Captain N: The Game Master Explained

Genre:Action
Adventure
Comedy
Science fiction
Voices:Garry Chalk
Ian James Corlett
Michael Donovan
Matt Hill
Alessandro Juliani
Andrew Kavadas
Doug Parker
Levi Stubbs
Venus Terzo
Frank Welker
Tomm Wright
Director:Michael Maliani (Season 1)
Chuck Patton (Season 2)
John Grusd (Season 3)
Composer:Haim Saban (Season 1)
Shuki Levy (Season 1)
Michael Tavera (Season 2–3)
Country:United States
Canada
Language:English
Network:NBC
Executive Producer:Andy Heyward
Producer:Michael Maliani (Season 1)
John Grusd (Season 3)
Editor: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)
Company:DIC Animation City
Saban Productions (Season 1 only)
Nintendo of America
Num Seasons:3
Num Episodes:34
List Episodes:List of Captain N: The Game Master episodes
Runtime:22 minutes (Season 1–2)
11 minutes (Season 3)

Captain N: The Game Master is an animated television series that aired on NBC from 1989 to 1991 as part of its Saturday morning cartoon lineup.[1] Produced by DIC Animation City, it incorporated elements from video games of the time by Japanese company Nintendo. There was also a comic book adaptation by Valiant Comics.

The series was also part of an hour-long block with The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 in Season 2 and a half-hour block with Super Mario World in Season 3.[2]

Premise

Kevin Keene, a teenager from Northridge, California, and his dog Duke are transported to the world of Videoland after being sucked into the Ultimate Warp Zone, a vortex that formed in his television.[3]

To fulfill an ancient prophecy, Kevin is destined to become the hero Captain N: The Game Master and save Videoland from Mother Brain and her forces, who operate from the floating world/fortress of Metroid. When Kevin and Duke arrive in Videoland, Mother Brain has nearly succeeded in capturing the Palace of Power and conquering Videoland. They appear before the N Team, consisting of Princess Lana, the acting ruler of Videoland in the absence of her father, the King, Simon Belmont, Mega Man, and Kid Icarus, who are not confident in Kevin's abilities. However, after Lana is kidnapped by the enemy shortly after Kevin's arrival, they put aside their differences to rescue her, during which he proves himself to them. In Season 2, Game Boy, a human-sized supercomputer, 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 and her minions, the Eggplant Wizard from Kid Icarus, the thuggish King Hippo from Punch-Out!!, and the scheming Dr. Wily from Mega Man. In episodes set in a particular video game, the villain is instead a "villain of the week", such as Malkil of Wizards & Warriors. 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 throughout the series.

The show is primarily an action-adventure derived from the featured video games, with comic relief derived from the characters' interactions, quirks, and catchphrases, as well as the various worlds and their loose interpretations of the laws of reality that apply in Videoland.

Characters

The N Team

Main villains

Minor villains

Other characters

Featured video games

Captain N: The Game Master takes place in Videoland, consisting of worlds based on various video games. In some cases, such as with Wizards & Warriors, Dragon Warrior, and Metroid, areas and elements from the game were used, but the protagonist did not appear. The following video games appeared at least once during the series:

Despite featuring various video games, the Super Mario games were absent, despite being mentioned. 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.

Development

The character of Captain N first appeared in Nintendo Power magazine, created by Nintendo staff member and magazine editor Randy Studdard.[6] The original concept involved Captain N, originally known as Captain Nintendo, a Nintendo employee who had the power to temporarily bring characters and items from Nintendo games to life. He fought agianst Mother Brain, a piece of programming from a Nintendo game pack that went rogue.

Captain N was never called Captain Nintendo due to legal concerns from the Children's Television Act of 1990, which called for bans on program-length commercials.[3] [6] The show was originally known as Captain Nintendo: The Game Master.[6]

Though the show had an open-ended ending, as Mother Brain is defeated but Captain N vows to stop her when she returns, Nintendo of America, Inc. decided to follow Studdard's ideas and create a cartoon series, opting to neither credit nor 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 various video game characters.

