10 Saturday morning cartoons from the 1990s based on video games

The 1990s seemed to have a strange relationship to Cartoons Based on video games, with a number of examples of such being spread over the decades. In modern times, video game movies have been more popular than ever, with the upcoming live-action Minecraft Adaptation is poised to be the next major blockbuster to be based on a popular game series. However, in recent decades, television has been more the realm of video game adaptations, With many Saturday morning cartoons in particular using them as a foundation.

The early interpretations of famous video game characters for the small screen often deviated from the source material dramatically. Today, many of these cartoons are best known for meme fader, With many humorous edits of their episodes proliferating the feeds of late 2000s YouTube users. From cartoons based on Nintendo properties to other animated adaptations of Capcom or Sega's games, 90s cartoons have a lot of mileage from video games.

10

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3

1990

Soon after the release of the hot-soldiers Super Mario Bros. 3 was the aptly named cartoon, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. The series was a follow-up to The Super Mario Bros. Super Showwhich starred Lou Albano as a live-action Mario and just barely missed the cut-off to the 90s with its 1989 release. The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 Keeping some aspects of its predecessor, such as Mario's Brooklyn accent, while incorporating the new features of the last release, like the survival Koopa Kids.

in truth, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 Was something of a step-down in quality from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, With the animation, original songs and sound design all have a hit in the follow-up series. Still, the cartoon is at least able to add a surprising sense of continuity in relation to its predecessor while still incorporating new elements of Super Mario Bros. 3Such as the latest in Mushroom Kingdom power-ups. This cartoon is fondly remembered, even if it is outshone by its more famous older sibling.

9

Earthworm Jim

1995-1996

Earthworm Jim was an animated series that took inspiration from the two games of the series that had already been released at the time of its syndication. Like other video game cartoons, the series offered its own original ideas to the franchise. However, unlike many of its peers, these ideas were very well-received, and were even incorporated into the Earthworm Jim Games that followed its release. The most notable of these would be the appearance of antagonist Evil Jim in Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 The Galaxy.

The series was made with the close involvement of the original game's creator, Doug Tennapel, who probably accounted for the positive legacy. For a relatively dark Saturday morning cartoon based on a relatively dark game, Earthworm Jim Managed to get an impressive list of credits from talented voice actors. Among the cast included Dan Castellaneta of The Simpsons celebrity, Jim Cummings, known for playing Winnie the Pooh, and Johnny Bravo himself, Jeff Bennett.

8

Mega man

1994-1996

Nintendo wasn't the only major game company to have its platforming mascot represented by a Saturday morning cartoon in the 90s. Enter 1994s Mega manA lighthearted show detailing the adventures of the titular android from the popular sidescrolling game series of the same name. Unlike many animated video game adaptations of the late 80s and early 90s, Mega man was shockingly well-received, at one point even being the highest-rated children's cartoon In syndication on American television.

The series followed Mega Man as he battles the infernal creations of the evil Dr. Wily, Which sends many of the same robot masters from the games against his Mega Booster-wielding foe. The series was notable for Ian James Corlett, who would later become known as the first English voice actor to act. Dragon Ball pS Goku in the original "Ocean Dub," the voice of Mega Man himself. Unfortunately, the third season of the charming show never materialized due to monetary reasons.

7

Donkey Kong Land

1997-2000

While many video game cartoons take dramatic liberties in adapting their source material, Donkey Kong Land took his inspirational characters in perhaps the strangest direction of any of them. Named after the solo Donkey Kong games that proved Nintendo's lovable ape could compete with Mario in the platforming department, the series made the bold choice to feature famous mute animal characters like Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong and King K. Rool. Not only that, but the series has a claim on painfully early 3D animation for its art style.

Few cartoons have aged as poorly as Vi Donkey Kong LandFrom the annoying personalities of the main cast to the bland animation and nonsensical musical segments. The series tried very hard to put its own spin on the franchise with Donkey Kong's new catchphrase, "Banana Slama!", And some original characters, not to mention a disturbing fascination with simian romance.

Few 90s cartoons based on video games are as infamous as Donkey Kong Land.

6

Adventure of Sonic the Hedgehog

1993

Sonic has been doing well in the movies in recent years, with the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Even drawing on the talents of Keanu Reeves in lieu of an MCU movie. However, in the 90s, his non-video game exploits were better defined by The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, The first real cartoon adaptation of the Sega mascot. The series featured familiar characters from the games along with Sonic, such as Tails and Dr. Robotnik, while introducing unique characters such as the robotic henchman Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts.

