Edit: Hi guys, I know a lot of us grew up with this cartoon so let's not take the word "failed" too personally. Me calling it "Failed" in the title doesn't mean it was bad nor am I expressing my opinion on the quality of the show. It was on for 13 episodes, the writers wanted to do more and the network said no to put even more focus on Mario. This is a failure and a very common story with animations at that time. Bonus Fact: The director of the cartoon mooned the voice actress for Zelda during a recording session to get her to laugh for one of the scenes. Check out the video on Mario animations! > th-cam.com/video/L6Jy6PW3ANA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=secUfBCDvtx1ZT2i
Note 1: I wanna point out that 65 episodes is not the number for a cancelled cartoon series; it's actually the number for a syndication pack (which is common practice at the time to have nearly 24 hours worth of stories). As TheMentok pointed out, the Super Mario Bros. Super Show gives previews for "the Next Legend of Zelda" and the reason the Zelda cartoons only have 13 episodes is because DiC wanted to use the 52 episodes reserved for Mario cartoons Monday to Thursday and 13 used for Zelda Cartoons on Fridays. So in a way, DiC wanted to be creative with their Syndication pack. But yeah, as pointed out at 5:37, the writers have no say on how much material they want to continue making, but rather it's the company's decision on how much material they would use. Note 2 (4:30): in relation to Steve Martin's "Well Excuuuse Me" catchphrase, Link did say the exact line without the 'Princess' addition at one point in "That Sinking Feeling": th-cam.com/video/TstnPWNdk10/w-d-xo.html Note 3 (5:09): It helps that the Zelda games have been known to poof away after being defeated, and it's very notable that the deaths were bloodless in the games, and at one point in "The Ringer", Ganon kills off his canon fodder without a trace of blood either. Note 4 (7:16): This is not related to Zelda, but this is brought up, so I wanna add that, maybe, Kevin Keene doesn't sound as much like Ed, but at one point, Ed's voice was very different back at Season 1, which sounded more like Kevin Keene in a sense. Note 5 (16:18): So Impa was suppose to die in the original story? Maybe it would've made a lot more sense if the Zelda that Link rescued was the one telling him about the Sleeping Zelda instead of Impa telling him. {17:22: Ganon kills Zelda} Oh wait, nevermind, that's even more confusing.
One thing that always stuck with me from the old Zelda cartoon was the fact that all of Link's items shrunk down to fit into his pouch. It makes it all make sense.
When I was a kid playing Zelda 1, I preferred to imagine that Link would just leave his stuff, around Hyrule, for later, when it was needed. Like, he'd probably hide his raft, by the river or lake, especially in the places that were obvious that he'd need it. :)
ya that was neat lore from this american zelda cartoon. wonder if nintendo will give some respect to this series for zelda animated movie. like they did with mario... 😮😁
I remember it was the scene in The White Knight where Link decided to leave Hyrule because of Prince Facade. He landed on his horse and said, "Well, Catherine, it's time to hit the road."
i wish nintendo would have referenced this in their games. ...maybe thats where navi originally came from the idea cuz link had a fairy chick crushing on him and always follow him in this show. lol.
@@somedudewhodraws9377 Twilight Princess is also a forever a favorite. Botw/totk i like, but prefer the long hair. Shorter hair works nice with that dress though
You can see her potential influence in the design for one of Breath of the Wild Zelda's outfits, the leggings and boots, a girl ready to get her hands dirty. Speaking of, it varies from scene to scene, but in some scenes of the CD-i Zelda games, she's straight up wearing DiC Zelda's outfit.
ew botw hype... smh. her design in this show is cool tho. lol but ya this also goes back to the old concept lore of zelda being a future set game. idk if this cartoon producers knew that but its neat. @@bitwize
A bit unrelated but I like Link with brown hair. I wish his designs throughout the games got to be a little more varied like with Zelda. Most versions of Zelda are very distinct from one another but Link doesn't change much. Maybe because he's the face of the games?
Probably. Though Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword Links are kinda brown haired. I guess it's more a dirty blond. But at the very least the first Link (irl not timeline) was rocking brown locks
diff links have changes to hair. they did look quite different upto OOT and the gameboy games. then it got kinda set down to a standard design and look. i wish we could see the lttp era link. snes/links awake version the old one not the remake. with epic geuredo like nose ...lol.
Mother Brain was voiced by the lead singer of The Four Tops Levi Stubbs. He was also the voice of Audrey II in the 1986 musical version of Little Shop of Horrors
The animated version of Link probably had the most character out of any version of Link, he's the strongest knight in the lands and he knows it, but Zelda has him wrapped around his finger that she can get him to clean the stables with just the promise of MAYBE a kiss. There were a lot of really neat dynamics how they were always saving each other, there were even points where Zelda was using the sword. Link would get obviously jealous of anybody making the moves on Zelda, I think there was a point where this white knight from another kingdom bested Link who in self pity was about to abandon everything and leave the kingdom, but then figured out Zelda was in trouble at the last minute. There's a game where Zelda turns into a ghost and Link fights with her as a companion, but in the final episode this cartoon did the reverse of that where Link is a 'ghost' who is besides Zelda who faces Ganon, how's that for a twist! And they did that like 20-30 years before the game! It was also the last episode so they were pulling out all the stops, Link seemingly died in battle at the beginning of the episode, Zelda cries in mourning and immediately afterwards picks up his sword to fight Ganon, but somehow the 'ghost' of Link appears and assists her. Later on it's revealed that the only reason Zelda can see Link is because she's in love with him, which once exposed she still tries to hide from him. It was surprising to see this cartoon tackle this concepts that even the games would balk at. Oh yeah there's a love triangle too with the fairy who's in love with Link but he doesn't reciprocate her feelings (she's like 4 inches tall). The show had some very impressive concepts, but the execution leaves much to be desired. If you watch it now, it's corny as hell and definitely aimed at kids. Another interesting thing was one of the valiant comics had Link obtaining the triforce of power and being corrupted by power, himself turning into a pig like beast. These are some imaginative concepts I'd love to see the games explore, but doubt they'll ever happen.