Captain Nintendo appeared in a prerecorded Nintendo Universe tip line series by Nintendo that was updated weekly. Along with his computer companion Emerald, he offered tips on Nintendo Game Paks and upcoming game announcements.[23]

Prior to the show's creation, Paperboy was intended to be the protagonist and the show was known as Buddy Boy.[24]

Media

Comic book

The Captain N comic book was published by Valiant Comics as part of the Nintendo Comics System in 1990.[25] Despite being based on the cartoon, the comics differed from it, having a more serious tone and lacking third-party characters Simon Belmont, Mega Man, Dr. Wright, the Count, and Dr. Wily.[26] Samus Aran, who did not appear in the series, 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 of her.[27]

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."[28]

Mother Brain's second-in-command was Uranos, the God of the Sky, based on a regular enemy from Kid Icarus. Pit's toga was changed from white to yellow and Lana's dress was purple. She wields a scepter, which she had in concept art, but which she was only shown using in one episode.

In the last printed issue of the comic book, a letter column promised that Mega Man would appear, but this did not happen due to the comic's sudden cancellation. The first issue was to be included as a digital reprint on the DVD set, but this did not happen due to the rights to the comic being in limbo.[29]

VHS releases

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.

DVD

Captain N was released in Region 1 on February 27, 2007, by Shout! Factory and Sony BMG Music Entertainment.[30]

Omissions

Season 3 was considered to be part of a different series, due to sharing a half-hour block with the Super Mario World cartoon on NBC in the fall of 1991; copyright holders required that the Captain N and Super Mario World episodes be released together. Captain N & The New Super Mario World were later released on DVD in a separate two-disc set on November 13, 2007.[31]

The unfinished original version of "How's Bayou" was included in this set, rather than the revised version aired in reruns.[6] "When Mother Brain Rules", a clip show episode, was not included on the master tapes that DiC sent to Shout! Factory and was not included on the DVD set.[29]

A two-minute-long scene from the episode "Queen of the Apes" is absent from the earliest DVD releases, making it run two minutes shorter than others. Missing from the DVD is the "underwater piranha battle" scene with Kevin and Simon and some of the "hoisting Mother Brain's body up a cliff" scene with Kid Icarus and Mega Man. Brian Ward of Shout! Factory has stated that this was an authoring error, and a replacement disc program was initiated.[32]

Covers of pop songs used in the original broadcasts were replaced with an instrumental version of the "Mega Move" song from "The Feud of Faxanadu" due to concerns over the songs' broadcast rights. The songs in Season 2 were performed exclusively for the series and were not removed. According to Brian Ward from Shout! Factory, legal concerns on using pop songs in the original broadcast for eventual home media release were never considered.[29] He also stated that this is mainly the reason why the original projected release year for 2006 was pushed to 2007.[29]

Releases

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.

A single-disc release titled "Adventures in Videoland", containing 4 episodes, was released by NCircle Entertainment on July 22, 2008.[33]

Regional DVD releases

Season 3 is available on DVD in the United States and Australia alongside the Super Mario World cartoon.

Pidax released the complete series along with Super Mario World in Germany with English audio in three boxsets, but did not include "When Mother Brain Rules".[34]

Film

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.[35]

Syndication and changes

Captain N entered broadcast syndication and aired on local stations from 1992 to 1993 by Rysher Entertainment.[36] Captain N & The Video Game Masters was a 65-episode package that included Captain N: The Game Master, The Legend of Zelda, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World.

Other airings

Family Channel

Family Channel aired the first 26 episodes from fall 1991 to summer 1992, while Season 3 aired on NBC. Episodes were time compressed into four acts rather than two or three to fit in the time slot and fit more commercials, making episodes around two minutes shorter. Family Channel airings included the featured songs that played on the NBC airing, unlike later airings on WGN, Fox, and USA Network.

USA Network

Starting in the fall of 1993, USA Network aired 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 fit in the time slot and more commercials. In 1994, the series was taken off of most channels.

