Captain N: The Game Master

Captain N is a show that existed to sell Nintendo. All the episodes and characters (execpt for Kevin and Lana) are based off Nintendo games, which makes this show more of a showcase for Nintendo products. Because of this, the writers didn't really put any thought into the episodes. The plots were generic, the villains were stock villains and because of this the show was very bland. Disposable. Forgettable. In this series, a teenage boy called Kevin, is playing his NES, and gets sucked through his TV and transported to Videoland, where he meets Princess Lana, Simon Belmont (from Castlevania), Pit (from Kid Icarus), and Mega Man (from Mega Man) Kevin and Lana were alright characters. Simon Belmont had a vain, whiny, narcisstic personality and is jealous of the affection that Lana shows towards Kevin. Even though I've never played Castlevania, I don't think Simon is like that in the games. Pit and Mega Man had annoying speech mannerisms. Pit kept adding 'icus" to everything he said, and Mega Man added 'mega' to everything he said. Plus, they had annoying voices as well. In series 2 they introduced the character Gameboy. Yes, Gameboy was actually a Gameboy console that talked. Gameboy was added just to promote the Gameboy that was just released at the time. I do have a positive. In a few episodes Link and Princess Zelda (from The Legend of Zelda) did appear in a few episodes, and those episodes were mildly entertaining. At least in this, Link no longer says 'Excuuse me, Princess!' The show in general, is just an advert for Nintendo. Which makes it very boring. The writers are concentrating more on 'how can we show off the Nintendo products' than actually thinking of decent plots that would entertain you. It smacks of a cash grab that tries to get you to buy the latest Nintendo product. But out of all the Nintendo cartoons though, it's not that bad. It's slightly better than the Zelda cartoon.

When I was growing up there were two types of kids on the block. The kids that whipped the controller around--like everyone's sisters--when they played and the cool kids.

We were playing with power and Nintendo ruled.

Nintendo and cartoons were a necessary thing when you grew up in Chicago, the streets weren't all that safe and the weather actively tried to kill you.

Freeze you to death in the winter and kill you with heat stroke and humidity in the summer. That's the Chicago way, that's how you beat Capone.

And really you are indoor kids until you get old enough to avoid bad men.

So Nintendo and cartoons ruled and this had both. It had characters from our favorite games facing off against one another in the fantasy world where people got pulled into their Nintendo and into a land of adventure.

And it was realistic because, even though you could go outside, there was still a chance you'd get shot. So we could relate to it...even in the safe white Middle-Class parts of Chicago

I almost gave this show a higher rating purely for nostalgia reasons. Although, it's probably the nostalgia that keeps me from giving it the lower rating it probably deserves. I grew up in the 80's and was the perfect age for 'Captain N' when it originally aired. I loved it back then, but then again, I was young and naive. I was happy enough just seeing characters from my favorite video games brought together in one show. Nowadays, my views have shifted drastically. The series was recently released on DVD, so I immediately ran out and picked up a copy. I figured it was a good way to relive one of my favorite shows from my childhood and share with my children in the future. What was I thinking?

The premise is this: every Nintendo game is actually a separate world and the worlds are connected by warp zones. Ruling over this "Videoland" is Princess Lana, who is aided by Simon Belmont (of 'Castlevania'), Kid Icarus (Pit, from 'Kid Icarus'), and Megaman. Videoland is constantly under attack by the 'Forces of Chaos', led by Mother Brain from 'Metroid'. During one such attack, Lana is forced to call on the power of the 'Ultimate Warp Zone', which is prophecised to bring a powerful warrior to fight the forces of evil. The powerful warrior: a kid named Kevin Keene, from the real world, who happens to be really, really good at video games and his dog, Duke.

For a kids' show, it doesn't sound too bad, right? Well, maybe if they had put a little more thought into it. One of my major complaints (and a popular complaint from anyone who's watched the show) was the depiction of the characters. People who have played the video game have certain expectations when the characters are brought to another medium. Belmont, in the video games, gives off the impression of a skilled warrior, noble and strong. In the show, Belmont is portrayed as a narcissistic wuss, frequently running from battle with a high-pitched whine. My only real beef with Megaman and Kid Icarus are their speech mannerisms. By the end of the first episode, I was ready to beat the crap out of them if Megaman preceded one more word with 'Mega' or if Kid Icarus added '-icus' or 'maximus' to another statement. A lot of people complain about Megaman's appearance, complaining that it isn't his famous blue armor. It looks to me like they modeled the character after the packaging for the first Megaman game released for the NES back in 1987, so I see no real reason to complain. I won't even bother wasting space in discussing the so-called "villains"...not even worth it.

