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)
Kevin Keene, a teenager fromNorthridge, 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 and save Videoland fromMother Brain and her forces, who operate from the floating world/fortress ofMetroid. 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, andKid Icarus, who are not confident in Kevin's abilities. When 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 fromKid Icarus, the thuggishKing Hippo fromPunch-Out!!, and the schemingDr. Wily fromMega Man. In episodes set in a particular video game, the villain is instead a "villain of the week", such as Malkil ofWizards & Warriors. Other characters make recurring appearances, includingDonkey Kong,The Count fromCastlevania, andDr. Light fromMega Man. The cast of theLegend 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.
Kevin Keene (portrayed by Dorian Barag in live-action sequences, voiced byMatt Hill in animated sequences[4]): The titular protagonist of the series, who arrived in Videoland through the Ultimate Warp Zone and is destined to save it from Mother Brain. Upon arriving in Videoland, he is a reluctant hero and is often at odds with the rest of the N Team. He wears a varsity jacket with avarsity letter "N" and is armed with a belt and holster containing aPower Pad, a device shaped like a NES controller that can stop time, allow him to leap over objects, or give him super speed over short distances. He also wields a gun resembling aNES Zapper gun that "de-digitalizes" enemies and can shoot ice shaped likeTetris blocks. His use of these tools, along with his friendly, yet competitive, demeanor eventually earns the trust of the team, who address him as Captain N, though Princess Lana addresses him by his first name. In most episodes, he plays a big-brother role to characters as he helps them with their problems.
Duke (voiced by Tomm Wright): Kevin's dog, who jumped into the Ultimate Warp Zone after Kevin was sucked in and ended up in Videoland, serving as his companion. Though intelligent, he is prone to canine behavior. In the live-action sequences, Duke is shown to be aGolden Retriever, though in the animated sequences appears to be abeagle.
Princess Lana (voiced byVenus Terzo): The currentregent of Videoland after Mother Brain banished her father, King Charles, to the Mirror World, who rules over the worlds of Videoland from the Palace of Power. Though kind, she accompanies the N Team in their adventures, serving as a mediator between them, and is not afraid of conflict, having been trained to defend herself from a young age. Both Kevin and Simon compete for her affections, but she seems to prefer Kevin over Simon, as she kisses him on several occasions.
Simon Belmont fromCastlevania (voiced by Andrew Kavadas): An arrogant and vain vampire hunter from Castlevania, who, until Kevin's arrival, regarded himself as Princess Lana's highest-ranking servant. He enjoys courting and complimenting Princess Lana, openly declaring his romantic interest in her despite her rejections, and taking care of his appearance and physique. Despite this and his competitive nature, as he sees Captain N as a rival for Princess Lana's attention, he cares for the members of the N Team. He wields a whip that can de-digitalize enemies and carries a backpack with a seemingly endless capacity of items. His appearance was partially based upon his voice actor, Andrew Kavadas.[5]
Kid Icarus fromKid Icarus (voiced byAlessandro Juliani[6]): A diminutive angel from Mount Icarus who is loyal to and protective of Princess Lana, and courageous despite his small stature and childlike nature. He is the only member of the team who can fly, and his quiver contains regular arrows that can de-digitalize enemies, as well as various specialized gadget arrows. He often ends words with the suffix "-icus". His appearance in season 3 is similar to his sprite and box art fromKid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters.[7]
Mega Man fromMega Man (voiced byDoug Parker): A robot, who, along with his creator Dr. Wright, is from Megaland and is protective of Princess Lana. Despite his size, he is strong, durable, and agile, and wields two forearm-mounted energy blasters that function like Captain N's Zapper. He occasionally begins his words with theprefix "mega-". He is upset with the fact he is a nonliving robot and becomes human, but still possesses his robotic abilities.[8][9]
Game Boy (voiced byFrank Welker): A human-sizedsupercomputer sent by King Charles in his place to help Captain N when the portal to Mirror World opens.[10] Despite describing himself as being "programmed to play games", he is capable of rising to the challenge when needed. He can extend his arms and hands from his casing and use his display to materialize things, including objects and monsters, and has an onboard computer that can analyze substances and track enemies.[11]
Mother Brain fromMetroid (voiced byLevi Stubbs[6]): The main antagonist of the series, she is a power-hungry and vain brain-like alien in a giant glass tank who comes from Metroid, from which she and her forces operate, and uses a "computer mind mirror" to spy on the N Team and find weaknesses to exploit. By the beginning of the series, she and her troops attack the Palace of Power and she has banished King Charles to the Mirror World on Excalibur. Though proud of her form and presence, she is not above using subterfuge to achieve her goals. She has retractable prehensile tentacles she uses to attack or to electrically shock her minions to encourage them to do better.[12]
Eggplant Wizard fromKid Icarus (voiced byMichael Donovan): A one-eyed human-sizedeggplant from Mount Icarus and the main enemy of Kid Icarus, who is often the target of Mother Brain's abuse due to his incompetence and has the ability to conjure vegetable-themed gadgets. He is a foil to King Hippo, as they usually appear together. Unlike King Hippo, Eggplant Wizard can take the initiative with his schemes and is not above turning against Mother Brain.[13]
King Hippo fromPunch-Out!! (voiced byGarry Chalk): A heavyweight boxer from Punch-Out,[14] he prefers brawn over brains and is cruel, with most of his ire directed towards his counterpart, the Eggplant Wizard.
