VIVA PIÑATA

 

VIVA PIÑATA

(FOX, YTV, CW, August 26, 2006-May 18, 2009)

 

Bardel Entertainment, YTV, 4Kids Entertainment, Microsoft

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Dan Green – Hudson Horstachio, King Roario
Brian Mallard – Paulie Pretztail
David Wills – Fergy Fudgehog
Marc Thompson – Franklin Fizzlybear
Kathleen Delaney – Tina Twingersnap
Jamie McGonnigal – Teddington Twingersnap
Rebecca Soler – Ella Elephanilla, Simone Cinnamonkey
Eric Stuart – Les Galagoogoo, Pecky Pudgeon, Ruffians
Mike Pollock – Langston Lickatoad
David Brimmer – Professor Pester
 
 
            Viva Piñata is a gardening simulation game like no other; because you’re providing homes and sustenance for living piñatas.

            The player takes control of an unseen being whose job it is to tend to a neglected piece of land on Piñata Island. Using a variety of gardening tools, they get the plot ready for the planting of various kinds of plants and erection of structures and habitats. When certain requirements are met, the garden will attract any one of 60 species of Piñatas to come visit (based on real animals, but in wild colors and given cute designations). Meeting further requirements would result in that Piñata becoming a resident. If two Piñatas of the same species take up residence (they have no gender) and their requirements for mating are met, they will perform a “romance dance” that will lead to an egg being delivered by Storkos (a superpowered human woman who retrieved the eggs from Egg Mountain, which the Piñatas had trouble doing themselves). The player can then hatch the egg or send it off to another player. The ultimate goal is to keep the Piñatas happy and healthy.

Professor Pester and the Ruffians.

            The game isn’t just all gardening and mating, however. To add a challenge there are antagonists in the form of Ruffians led by the masked human Professor Pester and Sour Piñatas, all of whom want to wreak havoc on your garden or harm your resident Piñatas. Pester and his Ruffians can be chased off by purchasing certain items or siccing a particular Piñata on them, while Sours could additionally be trapped and tamed into being good Piñatas. Another threat comes from the natural food chain of the island, known as the “doughnut of life”. Some Piñatas are predator and prey to each other and must be eaten for a requirement. If both types are residents, however, they won’t do that unless told, but fights between them could still break out. And what gardening game would be complete without the constant threats of weeds popping up and destroying your hard work?

Piñata Island.

            Viva Piñata was developed by British studio Rare, who was responsible for hit Nintendo games like Donkey Kong Country until Microsoft purchased them outright. Co-founder Tim Stamper came up with the idea of the game for the handheld Pocket PC platform in 2002 and started up a development team on it. After the studio’s acquisition, development moved to the Xbox and eventually the Xbox 360 for its enhanced graphics. Wanting a unified style, the developers settled on the piñata motif which excited them not only because piñatas were rare in their home country, but the idea of their being filled with candy opened up all-new gameplay possibilities. Microsoft’s only instruction to the team was to keep it family-friendly, as they sought to make it the Xbox’s signature franchise and use it to increase its market appeal.

            The game was released on November 9, 2006. In order to meet their deadline, Rare ended up having to cut partial ideas leaving the game incomplete in their eyes. However, the game was well-received by players and performed within the company’s expectations, making it an internal success. In promotion of the system and the game, Microsoft collaborated with Six Flags Mexico to build a 48-foot (15m) tall and 52-foot (16m) long Piñata modeled after a Horstachio (a horse); the largest-recorded piñata ever built. Microsoft greenlit a sequel, which Rare saw as an opportunity to make a more definitive version of the original. They built upon the work they had already done, adding in a new cooperative multiplayer mode, Xbox Live Vision Camera support, more types of Piñatas and areas to catch them, a new plot, fashion show and racing minigames and the ability to teach the Piñatas tricks. Trouble in Paradise was released on September 2, 2008 to generally favorable reviews that praised the additions but felt it was too similar to its predecessor.

            As part of their franchising, Microsoft sought to bring their properties to television. They partnered with 4Kids Entertainment and offered them several options from their library. Seeing potential in Viva Piñata, 4Kids selected it before the game was even released. 4Kids worked closely with Rare in making the show; basing the character designs on the 3D models used in the game, including tips on how to interact with the in-game Piñatas into the stories, and having original project lead Gregg Mayles approve each script for their applicability to the game.

Langston in Piñata Central.

            Like the game, the series was set on Piñata Island, home to sentient Piñatas. The Piñatas went about their days munching on candy and gardening until they reach their full Candiosity, which was detected by a Candiosity Meter that operated like a scale, or their own personal Piñatameter that resembled a smart phone. The meter was monitored by Piñata Central, which fielded requests for Piñatas at human parties. Once full of their limit of candy, a Piñata was loaded into the Cannoñata (a massive cannon) and fired to a party where they were smashed open by the guests. Upon returning to the island, the Piñata was reassembled by robots and they resumed their life until the next time they’re full. Certain Piñatas were exempt from attending parties, such as royalty like King Roario (a lion, voiced by Dan Green) or older more fragile Piñatas in retirement.