Something that got on my nerves, but was to be expected, was how annoyingly corny the episodes were. I know a lot of kids' shows are corny so I can't hold it against 'Captain N', but there were points where I was left baffled at how completely stupid something was. Example: what was the purpose of making the elven king of Faxanadu (Episode 2.8 - The Feud of Faxanadu) a blue Elvis Presley clone? And for that matter, why was the dwarven queen a Barbara Streisand wannabe? And I still don't understand the whole Puss 'n Boots episode (Episode 2.7 - Once Upon a Time Machine). Something about that whole episode seemed completely off.

Of course, after watching the show, it is obvious to see that it was basically used as a 30-minute long commercial for the newest in Nintendo's line-up. With episodes centered completely on 'The Adventures of Bayou Billy' and 'Paperboy', you could practically hear the cash registers in the background. And don't get me started on the character of Gameboy, the walking, talking advertisement for Nintendo's newest hand-held game system that became a series regular in season 2.

After spouting off about the series's weaknesses so much, one would think I found nothing good about the show, but that's not true. It did occasionally have a moral to the story and besides, my complaints come from the standpoint of a matured adult, which isn't exactly the target audience for the program. When I watched the show years ago, I loved it. The idea of a kid being sucked into his favorite video games and getting to meet all of the characters he loved. I was addicted, and I overlooked the many inconsistencies. So, while it's definitely not award-winning material and it never really stays true to the subject matter, I still can't wait to introduce the show to my kids when they're old enough.

Captain N: The Gamemaster was the epitome of what a cartoon should be. It had cool characters that you could care about: Kevin Keene, Princess Lana, Mega Man, Kid Icarus, and yes, even Simon Belmont. The show also had characters from other great video games make cameos. I remember loving and "still" loving this show so much, I boycotted NBC for several years since they didn't acknowledge my suggestion for possible plots and why the show should continue to air and the terrible job done in the final season. But anyways, I recommend all of you to check out an old video store, swing by a Captain N homepage, or better yet, petition to get this back on the air. I hope everyone has the opportunity to view the greatest cartoon series ever made.

Captain N: The Game Master is yet another cartoon from my childhood, and while yes, it is not perfect, it was part of a trend where video games adapted into cartoons would change a lot of stuff (Saturday Supercade being one example, as the Donkey Kong shorts changed Pauline from Mario's girlfriend to his niece and made Donkey Kong Jr. Into a Scooby Doo clone, and Pole Position was not really Pole Position due to it being a spy cartoon, but the name was licensed by Namco).

So, the story for this cartoon is in the world of Videoland, where all Nintendo games are connected, Mother Brain, the main antagonist of the original Metroid, and her army is about to storm the Palace of Power, where Princess Lana. A character made exclusively for this show, is with her guardians, Mega Man, Kid Icarus, and Simon Belmont. The three icons are very different, with Mega Man being the green bomber instead of blue and sounding like he has the same voice actor as Popeye, and Simon Belmont getting the worst of the changes, as he's gone from fearless vampire hunter to a romantic and coward who serve as nothing more than comic relief and a rival for Princess Lana's heart). However, Lana's father, who before the first episode, was banished into another dimension by Mother Brain, reveals the Ultimate Warp Zone, which connects to the real world, where it summons teenager Kevin Keene and his dog, Duke to Videoland to become Captain N.

Being a huge video game crossover before Super Smash Bros. Ultimate made it cool, Captain N is basically one big crossover. Other than Mega Man, Kid Icarus, and Castlevania, other video games are involved in this. Serving as Mother Brain's "scratch and grounder", as I like to call this type of idiot duo, is Eggplant Wizard, also from Kid Icarus, and King Hippo, who is from Punch-Out. Also, other characters from other Nintendo video games show up as guest stars (like Bayou Billy, Tetris, Paperboy, even The Legend Of Zelda is featured, which while being a crossover of the cartoon adaptation, it did fix Link to the point where he's not an obnoxious jerk).

However, it does have some flaws, as the video game characters used are not accurate in looks (with some people telling me it was due to rights issues), and behavior (especially with Simon). Also, the third and final season can be the biggest downside of the series, as due to NBC, the network airing the series, deciding to cut the budget for the show due to deciding to end its Saturday Morning cartoon block in favor of a new block aimed at teens, there were only seven new adventures, trimmed down from a half-hour to eleven minutes, pairing it with an older episode that is trimmed down to fit the same run time (hence removing some important plot elements that would confuse those who never saw the episode in the past year), all to package it with Super Mario World (the final Super Mario cartoon). Also, some episodes make errors when it comes to games (when did the original Donkey Kong arcade game have a volcano level?). However, despite the errors in characters and facts, the series still has its charms, featuring various video games (most of them being third party), and having some good stories and voice actors.