What if instead of playing through fetch quests, time travel missions, and volcanic mountain ascents, you could just watch them? Guess what? Bravest Warriors is the non-interactive video game you never knew you wanted.
Premiering on Frederator Studiosā Cartoon Hangover channel in November 2012, Bravest Warriors takes the old school gaming nods from Adventure Time and turns them into full episodes, complete with bosses like Great Plains Wildebeest, world saving missions like Ultra WankerShim, and endless running segments like in Cereal Master. Itās been out for a good while now, but since my stint at Kotaku is brief, I thought Iād fill you in now.
The spirit of the show is rooted in gaming from the premise all the way to the little details in its execution. Take, for instance, the plucky chiptune soundtrack. Or, if you like, observe the wonderful world of ākids on their own,ā (gasp). The Bravest Warriors are living the video game dream.
Let me give you a sense of just how deeply this show pulls from gaming culture.
1. The Great Plains Wildebeest Battle feels like one part fighting game, one part fantasy game, and two parts nature documentary. Thatās one powerful throne.
2. These Animal Totem Weapons would be fit for any hall of Skyrim orā¦ well, thereās that bee. I donāt know, maybe it could shoot honey to cause unwanted status effects (stickiness, tasty tea).
3. Lives in a video game are just a function of time, like in Super Time Force and here in Bravest Warriors. Usually you donāt have to look at all your corpses, though, unless youāre playing A Valley Without Wind
4. Iāve only ever seen a lava maze three times. First, in Runescape. Second, in a nightmare. Third, in Bravest Warriors.
5. I can trace my history with armies of gun-toting bugs as far back as Jet Force Gemini, and as recently as Earth Defense Force 2025. Who is equipping these bugs, anyway?
6. Hologram-covered future cities are nothing new (see: Coruscant), and cryptic future languages that look like Sumerian cuneiform have also been done. Seahorse dreams, now that takes a true Bravest Warriors moment to realize.
7. I remember when Donkey Kong 64ās team approach to multi-world objectives still blew me away. Today, MMOs have turned these kinds of quests into everyday business ā the good kind.
So if youāre tired of clickity-clackinā all those buttons and want to just watch something imaginative for a change, check out the Bravest Warriors playlist on the Cartoon Hangover YouTube channel.
