User:Oceandepths99/Captain SNES: The Game Masta
| Captain SNES: The Game Masta | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Jason Davis |
| Website | http://www.captainsnes.com |
| Launch date | July 10, 2001 |
Captain SNES is a webcomic that acts as an unofficial sequel to the television series Captain N: The Game Master and parodies both the standard conventions of video games as well as that of other sprite comics. The general concept of the comic is identical to the show, but takes place in a "Super Nintendo" setting, and has a noticeably more complex plot. It was created by Jason Davis. In recent times, updates to comics have become less frequent, going a little over a year without a story comic. Initially the comic focused more on the comic nature of many of the video games it parodies, but as the comic has progressed, their has been a shift in content, with the plot becoming more dark. The comic launched on July 10th, 2001 and originally ran on a schedule where a new comic was added every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. As time went one several fillers were created to flesh out the times, as well as several submitted fan-comics. Recently, story comics have become much more infrequent, but Davis does continue to update and advance the plot.
Summary
[edit]The comic follows a the story of Alex, a disillusioned, college aged gamer who finds himself sucked into the world of a Super Nintendo game, Chrono Trigger. He soon realizes that he has fallen into a reality in which many of the video game characters he remembers live (including some he does not know, proving to himself that is is not a dream). He begins to travel through the video game world, encountering the occupants of each world (who are more or less identical to their video game portrayals), having to deal with the now "real" concepts of save-points, HP, and (interestingly) a third person visual perspective. Along the way, the plot begins to unfold around him, giving clues about the mysterious "Great Change" (8-bit to 16-bit) many characters endured, and the Sovereign of Sorrow, a character that seems to be behind all of the events of Video Land.
Style
[edit]Captain SNES is written as taking place during flashbacks, which provides the reader with both the perspectives of the characters, and the insight of Alex as he tells the stories. While the setting for the "past" varies, the "present" has not changed, showing Alex as a prisoner, recounting his time in VideoLand to his captor. Throughout the comic this duality is emphasized by sets of dialogue boxes, one with a dark blue back-round to represent Present Alex, and one with neon green writing to represent his captor.
Story
[edit]The comics first strip begins in an unspecified future. Alex has been captured by an off-screen enemy, and is in the process of recounting his travels up to that point. His only companion is a cat named Schrödinger, also from the real world, and hinted at having belonged to Hope Keene, a girl who used to babysit Alex.
After the first strip introducing Alex, we are taken along a flashback to the beginning, or rather, where the events of the comic's story officially start, in the world of Chrono Trigger. It is here we are introduced to the cast, including Lucca, the mad scientist who's teleporter began the events of that game, and apparently the events of the comic as well, as she accidentally teleports Marle, a.k.a. Princess Nadia and Crono's girlfriend, away.
In her attempt to retrieve the wayward princess she unexpectedly opens a rift to the real world, were Alex resides. This may have been the result of interference from a cat (Schrödinger) who was near the teleporter at the time of Alex's arrival. This event is the crux point for the whole story, not only effecting the world of Chrono Trigger, but of all video games.
Alex, after wakening from the incident, finds himself thrust into the position of Gamemaster, and is given the job of protecting VideoLand. However, he often finds this easier said than done, as the very nature of the video world he inhabits seems to mock him.
Cast
[edit]Alexander Williams - The main character of this tale. Used to be an ordinary, foul-mouthed college student who enjoyed playing emulated video games and pissing people off. Now he has taken the role of the Gamemaster, protector of VideoLand. Unfortunately, his swearing and attitude is largely unchanged by his responsibilities. Over the course of the series he has gained (and often lost) the use of a time stopping controller, a 30-megawatt Super Scope, and a Mystic mouse, all of which are incredibly powerful.
Sovereign of Sorrow - The comics main antagonist who was split into three separate parts during the Great Change: The Shard of Tears, The Mask of Tragedy, and her physical body. Even in her divided state, she easily the most powerful being in VideoLand, as she was unscratched by the simultaneous attacks of three video game "gods". She has the ability to alter reality, and to "touch" the residents of VideoLand, causing them to feel absolute sorrow.
Lucca (Chrono Trigger) - Lucca is a young mad scientist, and thanks to a teleporter experiment gone awry, the reason for Alex's appearance in VideoLand. Her role is more eccentric than in the video game, explained as the result of a sidequest in the original Chrono Trigger, in which she changed a personal event of her past, altering her history.
Crono - Crono is the hero that destroyed the planet eating being known as Lavos. Suffers from Silent Protagonist Syndrome (SPS); in the game as well as the comic, Crono never speaks, although NPCs have no trouble understanding him. He is one of the most powerful main characters, as shown when he destroys an entire airship fleet by himself.
Marle - Marle is Crono's girlfriend and Princess of the kingdom of Guardia. She leaves the world of Chronos during the same accident that brings Alex through the Ultimate Warp Zone. Like her video game incarnation, she wields a crossbow.
Gato - A creation of Lucca's. Gato is a training bot on the world of Cronos built for the Millenium Fair. Lucca updates his purpose once Alex arrives to assist Alex. Initially passive, Gato's personality drastically changes when his ethical programming is damaged during the fight with Kain, revealing a alternate, human hating personality. However, at times the programming repairs itself, forcing him to aid the humans around him.
Bob - An Enigmatic character that meets Alex early in his adventure and guides him. not much is known of the past of this character, except that he too was searching for the shard of tears. He can consume his foes to gain their power, an ability he has because he is apparently a Monster Class Character from the Gameboy game, Final Fantasy Legends. It is revealed that he was at one time in possession of the Shard of Tears, having brought it to the world of Final Fantasy IV, and, through an unfortunate series of events, created the fiend known as the Drab Lord, by tainting a sprite with the power of the Sovereign. It is unknown precisely how he lost the Shard, but he apparently knew Alex would come to Final Fantasy IV, considering what he told to others.
Ryan K. - Alex's mysterious captor and co-narrator. Ryan has shown a lack of crucial knowledge when it comes to VideoLand, and his ignorance is used as an excuse for the writer to give background information and exposition.
This nature of this webcomic means that there are hundreds of characters over the course of the story, with appearances from hundreds of different video game characters. However, many of these characters are secondary,and only serve as bystanders or to make a joke. Some games, including Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV and the Mario series are referenced more than others.