Doctor Wily fromMega Man (voiced byIan James Corlett[4]): Amad scientist from Megaland who is loyal to Mother Brain and among the most competent of her main henchmen. He uses his genius to build gadgets as part of his schemes to defeat the N Team, such as using a mind-reading device to learn their greatest fears and sending his Robot Masters to attack.
Donkey Kong fromDonkey Kong (voiced by Garry Chalk): A giant gorilla from Kongoland, who is quick to anger and must be appeased with food. Except for the Videolympics, where he joins Mother Brain's team, he is independent and solitary, not wanting visitors in his jungle.
The Count fromCastlevania (voiced by Garry Chalk): A vampire from Castlevania, who can control the undead and transform into a bat. Except for the Videolympics, where he joins Mother Brain's team, he works alone.
Alucard (voiced by Ian James Corlett): The Count's son, a rebellious teenager.
Dragonlord fromDragon Warrior (voiced byDon Brown): A giant red dragon from Dragon's Den, who seeks to rule over it and its inhabitants. Though intelligent, he is somewhat gullible.
Ganon fromThe Legend of Zelda (voiced byLen Carlson): A pig-like warlock and Link and Zelda's greatest foe, who seeks to conquer Hyrule. After Link recently defeated him, he lost most of his power until drinking a potion of power that King Hippo and Eggplant Wizard gave him.
Rebonack fromZelda II: The Adventure of Link: A silver armored knight who serves Ganon, he rides a mechanical horse and wields a lance.
Malkil fromWizards & Warriors (voiced by Garry Chalk): An evil,gnome-like wizard from Excalibur, who also appears as one of the primary villains inThe Power Team.
Medusa fromKid Icarus (voiced by Venus Terzo): Agorgon and the Goddess of Darkness, who comes from Mount Icarus and can turn others to stone with her gaze. She tries to use her beautiful voice to trick people into looking at her.
King Charles (voiced byLong John Baldry): The original monarch of Videoland and Lana and Lyle's father, who is kind and compassionate, putting the needs of others before his own. Prior to the events of the series, Mother Brain captured and banished him to the Mirror World, though he sends Game Boy to aid the N Team when the portal opens.
Prince Lyle: Princess Lana's brother, who left home after feeling out of place and came to live in the world of Tetris, where he guards the Sacred Square. Despite his lineage, he displays few leadership skills or heroism and considers himself to be clumsy despite his good intentions. Lana and the N Team help to convince him to believe in himself and that people will have confidence in him as a leader.
Princess Zelda fromThe Legend of Zelda (voiced byCynthia Preston): The ruler of Hyrule and protector of theTriforce, who aids the N Team and is a friend of Princess Lana, having known her before Mother Brain attacked Videoland.
Link fromThe Legend of Zelda (voiced by Jonathan Potts): A young and heroic warrior who serves Zelda and protects the Triforce and Hyrule alongside her. He is Kevin's idol and favorite video game character. Though friction develops between them when Zelda compliments Kevin on his skills and intelligence, causing Link to be jealous of and resent him, they reconcile after working together to defeat Ganon. Unlike his appearance in theLegend of Zelda cartoon, Link is older and portrayed as being more mature, as he is no longer obsessed with trying to steal a kiss from Zelda.
