Nintendo's First On-Screen Crossover Aired 40 Years Before 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie'
What is this, a crossover episode? There are plenty of reasons to be hyped for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, but one of the most exciting facets is the appearance of Fox McCloud, who you might know better as Star Fox.
As well as being a genuinely cool character in his own right, Nintendo fans are buzzing over the idea of these two popular gaming IPs crossing over on the big screen. But this isn’t the first time Nintendo has done a crossover. In fact, it based a whole TV show around the idea of video game crossovers with Captain N: The Game Master.
Originally a comic, the cartoon series ran between 1989 and 1992. It is centred around a thrilling war between the good guys and the bad guys in the Videoland, a universe which is made up of multiple well-known worlds based on video games like The Legend of Zelda, Tetris, and Final Fantasy, to name a few.
What Is Captain N: The Game Master About?
At the centre of the show is the titular Captain N, who is your typical teenager, Kevin Keene.
One day, he is playing Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!! only for the Ultimate Warp Zone to drag him into Videoland. This, in turn, fulfilled an ancient prophecy known as The Legend of Videoland, which foretold a “young warrior from another world” warping into Videoland to help lead the people to victory.
He joins the N Team in their war against the Forces of Chaos led by villain Mother Brain.
What Characters Are There In Captain N?
The N Team itself consists of numerous characters from various games, including Simon Belmont from Castlevania, Kid Icarus from Kid Icarus, Megaman from Megaman and Game Boy — who, as the name suggests, is literally a Nintendo Game Boy. Princess Lana, an original character, is also part of the N Team.
As for the Forces of Chaos, the group is led by Mother Brain, an adversary from Metroid. Other members include King Hippo from Punch-Out!!, Eggplant Wizard from Kid Icarus, and Dr Wily from Megaman.
As well as this, many well-known video characters made appearances throughout the show’s three seasons, including Princess Peach from the Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong from Donkey Kong, Link and Zelda from The Legend of Zelda, Pero from Puss 'n Boots: Pero's Great Adventure, Robin Hood from Robin Hood, Count from Castlevania, Dragon Lord from Dragon Warrior, and Kraid from Metroid, among others.
In total, there are three Seasons and 31 episodes of the show — the first two had 13 episodes each, while the final season only had seven episodes.
In a retrospective review, which only encompassed the first two seasons and the movie, IGN gave it three out of five stars, describing it as an “interesting and fun cartoon.”
“Although mainly for old-school Nintendo fans, anyone with a little background knowledge and a lot of nostalgia will find a lot to love in Captain N,” the reviewer added.