Although Link didn't get the kiss he deserved from Zelda, he did get a few passionate ones from her doppleganger, and a cute peck on the Cheek in the Captain N series.
the game you're referring to is spirit tracks, where zelda's "spirit" is your companion for the game, possessing phantom enemies and otherwise assisting you on your quest, partly to get her body back. lovely game!
They fleshed them out from just a few 8 bit pixels. Really impressive if you think about how little source material they had back then. Imagine if they made a cartoon now. They’d have plot for decades
That iteration of Link was utter trash for EXACTLY the reasons you seem to praise him. He was an obnoxious, insecure prick. That's not behavior worthy of praise to anyone but narcissists who behave exactly like that.
He being flawed gives him a sort of human charm. The guy even has a moment where he wonders what happens after Ganon is defeated for good, wondering about his job (income), which it's a pretty human reaction for a teenager who has no house to go back.
The fact that they even tried advertizing it in EVERY EPISODE OF THE SUPER MARIO BROS SUPER SHOW means that if you haven't heard about it, you're a goomba.
I'm glad that you mentioned the original Zelda manga. From what I can tell in this video, it definitely set the standard with making more comical and darker takes on the Zelda games, and seems to have gone on to inspire the Zelda mangas that followed, created by Himekawa. If and when you discuss the later versions of Link, I think it would be appropriate to address Himekawa's adaptations of each of them for comparison.
Never knew of the 80s Zelda manga. But I certainly know of the later Zelda manga starting with Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. They even went as far back to Link to the Past and giving that game a Manga adaptation. Certainly brought many gamers into reading Manga at the time.
Shes supposed to be a beautiful princess. The 80s and 90s were the hayday of playmates and models. There was a fairly common standard of what "beauty" was.
@@professorfukyu744plot twist, yeah and those models and playmates that you speak of did t have any cake most of the time. The beauty standard , at least in a mainstream way, has changed quite a bit
@@DanBCooperno, most businesses in advertising and magazines/media , online or movies has changed the standard of beauty in our day compared to the “80sor 90s”
@@stevenpina1983 yes, due to woke foolishness. You can ignore the nature of man, and reality and pretend it doesn’t exist, but it does. No one wants to see fat or ugly people, or disgusting men pretending to be women in advertising or movies. Unless you have some kind of weird fetish, it’s all good to each their own but your leas than .1% of the population.
Mother Brain's voice is actually brilliant because 30 years later you can do the voice and people immediately make the connection. (See starbomb for evidence of this) In the scene fighting horse guy (does he have a name?) Its a continuity error that punks link, not his own lack of skill. Horse head throws his spike ball, which appears to grow, only to be back and attached to the handle the same second Link jumps over the thrown spike ball. In the comic, it appears the king knew what happened to zelda and was just horrible at pretending he didnt. Nintendo seems to have kept the "iron knuckle is a normal person" idea seeing as that's how theyre made in ocarina of time. I notice the TV and comic Zelda look the same although those are the only 2 like that at the time. She seems to have reverted to a more adventure outfit in modern games even though for most the games shes more commonly in a dress. Link had owls and other companions guiding him as early as Link's awakening.
During the late 80s and early 90s, the exact time period these shows/comics were coming out, I was absolutely obsessed with Zelda. Still have a few of the Valiant comics laying around somewhere along with the Choose Your Own Adventure style book they put out. Love seeing coverage of it, you did them justice. I was hardcore on that Zelda kick until a touch before A Link to the Past came out having discovered JRPGs like Final Fantasy but I still harbor a ton of nostalgia and love for the franchise as a whole even if I'm not always jumping for joys for the newest installment (Tears of the Kingdom did rock tho).
Nostalgia bias. But this was the cartoon I rushed home from school to see on Fridays. Captain N was a Saturday morning gem before X-men took the reigns. The cartoon did amazing at giving the world of Hyrule as sense of adventure. And I believe it even influence many aspects of Breath of the Wild such as: -Ganon’s monsters regenerate via escape from the Evil Jar in the cartoon, Blood moon in BotW -Zelda’s personality mirrors the cartoon Zelda -The shrines rising from the ground are just like the entry ways to the labyrinths in the cartoon I could think of more if I tried. But yeah. For a team to only have 8-bit graphics to work with, they did an amazing job fleshing out personalities for the characters, lore, and mechanics for how things work in the world (ie items magically shrinking so that inventory makes sense)
13:06 - The "magic compass that can track down the Triforce" is a direct reference to the first Legend of Zelda game. In each of the 8 Labyrinths, there is a compass that reveals the location of one of the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom on the game's map.
Freaken loved the DIC Super Mario Bros Super show and the Zelda Cartoon. The music rearrangements was so epic. Ganon's voice modulating every time he spoke. 13 Episodes was so not enough.
Lovely videos, i've never heard about captain N and i realize there is a lot about the games i like i don't know, thank you for bringing it to everyone!!
I hate to be generic, but man this is really good. I've heard people bring up the comics but never in such debt. I really enjoyed part one as well congratulations on making an awesome video. Keep up the great work 👍
Have you see. The Wanbakku Comics Zelda 2 interpretation? Now that one is a gripping tale! I loved the Valiant comics back in the day. The design for Link especially was really good. Thank you for the link to the comics!
There's 5 episodes worth, having been animated by topCraft which is now Studio ghibli, in The flight of Dragons. The problem is it predates Zelda. But the story is more faithful to Zelda games than... some actual Zelda games.