Alternative versions of episodes

See also

External links

Informational sites

Notes and References

  1. Book: Perlmutter . David . The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows . 2018 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1538103739 . 109–110.
  2. Book: Erickson . Hal . Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 . 2005 . 2nd . McFarland & Co . 978-1476665993 . 178–179.
  3. Web site: 10 Strangest Moments in Captain N: The Game Master . 21 September 2019 .
  4. Flashback: Nintendo's Gamer Cartoon 'Captain N: The Game Master' . . 3 March 2017 .
  5. Seanbaby, "Memorial to Captain N: Simon Belmont", Electronic Gaming Monthly 229 (June 2008): 91.
  6. Web site: The Untold Truth of Captain N: The Game Master . 8 February 2018 .
  7. Seanbaby, "Memorial to Captain N: Kid Icarus", Electronic Gaming Monthly 229 (June 2008): 91.
  8. Happy Birthday Mega Man . Captain N: The Game Master.
  9. Seanbaby, "Memorial to Captain N: Mega Man", Electronic Gaming Monthly 229 (June 2008): 91.
  10. Gameboy . Captain N: The Game Master.
  11. Seanbaby, "Memorial to Captain N: Game Boy", Electronic Gaming Monthly 229 (June 2008): 91.
  12. Seanbaby, "Memorial to Captain N: Mother Brain", Electronic Gaming Monthly 229 (June 2008): 91.
  13. Seanbaby, "Memorial to Captain N: King Hippo", Electronic Gaming Monthly 229 (June 2008): 91.
  14. Seanbaby, "Memorial to Captain N: Eggplant Wizard", Electronic Gaming Monthly 229 (June 2008): 91.
  15. The Big Game . Captain N: The Game Master.
  16. A Tale of Two Dogs . Captain N: The Game Master.
  17. Simon the Ape-Man . Captain N: The Game Master.
  18. I Wish I Was a Wombatman . Captain N: The Game Master.
  19. The Trojan Dragon . Captain N: The Game Master.
  20. Mega Trouble for Megaland . Captain N: The Game Master.
  21. Germ Wars . Captain N: The Game Master.
  22. Nightmare on Mother Brain's Street . Captain N: The Game Master.
  23. Web site: User Account . archive.org . Nintendo . 12 October 2022.
  24. Web site: Captain N concept art reveals Paperboy as the main hero . 24 June 2013 .
  25. Web site: Drawn together: The love affair between comics and games . 24 December 2018 .
  26. https://www.pressthebuttons.com/2005/05/remebering_the_.html
  27. Web site: Interview with Jeffrey Scott . 2024-11-18 . ldloveszh.tripod.com.
  28. "Funny Pages". 1UP.COM. 1. Retrieved October 16, 2008.
  29. Web site: Toon Zone - Your Source for Toon News! . https://web.archive.org/web/20070322023344/http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=15410 . 2007-03-22 .
  30. Web site: Captain N: The Game Master – The Complete Series. TV Shows on DVD. en. 27 February 2007. 2 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20100511162253/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Captain-N-Game-Master-Complete-Series/6309. 2010-05-11. dead.
  31. http://web.archive.org/web/20080220175512/www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Captain-N-New-Super-Mario-World-Press-Release/8376
  32. Web site: Captain N replacement dvd. Shout! Factory Community. https://web.archive.org/web/20081203160019/http://www.shoutfactory.com/community/202/thread.aspx. 2008-12-03.
  33. https://www.amazon.com/Captain-Game-Master-Adventures-Videoland/dp/B00153ZQPU
  34. https://www.amazon.de/Captain-Gesamtedition-komplette-Kultserie-Animation/dp/B079ZB36B3
  35. News: May. Bex April. Noel Clarke reveals Nintendo video game movie adaptation he plans to make next. January 4, 2020. Digital Spy. April 14, 2020.
  36. News: 1992-01-13. A sampling of the programming wares at INTV. Broadcasting. 2021-11-12.