Wombatman: A cynical anthropomorphicwombat and parody ofBatman, who portrays the titular character in a TV series filmed at the Marblopolis Studio World. Kid Icarus idolizes him because they both use various gadgets, but is distraught to learn that he does not perform his own stunts. When his girlfriend Nikki is held captive, Wombatman reluctantly helps Mother Brain capture the N Team before Kid Icarus convinces him to aid the N Team, after which he decides to do his own stunts.
Mayor Squaresly (voiced by Garry Chalk): The mayor of Tetris, who loves holidays and enlists the N Team in stopping the Puzzle Wizard, who is turning Tetris' citizens into Tetris blocks.
Bayou Billy West fromThe Adventures of Bayou Billy (voiced by Garry Chalk): The titular character from the video game, which Kevin was unable to beat. He has a pet alligator Loafer for a pet and rides in a buggy-like vehicle. Bayou Billy helps Captain N find Duke while training him in the ways of bayou tracking, which help him fight Doctor Wily's swamp creature.
Prince Plenty: The monarch of Kongoland, who invented a machine that feeds Donkey Kong fruit and keeps him away from the city.
Doctor Wright (voiced byAntony Holland): A genius scientist from Megaland who built Mega Man (to whom he serves as a father figure) and Mega Girl and helps the N Team fight Dr. Wily and Mother Brain. He is theCaptain N incarnation ofDoctor Light.
Mega Girl (voiced by Lelani Marrell): A female robot who resembles Mega Man, but with pink and white armor. Though she wants to be friends with him, she is initially turned away as she reminds him that he is not human. She is theCaptain N incarnation ofRoll.
Captain N: The Game Master takes place in Videoland, consisting of worlds based on various video games. In some cases, such as withWizards & Warriors,Dragon Warrior, andMetroid, 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:
BurgerTime – Burger Time. The N Team has a Warp Zone to the world in the Palace of Power's kitchen.[10]
California Games – the beach-themed California Games, it is the setting where Kevin reunites with his high school friends when they compete against Dr. Wily's Robot Masters[15] and where Kevin and Mega Man spend time while waiting for Dr. Wright and Dr. Wily to complete their peace-keeping robot.[16]
Marble Madness – the studio world of Marblopolis, which is structurally inspired byMarble Madness, including a black marble weapon that Mother Brain uses to attack the N Team.[18] The theme from the first level ofMarble Madness is also used.[19]
Mega Man – Megaland. Music from the game is used and the original Robot Masters appear.[20]
Mega Man 2 – the Robot Masters from the game appear.
Mega Man 3 – the Robot Masters from this game, Doc Robot, and Gamma appear.
Metroid – Metroid. Music from the game is also used.
Nemesis – music from the game is used in Season 2, including the Stage 2 theme "Fortress".[19]
Solar Striker – music from the game is used. The Stage 1/2 theme from the game is used.[21]
Super Mario Bros. – Kevin compares the Ultimate Warp Zone to the game. Many sound effects, such as for jumping, came from the game. The music for the underground and fortress stages is used, and some background music and featured songs were also used inThe Super Mario Bros. Super Show!.
Wizards & Warriors – Excalibur, which is inhabited by giant spiders, werewolves, and other monsters and which the N Team travels to fight Malkil.[22] Malkil also appeared inThe Power Team along with his enemy, the knight Kuros.
Despite featuring various video games, theSuper Mario games were absent, despite being mentioned. This is likely due toThe Super Mario Bros. Super Show, which aired around the same time and featured the characters/world of theMario games.
The character of Captain N first appeared inNintendo Power magazine, created byNintendo staff member and magazine editor Randy Studdard.[6] The original concept involved Captain N, originally known asCaptain Nintendo, a Nintendo employee who had the power to temporarily bring characters and items from Nintendo games to life.[2] He fought againstMother 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 theChildren's Television Act of 1990, which called for bans on program-length commercials.[3][6] The show was originally known asCaptain 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 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.[23]
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.[24]
In the early stages of development, the character of Paperboy from the gameof the same name was intended to be the protagonist, and the series was initially going to be titledBuddy Boy.[25]
TheCaptain N comic book was published byValiant Comics as part of theNintendo Comics System in 1990.[26] 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.[27]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.[28]
An article at1UP.com describes Samus as "rambunctious, reckless, and gets into pissing 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 recentMetroid games isn't awesome, but there's something compelling about a Samus who's greedy and conniving – and is proud to admit it".[29]
Mother Brain's second-in-command wasUranos, the God of the Sky, based on a regular enemy fromKid 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.[30]
In the early 1990s, three Season 2Captain N episodes were released onVHS tapes distributed byBuena Vista Home Video in the US: "Gameboy", "Quest for the Potion of Power", and "The Trouble with Tetris". Each tape contained one episode.