I think the reason that they destroyed Ganon right after he returned in Captain N is Because Mother Brain tried to controll him, yet Ganon being the King of Darkness wouldnt allow himself being beneath other beings, so Ganon overpowered her army.
Since the Super Mario Bros. Super Show was so heavily based on Super Mario Bros. 2, it made sense that it gave way to cartoons based on Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World once those games were released. It's unfortunate that The Legend of Zelda didn't get to come along for the ride since that franchise wouldn't have a new game to promote in the US until A Link to the Past in 1992.
Great video man, I'm really enjoying these Zelda videos since I'm not familiar with the character. Poor Link, in the cartoons they really portrayed him like a beta male seeking validation from Zelda. The comic and that manga looked fantastic though, great art on both
I used to watch the zelda cartoon on DVD over and over as a little baba, thank you so much for making this channel and these videos man its a nice nostalgic distraction from this hellscape we call life. Keep on rocking in the free world dude.
NOICE WORK! I've always thought that if there ever was a Zelda movie, or series, (wait wait dont kill me) It should start after the events of Zelda 2, just like Valiant Comics, and the Mario Series did. Just have the series start there!
Levi Stubbs (of the band known as the Four Tops) is voicing Mother Brain in Captain N. You could say Mother Brain is "Goin' loco down in the Nintendo...if he (Captain N, that is) plays too long! "
Y'all rock dudes these videos are incredible in every way, from an old fart like me thank yous kindly for all the heart and hard work that is put into each vid
I wouldn't call the LOZ cartoon a failure since the cartoon was well received and most people tuned in on Friday more than the other days plus DiC was gonna continue it but decided to axe it along with Super Show to focus on Super Mario Brothers 3
We used to get a syndicated feed on Satellite where they would test run the weeks episodes so we got to watch a full week of Mario and the one Zelda episode every Sunday. Bob Forward talks about Tanya Roberts playing Zelda wonder if Zeldas 80s wings hairstyle had something to do with that(she was also a bond girl)
The Zelda manga also had a sequel based on The Adventure of Link. Also while I was browsing that archive website you mentioned it looks like there's quite a few other manga adaptations, but it's not totally clear, and a lot of it is probably lost media or something.
I know it's a tiny thing, but not gonna lie - I missed the Mario Maker sound effects that were used for these videos randomly, so hearing it again made me chuckle.
And to think, if Captain N lasted another season we MAY have seen the team visited by a wizard on a flying carpet telling them "It is WRITTEN, the Game Master is needed to aid The Princess of Hyrule and her Champion on the land of Koridai....SQUADALAH!" LOL Can you imagine? Would Nintendo even notice them using CDI elements/characters? I actually owned the hardback collected edition of the Valiant Nintendo comics, kinda held it for bragging rights since I had no idea it even existed. Found it at a mom n' pop used book store and in my collection it fit right in with my graphic novel of the Pryde of The X-Men failed pilot of late 80s cartoons. Too bad I lost them in a fire. Glad that Zelda comic is archived on that website I'll have to look it up cause those individual Valiant issues aren't cheap on ebay. Kinda reminds me of how there was an actual comic adaptation of the Atari fantasy adventure series Sword Quest drawn by the late great George Perez, but never got completed since the last installment "WaterWorld" I believe was cancelled.
I love that thumbnail, lol. Anyways, Link felt like this stupid hero who only wants to get the girl and save the world from the forces of darkness, like every 80s protagonist. It worked, but made him mostly unlikable compared to his silent video game counterpart. But this was a rarity for shows at the time to have Zelda be independent and arguably badass, but still the damsel-in-distress. I love how Ganon is protrayed akin to Skeletor from He-Man, it's hilarious especially the quote "Back in the eeeeevil jar!". But for a video game cartoon I despise for going against each game's source material(whom the creators never played and had to adapt the box art as closely as possible, mind you) and acting more like a commercial, Levi Stubbs casted as Mother Brain is perfect casting imo; specifically as a fan of Little Shop of Horrors and Motown. But the Valiant comics did have Samus there and serve as a third wheel to Lana's romantic relationship with Kevin. Hell, until this video I didn't know the Zelda Valiant comic series and manga from Ran Maru existed until now. Well excuuuuuuuuuuuse me, The Mentok!
I enjoyed the 80s cartoon. I still have it on dvd in my movie room. Hopefully the new Mario movie and with the success of Castlevania anime on netflix and the new series coming out they'll do an updated anime of Zelda?
The fairy companion had to be left out due to limitations but like Yoshi, it was always intended to be in the games since the first in the series. TLoZ was inspired by Peter Pan. The sassy fairy companion who did not like the idea of Link being close to a saved female love interest due to her own attachmnets was planned for the first game to draw parallels to tinkerbelle. How this would work and what it would add for the game producable at the time was not really answerable so she did not make it in for some time. The TV show knew about this and thus we got Spryte who was the most Tinkerbell of all Zelfa fairies. She was basically what the OG was meant to be with the janky charm of that show influencing the portrayal a bit.
Super Mario Bros. Super Show was a completed show with 65 episodes made for syndication It was intended to be a variety show with live action segments, Super Mario Bros. episodes, and Legend of Zelda Fridays Zelda cartoon served its purpose then was ended
I never actually got to see this show as a child but I managed to get the DVD collection and I thought it was pretty good, for a campy 80s show, of course.
0:39 Oh my god, they put a one frame pantyshot of Link in this cartoon! XD 9:45 That's cheating, Link had dodged the flail but now it's back on his hand like it never left! Link definitely did not deserve that attack!
It wasn't a failed cartoon lots of cartoons back then, only had one season of about 6 to 12 episodes. It was usually just something they would do. To add to another cartoon that almost had enough episodes to syndicate. And they would put them together like they did with Mario and Zelda to get the count where they wanted it to be.
