Last week, From the Console to the TV Station discussed thevery first TV adaptations of videogames. Now we jump ahead a few years to two of the more memorable game-based cartoons.
TheMarioandSonic the Hedgehogcartoons, much like the games they represent, remain some of the most successful gamey programs to date. They also seem to be the ones that are best retained in the memories of gamers, meaning that they were obviously a big part of our lives. But justhowwell are we remembering them? Are we thinking through a rose tint?
This week, we will primarily focus on these television shows, how they compare to their game selves, and the impact that they’ve made on gamer culture. Prepare yourself for either a flood of nostalgia or a flood of tears before hitting the jump — both great memories and horrors from the past lie within.
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!/1989/DiCThe Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3/1990/DiCSuper Mario World/1991/DiC
During the late ’80s and early ’90s, theMarioseries saw a boom in popularity much like the one thatPac-Manhad years earlier. Out of this boom came three programs that were different, yet very closely related to one another; in fact, many who were young at the time tend to lump them all into a single memory, believing them to all be one continuous television show. Or, I hope I’m not the only one who thought that all three of theMariocartoons were preceded by Captain Lou Albano grumbling about spaghetti and whichever guest star had dropped in for the day.
Unlike all of the videogame-inspired cartoons before, the ones based off of theMariomythos had a lot of things set in stone to work from. The brothers were plumbers (theMario Bros.manual states this as fact) who helped protect Mushroom Land (the Mushroom Kingdom was the world ofSuper Mario Bros. 3) from King Koopa. The first cartoons featured enemies from both1and2(although King Koopa was always there in place of Wart), and the Koopa Kids were around from3onward.
Perhaps the biggest change were the names of the Koopa Kids. They suddenly adopted monikers much less cool than the originals for seemingly no reason. It is widely believed that the new names were given because the creators were working off of the Japanese version ofMario 3, in which they were all referred to as, simply, “koopa kids.” These names were kept as the Koopalings’ nicknames in the next cartoon to avoid confusion.
Additional material:–The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!intro–The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3intro–Super Mario Worldintro–SS!: Neatness Counts/The Bird! The Bird!–Mario 3: Sneaky Lying Cheating Giant Ninja Koopas–SMW: Gopher Bash
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog/1993/DiCSonic the Hedgehog/1993-1994/DiCSonic Underground/1999/DiC
AoStHis the most “pure” of the cartoons, in terms of having the most in common with its source material. There was no overarching story, no major characters that didn’t appear in the games (both Grounder and Scratch were based off ofSonic 2baddies); it was just plain ol’ Sonic and Tails outwitting Robotnik every single episode and then giving a small bit of advice through the “Sonic Says” segment. Nothing but good, clean hedgehog fun.
Meanwhile,Sonic the Hedgehog(often referred to asSonicSatAMto better differentiate it from everything else) was a cartoon based off of theSoniccomic book universe. It features a more capable and frightening Robotnik, who has actually succeeded in taking over a portion of Mobius. Sonic and Tails were joined by the likes of Sally Acorn, Bunnie Rabbot, Rotor, Uncle Chuck, and Antoine. Together, they formed an underground team of rebels who fought against Robotnik’s reign of terror. In this world, Sonic fights scary-looking human droids, watches helpless animals get turned into robots, and feeds off the power of rings. Not to mention that his love interest in Sally carries over from the comics and is often front-and-center.
In a completely different league was the thirdSoniccartoon,Sonic Underground. For whatever reason, it wildy deviated from the formulas of both the videogames and the otherSoniccartoons. The only staple of the series that remains (besides the hedgehog himself) is Robotnik; everything else has been thrown out to make room for a completely new story. InUnderground, Sonic has a brother and sister, Manic and Sonia, and they are all the children of the former Queen of Mobius. The events preceding the first episode have Robotnik overthrowing the Queen and kidnapping her, and from that point forward, the hedgehog kids attempt to save their mother, while Robotnik tries to stop them.
Why DiC would take things in this direction, especially at a time where all otherSonicmedia was switching over to theAdventurestyle, defies explanation. Perhaps to produce a cooler, edgier Sonic to show off to a new audience, butSonic Adventurewas attempting the same thing at the same time in a different way. It seems like it all would have gotten very confusing. Some people enjoyUnderground, but as a fan of the speedy critter, I think the whole premise is a bit silly.
*The last Sonic cartoon is the animeSonic X, which I’ve decided to save and discuss in a later part of the series focused on game animes and foreign cartoons.
Additional material:–The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehogintro–Sonic the Hedgehogintro–Sonic Undergroundintro–AoStH: Pseudo-Sonic–Sonic SatAM: Super Sonic–Sonic Underground: Beginnings–AoStH: All “Sonic Says” segments
BONUS!
The Legend of Zelda/1989/DiC
The Legend of Zeldawas initially a part ofThe Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, making its appearance on the show every Friday. It has gained notoriety over the years for how badly it was done. Hardly any of the seriousness of the videogames was carried over for the cartoon; Link was not a fearless, silent hero, but a sort of bumbling, talkative fool. Zelda wasn’t entirely helpless as she’d been portrayed in the games up to this point, but was capable of taking care of herself. Unfortunately, the trade-off for this was that she was as loudmouthed as Link, and brash to boot. On top of it all, the show hasn’t aged well at all and is constantly ridiculed for being one of the lowest points of the series’ fame (second only to the CD-i games).
Still, there is good in all things, no matter how bad they are. I can imagine that the cartoon got a lot of people into the games who had never heard of them before. You can include me in that group; if it wasn’t forThe Legend of Zeldabeing a part of theSuper Show!, which I watched religiously even after it went into syndication, my mother may not have ever been tipped off to get meLink’s Awakeningand a Game Boy a few years later.
Reading about and watching old videogame-themed television programs is way past cool. But you know what isn’t? Missing the next installment of this series! Next week, we will delve into a few of the more popular games that have had the fortune (or misfortune, depending on which we’re talking about) to be adapted into their own cartoon series. See you then!
