PixlBit

There's more cartoons than you can swing a super mushroom at!

As we moved into the 90s, video games became more popular and prevalent. Everyone could see that these "TV games" weren't going away anytime soon. So with more video games came more cartoons. I covered all of the VG cartoons from the 80s last time, but there's no way I could cover all of the ones from the 90s! There's tons! There's even ones you wouldn't expect! Well, I suffered through most of these (I'm not spoiling anything if I tell you most of them are terrible, right?), so I hope you enjoy reading about/watching these cartoons. I decided to cover 15 VG cartoons from the 90s. You've been warned!

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3

 Aired: September 8, 1990--December 1, 1990

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 26

This show is based on the hugely successful NES game Super Mario Bros. 3 (obviously). It has all the same characters as the previous Mario cartoon, but leaves out the live segments with Lou Albano and Danny Wells (thankfully!). This time the Koopa Kids are present, but they don't have the names we're familiar with; instead they have stupid names such as "Cookie" and "Cutie Pie." The show does not utilize the Koopa Kids very well, diminishing their true greatness to Brat Status. The premise of the show is the same, King Koopa wanting to take over the Mushroom Kingdom. For some reason, Koopa never fights the Mario Bros. head-on, instead always running when his plan fails. Lame, Koopa! Music from the game is added, but I wish they had done it in a more creative fashion. Some episodes have songs in them, and they're terrible! No doubt the songs were added just to pad out the episode. Overall, not bad, but not very good either.

Final Verdict: Okay

Super Mario World

Aired: September 14, 1991--December 7, 1991

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 13

Yet another TV series based on a Mario game (which seemed to be a trend at this time). SMW is by far the worst of the Mario cartoons. For one thing, the series takes place in Dino Land, not the Mushroom Kingdom. For some reason, the Mario Bros, Princess Toadstool, and Bowser and his family are all in this Dino Land, but why is never explained. Yoshi is a big star in the show, although he's very helpless and tends to eat everything. Because they're in Dino Land, cave people have been added to the mix (because, apparently, dinosaurs means cave people must be present too). This makes the show feel like a cross between Mario and The Flintstones. To add to the pain, the show is plagued with a lot of padding by way of people having stupids accidents or singing (which is never good). What I'm wondering is, who's in charge of the Mushroom Kingdom, and why is Bowser not trying to take it over now that the Mario Bros. are gone? What a sad fate to befall one of the best games ever.

Final Verdict: Abysmal

Battletoads

Aired: around Thanksgiving 1992

Seasons: 0

Episodes: 1

This would-be atrocious TV series never happened due to the terrible pilot, which aired during Thanksgiving 1992. Three extremely 90s teenagers from Oxnard, California are transformed into the Battletoads (similar to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but a lot worse). The entire thing is overly goofy; you'll shake your head in disapproval more than once. The pilot episode was written by Rare composer Dave Wise (stick with your music, Dave). Everyone in the show--even the Dark Queen--is completely goofy. One scene has the Dark Queen grabbing the princess and holding her in her arms (seriously, is she that strong?), which is a really awkward thing to see! It's very obvious why the Battletoads cartoon never happened. They were trying to be "cool" like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but they were trying too hard.

Final Verdict: Abysmal

Bubsy

Aired: Fall 1993

Seasons: 0

Episodes: 1

This is another cartoon series that never made it past the pilot episode, for obvious reasons. The Bubsy series is infamous for being some of the worst games ever, and the cartoon is no different. Voiced by Rob Paulson (of Animaniacs fame), Bubsy decides to be the test subject for a helmet which can conjure up anything you imagine. Suffice to say, everything goes wrong; his niece and nephew run off with the helmet and two bumbling bad guys are trying to nab it too. The same terrible jokes are reiterated throughout the episode, including everyone getting Bubsy's name wrong and cheesy black and white live action footage spliced in for no apparent reason. One of Bubsy's "things" is saying "What could possibly go wrong?" and then something terrible happening. There were a few moments that were slightly funny, but overall, Bubsy is very painful to watch. Thank God this didn't become a whole series!

Final Verdict: Abysmal

Double Dragon

Aired: September 12, 1993--December 4, 1994

Seasons: 2

Episodes: 26

Double Dragon is a cool cartoon, complete with a very good intro theme. The story is about light vs. shadow. Billy and Jimmy Lee were separated at a very young age. At the age of 18, they are reunited, but Billy finds out in episode one that Jimmy is actually the Shadow Boss! However, in the next episode, it is revealed that Jimmy simply works for the real Shadow Master, who raised him. Billy and Jimmy finally start working together, and the Double Dragon prophecy is fulfilled. Marion (who is Billy's girlfriend in the games) is not a damsel in distress here, but a policewoman. Props to this show for not being super cliched like they could have easily done. The show is pretty cool, although cheesy music (except for the amazing main theme) and typical goof-ball henchmen degrade it somewhat. However, Shadow Master is a very ominous villain. Overall, DD is a show that any boy of the 90s would think is radical.