It's strange that The Legend of Zelda and captain n have no respect for the original compared to the Mario cartoons... I will never forget the design of cut man
Ever since watching the Netflix Castlevania, I've been dying for similar treatment for my boy in green. Thanks for the kick in the nostalgia to make it worse! I need to break out the Zelda and Captain N dvds.
I enjoyed this one along with Captain N. It really did seem like there were more than 13 episodes of Zelda, but I guess there were only 13. I think I missed a couple episodes back in the day, but thanks to the internet, finally got to finish the show, in chronological order (as an adult). "Well excuse me, PRINCESS!!!" is forever burned into my brain rofl
Zelda cartoon is essential Zelda to me and always will be. I watched the Mario show basically for the Zelda show, which if i remember correctly was shown on fridays. I dont even care that link is an 80s dude and always crushing on Zelda. It's a pretty funny show, sticks to the lore in many ways and the voice acting is great
NO WAY, Matt Hill who Voiced Ed from Ed, Edd n Eddy was Captain N... ahh man I could imagine. Eddy: Ed, Why didn't you tell us you once stared as Captain N? Ed: I forgot Eddy, It was a Long time ago, Before working on our Show, I thought I would Win an Award for a T.V. Show about Videogames, But then they started asking Chickens to work Typewriters for later Scripts, Then it was one thing after another and.... Well, I never seen an Oscar ever since. Edd: Sarah.... is this true? Sarah: Well in some ways, Ed and Dad where in a Gaming faze and.... well, It's a long story. Jimmy: I'm so confused.
Hopefully, now we can get a proper legend of Zelda, anime, Kid Icarus anime,Metroid anime,Fire Emblem anime,Xenoblade anime and Captain N game master anime’
Seems like revisionist history to call it failed. Pretty sure it did well enough for a friday afternoon cartoon made when there was only two games at the time. I think most of the ire for this cartoon comes from younger fans that weren't around for the cartoon and maybe take the series a little more seriously than it deserves to be taken.
Thanks for the comment! People tend to take the word “failed” a little too personally. Failed doesn’t express my personal opinion of these shows. Nor does it mean they were bad. I have no ire for this show, I grew up watching these cartoons. It had 13 episodes, was halted by the network despite positive feedback and pushback from the writers. I present the events as they are within the video with great respect to the show runners but in the grand scheme of things it did fail. So I think likening it to revisionist history is a little discouraging all things considered.
Edit: Hi guys, I know a lot of us grew up with this cartoon so let's not take the word "failed" too personally. Me calling it "Failed" in the title doesn't mean it was bad nor am I expressing my opinion on the quality of the show. It was on for 13 episodes, the writers wanted to do more and the network said no to put even more focus on Mario. This is a failure and a very common story with animations at that time.
Bonus Fact: The director of the cartoon mooned the voice actress for Zelda during a recording session to get her to laugh for one of the scenes.
Check out the video on Mario animations! > th-cam.com/video/L6Jy6PW3ANA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=secUfBCDvtx1ZT2i
@AndyWitmyer well depending on the context that is sexual harassment but I'm assuming that it was all consensual
@AndyWitmyerif you don't think it's sexual harassment I dare you to show your naked ass to anyone on the street and see what they think
Note 1: I wanna point out that 65 episodes is not the number for a cancelled cartoon series; it's actually the number for a syndication pack (which is common practice at the time to have nearly 24 hours worth of stories). As TheMentok pointed out, the Super Mario Bros. Super Show gives previews for "the Next Legend of Zelda" and the reason the Zelda cartoons only have 13 episodes is because DiC wanted to use the 52 episodes reserved for Mario cartoons Monday to Thursday and 13 used for Zelda Cartoons on Fridays. So in a way, DiC wanted to be creative with their Syndication pack. But yeah, as pointed out at 5:37, the writers have no say on how much material they want to continue making, but rather it's the company's decision on how much material they would use.
Note 2 (4:30): in relation to Steve Martin's "Well Excuuuse Me" catchphrase, Link did say the exact line without the 'Princess' addition at one point in "That Sinking Feeling": th-cam.com/video/TstnPWNdk10/w-d-xo.html
Note 3 (5:09): It helps that the Zelda games have been known to poof away after being defeated, and it's very notable that the deaths were bloodless in the games, and at one point in "The Ringer", Ganon kills off his canon fodder without a trace of blood either.
Note 4 (7:16): This is not related to Zelda, but this is brought up, so I wanna add that, maybe, Kevin Keene doesn't sound as much like Ed, but at one point, Ed's voice was very different back at Season 1, which sounded more like Kevin Keene in a sense.
Note 5 (16:18): So Impa was suppose to die in the original story? Maybe it would've made a lot more sense if the Zelda that Link rescued was the one telling him about the Sleeping Zelda instead of Impa telling him. {17:22: Ganon kills Zelda} Oh wait, nevermind, that's even more confusing.
@@robbiewalker2831, what the fuck does this have to do with the comment
Pleasd cover the mangas they don't get talked about enough and deserve to be talked about as Zelda content
One thing that always stuck with me from the old Zelda cartoon was the fact that all of Link's items shrunk down to fit into his pouch. It makes it all make sense.
Kinda like 'Sport Billy' lol
When I was a kid playing Zelda 1, I preferred to imagine that Link would just leave his stuff, around Hyrule, for later, when it was needed. Like, he'd probably hide his raft, by the river or lake, especially in the places that were obvious that he'd need it. :)
The world building was the best part of that series. The character arcs.. not so much
The world building was the best part of that series. The character arcs.. not so much
ya that was neat lore from this american zelda cartoon.
wonder if nintendo will give some respect to this series for zelda animated movie. like they did with mario... 😮😁
12:49 Catherine was also the name of Link's horse in the animated series, though only mentioned once. It's very easy to miss it.
I remember it was the scene in The White Knight where Link decided to leave Hyrule because of Prince Facade. He landed on his horse and said, "Well, Catherine, it's time to hit the road."
