While it may not have sold the most units of any console that Nintendo has ever created, the GameCube is fondly remembered for having some of the greatest titles that they have ever released. While the Nintendo 64 was the console to take the house of Mario into true 3D graphics, the GameCube is where they mastered them. It also was the first truly different looking console, sporting a small cube form factor with a handle and various fun colors. The discs for games were adorably petite, and the controller endearingly strange.
While many of the stellar titles of the GameCube have continued to spawn sequels that have kept their respective series alive, we have seen shockingly few adaptations of these games outside of video games. Nintendo started as a toy company. As such, it’s surprising Nintendo has taken its sweet time with expanding their properties into merchandising, and only recently have they started partnering with other companies like the studio behind Minions for their Mario movie and Universal Studios for the first ever Mario theme park. That’s a start, but Netflix and other streaming services should look into adapting some of Nintendo’s GameCube classics into original animated series. Due to structure, content, and characters, the titles below would be an ideal place to begin.
This may seem like an overly obvious place to start as really any of the Zelda games would be awesome in animated form. However, there are a few reasons why The Wind Waker would be the best to start with. For one, it was the first game in the series to take on an almost Disney-esque cel-shaded art style. For those who would argue that the more recently released Breath of the Wild also has a cel-shaded art style, the character designs within The Wind Waker would arguably be more welcoming to younger audiences.
Just look at everybody in The Wind Waker; they’re all cute as buttons. Seeing Toon Link (as he’s known in Smash) next to Ganondorf makes one have the urge to just pick him up and give him a big old hug before wishing him well on his adventures. Breath of the Wild is of course a masterpiece, but the lack of Calamity Ganon’s presence throughout much of the game means that The Wind Waker already inherently has more plot points baked into it for potential showrunners to latch onto. Lastly, it would be really great to see Toon Link take to the high seas, something that no other Zelda title is quite as well-known for.
There are plenty of sports anime series, but not really any about snowboarding. 1080° Avalanche got overlooked on the GameCube, but it was a blazing fast good time about a bunch of friends taking to the sl0pes and shredding the gnar. An anime series could be the series’ second chance, as Nintendo has not opted to make any titles since its GameCube debut. The game has an alt-rock aesthetic to match its soundtrack and one of the best parts outside of the racing is intense rides down mountains trying to escape actual avalanches.
The show adaptation should establish its characters as reckless, thrill-seeking boarders trying to become the best on the mountain. It could even bring in a bit of a classic 80’s ski mountain movie, introducing fierce rivalries and high-speed action. Now for the part that would make this a great fit for anime: the special boards. There’s a paintbrush, a penguin, and even a rocket with jet fuel that players can use to totally change how characters traverse the mountain. These outlandish options would allow for an over-the-top, comedic tone that anime does so well.
How does Captain Falcon not get more love? He’s got one of the most iconic lines in Super Smash Bros. with his signature “Falcon Punch!” and the art style on the boxes that have been released in his series already have an anime style. This honestly seems like a no-brainer, a futuristic racing tournament featuring high stakes and even higher maximum velocities. The world needs to see Captain Falcon getting into fistfights on top of vehicles that are moving entirely too fast.
The plot could also give Captain Falcon and his racing crew a noble plot. Perhaps this version of the Captain has grown up on a poor planet, and winning the big race is his way of helping to bring them out of poverty. Or, take an older Captain Falcon who has been out of the game for many years who is now returning to the racing scene and having to reclaim his former glory. Nintendo needs to accelerate this adaption into existence.
It’s still yet to be seen if Metroid Prime 4 will ever actually reach our planet from the far reaches of development outer space. Hopes will remain high among fans for more news on that title soon. In the meantime, Nintendo should use an animated adaptation of this series in order to help reinforce the lore of the original title into the public conscious. This is one of the more plot-heavy Nintendo franchises and is closer in tone and style to already existing pop culture icons like Alien and Star Wars.
There are so many things about the game that would be great to see as well. Samus in action, her power suit, her spaceship, and even potentially run-ins with other bounty hunters or Ridley would look incredible if fluidly animated. Such a series could scratch the same itch as anime juggernauts like Neon Genesis: Evangelion. Nintendo needs to get into morph ball form and get this adaptation rolling.
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