Promo art featuring Franklin, Simone, Paulie, Les, Fergy and Hudson.

            The show focused on a primary set of inhabitants: Hudson Horstachio (Green), one of the most popular and famous Piñatas on the island whose ego often needed to be reigned in; Paulie Preztail (Brian Mallard), a red-tailed fox that was clever and no-nonsense with a skill for cooking and a dislike of parties; Fergy Fudgehog (David Wills), a hedgehog who loved candy but had a deathly fear of parties and did whatever it took to get out of them; Franklin Fizzlybear (Marc Thompson using a surfer accent), a laid back grizzly bear who loved to surf and draw portraits of the others; Tina and Teddington Twingersnap (Kathleen Delaney and Jamie McGonnigal, respectively), a two-headed serpent that had sub-par gardening skills and always argued with each other; Ella Elephanilla (Rbecca Soler), an elephant who suffered from short-term memory loss and loved ballet; Les Galagoogoo (Eric Stuart, who also served as voice director), a Galago whose intelligence was often overshadowed by the fact his words came out as high-pitched gibberish (although the others seemed to understand him, they just ignored him); and Langston Lickatoad (Mike Pollock), a toad who was the representative of Piñata Central and responsible for getting a full Piñata to the Cannoñata.

The Sours.

            As in the game, the Piñatas were often accosted by Professor Pester (David Brimmer) who concocted a variety of plans to trap and break open the Piñatas in order to get at the candy they contained. His plans were often ruined by his bumbling henchmen, the Ruffians (Stuart), who also led to Pester accidentally creating the Sours. Another antagonist was the Great Bonboon, a baboon that pretended to be an all-knowing guru and tried various schemes to steal the other Piñatas’ candy. Other characters included Chortles Chippopotamus (Sean Schemmel), a hippopotamus that believed himself to be a comedian; Pecky Pudgeon (Stuart), a gossiping photojournalist pigeon; Simone Cinnamonkey (Soler), Hudson’s resourceful monkey agent; Prewitt Profitamole (Mike MacRae), a mole who was the only mechanic on the island and an inventor, and who performed repairs on Piñatas; Dr. Quincy Quackenberry, a duck and the resident psychologist called on to cure everything that ailed the others; Hailey Horstachio, Hudson’s biggest rival; and Beverly Badgesicle, a badger that was Hudson’s biggest and most obsessive fan.

Ella squishing Paulie.

            Viva Piñata debuted on FOX on August 26, 2006 as part of the 4Kids TV programming block. The series was developed by Norman Grossfeld and Lloyd Goldfine, and was a co-production between 4Kids, Microsoft, YTV (where it would air in Canada), and Bardel Entertainment, who animated it. Each episode consisted of two segments written by Anne D. Bernstein, David Steven Cohen, Robert David, Randolph Heard, John T. Reynolds, Eric Scott and Mike de Seve. The characters’ designs were adapted for the show Ryan Cummings, Jason Cheng, Edmond Mai, Shayan Naziripour, and Carolyn Wong. The series’ music was composed by John Siegler, Mike Brady, Lou Cortelezzi, Sue Shufro, Elik Alvarez, Peter Lurye, Matt McGuire, Ralph Schuckett, Freddy Sheinfeld, Dan Stein and Russell Velázques, with Siegler and Grossfeld doing the theme.

            The first 20 episodes of season one aired on FOX until April 28, 2007. The remaining 6 episodes aired in the weeks leading up to the debut of the second season in November, complete with a new intro. However, after three episodes the new ones stopped airing in the United States. By this time, the relationship between 4Kids and FOX was dissolving due to 4Kids’ failure to pay the network for the air time and the network’s inability to guarantee that affiliates would even carry the block. Ultimately, FOX would abandon Saturday morning programming altogether. In the meantime, the series continued to air on YTV. 4Kids brought the show back onto their CW4Kids programming block on The CW in September of 2008, but took it off again after 6 episodes; leaving 16 episodes unaired in the United States. Viva Piñata finished out its run on YTV in May of 2009, and continued airing reruns through June of 2011. Across both seasons, Viva Piñata aired in over 107 different countries and was translated in 27 languages.

            Microsoft commissioned a video game based on the show, making use of its characters—Hudson, Paulie, Fergy, Franklin and their female counterparts that appeared in various episodes—and voices. However, as Rare was working on Trouble in Paradise (whose plot was influenced by the show, although not as directly as this game), Microsoft outsourced its production to Australian Krome Studios. Unlike the other Viva Piñata games, Party Animals was comprised of minigames in what is known as a party game, a genre popularized by the Mario Party series. It was framed like a game show where contestants competed against each other with colorful commentary provided by announcers, followed by a racing game and random challenge games. The winner was determined by which character ended up with the most Candiosity. Although Microsoft expressed the utmost confidence in Krome to help keep the franchise—and the 360—successful, the end result was a game that was poorly received. Many criticized the fact it leaned towards a much younger audience, and that the minigames felt far too similar to each other. Rare would go on to make only one more Viva Piñata game in 2008: Pocket Paradise for the Nintendo DS. While maintaining the original gameplay mechanics. Pocket Paradise would make use of the cartoon’s characters and clips both within the game and for its marketing.