Its mentioned in the Valiant comics too somewhere I believe
i wish nintendo would have referenced this in their games. ...maybe thats where navi originally came from the idea cuz
link had a fairy chick crushing on him and always follow him in this show. lol.
Once again, this is one of my favorite designs for Zelda herself. Girl was serving looks even in the 80s
After all the footage I watched to edit this video, I strongly agree with this. Great design for Zelda
Oh my favorite designs of Zelda are her Twilight Princess Self and BOTW and TOTK Zelda and Skyward Sword Zelda too :)
@@somedudewhodraws9377 Twilight Princess is also a forever a favorite. Botw/totk i like, but prefer the long hair. Shorter hair works nice with that dress though
You can see her potential influence in the design for one of Breath of the Wild Zelda's outfits, the leggings and boots, a girl ready to get her hands dirty.
Speaking of, it varies from scene to scene, but in some scenes of the CD-i Zelda games, she's straight up wearing DiC Zelda's outfit.
ew botw hype... smh.
her design in this show is cool tho.
lol but ya this also goes back to the old concept lore of zelda being a future set game. idk if this cartoon producers knew that but its neat. @@bitwize
A bit unrelated but I like Link with brown hair. I wish his designs throughout the games got to be a little more varied like with Zelda. Most versions of Zelda are very distinct from one another but Link doesn't change much. Maybe because he's the face of the games?
Probably. Though Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword Links are kinda brown haired. I guess it's more a dirty blond. But at the very least the first Link (irl not timeline) was rocking brown locks
I mean, the link to the a link to the past have pink hair.
(Well, not actually, but is funny to think that)
diff links have changes to hair. they did look quite different upto OOT and the gameboy games.
then it got kinda set down to a standard design and look. i wish we could see the lttp era link.
snes/links awake version the old one not the remake. with epic geuredo like nose ...lol.
Mother Brain was voiced by the lead singer of The Four Tops Levi Stubbs. He was also the voice of Audrey II in the 1986 musical version of Little Shop of Horrors
And those were his *ONLY* acting roles, too.
@justmeherethereandeverywhere Ah wow, no wonder the voice sounded too similar
The animated version of Link probably had the most character out of any version of Link, he's the strongest knight in the lands and he knows it, but Zelda has him wrapped around his finger that she can get him to clean the stables with just the promise of MAYBE a kiss. There were a lot of really neat dynamics how they were always saving each other, there were even points where Zelda was using the sword. Link would get obviously jealous of anybody making the moves on Zelda, I think there was a point where this white knight from another kingdom bested Link who in self pity was about to abandon everything and leave the kingdom, but then figured out Zelda was in trouble at the last minute.
There's a game where Zelda turns into a ghost and Link fights with her as a companion, but in the final episode this cartoon did the reverse of that where Link is a 'ghost' who is besides Zelda who faces Ganon, how's that for a twist! And they did that like 20-30 years before the game! It was also the last episode so they were pulling out all the stops, Link seemingly died in battle at the beginning of the episode, Zelda cries in mourning and immediately afterwards picks up his sword to fight Ganon, but somehow the 'ghost' of Link appears and assists her. Later on it's revealed that the only reason Zelda can see Link is because she's in love with him, which once exposed she still tries to hide from him. It was surprising to see this cartoon tackle this concepts that even the games would balk at. Oh yeah there's a love triangle too with the fairy who's in love with Link but he doesn't reciprocate her feelings (she's like 4 inches tall).
The show had some very impressive concepts, but the execution leaves much to be desired. If you watch it now, it's corny as hell and definitely aimed at kids.
Another interesting thing was one of the valiant comics had Link obtaining the triforce of power and being corrupted by power, himself turning into a pig like beast. These are some imaginative concepts I'd love to see the games explore, but doubt they'll ever happen.
Although Link didn't get the kiss he deserved from Zelda, he did get a few passionate ones from her doppleganger, and a cute peck on the Cheek in the Captain N series.
the game you're referring to is spirit tracks, where zelda's "spirit" is your companion for the game, possessing phantom enemies and otherwise assisting you on your quest, partly to get her body back. lovely game!
They fleshed them out from just a few 8 bit pixels. Really impressive if you think about how little source material they had back then. Imagine if they made a cartoon now. They’d have plot for decades
That iteration of Link was utter trash for EXACTLY the reasons you seem to praise him. He was an obnoxious, insecure prick. That's not behavior worthy of praise to anyone but narcissists who behave exactly like that.
He being flawed gives him a sort of human charm.
The guy even has a moment where he wonders what happens after Ganon is defeated for good, wondering about his job (income), which it's a pretty human reaction for a teenager who has no house to go back.
The part when Zelda in the comic wanting to find a more permanent way to seal Ganon to stop the cycle, it's the plot of BOTW Calamity Ganon.
The fact that they even tried advertizing it in EVERY EPISODE OF THE SUPER MARIO BROS SUPER SHOW means that if you haven't heard about it, you're a goomba.
I'm glad that you mentioned the original Zelda manga. From what I can tell in this video, it definitely set the standard with making more comical and darker takes on the Zelda games, and seems to have gone on to inspire the Zelda mangas that followed, created by Himekawa.
If and when you discuss the later versions of Link, I think it would be appropriate to address Himekawa's adaptations of each of them for comparison.
It was a great read! I might have to give the rest of the manga their own video
Never knew of the 80s Zelda manga.
But I certainly know of the later Zelda manga starting with Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
They even went as far back to Link to the Past and giving that game a Manga adaptation.
Certainly brought many gamers into reading Manga at the time.
I just finished the Majoras mask one, it's great!!
Even to this day I still don't know Why they cake Zelda like that
Shes supposed to be a beautiful princess. The 80s and 90s were the hayday of playmates and models. There was a fairly common standard of what "beauty" was.