Adventure of Sonic the Hedgehog was largely nonsensical and gag-driven, focusing on comedy above all else for the most part. However, that lighthearted tone came to a screeching halt when each episode was bookended by the "Sonic Says" segments, PSAs narrated by Sonic that often touched on rather serious topics. Still, at least the series can claim to have had a lasting impact on the franchise by being the first piece of media to give Sonic his enduring love of chili dogs.

5

Street Fighter

1995-1997

After the high-profile live-fight Street Fighter Movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme was Capcom's very own Street Fighter Animated series. Like the movie, the cartoon made the puzzling decision to make American Airman Guile the main protagonist, With the actual leading duo of the games, Ken and Ryu, given distant second-billing as side characters.

The cartoon continued to make increasingly strange changes to the iconic fighting game franchise's lore from there, such as turning E. Honda into a computer hacker and Dhalsim into a mad scientist. For these reasons and more, Street Fighter Quickly became reveled as a representation of the beloved franchise it stole the name of.

The animation and writing are also quite substandard, Even for a 90s Saturday morning cartoon with a knowingly cheap budget. While the Street Fighter Live-action film could have been at least endearingly bad with a few really great jokes and action scenes, the same can't be said for its spin-off series.

4

Captain N: The Game Master

1989-1991

Perhaps the most infamous of all the late 80s to early 90s Nintendo cartoons was none other than Captain N: The Game Master. Rather than an adaptation of a single video game property, The series actually brought together a collection of classic video game characters from different franchises and companies In a sort of prototypical version of the Super Smash Bros. Crossover series. The cartoon was notable for including Kid Icarus from the series of the same name long before Super Smash Bros. Made him again.

Child Icarus was joined by Simon Belmont of Castlevania and Mega Man on the N team alongside some forgettable original characters. sad, Captain N: The Game Master Has some pretty unrecognizable representations of the characters it lifted from games, with all three looking and acting completely different than they did in their original incarnations. sad, Captain N: The Game Master remains the closest thing video game fans have ever gotten to a Smash Bros.-style Nintendo cinematic universe.

3

Super Mario World

1991

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 was not the only Mario series of the 90s to follow in the footsteps of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Just as the previous show updated the series to fall more in line with the latest game, so does this one Super Mario World Cartoon, what Incorporated elements of the game with the same name. While the voice actors for Mario and Luigi were brought back again, Toad was absent from the series, replaced with Yoshi and the original character Oogtar, a feral caveboy.

King Koopa returned as the antagonist, harassing the Mario brothers and their new companions to no end. This iteration of a Mario cartoon was noticeably impacted by the Children's Television Act, Which mandated moral lessons be implemented in many kids' shows, including Super Mario World.

Compared to The Adventures of Sonic the HedgehogWho managed to at least separate these morals into their own separate piece. Super Mario World Integrated them much more clumsily.

2

Pokemon

1997 - present

By far the most famous of any video game cartoon, Pokemon Needs little introduction as the only '90s series to last more than a handful of seasons. The original series starred the passionate Pokemon trainer Ash as he traveled far and wide in hopes of becoming the greatest Pokemon master. of all time, along with his friends, the stubborn Misty and the hopeless romantic Brock. All the while, the trio has to avoid letting the prized Pokemon Pikachu fall into the clutches of the comedic villains, Team Rocket.

The cultural impact of Pokemon simply cannot be understated, from its iconic theme song to its hilarious sense of humor. and tense Pokemon battles. Much like the Pokemon it revolves around, the series has evolved into new forms as time has gone on, morphing with each successive generation of Pokemon games. It's hard to remember that such a pop culture giant had humble origins as a 90s Saturday morning cartoon.

1

Darkstalkers

1995

Street Fighter Wouldn't be Capcom's only struggle in successfully adapting one of their fighting game franchises into a '90s cartoon, as evidenced by Darkstalkers. Based on the cult classic game series of the same name, The TV show introduced the game's creative take on classic Universal movie monsters to the small screen, tying together the cast with a stock child protagonist for kids to relate to, Harry Grimoire. Harry joins forces with the friendly feline demon Felicia in order to combat the villainous Morrigan and the vampire lord Demitri.

like Street Fighter, Darkstalkers Completely misrepresent many of the series characters, Turning Morrigan from a sympathetic anti-hero into an outright villain. The merman Rikuo also went in a notably weird direction compared to his in-game appearance, constantly being noted by other characters as "strangely attractive." in truth, Darkstalkers Was a bad choice for children Cartoon From the beginning, despite its zany art style, with much of the franchise's trademark darkness, violence and sexual themes must be completely excavated from the series.