With increasing popularity in the games market, Nintendo also tried to zombify young kids via the TV with cartoon shows based on its games characters. Captain N was one of those shows, in which the main character actually wasn't a character from a Nintendo game, but a gamer.
Kevin Keene, a teenager from Northridge, California and avid gamer, is brought to another universe known as Videoland, along with his dog, Duke, to defeat the evil villainess, Mother Brain. Mother Brain is trying to conquer Videoland. Kevin has been brought to defeat her, as foretold in an Ancient Prophecy. Kevin is given the title "Captain N: The Game Master". He and Duke join the N Team, which consists of Princess Lana (the Ruler of Videoland), Simon Belmont (the hero from Castlevania), Mega Man, Kid Icarus, and Gameboy (a giant supercomputer). The N Team goes up against the evil Mother Brain (the villain from Metroid) and her minions, King Hippo (Punch-Out), the Eggplant Wizard (Kid Icarus), and Dr. Wily (Mega Man). These forces of good and evil go up against each other and often find themselves in comical, hilarious situations.
Like so many cartoons shows from the 80's Captain N is also based on a commercial toy property, in this case video games from Nintendo. Every minute of Captain N is just a product placement for Nintendo. Kevin Keene is a games addict. He spends so much time playing video games, he's actually become so good at it that he's chosen to be the savior of a fictional games world, originally called 'Videoland'. Famous characters from other Nintendo properties, like Legend of Zelda, or hardware like the Gameboy also make appearances.
The leader, protagonist and main character of the series. Initially he is a reluctant hero and is often found at odds with the rest of the N-Team. When he comes to Videoland, he is armed with a belt and holster that has a Power Pad and an NES Zapper-like gun which dispatches or "dematerializes" enemies. The Zapper can also shoot ice shaped like Tetris blocks. His expert use of these tools combined with his overall friendly, if competitive, demeanor eventually earns the trust of the others.
In many episodes he tries to foster a big-brotherly role to characters suffering from a particular plight. He is most often called Captain N by the other cast members, except Princess Lana who regularly addresses him by his first name. His last name is only ever mentioned in two episodes.
Voiced by: Matt Hill. Born January 19, 1968. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
The current regent of Videoland after her father, King Charles, was banished to the Mirror by Mother Brain. She rules over all the lands in Videoland from the Palace of Power. Though she reflects a kind character typified by a princess role, she is able to keep up with the rest of the N-team through their adventures and is not afraid of conflict, having been trained to defend herself from a young age.
Though she is good friends with the members of the N-Team, Lana shows a longing for her own family. She often acts as a mediator between the members of the N-team when their competitive natures lead them to infighting. Both Kevin and Simon compete for Lana's affections, but she seems to prefer Kevin over Simon and kisses him on several occasions. She's either a cock tease or actually likes Kevin. Seeing that she never makes it explicit, it's probably the first.
Voiced by: Venus Terzo. Born October 17, 1967. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
Until Captain N's arrival Simon, a vampire hunter, regarded himself as Princess Lana's highest ranking servant. He displays extreme arrogance and vanity, often prefacing declarations of his character or capabilities by referring to himself in the 3rd person. He enjoys courting and complimenting Princess Lana, openly declaring his romantic interest in her (which she rebuffs but sometimes is flattered), but he enjoys tending to his appearance and physique even more.
On one occasion when he was forced to face his worst fears in a dream world, it turned out his worst fear was a humorous form of body horror as his muscles sagged away, his teeth fell out and he lost all his hair. In his own distorted way, however, he does show regard for other members of the N-team, even if it outwardly seems back-handed. He is very competitive and he regards Captain N as a major rival for Princess Lana's attention.
Voiced by: Andrew Kavadas. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
The diminutive Kid Icarus is very loyal to, and protective of, Princess Lana and while he shows childish behavior, he is not short on courage. He is not very physically effective in action situations and often bemoans his small stature, but is the only N Team member who can fly, and usually is a very accurate archer. His quiver holds regular arrows which can dematerialize foes, but also has various specialized gadget arrows.
Voiced by: Alessandro Juliani. Born April 3, 1978. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
As diminutive as Kid Icarus, Megaman is a robot constructed by Dr. Light. He too is protective of Princess Lana. Despite his size, he is incredibly strong, physically durable, and extremely agile. His body is clad in multi-tone green armor and he wears a visor. He has two forearm-mounted energy blasters which function like Captain N's zapper.
