter column promised that Mega Man would make an appearance, but the comic was aborted abruptly and this never came into existence. The first issue was to be included as a digital reprint on the DVD set, but could not since the rights to the comic are in limbo. [14]
Captain N entered broadcast syndication, and aired on local stations from 1992 to 1993 by Rysher Entertainment, [15] Captain N & The Video Game Masters, a 65-episode package which included Captain N: The Game Master, The Legend of Zelda , The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 , and Super Mario World .
Family Channel played only the first 26 episodes from fall 1991 to summer 1992, while season 3 aired on NBC. Episodes were slightly time compressed to fit in more commercials, making episodes around 2 minutes shorter. Episodes were split into 4 acts instead of 2 or 3, adding an extra commercial fade. Family Channel airings also included the featured songs that played on the NBC airing, unlike later airings on WGN, Fox, and USA Network.
Starting in the fall of 1993, USA Network briefly began showing reruns of the series on their Sunday lineup of their USA Cartoon Express animation block. Unlike other reruns, USA opted to edit scenes out of various episodes to cut the length down to their required limit in order to fit in more commercials. In 1994, it was taken off in most channels, and this was the last time the series has been shown on US TV.
In the early 1990s, three season 2 Captain N episodes were released on VHS tapes distributed by Buena Vista Home Video in the US. ("Gameboy", "Quest for the Potion of Power", and "The Trouble with Tetris"). Each tape contained one episode.
Captain N was released in Region 1 on February 27, 2007, by Shout! Factory and Sony BMG Music Entertainment. [16] However, although the set is called The Complete Series, there are some omissions:
The DVD set is packaged in two double-disc thin packs. The booklet planned for the set was omitted due to time constraints, as no further delays were wanted.[ citation needed ]
DVD name | Ep # | Release date | Additional information |
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Captain N: The Game Master – The Complete Series | 26 | February 27, 2007 |
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A single-disc release titled "Adventures in Videoland", containing 4 episodes, was released by NCircle Entertainment on July 22, 2008.
Every episode of Season 3 is available on Australian DVD alongside the entire series of the "Super Mario World" cartoon, just like in the US.
Pidax released the complete series along Super Mario World in Germany (with English audio included), in 3 boxsets, however still excluding "When Mother Brain Rules".
Actor and writer Noel Clarke revealed to Digital Spy in an interview that he was interested in developing a live action film adaptation of the series. [18] As of 2024, the film has not started production.
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