@@professorfukyu744*is. Not “was”.
@@professorfukyu744plot twist, yeah and those models and playmates that you speak of did t have any cake most of the time. The beauty standard , at least in a mainstream way, has changed quite a bit
@@DanBCooperno, most businesses in advertising and magazines/media , online or movies has changed the standard of beauty in our day compared to the “80sor 90s”
@@stevenpina1983 yes, due to woke foolishness. You can ignore the nature of man, and reality and pretend it doesn’t exist, but it does. No one wants to see fat or ugly people, or disgusting men pretending to be women in advertising or movies. Unless you have some kind of weird fetish, it’s all good to each their own but your leas than .1% of the population.
Did anyone else notice the unintentional joke at the end? ""Link" in the description"
Mother Brain's voice is actually brilliant because 30 years later you can do the voice and people immediately make the connection. (See starbomb for evidence of this)
In the scene fighting horse guy (does he have a name?) Its a continuity error that punks link, not his own lack of skill. Horse head throws his spike ball, which appears to grow, only to be back and attached to the handle the same second Link jumps over the thrown spike ball.
In the comic, it appears the king knew what happened to zelda and was just horrible at pretending he didnt.
Nintendo seems to have kept the "iron knuckle is a normal person" idea seeing as that's how theyre made in ocarina of time.
I notice the TV and comic Zelda look the same although those are the only 2 like that at the time. She seems to have reverted to a more adventure outfit in modern games even though for most the games shes more commonly in a dress.
Link had owls and other companions guiding him as early as Link's awakening.
"Horse guy"? His name is Horsehead (or Mazura).
@@e-mananimates2274that's not as big of a difference as you think
@@tahutoa You have a point, but I wasn't meaning to lecture him. In hindsight, I should have said "but you were close".
During the late 80s and early 90s, the exact time period these shows/comics were coming out, I was absolutely obsessed with Zelda. Still have a few of the Valiant comics laying around somewhere along with the Choose Your Own Adventure style book they put out. Love seeing coverage of it, you did them justice. I was hardcore on that Zelda kick until a touch before A Link to the Past came out having discovered JRPGs like Final Fantasy but I still harbor a ton of nostalgia and love for the franchise as a whole even if I'm not always jumping for joys for the newest installment (Tears of the Kingdom did rock tho).
Nostalgia bias. But this was the cartoon I rushed home from school to see on Fridays. Captain N was a Saturday morning gem before X-men took the reigns.
The cartoon did amazing at giving the world of Hyrule as sense of adventure. And I believe it even influence many aspects of Breath of the Wild such as:
-Ganon’s monsters regenerate via escape from the Evil Jar in the cartoon, Blood moon in BotW
-Zelda’s personality mirrors the cartoon Zelda
-The shrines rising from the ground are just like the entry ways to the labyrinths in the cartoon
I could think of more if I tried. But yeah. For a team to only have 8-bit graphics to work with, they did an amazing job fleshing out personalities for the characters, lore, and mechanics for how things work in the world (ie items magically shrinking so that inventory makes sense)
9:34 - 9:41 this scene can rival the " shadow kicks silver in the head " moment in sonic 06 🤣
Once we get to a certain point in this series I would love if you could talk about the rest of the Zelda manga.
I’m thinking I’ll give them their own video. I enjoyed the original LoZ and Link’s Awakening manga and definitely want to dive into the rest of them
@@TheMentok if I can recommend one Zelda manga it would be the four sword adventure one it is surprisingly good
13:06 - The "magic compass that can track down the Triforce" is a direct reference to the first Legend of Zelda game. In each of the 8 Labyrinths, there is a compass that reveals the location of one of the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom on the game's map.
So happy n proud to see this channel growing so much! Keep it up!!! 💯
Thank you 🙏🏽 Glad you’re here supporting me
This came on every Friday afternoon around 4 or 4:30pm and it made Fridays even greater!!! Loved this show, just wished they did more with it!
Freaken loved the DIC Super Mario Bros Super show and the Zelda Cartoon. The music rearrangements was so epic. Ganon's voice modulating every time he spoke. 13 Episodes was so not enough.
Its a great thing that we now have Matt being the definitive voice for Ganon
Well Ganondorf at least. ;) @@uroskesic6117
You know what you did with that thumbnail!
And it freaking worked! 🤣
My sister and i had the cartoons on DVD as kids
The three way joke where CD-I Link goes “I won!!”
Lovely videos, i've never heard about captain N and i realize there is a lot about the games i like i don't know, thank you for bringing it to everyone!!
I just found all 13 episodes and watched em all.....feel 8 again
I hate to be generic, but man this is really good. I've heard people bring up the comics but never in such debt. I really enjoyed part one as well congratulations on making an awesome video. Keep up the great work 👍
0:22: Origin of Link I.5 HD Re:MIX & Knuckles. Feat. Dante from the Devil May Cry series.
Have you see. The Wanbakku Comics Zelda 2 interpretation? Now that one is a gripping tale!
I loved the Valiant comics back in the day. The design for Link especially was really good. Thank you for the link to the comics!
Need a Zelda anime.
Would be a better approach than a movie in my opinion
It would be amzazing to bring back the voice cast from botw aoc & totk
There's 5 episodes worth, having been animated by topCraft which is now Studio ghibli, in The flight of Dragons.
The problem is it predates Zelda. But the story is more faithful to Zelda games than... some actual Zelda games.
I think the reason that they destroyed Ganon right after he returned in Captain N is Because Mother Brain tried to controll him, yet Ganon being the King of Darkness wouldnt allow himself being beneath other beings, so Ganon overpowered her army.
