Captain N: The Game Master

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.

This show is atrocious! If you are even remotely a Nintendo fan, this show is a complete disgrace to the many franchises represented. If you aren't a Nintendo fan, this show is a disgrace to humanity. Everything in this show is utter trash. The plots, characters, settings, animation, humor, references, etc. It's a failed attempt at being a Nintendo show. It's way worse than the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, and that's saying something! The portrayals of the game characters are humiliating. Mega Man is a brat who adds mega to all of his sentences, Simon Belmont is a clumsy idiot, there's a Game Boy that flies the main characters around, and that's just scratching the surface. And by the way, the main character is an extremely bland teenager who got sucked into "Video Land" where all the Nintendo characters apparently live. Evidently this show's idea of humor is randomly spouting out catch phrases and constantly using overused and unoriginal gags. This show is bland, unoriginal, idiotic, ungraceful, humiliating, annoying, unmercifully awful, and a complete waste of time. Captain N: The Game Master has no redeemable aspects and I sincerely hope you do not taint your life with this abomination of a 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

The show was created to sell Nintendo games. Even though it was made for that purpose, it was surprising to see entertainment in it. In other shows made to sell games, the quality and entertainment level is extremely low. So that makes this show refreshing. It's interesting to see various Nintendo characters team up but the disappointment was no team up with Nintendo's best character, Mario. Anyway, I have to say this to NBC. This show came from a time when NBC's Saturday morning line up really didn't suck. NBC should scrap there horrible live teen show line up and bring this show back.

Why did they have to ruin those video game characters like that. Geez!!! None of them looked they way were suppose to look. I'm a HUGE Megaman fan and it was insulting to see what they did to him. Since when was Megaman actually a Bobby Hill look-a-like wearing green spandex?! Who in the world is Megagirl?!!!? She hasn't appeared in ANY of the Original Megaman series games or any other series for that matter (and don't you dare say that Megagirl is Roll!!!!!) Plus Dr. Light looks like a stupid little troll and the same goes for Dr. Wily. Simon was a completely vain and stuck-up (he's suppose to be cool, casual, and quiet...) The only convincing character design was Mother Brain. The storyline is very corny. A teenage boy named Kevin Keene goes to a place called Videoland... blah, blah, blah... meets up with video game characters... yada, yada, yada... Kevin goes there to save Videoland. he end... coooooorny. I know this was made back in 1989, but there's still no excuse for slaughtering video game characters like that. I hope there isn't a Japanese dub for this show, because that would be embarrassing for Japan to see Rockman (A.K.A Megaman's name in Japan) look like that stupid little "green" runt. He's suppose to be blue, not green!!! "Mega" this and "Mega" that... give me a damn break.

OVERALL Negative 1,000 out of 10. I'm sorry. I was just joking... Negative 999 out of 10!!!!