Final Verdict: Good

Sonic the Hedgehog

Aired: September 18, 1993--April 1, 1995

Seasons: 2

Episodes: 26

Along with Sonic, this TV series stars Tails, several other animals, a fat dragon, and Sonic's chipmunk girlfriend Sal, who also happens to be a princess, of course. Dr. Robotnik is the villain (strangely enough, he has black eyes and red pupils). Robotnik wants to take over the world by transforming animals into robots; a group called the Freedom Fighters are the ones fighting against his agenda (Sonic calls him "Robuttnik", ha!). Sonic's attitude and speed are played up in the show, such as when he has to wait for someone: he taps his foot impatiently and says "I'm waiting." With a great cast, good stories, solid voice acting, and music which doesn't get annoying, the Sonic TV series is a big win for the character. Sonic far outshines Mario in the TV department. 

Final Verdict: Great

Mega Man

Aired: September 11, 1994--December 10, 1995

Seasons: 2

Episodes: 27

This action-packed cartoon stars everyone's favorite blue robot. The intro is probabaly the best part of the show, featuring an awesome theme song and showcasing several enemy robots from the game. Mega Man, Roll, Rush, and Dr. Light are front and center in the show, while Dr. Wily is constantly bent on taking over the world. The cronies who appear in every episode with Wily are Protoman, Cutman, and Gutsman, with others having specific roles in certain episodes. It's great to see so many different robots used, considering six MM games (plus Mega Man X) were out at the time. While the episodes are good overall, the show does suffer from typical bad puns, bumbling bad guys, and (I hate to say it) action that just isn't terribly exciting. However, any boy between the age of five and twelve would think Mega Man to be the coolest robot around. And that theme song. . . wow! It's "mega cool!"

Final Verdict: Good

Darkstalkers

Aired: 1995

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 13

Capcom's horror fighting game series gets its own cartoon, albeit a terrible one. The animation is cheap, the bizarre characters are laughable (for the most part), and the overall story is as cliche as you can get (Pyro wants to take over the universe). To top it all off, at certain times certain characters will get philosophical, which is more than kids can handle for whom this show is obviously catering to. Luckily, Capcom made up for this terrible series a couple years later when it released the Night Warriors anime, a four-part series which is dark and well-done, and certainly worth watching. But as for this goofy mess, stay away.

Final Verdict: Okay

Street Fighter

Aired: October 21, 1995--May 14, 1997

Seasons: 2

Episodes: 26

In this series based on Capcom's popular fighting franchise, Guile leads a team of undercover operatives called "Street Fighter." The show feels like a cross between Johnny Quest and X-Men (Bison being very similar to Magneto). They did a good job of bringing out more SF charactes as the episodes progressed. Each episode is a specific mission and Guile chooses specific fighters for the mission, so each episode has a different set of characters together, which is neat. The animation is pretty good, the voice acting is decent, and the stories are exciting enough. If anything, sometimes the characters look a little too buff, but that's to be expected in a show about a bunch of fighting fanatics.

Final Verdict: Good

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm

Aired: September 21, 1996--December 14, 1996

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 13

Yet another TV series based on a fighting game franchise, this time Midway's Mortal Kombat. Obviously, all the blood and fatalities were toned down for this kid-friendly cartoon. It centers around a group of fighters who are responsible to defend earth. Several characters from the series are in the show, including Sonya, Jax, Raiden, Sub Zero, and more. The art style reminds me of Batman: The Animated Series, which is awesome! The dialogue between characters is great, the stories are decent, and the music is pretty good. Honestly, the worst part is the fighting; it's just not that great, considering this is based on a fighting game. But alas, it's for kids, and they probably don't care. The overall action is decent.