Season 3 was considered to be part of a different series, due to sharing a half-hour block with theSuper Mario World cartoon onNBC in the fall of 1991; copyright holders required that theCaptain N andSuper Mario World episodes be released together.[6]Captain N & The New Super Mario World were later released on DVD in a separate two-disc set on November 13, 2007.[32] This was not repeated in 2013 as theSuper Mario World episodes would be released alone due to likeness rights issues with the use ofBo Jackson in the episode "Battle of the Baseball Know-It-Alls".[33] The release of Season 3 has since been limited for streaming.[34]
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", aclip show episode, was not included on the master tapes that DiC sent to Shout! Factory and was not included on the DVD set.[30]
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.[35]
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.[30] He also stated that this is mainly the reason why the original projected release year for 2006 was pushed to 2007.[30]
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
Captain N: The Game Master – The Complete Series
26
February 27, 2007
Map of Videoland-style menus
Character Video Bios, including narration taken directly from the text of theCaptain N bible
Exploring Videoland: Concept art for the worlds and locations ofCaptain N: The Game Master
"Captain Nintendo" – the originalNintendo Power short story
A single-disc release titled "Adventures in Videoland", containing 4 episodes, was released by NCircle Entertainment on July 22, 2008.[36]
Season 3 is available on DVD in the United States and Australia alongside theSuper Mario World cartoon.
Pidax released the complete series along withSuper Mario World in Germany with English audio in three boxsets, but did not include "When Mother Brain Rules".[37]
Actor and writerNoel Clarke revealed toDigital Spy in an interview that he was interested in developing a live-action film adaptation of the series.[38]
Video Game Masters had its own theme song, followed by a commercial break and then the theme song of the series being aired.
LikeThe Super Mario Bros. Super Show, action/chase scenes in the first-season episodes were set to studio covers of pop music, includingBob Seger's "Shakedown" in "Kevin in Videoland" andKenny Loggins' "Danger Zone in "Mega Trouble for Megaland". Due to copyright issues, these songs were removed in later reruns and releases and replaced by an instrumental glam-rock song from Season 2's "The Feud of Faxanadu".
TheZelda episodes were cut for time when aired in theVideo Game Masters package, with two episodes airing in each half-hour block.
Many episodes received minor changes when released in syndication as part of theCaptain N & The Video Game Masters package. All episodes were time compressed and split into two acts instead of three to fit in the time slot. All episodes except "The Feud of Faxanadu" used the second season intro and credits, and Season 3 episodes cut out the opening title card for each episode.
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 onWGN,Fox, andUSA Network.
Starting in the fall of 1993, USA Network aired reruns of the series on their Sunday lineup of theirUSA 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.
"How's Bayou": The original version of the episode, which aired on September 16, 1989, differed from the version aired in later airings. It featured some dialogue changes/rearrangements and an alternative piece of instrumental music in the scene with Kevin and Lana dancing, along with other minor changes and several shots missing backgrounds. The Shout Factory DVD release contains this episode in its unfinished form, with the cover of "Born on the Bayou" replaced with the "Mega Move" instrumental and the teaser shown before the intro. Since its rerun in December 1989 and in later reruns, the episode aired in its finished form, but the unfinished version has not been officially released.
"When Mother Brain Rules": A "clip show" episode, it has at least two different versions. Several scenes have dialogue but no music and vice versa. In the second version, many of these sequences are changed around and more commentary, particularly by Simon, is added.
Some of the Season 1 and Season 2 episodes, specifically "Nightmare on Mother Brain's Street", "Quest for the Potion of Power", "Invasion of the Paper Pedalers", "Three Men and a Dragon", & "Mr. and Mrs. Mother Brain" were recut to 10 minutes long for airing during Season 3 as filler, along with the soundtrack being re-scored. Unlike the other episodes, "Quest for the Potion of Power" was split into two parts and had new narration added, as well as having the music redone.
^Perlmutter, David (2018).The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 109–110.ISBN978-1538103739.
^abErickson, Hal (2005).Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 178–179.ISBN978-1476665993.
