User blog:TheIkranRider/How to Fix These Hated Video Game Shows

As I was growing up, I had found several video game-related shows, animated ones. And ever since Captain N, the Super Mario Bros Super Show, and Zelda came out in the mid 1980s, as well as the lousy, though creative, Super Mario Bros movie in the early 1990s, they'd been receiving so much bad publicity. For some I understand, for others they just needed more improvement. So, since I feel it's unfair to judge some of the material so harshly, I want to pick a few choices that deserve better praise and how to fix them; maybe, hopefully, it'd give them a chance for a more proper remake, that is if consumers have an open mind instead of just getting the classics they're based on from the eShop, PlayStation Network, Xbox Arcade, and other known services.

Captain N

Ergh, we all know how horrible of a show it really was, especially when the Nostalgia Critic expressed his resentment toward it; then again, he's nothing more than a pathetic hypocrite from all those massive scandals that he, his brother, and their manager caused for more than a decade! But I digress. With Doug's video segment, I'd felt it had gotten a sourer taste than it should have.

Yes, Captain N has had its flaws: it was made by DIC, first and foremost. Some scenes were developed badly, like there was a plain, white background in seven scenes. Even though, like I said, NC's a hypocrite since he usually does the same thing. The plot, some of the concepts (like Kevin dancing with Princess Lana) and several characters were lame as all hell for the eyes and ears. Simon Belmont, Pit, Mega Man, Gameboy and Mother Brain, specifically. Even the intro was terrible and cheesy, even worse than the catchy syndicated version (the one I grew up with).

But there were some exceptions, though. Link and Zelda had received an upgrade from their predecessor cartoon which without a doubt was dogs%^$. Kevin and his dog weren't always bad, although it served a terrible message on how VideoLand was too important than returning to the real world, if only temporarily. If the real world and VideoLand were more balanced out, like some Wizard of Oz thing alternating dimensions, then it'd probably give the kids a lesson in prioritizing. The music and sound effects were a nice touch since I felt nostalgic from the other NES titles, and they'd tried to be creative, excepting those that had nothing to do with games, as well as Fractured Fantasy. Lame!

It ran for three seasons and abruptly kicked the bucket after the so-called Final Fantasy episode in 1990. Plus, the "Super Power" was on its way in. So, how can THIS atrocity be done?? Well, I got a few suggestions. First, I think it should have a reboot on its own; remake the NES era from the ground up and maybe keep in some of the content. The plot should be that the Palace of Power was under attack by a more malicious Mother Brain. Maybe keep in Eggplant Wizard and King Hippo, but have her recruit other memorable villains such as DK, Bowser and the Koopalings, Dracula, a sinister Ganon, Ridley and Kraid, King Dedede, and also have a bigger cast featuring more heroes like the Mario Bros (even a Dr. Mario upgrade), how Mega Man, Belmont, and Pit SHOULD BE, bring in Kirby, Little and Big Mac, Samus, as well as others.

And if THAT should go well, and when Mother Brain gets obliterated by Kevin and Samus with the occurrences based on Metroid, and when Eggplant and King Hippo are off the grid by Pit and Little Mac, have it literally go to the next level; like have Captain N highlight other gaming generations. The next season should be in the SNES era, and perhaps feature an awesome roster such as Starfox 1 and 2, Super Metroid, Earthbound, A Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, DKC, Mega Man X, etc. Kevin and Lana should have an offspring that'll represent the next generation. And maybe if that's successful, have it go to the N64 era, Gameboy Advance era, and finally GameCube. They can be like separate spinoffs representing their kids as they carry the title Game Master and go all sorts of wacky adventures just as their ancestors did long ago. Make each spinoff with a sort of Kingdom Hearts or Ultimate Story style; where the main guy/girl/both should pick a few sidekicks and venture in various portions in the revamped VideoLand while encountering other characters and villains from their own corresponding realms.