One of the DVD covers.

            The segments “Chewnicorn in the Garden” and “Horstachio of a Different Color” were released for free download on the Xbox Live Marketplace as a kind of preview before the show’s debut. The latter was also later included on a bonus disc included with the Special Edition of the game. In 2009, Shout! Factory released the first 10 episodes across two DVD collections: The Piñatas Must be Crazy and Other Stories and Lights, Camera, Action! Imavision Canada would release three volumes in Canada containing 4 episodes each. In the United Kingdom, Walt Disney Pictures released 15 episodes across 3 DVDs: Hudson’s Better Half, Invasion of the Boogie Snatchers!, and A Match Made in Court! On the UK releases, segments were mixed up and not paired with their originally aired partners. In Australia and New Zealand, Magna Pacific and Warner Bros. released 12 different episodes across 3 collections.
 
 
EPISODE GUIDE (some airdates vary by source and may not be entirely accurate):
Season 1:
“Cocoadile Tears / Candiosity” (8/26/06) – Tina and Teddington need Cocadile tears to improve their garden. / Fergy tries to decrease his Candiosity so he won’t have to go to the party.
 
“Queen for a Day / A Chewnicorn in the Garden” (8/26/06) – The Buzzlegums grow tired of Beatrice and make Franklin their leader. / Fergy and Franklin try to convince Paulie that Chewnicorns are real.
 
“Legs / Horstachio of a Different Color” (8/26/06) – Fergy has to borrow Chuckles’ legs when he loses his during dance practice. / A new rival turns Hudson off of entering the Spring Fair Horstachio Competition.
 
“Whirlm with a Dream / The Crush” (8/26/06) – Wilson’s stature keeps him from going to a party. / Ella accepts invitations to the dance from Fergy and Paulie, causing problems between them.
 
“Trojan Horstachio / The Piñatas Must Be Crazy” (9/23/06) – Professor Pester and his minions disguise themselves as a female Horstachio to lure Hudson into a trap. / Great Bonboon convinces everyone that a balloon animal is a supreme being.
 
“Franklin Can’t Dance / Les Saves the Day..Again!” (9/30/06) – Franklin’s friends talk up his the skills at dancing he doesn’t have to help him impress a girl. / No one can understand Les’ warnings about the erupting volcano.
 
“Sick Day / Lights, Camera, Action!” (10/7/06) – Fergy takes care of the sick Piñatas in the hopes of catching their cold. / Professor Pester disguises himself as a movie director and everyone wants to be in his film, except Paulie.
 
“Mad Mongo / Hudson’s Biggest Fan” (10/21/06) – Franklin attempts to tame a Sour Macaraccoon. / Beverly Badgesicle loves Hudson so much that she just won’t leave him alone.
 
“Mission: ImPiñatable / My Little Fergy” (11/11/06) – Professor Pester captures Hudson, who takes a liking to Pester’s lair. / Fergy’s mother comes to visit and he’s embarrassed at never having been to a party like he’s written to her that he has.
 
“The Great Gob Rush / Hero” (11/4/06) – Fergy stumbles upon a cave full of golden caramel clusters. / When Franklin saves Hudson’s life Fraklin has trouble with his newfound fame and Hudson has trouble being overshadowed by him.
 
“On a Sour Note / Pig Out Mountain” (11/18/06) – Sour joining the Piñata’s band makes them a success. / Paulie and Fergy join Roary Rashberry’s gang on a trek for a location supposedly loaded with food, which they plan on moving to.
 
“Piñatapartyphobia / Royal Visit” (2/17/07) – Dr. Quackberry tries to cure Fergy’s party phobia. / Fergy attempts to get knighted by King Roario so he won’t have to go to any parties.
 
“The Wraisins of Wrath / Piñata Island Idol” (2/17/07) – A raisin pie turns the Piñatas into their personality opposites. / The Piñatas attempt to raise funs to rebuild the dance hall.
 
“To Catch a Piñata / Invasion of the Boogie Snatchers” (2/24/07) – Fergy becomes the new Piñata wrangler. / Professor Pester hypnotizes the Piñatas to get all of their candy.
 
“Cannibalism / Pecky Pudgeon, Private Eye” (3/3/07) – Fergy is charged with cannibalism after he eats a chocolate Bunnycomb he said was his cousin. / Pecky searches for the missing Ella.
 
“Rocket to Nowhere / Twingersnapped!” (3/10/07) – Bonboon offers to send Fergy to another planet for all of his candy. / Teddington and Tina split into two after they get lost in the jungle.
 
“Franklingestion / Confetti-it is” (3/17/07) – Franklin can’t remember a party he went to, or figure out why he’s spitting up vegetables. / Franklin’s coat falls out when he contracts Confetti-it is and goes to Dr. Quackberry for a cure.
 
“Soil and Green / I, Pretztail” (3/24/07) – Fergy and Paulie discover a Whirlm that can make plants grow anywhere he digs. / Paulie learns he was mistaken about his origins due to a misplaced file.
 