Ganon was hilarious in the cartoon especially in the ringer episode where he's showing a stalfos how to box
Since the Super Mario Bros. Super Show was so heavily based on Super Mario Bros. 2, it made sense that it gave way to cartoons based on Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World once those games were released. It's unfortunate that The Legend of Zelda didn't get to come along for the ride since that franchise wouldn't have a new game to promote in the US until A Link to the Past in 1992.
Great video man, I'm really enjoying these Zelda videos since I'm not familiar with the character. Poor Link, in the cartoons they really portrayed him like a beta male seeking validation from Zelda. The comic and that manga looked fantastic though, great art on both
Back in the 80s I went to my elementary school book fair and I swear I remember a legend of Zelda choose your own adventure style book!
Imagine if the series continued with a Link to the Past. I wonder if they'll use the same versions of Link and Zelda or provide new ones!
HOLY MOLY! Now spiders can fly!
A writer who ADMITS he really never played the game, but tried anyway?!
I used to watch the zelda cartoon on DVD over and over as a little baba, thank you so much for making this channel and these videos man its a nice nostalgic distraction from this hellscape we call life. Keep on rocking in the free world dude.
I never heard anyone characterize this cartoon as a failure before. I always just took it as a mini series.
Was waiting for a video from you!
Failed? That shit was great!!
NOICE WORK! I've always thought that if there ever was a Zelda movie, or series, (wait wait dont kill me)
It should start after the events of Zelda 2, just like Valiant Comics, and the Mario Series did.
Just have the series start there!
Levi Stubbs (of the band known as the Four Tops) is voicing Mother Brain in Captain N.
You could say Mother Brain is "Goin' loco down in the Nintendo...if he (Captain N, that is) plays too long! "
Y'all rock dudes these videos are incredible in every way, from an old fart like me thank yous kindly for all the heart and hard work that is put into each vid
Wow the curse of demise came from that comic then
I wouldn't call the LOZ cartoon a failure since the cartoon was well received and most people tuned in on Friday more than the other days plus DiC was gonna continue it but decided to axe it along with Super Show to focus on Super Mario Brothers 3
We used to get a syndicated feed on Satellite where they would test run the weeks episodes so we got to watch a full week of Mario and the one Zelda episode every Sunday. Bob Forward talks about Tanya Roberts playing Zelda wonder if Zeldas 80s wings hairstyle had something to do with that(she was also a bond girl)
The Zelda A Link to the past comic in nintendo power was excellent. They also ran a super mario world comic at the same time over the course of a year
The Zelda manga also had a sequel based on The Adventure of Link. Also while I was browsing that archive website you mentioned it looks like there's quite a few other manga adaptations, but it's not totally clear, and a lot of it is probably lost media or something.
There also was a Zelda comic book in multiple Nintendo Power magazines with really nice drawings, it was based on Link to the Past.
This was fun, Prophet. Looking forward to more, dammit--seh, sehya!
I have a lot of work to do 😂
I loved the SMB super show and the Zelda cartoon.
I know it's a tiny thing, but not gonna lie - I missed the Mario Maker sound effects that were used for these videos randomly, so hearing it again made me chuckle.
And to think, if Captain N lasted another season we MAY have seen the team visited by a wizard on a flying carpet telling them "It is WRITTEN, the Game Master is needed to aid The Princess of Hyrule and her Champion on the land of Koridai....SQUADALAH!" LOL Can you imagine? Would Nintendo even notice them using CDI elements/characters?
I actually owned the hardback collected edition of the Valiant Nintendo comics, kinda held it for bragging rights since I had no idea it even existed. Found it at a mom n' pop used book store and in my collection it fit right in with my graphic novel of the Pryde of The X-Men failed pilot of late 80s cartoons. Too bad I lost them in a fire. Glad that Zelda comic is archived on that website I'll have to look it up cause those individual Valiant issues aren't cheap on ebay. Kinda reminds me of how there was an actual comic adaptation of the Atari fantasy adventure series Sword Quest drawn by the late great George Perez, but never got completed since the last installment "WaterWorld" I believe was cancelled.
Well excuse meeeee princess
will forever be funny, the 80s were really banger when it comes to cartoons and it's for both the wrong and right reasons
Something charming about 80s cartoons. All the heroes start to look the same if you watch enough of them back to back 😂
@@TheMentok Captain N and Link might as well be related cause they look like they're the same but from different generations XD
I love that thumbnail, lol. Anyways, Link felt like this stupid hero who only wants to get the girl and save the world from the forces of darkness, like every 80s protagonist. It worked, but made him mostly unlikable compared to his silent video game counterpart. But this was a rarity for shows at the time to have Zelda be independent and arguably badass, but still the damsel-in-distress. I love how Ganon is protrayed akin to Skeletor from He-Man, it's hilarious especially the quote "Back in the eeeeevil jar!". But for a video game cartoon I despise for going against each game's source material(whom the creators never played and had to adapt the box art as closely as possible, mind you) and acting more like a commercial, Levi Stubbs casted as Mother Brain is perfect casting imo; specifically as a fan of Little Shop of Horrors and Motown. But the Valiant comics did have Samus there and serve as a third wheel to Lana's romantic relationship with Kevin. Hell, until this video I didn't know the Zelda Valiant comic series and manga from Ran Maru existed until now. Well excuuuuuuuuuuuse me, The Mentok!
Every mentok upload is peak
Butchering Link's personality likey this was indeed a DIC move.
I enjoyed the 80s cartoon. I still have it on dvd in my movie room. Hopefully the new Mario movie and with the success of Castlevania anime on netflix and the new series coming out they'll do an updated anime of Zelda?
4:30 "Hrmph...Well excuuuuuse me, Princess!" This quote alone makes the series a success. 😆
The fairy companion had to be left out due to limitations but like Yoshi, it was always intended to be in the games since the first in the series. TLoZ was inspired by Peter Pan. The sassy fairy companion who did not like the idea of Link being close to a saved female love interest due to her own attachmnets was planned for the first game to draw parallels to tinkerbelle. How this would work and what it would add for the game producable at the time was not really answerable so she did not make it in for some time. The TV show knew about this and thus we got Spryte who was the most Tinkerbell of all Zelfa fairies. She was basically what the OG was meant to be with the janky charm of that show influencing the portrayal a bit.
