The Saturday Scan - Captain Nintendo
A scant three issues in, and Nintendo Power had already gotten goofy. In the November/December 1988 and January/February 1989 issues of NP, they ran a six page origin story for a character they called "Captain Nintendo." Now, that would naturally put you in mind of the Captain N cartoon and comics, with one problem: There's no mention of them in either issue, and he's never refered to as Captain N. They don't actually offer any explanation of the character; The table of contents describes the story with "At last, the long awaited origin of the greatest hero of all!" suggesting that we should already know who this guy is. But the show didn't debut until September of 1989, so no one could've already known.
In short, I have no idea what's going on with this story. They wrote an origin completely different from the cartoon but using (almost) the same name, just eight months before it would go on the air and contradict everything they said. Maybe they figured kids are stupid and wouldn't notice.
Whatever the reason, here's the epic saga of Captain Nintendo Who May Or May Not Be That Other Guy. Thrill! to nationally published writing that barely exceeds fan fiction quality. Chill! to EMERALD's faux-hip slang. Sigh! over obligatory teen romance drama. Question! how many receptionists keep pure silver letter openers in their desks. You purchased the whole seat, but you'll only need the edge.
Comments
You might be interested in this site for more info:
http://www.nesplayer.com/captain_n/index.htm
Posted by: Jakanden | June 24, 2006 4:53 PM
I tried to read that, I really did. But the writing was horrible, and the premise was stupid. Microchips that can't be exposed to heat? WOW VERY USEFUL.
On top of that, they spoke in stupid computer slang, and the first characters name was Maxwell Powers. Not a formula for success.
Posted by: Alan | June 24, 2006 5:14 PM
That Captain N site is interesting. I guess the difference makes sense now, though it's still hard to imagine that they published a story in December and had a show ready to air by September of the next year.
The guy is really, really bitter, though. To a point it's understandable, because they took his work and changed it around without his input. But dude, your original story wasn't very good to begin with. And I don't care what kind of feedback he was getting from readers; as a kid I wanted to see another gamer like me become Captain N, not some game counselor. I had seen the counselors in the magazine. They were 40 year old dorks. I didn't want to associate with those people.
Posted by: Ermac | June 24, 2006 5:26 PM
I read that awhile ago and I thought it was interesting. It's obviously just a stream-of-consciousness thing to explain a very weird time in the guy's life.
Really, Captain N is kind of lame no matter how they want to dress up his origins lol.
Posted by: Tony | June 25, 2006 1:19 AM
And of course "Morgana who had a secret crush on him because Brett was totally studly" doesn't seem self-insertion fanfic style AT ALL.
Posted by: Kirbyoto | June 25, 2006 9:20 AM
You do know that that was just a writing contest.
That captain n is not the same one as nintendo's.
Posted by: wondersquare | June 26, 2006 1:25 AM
Actually, if you read the link in the comment above, you'll see that it is.
There was a writing contest after this, I'll probably be scanning that for next week.
Posted by: Ermac | June 26, 2006 1:51 AM
if your saying that it is nintendo's captain n's origin then your wrong. i have the issues infront of me right now.
but if your saying i was right sorry
Posted by: wondersquare | June 26, 2006 2:41 AM
I'm saying read the article. The guy wrote this story, Nintendo handed it off to Dic, and Dic changed it for the cartoon and comic. But one led directly to the other, so they're the same character done two very different ways.
Posted by: Ermac | June 26, 2006 2:51 AM
heres a bit more till i get the rest up, and i was wrong about the contest it was a month or two before that with link
http://www.ultimatewarpzone.com/articles/originalcaptainn.html
Posted by: Anonymous | June 26, 2006 4:03 PM
That's essentially a shortform version of the link provided in the first comment... with less information.
Posted by: Tony | June 26, 2006 4:07 PM
less? i found it had more
Posted by: Anonymous | July 6, 2006 4:19 AM