“Free the Piñatas / For My Next Trick” (4/7/07) – Professor Pester convinces the Piñatas to destroy the Cannonata in Piñata Central. / Professor Pester sets his sights on Franklin’s new magic wand.
 
“Treasure of Piñata Madre / Between a Flock and a Hard Place” (4/21/07) – Professor Pester seeks to claim a found treasure chest. / When Goobaa rampages his flock through the gardens, Teddington gets the blame.
 
“High Plains Drafter / Pester’s Party” (10/13/07) – A caricature artist visits the town and destroys the confidence of the Piñatas. / Professor Pester changes the Cannonata’s coordinates to launch the Piñata’s to his party trap.
 
“Mouse Flap / Snow Place Like Home” (10/20/07) – Monty Mousemallow gets angry when Franklin accidentally sits on him. / Paulie and Fergy’s retirement destination ends up being in the Arctic.
 
“The Abominable Jeli / Mirror Shmirror” (10/27/07) – Franklin, Fergy, Hudson and Les find themselves in the middle of a snowball war. / Franklin falls into another dimension and encounters an evil dictator version of himself.
 
“My Pal Langston / Snail’s Pace” (10/27/07) – Fergy and Paulie plot to become Langston’s friends so he won’t send them to any parties. / Fergy’s soccer team must overcome their handicaps to deal with suddenly facing off against a team of Sours.
 
“Hudson on Hudson / Wild Horstachios” (11/3/07) – Hudson’s puppet show starring a puppet of himself gives him a crisis of ego. / Hudson ends up living in the wild for the first time with a group of Horstachios.
 
“My Sweet Sours / Six Million Dollar Piñata” (11/10/07) – Professor Pester reminisces about the beginnings of his sinister plans. / Fergy gets a bionic upgrade and has trouble controlling his new abilities.
 
Season 2:
“A Terrible Tribute / Pester the Piñata” (11/17/07) – Hudson is placed on a show where he meets Piantas from his past. / Professor Pester gets amnesia and believes he’s a Piñata.
 
“Fudge Match / Hudson’s Holiday” (11/24/07) – Fergy becomes jealous of a visiting Fudgehog and challenges him to a race. / Hudson is forced to take a vacation on a deserted island.
 
“Hudson Tells All / Langston’s Jameleon Cousins” (12/1/17) – Hudson’s talking doll records a rant and offends the other Piñatas. / Langston’s cousins visit and pull pranks on him.
 
“The Fudgetive / She Stomps at Night” (2/17/08 CAN, 9/13/08 US) – Fergy tricks the Piñatas into believing he’s been captured by a vacationing Professor Pester. / Professor Pester attempts to lure a sleepwalking Ella to his lair.
 
“Les the Jet Setter / Slayin’ em at the Sands” (2/24/08 CAN, 9/20/08 US) – Fergy uses Les’ jetpack to avoid parties. / Professor Pester puts on a comedy routine to make Paulie’s cousins lose their candy.
 
“Crimes of Passion Fruit / The Antlers are Blowin’ in the Wind” (3/2/08 CAN, 9/27/08 US) – Thinking the big boss of Piñata Central—a bowl of fruit—is ignoring him. Fergy smashes him with a stapler. / Paulie and Fergy are joined by Machi Moojoo in their attempts to avoid parties.
 
“Sumo Tsumani / Recipe for Disaster” (3/9/08 CAN, 10/4/08 US) – Fergy becomes a sumo wrestler so that he can gorge. / Fergy and Paulie enter a cooking contest to win a lifetime supply of candy.
 
“Mr. Unbustable / Too Many Fergys” (3/30/08 CAN, 10/11/08 US) – Fergy plots to work out hard to make himself unbreakable. / Fergy ends up in a time portal that sends him back to yesterday.
 
“Party Parasite / Hibernation Nation” (11/4/06) – Hudson learns a parasite is eating all of his candy. / Franklin invites his friends to a hibernation party.
 
“The Old Piñatas Home / Shirley Sells Out” (4/6/08 CAN, 10/18/08 US) – Fergy and his friends decide to spruce up his uncle’s retirement home. / Professor Pester gives Shirley a potion that changes her into a Sour.
 
“The Transparent Trap / To Catch A Pester” (6/8/08 CAN) – Great Bonboon convinces Fergy that a tonic turned him invisible. / The Piñatas lock up Professor Pester in their new jail, but he turns out to be an annoying houseguest.
 
“My Sweet Swanana / Ella Forgets to Forget” (12/8/07) – Fergy and Paulie set Rory up on a date in an effort to get him out of Paulie’s house. / Fergy uses Ella’s forgetfulness as a service, but she ends up beginning to remember the secrets she’s told.
 
“Motivational Break / Bringing up Cluckle” (4/20/08 CAN) – Langston enlists a drill sergeant to get Fergy and Paulie ready for parties. / Joining a big brother program puts Hudson in charge of a mother Cluckle’s three kids.
 
“Beauty and the Beasts / The Talented MR. Hck” (4/27/08 CAN) – Disliking the entrants he has to judge for the Miss Piñata pageant, Hudson has Fergy, Franklin and Paulie enter disguised as women. / Hudson’s hiring of a double backfires when the double really does try to take his place.
 