Final Verdict: Good

Pokemon

Aired: April 1, 1997--present

Seasons: 17 (and still going)

Episodes: 800 (and still counting)

When Pokemon was released in the US, kids didn't even know it was based on a video game. The Game Boy game had been out in Japan for a year, but it wouldn't come to America for another year. In the meantime, kids were treated to the cartoon, which followed Ash Ketchum as he set out to catch all the Pokemon and get as many badges as possible. Pokemon in general has done something which few have ever done: it quickly became a world-wide phenomenon, and is still a world-wide phenomenon after almost two decades! As a result, the Pokemon TV series has never gone off the air! However, this has also been its downfall as each season seems to be a rehash of the last. The purpose is always the same: get all the Pokemon and beat Gym leaders in order to get all the badges and be the best. Personally, I was a huge fan of Pokemon when it first came out, but I quickly grew tired of the same old premise episode after episode. Still, Pokemon deserves the credit for keeping its legacy alive for so long, a feat which is truly remarkable (especially for a VG cartoon!). And the intro theme is simply awesome!

Final Verdict: Good

Donkey Kong Country

Aired: August 15, 1997--July 7, 2000

Seasons: 2

Episodes: 40

This series, which stars the DK crew, is computer animated, which was a big deal in 1997! I remember watching other CGI shows, such as Max Steel and Beast Wars and being absolutely stunned; certain other shows incorporated CGI into the mix, such as The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest. But before you get too excited for this, let me tell you that this show is complete garbage! Where do I start? The stories are ridiculous, involving King K. Rool usually going after a stupid object (like the crystal coconut) or DK gets changed into a baby (I'm serious!). The puns are just painful, the characters are goofy beyond imagination, and the kongs just don't look right in CG! Honestly, I cannot even sit through one episode, it's too painful! Why, why, why must another great Nintendo franchise be ruined with a terrible cartoon??? And how did this show make it for two seasons? I guess children were really starved for some CGI stuff.

Final Verdict: Abysmal

Monster Rancher

Aired: April 17, 1999--September 30, 2001

Seasons: 3

Episodes: 73

This show based on Tecmo's monster raising series is about a kid named Genki who is obsessed with a video game called "Monster Battle." When he wins in a Monster Battle tournament, he gets the newest game in the series, and when he puts it in his Playstation he is sucked into the monster world (yes, it's a ridiculous premise but anything is possible in cartoons). He teams up with a girl named Holly and a monster called Swazo (a one-eyed monster) and they set off to defeat the evil Mu (who's name strikes fear into your heart, right?). Along the way, other monsters join their team. The show is interesting, humorous at times, not so great at others, but it was obviously a hit because it ran for three seasons. You can tell that Pokemon was an influence since the show's motto is "How many [monsters] can YOU unlock?" Genki is always optimistic, even after something terrible happens he is excited to experience something so dangerous. Really, the show is about friendship and working together, which is a common theme that is stressed too much in many kids shows such as this one.

Final Verdict: Good

Digimon

Aired: August 14, 1999--November 1, 2008

Seasons: 7

Episodes: 332

Okay, so I know this one's a stretch since it wasn't based on a video game per se. However, Digimon was first released in 1997 as a little digital pet which you could feed and train, so it did begin as a game of sorts. At first glance, the cartoon seems to be a rip-off of Pokemon, but look closer and you'll see many differences. "Digimon" stands for Digital Monsters. In the first season, seven kids are chosen as the "digi-destined," the ones who must save the digital world and the real world from evil. In times of crisis, their digimon will digivolve into more powerful monsters, but afterwards can transform back. The characters, stories, and humor in the show are all stellar. But here's the part that sets it all apart: every season of Digimon has a different cast of characters, meaning the same thing is never rehashed. Season two has the younger kids in the group now as the older ones of the the new digi-destined team. Season three has a completely new cast along with new challenges and new enemies. Bandai actually took risks by changing up things from season to season, even fundamental workings such as the digi-evolution and partner abilities. As a result, the Digimon series is a dynamic cartoon. It was hugely popular, having everything that Pokemon had: a card game, video games, action figures, you name it. It eventually died off, but it's long run tells us that it was something truly amazing that was superior (in my estimation) even to Nintendo's Pokemon.

Final Verdict: Amazing!

Wild Arms: Twilight Venom

Aired: October 18, 1999--March 27, 2000

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 22

This series is titled "Twilight Venom" mainly for the purpose of being abreviated "TV" (thus the show is "Wild Arms TV," which is pretty cheesy). It's about a group of rag-tag individuals who find a ten year old boy who is really a sharp-shooter stuck in a boy's body. So they set out to figure out what happened to his body and try to get it back. This one is much more bizarre in humor and story, and also more adult in content (plenty of innuendo and blood). Props to the team behind this one for actually finishing the story; the final episode concludes nicely, but I have to wonder if they wanted to do a second season and were unable to. Either way, Wild Arms TV is a great show with interesting characters and a neat premise, and is worth watching despite its bizarre side.

Final Verdict: Great