The main problem was that DIC never put a lot of thought and effort into it, just to release it for the sake of their products, care about the sweet dollar and get all greedy much like 4Kids, and...maybe have it be solely made by the intergenerational fans for the intergenerational fans. And do a revamp of "The World of Captain N is Here" while you're at it.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros 3 & Super Mario World

Just like Capt. N, it was also made by DIC and there was so much wasted potential. My main suggestion is to have some retooling, and have the existing episodes as filler. Have both series be MORE LIKE THE GAMES!! That was their most glaring flaw ever. Have some respect for the original material, especially made by the man himself, Mr. Miyamoto. And since the internet didn't exist around this time, consumers had to get subscriptions of Nintendo Power to find cheats, secrets, and walkthroughs to get where they needed to be. This was a hassle, even for me to beat just one game that's so damned tedious. So, why not have both series take the plots from their original material. If the Super Mario Bros should have their origins as actual plumbers from Brooklyn, format that as a pilot, then feature Mario Bros 3, have the filler episodes in between, and ACTUALLY finish the damned story! Rinse and repeat with Super Mario World, and probably keep in the basic animation styles, rename the Koopalings with their ACTUAL NAMES (have Tip, Top, etc. as nicknames), and retain the voice cast. It sounds as simple as it looks, really.

The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

Because Sonic literally lied to us as he broke the 4th wall in that fairy tale episode, he should have his voice actor replaced by that guy from the modern Sonic games. Same thing with Tails. Add in Knuckles, the seven (three newly-discovered) Chaos Emeralds, and the Super Emeralds too. Each season should be split based on their respective games (the original, 2, and 3 & Knuckles), but have Scratch, Grounder, Robotnik Jr., and other miscellaneous characters appear in some intervals. Sometimes I get miffed that all these wars are solely handled by just Sonic and Tails; it's not fair if they don't happen to have allies with them.

Hell, if Sonic X got away with the successes of its first couple seasons, without squandering with the final arc, then perhaps it'd be the best for it, too. Keep in the crazy characters and animation we grew up with, only change those actors with the ones that portray modern Sonic and Tails, and finish the story where the so-called Adventures left off!

Pokémon

Just age the characters, and make it have the final season air in the Galar region. Maybe have Ash use all of his Pokémon from Prof. Oak's lab along with his current roster. Have him reunite with most of his friends, meet the fans' demands of having Misty or Serena as his significant other, and above all else, WIN a Pokémon League for once and achieve as a Pokémon Master!! I wouldn't necessarily have the entire series be just as a dream, much like that infamous creepypasta. I mean, have we forgotten about the nefarious series finale of St. Elsewhere!?

F-Zero GP Legend

As you all know by now, I love the F-Zero anime's English dubs. In September of 2004, it aired on the FoxBox at 10:30 am. And as far as I knew, thanks to a mention by TASproductions and the awkward TV schedule seen on Bing, I'd realized it had gone through some Development Hell. In Japan, the Laps were made soon after the release of GX, and it ended a year later with 51 episodes. Could it be that they had trouble translating the series? I don't really know.

But what I DO know is that the English dubs, in particular, had been receiving a lot of plaque over the years, the GBA game sold poorly, the show suffered from low ratings, as well as the untimely assimilation from FoxBox to 4Kids TV; the greedy block that everyone loathes. Only 15 Laps were aired, and most of them had to be repeated once more until it got canned in early March 2005.

Considering how much I adore the series, and know some of its history, how can this have a better fate? Aside from the obvious prevention of FoxBox's transformation, as well as not be leeched so much by the monsters, Sonic X and One Piece, there could be a few ways:

I believe it'd be best if the series picked up where it left off and get itself an overhaul. The original anime itself was probably aimed for an older audience, even though kid shows can get away with more disturbing content than America can. So, here's my suggestion. Why not air the remainder of the Laps on Adult Swim's Toonami block? If One Piece moved to Funimation and had gotten a second wind, then so should this! Perhaps re-recruit some of the cast, those who're willing to do it as well as the most memorable roles. Dan Green, Greg Abbey, Veronica Taylor, Caren Manual, Sean Schemmel, Amy Birnbaum were brilliant for their roles, as well as others; however, I'd also get those from F-Zero GX, just to make some characters more presentable such as Zoda, Capt. Falcon/Blood Falcon, Black Shadow, Deathborn, etc.

Yes, they have to do how the Laps were made in terms of animation and plot, and we all know how much I'd felt about their content as well as the sin for ignoring lore. However, this could be an exception if done more properly, and if the localization changes weren't so obvious. Just keep in some of the music numbers from both ends, don't try to Americanize it so much, retain some of the voice actors instead of replacing them from the Funimation cast, and finish the show from its 15-year sleep. Who knows, maybe it'd give the entire franchise a second coming, too.

I believe my stories had cleared everything up.