“De-Mock-Racy / Her Royal Forgetfulness” (5/18/08 CAN) – Hudson takes the lead in the vote to replace Langston. / Fergy takes advantage of Ella’s new status of being a queen to play her husband and get out of parties.
 
“The Wrong Stuff / Piñatametermania” (5/25/08 CAN) – Hudson is sent to a party on the moon that ends up being a trap by Professor Pester. / A mix-up at the theater leaves the Piñatas with the wrong Piñatameters and jobs as a result.
 
“Heads and Tails / Speechless” (6/22/08 CAN) – A faulty repair robot puts Hudson’s head on Fergy’s body and he ends up put into a circus. / Teddington takes advantage of Tina’s laryngitis to engage in his terrible singing without her complaints.
 
“Good Cop, Bad Cop / Announce This” (6/29/08 CAN) – Hudson becomes a cop and arrests everyone on the island—even himself. / Hudson, Pierre and Pecky compete to be the announcer for the Party Animals Championship Challenge.
 
“Ruffians On Strike / Zip It Good” (9/7/08 CAN) – Hudson helps the Ruffians strike against Professor Pester…now he needs to get them back to him. / Hudson takes a vow of silence.
 
“Tabloid for Two / All Spun Out” (9/14/08 CAN) – Rivals Hudson and Hayley are forced into a wedding when their agents promote their having a relationship. / Professor Pester opens a nightclub to lure in the Piñatas and steal their candy.
 
“Arctic Invasion / Say Uncle Hoofy” (1/11/09 CAN) – Hudson and Langston work together to get rid of the sensational new visiting band. / Hudson and Fergy fight over who’s the favorite son when Fergy’s mother and Hudson’s uncle get married.
 
“A Match Made in Court / Hudson’s Better Half” (1/18/09 CAN) – Beverly takes Hudson to court and is awarded the right to be within 10 feet of him at all times. / Hayle and Hudson’s teams compete in an obstacle course that both want to lose.
 
“Hudsonly Ever After / Hudson Who-Stachio?” (9/8/07) – Hudson tells his dummy a bedtime story to help him sleep and inserts himself into it. / When Hudson is ignored at a party he falls into a personal crisis.
 
“The Horstachio Who Never Was / Fergy Drops Out” (9/15/07) – Hudson creates a new identity for himself that the others like more than his original one. / Fergy and Paulie flee a party re-education course and Fergy finds himself named the master of a group of party-rejecting Chocstriches.
 
“Super Hero Hudson / The Amazing Hudini” (9/22/07) – Hudson gains super powers and becomes a hero, but ends up taking things too far. / Hudson attempts to revive his career by becoming a stunt performer.
 
“Variations on a Theme Park / Masters of Klutz Fu” (5/18/09 CAN) – Hudson prevents Rodney from building his theme park. / Fergy and Paulie decide to create their own martial art to fend of kids at parties.

F-ZERO: GP LEGEND

F-ZERO: GP LEGEND

(TV Tokyo, October 7, 2003-September 28, 2004 JAP

FOX, September 4, 2004-March 5, 2005 US)

Ashi Productions (JAP), 4Kids Entertainment (US)

MAIN CAST:

Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese) & Gregory Abbey (as John Campbell, English) – Rick Wheeler/Ryu Suzaku

Hideyuki Tanaka (Japanese) – Captain Falcon/Kyaputen Farukon/Bart Lemming/Burt Lemming/Andy Summer

David Willis (English) – Captain Falcon/Kyaputen Farukon/Bart Lemming/Burt Lemming/Andy Summer, Super Arrow

Kikuko Inoue (Japanese) & Veronica Taylor (English) – Jody Summer/Jodi Sama

Kazuki Yao (Japanese) – Jack Levin/Jakku Rebin

Marc Thompson (English) – Jack Levin/Jakku Rebin, Bio Rex, Samurai Goroh

Nobuo Tobita (Japanese) – Dr. Robert Stewart/Dokuta Suchuato

Dan Green (English) – Dr. Robert Stewart/Dokuta Suchuato, Michael Chain, narrator

Nana Mizuki (Japanese) - Lucy Liberty/Rushi Ribati

Amy Birnbaum (English) – Lucy Liberty/Rushi Ribati, Misaki Haruka, Clank Hughes/Tek Hughes, various

Isshin Chiba (Japanese) – Dr. Clash/Kurasshu, John Tanaka

Marc Diraison (English) – Dr. Clash/Kurasshu, Antonio Guster, Silver Neelson (young)

Yasunobu Iwata (Japanese) – Mr. EAD, Samurai Goroh

Wayne Grayson (English) – Mr. EAD, Mighty Gazelle

David Lapkin (English) – John Tanaka

Norio Wakamoto (Japanese) – Black Shadow, Deathborn

Eric Stuart (English) – Black Shadow, Octoman

Shinpachi Tsuji (Japanese) & Jamie McGonnigal (English) – Zoda

Sayuri Yoshida (Japanese) – Misaki Haruka/Luna Ryder/Miss Killer

Karen Neill (English) - Luna Ryder/Miss Killer, Kate Alen

            F-Zero was one of the launch titles for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) upon its release in Japan on November 21, 1990. The game was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD), the largest division inside Nintendo.

