The Saturday morning cartoon is the pinnacle of entertainment for a kid. Prior to the age of streaming, many channels would dedicate their Saturday morning lineup to children's programming. It was like Sunday nights on Fox, but without the mature humor of Family Guy or The Simpsons. The best types of these shows are often focused on While standard cable channels may have fallen out of favor of families in the rise of Netflix, the cartoon has certainly not fallen out of favor, and there's always seemingly some new and inventive premise for these type of shows to continue to be made.
Should the minds behind some of the best cartoons around ever need additional inspiration, they should look to some of the forgotten video games of the past. The Gameboy Advance, specifically, has a wealth of games that never got their full due in the public eye. While many of these games may not hold up to today's standards of gameplay or graphical complexity, their stories are still excellent. Much like the world is seeing with the recent premiere of the anime adaptation of the DS classic The World Ends With You, it's possible for games that were once considered cult classics to have their time in the spotlight. With the right teams behind them, these mostly forgotten gaming gems could make the transition from a handheld device to the television screen. Here are just a few games that could be adapted:
Advance Wars
Advance Wars was the pinnacle of handheld multiplayer competitive games. Sure, Advance Wars has recently gotten some love due to the release of spiritual successor Wargroove, but not bringing this series back in some way would be a missed opportunity. The cast of colorful characters and the vibrant world of warfare surrounding them are ripe with potential.
The series could take on a more comical bent as well, opting for more a more ridiculous tone instead of delving into the more horrific aspects of war. It could also serve the same function as GI Joe cartoons of the past, offering up life lessons to viewers along the way.
The Legendary Starfy
This is a series that has never quite taken off outside of its native home of Japan, despite having a re-release of the GBA original stateside on the Nintendo DS. For those who have never heard of The Legendary Starfy, it's basically like an underwater starfish version of Kirby.
Seeing as Kirby had an animated series that successfully ran the gamut of Saturday morning programming, a Starfy series may be just the second chance that the series needs to take off with Western audiences. The underwater world of Starfy could feel right at home to fans of Spongebob, while the cast of cute and colorful characters would be sure to be a hit with younger viewers.
Golden Sun
If there's any game from the Gameboy Advance that warrants a return visit, it's Golden Sun and it's sequel, Golden Sun: The Lost Age. These games blew players' minds when they released, using graphical tricks to provide an epic feel that seemed like it shouldn't have been possible on the Gameboy Advance hardware. It felt as large, if not bigger, than the Final Fantasy titles on the same system while also presenting a wholly unique story that still holds up today.
This series could have a similar feel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, as the story follows a cast that must travel around the world in order to light the elemental lighthouses in order to prevent the destruction of the world. Additional similarities include the fact that most of the characters have mastery of elemental powers known as alchemy, as well as the ability to channel elemental spirits known as Djinn. The series has a nasty habit of ending on cliffhangers. As the last game to come out was Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, on the Nintendo DS, this could be the perfect way for the world to get some of these loose ends wrapped up for good.
Mother 3/ The Earthbound Series
It's likely that Nintendo will never give fans the localization of Mother 3 that they so desperately crave, so why not an animated series? The characters of Nes and Lucas are quite popular with the Smash Bros. community, and their world does have a very unique set of charms that would make it an excellent choice for a show. Sure, there are some darker elements to these stories, but much like some of the great cartoon series of all time, mature themes can help to enrich properties made for children when handled in the right way.
It doesn't even necessarily have to start with Mother 3; An animated series could take things back to Earthbound. Introducing Nes and friends as they try to investigate the extraterrestrial mysteries that threaten their town. Animals with attitude as well a kung fu dojos would all add up to help create a truly unique show.