Everything you didn't know about Captain N: The Game Master

Welcome to Videoland! Long before the words "shared universe" became a part of the larger cultural landscape, several of Nintendo's biggest hits were united in a single animated series. Back in 1989, Captain N: The Game Master offered kids a broader glimpse of the world inhabited by their favorite NES characters. But these heroes weren't exactly faithful to the original games. Mega Man ditched his trademark blue costume for a green outfit, Kid Icarus/Pit was kind of a dork, and Castlevania's Simon Belmont was a raging narcissist. 

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Captain N, SYFY WIRE's Everything You Didn’t Know is taking an in-depth look at the series. As part of this retrospective, we're diving into the real origin of Captain Nintendo and why the name of the gaming company was intentionally downplayed on the series itself. Additionally, we'll give you a glimpse of the Captain N series pitch that didn't even include the title character!

In hindsight, Captain N is the kind of series that Nintendo is unlikely to allow again. At the time, it was an excellent vehicle to advertise NES games in the guise of a Saturday morning cartoon. But it adapted the characters so loosely that even Donkey Kong and Dracula were turned into wacky, non-threatening villains. That brings us to Mother Brain, Metroid's big bad, who was voiced by Motown legend Levi Stubbs. True story! Stubbs' Mother Brain was less supervillain and more space diva than her video game counterpart.

Additionally, we take a look back at the Captain N comic, which was published by Valiant Comics in the early '90s. It introduced Metroid's Samus Aran as a member of Captain N's N-Team, but you'll have to watch the video for more details about that!