            The game was set in the futuristic world of 2560, where lethargic multi-billionaires created a new form of entertainment based on Formula One races. The player was allowed to choose between four different characters that came with a different hovercars with their own respective performance strengths and weaknesses. The goal was to win the race without destroying your car from collisions with other cars, the electrified guardrail, or mines on the track. The game featured 15 tracks divided into three leagues—Knight, Queen and King—representing higher levels of difficulty.

Perspective is key.

            The game made extensive use of Mode 7. Mode 7 was a graphics mode found on the SNES that allowed background layers to be rotated and scaled to create different effects, such as the illusion of 3D perspective, without processing any polygons. This allowed the tracks to be scaled and rotated around the vehicle creating the illusion of movement and maintaining a high visual presentation. This, coupled with the speed of the gameplay, gained F-Zero recognition from critics and fans. The game is often credited as setting the standard for the racing genre and inventing the futuristic racing subgenre.

F-Zero box art depicting some of the story.

            The game proved a success in Japan and in other markets when it was released the following year. Nintendo quickly turned it into a franchise and greenlit sequels that added new tracks, new cars, new modes and new leagues while following a consistent narrative. The next games, BS F-Zero Grand Prix and Grand Prix 2 were unfinished games released in 1996 and 1997 as a download via the Satellaview attachment of the Super Famicom (the Japanese version of SNES). Zero Racers (G-Zero) was a cancelled game for the failed Virtual Boy system. 1998’s F-Zero X for the N64 brought he game out of pseudo-3D and into real 3D; however some of the graphics were sacrificed in order to have it run at optimal speeds. In 2000, an expansion was released exclusively in Japan for the Nintendo 64DD; a short-lived disk drive add-on to the N64. Maximum Velocity was built using Mode 7 and released in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance, featuring a return to the classic F-Zero style. It’s considered a reboot to the overall storyline of the games as it served as more of a direct sequel to the original game set 25 years later and starring the descendants of the original characters. F-Zero GX, released in 2003 for the GameCube, returned to the established storyline as a direct sequel to F-Zero X. In the first major collaboration between Nintendo and Sega, F-Zero AX was released to arcades that same year.

Captain Falcon and the Blue Falcon.

            One of the series’ debut characters, Captain Falcon, was intended to be the flagship character of the SNES; however, that never panned out as he was rarely featured in Nintendo media. Instead, he became the de facto mascot of the F-Zero franchise and represented it as a fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series. Falcon was a man of mystery, one of the best F-Zero pilots who moonlit as a renowned bounty hunter. His car was the Blue Falcon for races, and the midsized spacecraft, the Falcon Flyer, for bounty missions. F-Zero X established that Falcon’s “captain” rank may have been earned from his rumored time in the Internova Police Force. Falcon wouldn’t be featured in the games again until GX, where he was pitted against the evil Black Shadow and Deathborn, members of the sinister Dark Million Organization.

Anime promo image.

            It was this game that inspired the anime based on the franchise. Developed by Ashi Productions, the series was set in the year 2201 where races from all over the universe came together to compete in the F-Zero Grand Prix. Amongst them were members of The Dark Million Organization, run by the sinister Black Shadow (Norio Wakamoto & Eric Stuart). Black Shadow was a massive bull-like man with a strategic mind and seeming supernatural abilities. His plan was to use the F-Zero prizes to fund his master plan: creating the Dark Reactor which would cause the universe to implode and be reborn into a new one filled with evil.

Black Shadow and Zoda.

Aiding in his schemes was Zoda (Shinpachi Tsuji & Jamie McGonnigal) in the Death Anchor, a criminal from 150 years in the past revived and transformed into an alien-like being to serve Black Shadow; Miss Killer (Luna Ryder in America, voiced by Sayuri Yoshida & Karen Neill) in the Moon Shadow, Black Shadow’s right-hand woman who frequently won her races; Deathborn (Wakamoto) in the Dark Schneider, a mysterious cyborg who was the sitting chairman of the F-Zero Association; Don Genie (Chafurin) in the Fat Shark, a wealthy and powerful gangster; Octoman (Takeshi Yamato & Eric Stuart) in the Deep Claw, an octopus-like being from the planet Takora who was forced to join the organization in order to keep his creditors at bay; Bio Rex (Takayuki Fujimoto & Marc Thompson) in the Big Fang, a genetically engineered dinosaur man who began racing to prove his superiority to normal humans; Baba (Yasunobu Iwata & Sean Schemmel) in the Iron Tiger, a wild child from the planet Giant with animal instincts whose spirituality was a direct cause of his immense strength; The Skull (Fujimoto & Andrew Rennells) in the Sonic Phantom, the reanimated skeleton of a racer from 200 years in the past with an affinity for black magic; Pico (Kenichi Mochizuki & Schemmell) in the Wild Goose, an ex-military pilot that carried out particularly dangerous missions; and Blood Falcon (Banjou Ginga) in the Blood Hawk, the clone of Captain Falcon (Hideyuki Tanaka & David Willis) made from DNA stolen while Falcon was recovering from an accident. (It should be noted that some of these characters had no definitive alignment in the games in which they debuted—the anime made them villains simply because they looked villainous).

