Captain N: The New Adventures was an animated television show. It portrays the adventures of characters visiting worlds from popular games for Nintendo systems.
Origins[]
Captain N: The Game Master was a 1989 cartoon that ran during the golden age of the NES. One of several Nintendo-themed cartoons at the time, it ran for three seasons and was moderately popular.
By the early 2000's, Nintendo was once again in the position of a cartoon producer, with the Pokemon series being one of the longer running anime in history, Kirby of the Stars being a hit in Japan, and Star Fox Adventures proving that the company could feature their less popular brands and profit from them. While speculating as to which Nintendo franchise could be translated to animation, Nintendo of America executives brought up the idea of a successor series to the original Captain N.
Captain N: The New Adventures was an ambitious project for Nintendo. In addition to featuring Nintendo series, Nintendo also signed deals to feature Square, Capcom, and Hudson Soft franchises. A new animation studio was set up by Nintendo of America for the sole purpose of making the series.
While making Captain N: The New Adventures, it was decided that the show would emphasize less popular Nintendo franchises and those that were not already in animated form. Thus, such series as Mario and Zelda were disqualified for their fame, as were Kirby, Pokemon, and Star Fox.
Captain N: The New Adventures would be first aired in 2004, as part of a new block of Nintendo-related programming on Cartoon Network. The show aired alongside episodes of Pokemon, Kirby of the Stars, and Star Fox Adventures.
Premise and Plot[]
The story of Captain N: The New Adventures has no relation to the original series. It features Will Alexander, a normal teenage boy from a world seemingly without video games. However, one day, he is accidentally teleported by a seemingly random hole in space-time, and is transported to the another world. In this world, he discovers that he has entered a realm of many realities overlapping, called the "Nintendoverse."
Originally, Will simply looked for a way to get home. However, as time went on, he came to realize that the worlds he was visiting needed help, and he swore to protect them from the forces of evil.
Characters[]
Protagonists[]
Will Alexander[]
The main hero of the show, and one of the few characters not derived from any game. At first, he is something of an anti-hero, simply wishing to go home rather than help the denizens of the worlds he travels to. However, after seeing the evil brought by the three Dark Lords, he eventually decides that the people of these worlds need to be helped.
Will Alexander is not the traditional hero. Much of the show's humor comes from his being made fun of by other characters, by slapstick at his expense, or simply by being put in awkward situations. Furthermore, he is not physically powerful, nor does he wield any special weaponry for most of the series. Instead, his strength comes from his intelligence and ability to rally other characters to his cause.
Samus Aran[]
Samus Aran of the Metroid series is a veteran of the Nintendoverse, and is Will's main guide. It is her who rescues him from getting into trouble early in the show, and is already on a quest to defeat one of the Dark Lords, Mother Brain.
Samus is portrayed as a stoic, quiet character, to complement the more temperamental Will. She is an experienced warrior, whose knowledge of the Nintendoverse saves the team on many ocassions. She is also the team's best fighter, thanks to her power suit and martial arts.
At points, Will shows and admits affections for Samus to other characters. However, the two never enter a relationship, as Will admits "She has too much going on for that right now."
Bomberman[]
Bomberman of the Bomberman series is a happy, upbeat hero. After his first encounter with Will, he happily joins them on their quest to save the Nintendoverse.
Cid[]
Cid is an amalgamation of characters by that name from the Final Fantasy series. In return for the team helping to protect his hometown of Poft, he agrees to join the team and provides an airship for them to travel in.
Dan[]
Dan from the Street Fighter series is a loser with illusions of grandeur. Upon witnessing Will and his friends teaming up with his fellow Street Fighters to defeat a local threat, he joins the team in order to improve his skills.
R.O.B.[]
R.O.B. is one of Will Alexander's earlier companions, and is ultimately the one who inspires him to save the Nintendoverse. A long time ago, R.O.B. worked together with another hero, hinted to be Mario, to save the Nintendoverse from something called "The Crash". However, in the process of providing a diversion to the enemy so that the hero could save the day, R.O.B. was left in an abandoned factory for countless centuries. There, he grew bitter that he was never saved, and when he was eventually found by King Porky's troops, he served as a minor adversary for several episodes in season 1. During the season finale, however, he learned that the reason he was left behind by the hero was that they thought he was dead, and that Will Alexander's quest mirrored his own.
Despite joining the main party fairly late, R.O.B. proved to be one of its most valuable members. What Cid can't do with mechanical engineering, R.O.B. can accomplish with his computing skills. He is a valuable fighter, with a virtual arsenal of built in weapons.
Antagonists[]
The main antagonists for most of the series are the three "Dark Lords." Each of them hail from a Nintendo game, and seek to wreck havoc upon the world. Notably, each of them have unique motivations, and view each other as enemies as much as Will.
Chaos[]
The antagonist from the original Final Fantasy and one of the three Dark Lords. He seeks to trap the universe in a cycle of time travel in which he always destroys the heroes and remains victorious for eternity.
King Porky[]
The antagonist from Earthbound 64, and one of the three Dark Lords of the worlds. He seeks to find the means to destroy everything in the Nintendoverse except for himself, as revenge for apparently being trapped inside a capsule for seemingly an eternity.
Mother Brain[]
The antagonist of various Metroid games and one of the three Dark Lords. She seeks to take control of the world, ruling over it as a perfect manager, even if it means weeding out the weak.
List of Games Referred To[]
- Adventure Island
- Animal Crossing
- Balloon Fight
- Bomberman
- Bonk
- Donkey Kong
- F-Zero
- Final Fantasy
- Fire Emblem
- Gyromite
- Ice Climber
- Kid Icarus
- Mega Man
- Metroid
- Mother
- Pikmin
- Street Fighter
Cast[]
- Will Alexander - Jack De Sena
- Samus Aran - Ashleigh Ball
- Bomberman - Daniel Brochu
- Cid - John Snyder
- Dan - Ted Sroka
- R.O.B. - Vincent King
- King Porky - Mark Hamil
- Chaos - Mark Hamilll
- Mother Brain - Ellen McLain
Reception[]
Captain N: The New Adventures would run for three seasons each with 13 episodes, with a total of 39 episodes. The show was well received by critics, who considered it beyond the normal licensed fare, but the show was ultimately cancelled as Nintendo ended their exclusivity deal with Cartoon Network. Ultimately, Captain N: The New Adventures was a casualty of Nintendo attempting to reduce their "children-only" image, despite the show's occasionally serious material.
See Also[]
- List of Captain N: The New Adventures Episodes
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