Voiced by: Doug Parker. Born December 17, 1957. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
Game Boy is a human-sized supercomputer shaped like the Nintendo product of the same name, an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. When the portal to Mirror World opened, King Charles sent him in his place to help Captain N. He announces himself as being "programmed to play games" but, when action arises, he is usually capable of meeting the challenge. His body exhibits elasticity when he stretches out his arms and hands from his casing. Game Boy also uses his display to materialize many things, including objects and monsters, mainly for the team's target practice. He also has an onboard computer which can analyze substances and track enemies.
Voiced by: Frank Welker. Born March 12, 1946. Image via IMDb.
The original monarch of Videoland, and father of both Lana and Lyle, was captured by Mother Brain and banished to the Mirror World before the start of the show and has remained trapped there since. He is a kind and compassionate ruler who places his judgement of others above his own well-being. He has an impressive white beard and moustache, and wears ornate multicolor clothing.
Voiced by: Long John Baldry. Born January 12, 1941. Died July 21, 2005. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
The object of Link's affection in the game Legend of Zelda makes several guest appearances in Captain N.
As a beautiful young woman, she rules Hyrule and protects the Triforce from evil as well as providing help to the N Team. She is a close friend to Princess Lana since before Mother Brain waged war on Videoland, and the two regard each other highly. She wields a bow occasionally to deal with foes.
Voiced by: Cynthia Preston. Born May 18, 1968. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
The primary villain of the series. Mother Brain is a trash-talking, abusive, power-hungry brain in a giant bottle. In the pilot episode, her troops are marching at the door of the Palace of Power, and she had already captured and banished King Charles (the King of Videoland) to the Mirror World on Exaclibur.
Though proud of her form and presence, she is not above any subterfuge if it gets her goal accomplished. She also displays great vanity—almost as much as Simon Belmont. She spends most of her time stationary in a control room on her floating world, Metroid, where she uses a special "mirror" to spy on the members of the N Team as she looks for weaknesses to exploit. She also has retractable prehensile tentacles she uses to lash or electrically shock her usually incompetent minions to encourage them to do better.
Voiced by: Levi Stubbs . Born October 17, 2008. Died October 17, 2008. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
The monstrous, pear-shaped King Hippo is the "heavyweight" who is short on brains and big on muscle. He is cruel, indulgent, and sharp tongued, but most of his ire is usually directed to his counterpart the Eggplant Wizard. His home world is called Punch-Out!!, a name inspired by the game of the same name.
Voiced by: Garry Chalk. Born February 17, 1952. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
A one-eyed human-sized vegetable. Eggplant Wizard is a main foe of Kid Icarus, but mostly serves as a target of abuse for Mother Brain due to his incompetence. He is also the chief foil for King Hippo as the two usually appear at the same time. He also has the ability to conjure various vegetable-themed gadgets to aid in mischief. Unlike King Hippo, Eggplant Wizard has shown some signs of taking the initiative to come up with his own schemes and is not above turning against Mother Brain on rare occasions.
Voiced by: Michael Donovan. Born June 12, 1953. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
The least shown of the main villains. Dr. Wily is a short, beady-eyed, and slightly grizzled old man loyal to Mother Brain and arguably the most competent of her main henchmen. He is a stereotypical mad scientist who uses his genius to build wild gadgets or develop complicated schemes to defeat the N-Team. One notable episode had him using a mind reading device to find out the greatest fears of the team members, then constructing a robot in the likeness of a school bully, Kevin's greatest fear. He speaks with a German accent and is constantly wheezing in his speech.
Voiced by: Ian James Corlett. Born August 29, 1962. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
Ancient Prophecy: "Welcome to Videoland!"
Mega Man: "Mega hi!"
Lana: "Wake up, Kid Icarus!"
The Count: "Welcome to Castlevania!"
Simon: "Yahoo! Yahoo!"
Kevin: "It's Kongoland!"
Donkey Kong yelling.
Mother Brain: "Mother Brain will get you, little Princess!" (laughs)
Kid Icarus: "Princess, the Palace is under siege!"
Ancient Prophecy: "Behold - the Ultimate Warp Zone!"
Kevin: "Wow!"
Kevin's Mom: "Kevin, I thought I told you to clean up your room!"
Kevin: "Whoa!"
Ancient Prophecy: "Captain N: The Game Master!"