The MTF: Dr. Stewart, Jody, Jack, Dr. Clash, Mr. EAD, Rick and Lucy.

            Opposing the Dark Million’s plans was the Mobile Task Force: a group of racers with ties to the Galactic Space Federation who raced to keep the prizes out of Dark Million’s hands. The MTF was led by the strict Jodi Sama (Jody Summer in America, voiced by Kikuko Inoue & Veronica Taylor) in the White Cat, who had to have half her body replaced with cybernetics because of an accident that claimed the life of her brother, Andy. Serving under her was Jakku Rebin (Jack Levin in America, voiced by Kazuki Yao & Thompson) in the Astro Robin, a brash ladies’ man who often gets himself into trouble who was once part of a criminal gang until Jodi arrested him; Mr. EAD (Yosunobu Iwata & Wayne Grayson) in the Great Star, an experimental android who races to complete the final testing of his IQ and AI programming (and bore a strong resemblance to Nintendo’s Mario); Dokuta Suchuato (Dr. Robert Stewart in America, voiced by Nobuo Tobita & Dan Green) in the Golden Fox, a former medical doctor who took up racing and eventually his father’s place in F-Zero following his death; Kurasshu (Dr. Clash in America, voiced by Isshin Chiba & Marc Diraison) in the Crazy Bear, an engineer who dreamed of becoming a racer and developed devices to compensate for his shortcomings; John Tanaka (Chiba & David Lapkin) in the Wonder Wasp, head cop of the MTF and an engineer with the Federation who had strong feelings for Jodi; and their newest recruit Rushi Ribati (Lucy Liberty in America, voiced by Nana Mizuki & Amy Birnbaum) in the Elegance Liberty, an enthusiastic F-Zero fan and an engineer. Allies to the MTF included the superhero racing legend Super Arrow (Yuichi Nagashima & Willis) and his wife, Mrs. Arrow (Yuka Komatsu & Lisa Ortiz), and space pirate Samurai Goroh (Iwata & Thompson).

Ryu or Rick, he's a man lost in time.

            Joining the MTF was series protagonist Ryu Suzaku (whose appearance and name was inspired by Street Fighter’s Ryu, renamed Rick Wheeler in America and voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa & John Campbell) in the Dragon Bird, a racer and police detective from New York in the year 2051. While in pursuit of Zoda, Ryu got into a fatal accident and was put into cryo-sleep. He was revived in the future because he was destined to be the savior of the universe. He was often at odds with Jakku until the two grew into friendship and sought to take out Zoda by any means necessary. It was also eventually revealed that Miss Killer was actually Ryu’s supposedly dead girlfriend Misaki Haruka (Birnbaum in the English version). She was believed to have been killed in the accident that claimed Ryu, but she was found in deep freeze and brainwashed by Black Shadow.

Captain Falcon. Remember him? He's here, too.

Sharing the series’ focus was popular racer and bounty hunter Captain Falcon. In this version, Falcon was shrouded in mystery and owned a bar under the alias Bart Lemming (renamed Burt in the American version). The Falcon name became a title that was earned by the best and only given to those that could beat the prior Falcon. Falcon also played a role in the central legend driving the series: that Captain Falcon and Black Shadow were the living embodiments of light and dark, the Yin and Yang, and couldn’t defeat each other on their own. It was eventually revealed that Falcon was, in fact, Jodi’s long-lost brother Andy.

F-Zero: Farukon Densetsu (Legend of the Falcon) debuted on TV Tokyo on October 7, 2003 and ran every Thursday until September 28, 2004 for a total of 51 episodes. The series used a blend of traditional 2D animation for the characters, designed by Toyoo Ashida, and 3D CGI graphics for the cars, designed by Katsushi Murakami, and races. The original episodes were written by Akiyoshi Sakai, Ami Tomobuki, Isao Shizuya, Konosuke Takahashi, Masahiro Sonoda, Nami Ichino, Shigeru Yanagawa, Takao Koyama, Tsuyoshi Tamai, Yuichiro Takeda, Yuki Enatsu and Yukihito Nonaka. Japanese pop singer HIRO-X was signed to perform the series’ theme, “The Meaning of Truth”, while Ai Maeda performed the closing themes “Resolution” and “Forever” for the final episode. To tie into the series, a new similarly-titled game was released for the Game Boy Advance; however, they took some liberties with elements in the story making it somewhat different from the anime depiction.