Just like your steadfast dedication to pronouncing スーパーマリオブラザーズ、I expect to hear Chad Warden every time the Dic logo shows up.
6:28 that's the Cool Kid from the nes zelda commercial
maybe could you make a video about captain n
Only realizing this after my second watch but the Captain N TV show has character designs very reminiscent of old anime.
Super Mario Bros. Super Show was a completed show with 65 episodes made for syndication
It was intended to be a variety show with live action segments, Super Mario Bros. episodes, and Legend of Zelda Fridays
Zelda cartoon served its purpose then was ended
They ain’t say DIC on that outro like that when I was a kid. 🤦🏾♂️😂
Fun fact: Jonathan Potts also voices Troy Jeffries from Beverly Hills Teens.
"The story of the failed The Legend Of Zelda cartoon"???.....
Well excuuuuuse me TheMentok!
💗😂
11:14. US to Canadian dollar exchange rate was about $1.28 USD to CAD... about what it is today, 40 years later...
I never actually got to see this show as a child but I managed to get the DVD collection and I thought it was pretty good, for a campy 80s show, of course.
0:39 Oh my god, they put a one frame pantyshot of Link in this cartoon! XD
9:45 That's cheating, Link had dodged the flail but now it's back on his hand like it never left! Link definitely did not deserve that attack!
It wasn't a failed cartoon lots of cartoons back then, only had one season of about 6 to 12 episodes. It was usually just something they would do. To add to another cartoon that almost had enough episodes to syndicate. And they would put them together like they did with Mario and Zelda to get the count where they wanted it to be.
Great video! Where can i find that dungeon song?
It's strange that The Legend of Zelda and captain n have no respect for the original compared to the Mario cartoons... I will never forget the design of cut man
I couldn't wait until Friday just so i could watch this.
Ever since watching the Netflix Castlevania, I've been dying for similar treatment for my boy in green.
Thanks for the kick in the nostalgia to make it worse! I need to break out the Zelda and Captain N dvds.
I want someone to put mother brain's voice in Super Metroid so bad. " Mutha-Brainn gonna get you little princess! Awhahaha "
I enjoyed this one along with Captain N. It really did seem like there were more than 13 episodes of Zelda, but I guess there were only 13. I think I missed a couple episodes back in the day, but thanks to the internet, finally got to finish the show, in chronological order (as an adult). "Well excuse me, PRINCESS!!!" is forever burned into my brain rofl
I love watching the legend of Zelda cartoons on TV when I was younger
Zelda cartoon is essential Zelda to me and always will be. I watched the Mario show basically for the Zelda show, which if i remember correctly was shown on fridays. I dont even care that link is an 80s dude and always crushing on Zelda. It's a pretty funny show, sticks to the lore in many ways and the voice acting is great
That Chad Warden joke though 😂😂😂
Loved this, keep it up.
Holy korok seed, there are more Zelda episodes in Captain N? What a pleasant surprise.
This channel is on 🔥
NO WAY, Matt Hill who Voiced Ed from Ed, Edd n Eddy was Captain N... ahh man I could imagine.
Eddy: Ed, Why didn't you tell us you once stared as Captain N?
Ed: I forgot Eddy, It was a Long time ago, Before working on our Show, I thought I would Win an Award for a T.V. Show about Videogames, But then they started asking Chickens to work Typewriters for later Scripts, Then it was one thing after another and.... Well, I never seen an Oscar ever since.
Edd: Sarah.... is this true?
Sarah: Well in some ways, Ed and Dad where in a Gaming faze and.... well, It's a long story.
Jimmy: I'm so confused.
Love the Osaka bit.
Hate you for 10:55.
"Excuse me Princess" I loved this cartoon.
Niiiiiccceeeeeee!!!! Thanks for the “LINKS!”
We need a Zelda anime. We kind of got a taste of how it would be like in a Smash video where Pit was fighting other characters.
Hopefully, now we can get a proper legend of Zelda, anime, Kid Icarus anime,Metroid anime,Fire Emblem anime,Xenoblade anime and Captain N game master anime’
If he did the cartoon, does that mean there will be a video on Zelda CDI games?
Seems like revisionist history to call it failed. Pretty sure it did well enough for a friday afternoon cartoon made when there was only two games at the time. I think most of the ire for this cartoon comes from younger fans that weren't around for the cartoon and maybe take the series a little more seriously than it deserves to be taken.
Thanks for the comment! People tend to take the word “failed” a little too personally. Failed doesn’t express my personal opinion of these shows. Nor does it mean they were bad. I have no ire for this show, I grew up watching these cartoons. It had 13 episodes, was halted by the network despite positive feedback and pushback from the writers. I present the events as they are within the video with great respect to the show runners but in the grand scheme of things it did fail. So I think likening it to revisionist history is a little discouraging all things considered.
Wait, was Captain N the first instance of Ganon being defeated with the Dead Man's Volley?
Ok that face at 2:47 made me just bust out laughing with links thoughts of zelda kissing her. 😂 and my thoughts exactly when I saw this scene 4:28
It predicted the bomb shield jump.
I still have like 10 of those valiant zelda and mario comics from when i was a kid. They are pretty beat up. I read then a lot lol
Quick question, what parallels are there between Ran Maru's and Satella View stories? I am curious
None, I wasn’t drawing comparisons 😂
@@TheMentok Oh that's disappointing. I was thinking of using that for a project.
This cartoon honestly makes me worry that maybe the upcoming Zelda movie won't be as exciting as I thought it might be.