In 2004, Nintendo awarded 4Kids Entertainment the international broadcast rights to the anime. As with the rest of their acquired programming, 4Kids made extensive changes to the series. They sought to localize it so that American audiences could find familiarity with elements of a production and edited any scenes or content they felt were inappropriate for their target demographic (usually in the 6-11-year age range) or projected negative stereotypes. The original score (which featured reworkings of music from the games) was dropped in favor of a cheaper, generic techno score composed by Matt McGuire, Elik Alvarez, Louis Cortelezzi, Joel Douek, Josh Heineman, Freddy Sheinfeld and Russell Velazquez. Likewise, the themes were cut and replaced with an instrumental by Phil Garrod and Reed Hays. The scripts and storylines were translated and completely reworked by John Touhey, Martina Broner and Michael Haigney to reduce Captain Falcon’s role and put the narrative focus on Ryu, now called Rick Wheeler (originally, it was going to be “Pace” which was retained in some of the early commercials--like the one above), as well as to make them more kid-friendly. After learning that Miss Killer was renamed “Luna Ryder” in the 4Kids dub, Nintendo of America (who hated that name) stepped in to insist that what few untouched names remained the same.

Luna Ryder suffers an identity crisis.

As for the show’s name, that one wasn’t entirely a 4Kids creation. Nintendo of America was working on the localization of the game with a planned release for the fall of 2004 to coincide with the debut of the 4Kids dub. Nintendo of Europe, however, had no intentions of bringing the anime over into their market and put the game out in June of that year. To distinguish it from the anime, they changed the game’s name to GP Legend. As the 4Kids dub was already in production while Nintendo of America was still working on the game, they opted to utilize the European name in order to churn out promotional materials advertising the show. That, in turn, forced Nintendo of America to use it on their release of the game.

Super Arrow and Mrs. Arrow.

The newly-christened F-Zero: GP Legend debuted on FOX’s FoxBox programming block on September 4, 2004. To promote the series and the game, FOX ran a two-week contest sponsored by Nintendo called “The F-Zero Zero Zero Mega Moolah Sweepstakes.” The prizes included a Game Boy Advance SP and cash up to $5,000. While GP Legend the game proved to be a hit, albeit less so when compared to previous entries in the franchise, the 4Kids dub turned out to be a ratings flop. Only 15 episodes aired, with the final one delayed until that March following FoxBox’s rebranding as 4KidsTV. Rumors of at least two additional dubbed episodes existing have spread, but nothing else has aired beyond the initial run.

Following the success of the game, a direct sequel was developed by Suzak Inc. was released in 2004 called F-Zero Climax. Available in Japan only, the game introduced a track editor which allowed players to make their own tracks to race on and share with other players. That was the most applauded feature; while the rest of the game got a lukewarm response in regards to reused elements and uneven gameplay. It was after this release that the franchise went on indefinite hiatus, with creator Miyamoto essentially stating that they’ve done all they could with the franchise until such time that Nintendo developed a unique controller interface that would enhance the gameplay experience. Until then, Nintendo continues to give the franchise exposure by incorporating it into other games; such as Captain Falcon and The Blue Falcon being in Mario Kart Wii and as downloadable content for Mario Kart 8, a mini-game called “Captain Falcon’s Twister Race” in Nintendo Land, and a Captain Falcon alternate skin for the Bryan Fury character in the Wii U version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2.         

EPISODE GUIDE:

“The Legend Begins” (9/4/04) – During a race, Rick Wheeler recalls the events that led him to join the MTF.

“The Racer’s Edge” (9/25/04) – While the others head to a race on Planet Ninte, Rick meets Lucy Liberty before her bus to Ninte is attacked by a motorcycle gang.

“Burn Out on Planet Clifoto” (10/2/04) – Lucy damages the Dragon Bird while training to join the team, potentially robbing Rick of his revenge against Zoda.

“The Samurai’s Secret” (10/9/04) – Rick goes after Samruai Goroh to retrieve a medicine he stole but soon learns his target may not be who he thinks it is.

“A Risky Rendezvous” (10/16/04) – Dr. Stewart and Rick try to retrieve the Astro Robin from Lisa Brilliant during the F-Zero race.

“Chain Reaction” (10/23/04) – Rick becomes so focused on winning the race and beating Zoda that someone gets hurt in the process.

“The Trap of Michael Chain” (10/30/04) – Rick, Lucy, Super Arrow and Mrs. Arrow help a rich man get out of being forced to kidnap top racers.

“The Secret Within” (11/6/04) – The Skull sends a doppelganger of Haruka to assassinate Rick and uses a lock of Rick’s hair to curse him whenever Rick speaks her name.

“The Promise” (11/13/04) – Rick races against Roger and Draq in order to win the galactic blended fruit needed to help a sick boy.

“Double Jeopardy” (11/20/04) – Zoda seeks revenge against Luna Ryder for beating him and disables the shield that keeps asteroids from crashing onto the racetrack.

“Blow Out” (11/27/04) – Zoda pays Antonio Guster to betray Samurai Goroh and drive a car that can destroy him in the race.

“Flashback” (12/4/04) – A boy named Tek steals the Dragon Bird to give to Zoda in exchange for passage to Earth, but Captain Falcon steps in to prevent the trade-off.

“Dangerous Diva” (12/11/04) – The team is tasked with protecting pop star Kate Alan from Zoda, but who’s going to protect the team from her?

“Old Rivals” (12/18/04) – Jack turns to old racer Silver Neelson for training to beat Rick just as Silver’s old rival is revived from cold sleep to challenge him to a career-ending race.

“Target: Tanaka” (3/5/05) – After Tanaka is targeted by Zoda, he’s put under 24-hour guard by the team.