Camp Hyrule
Camp Hyrule was an annual online virtual camp by Nintendo of America, which began in 1995 and ran until its official closing in 2007. It was named after Hyrule, the main setting in the The Legend of Zelda series. Registration would be open for one week at a time, usually in July, and the actual event would take place for four days in August. Players would be assigned a cabin to participate in, and the camp program would allow players to chat with one another, play online games, and participate in sweepstakes or win prizes. Each cabin would compete against one another with a winner being chosen on the last day. All cabin winner members would receive some sort of prize. The mascot to the camp became a horse named "Stumpy the How" or just "Stumpy" for short.[1] There were some Super Mario-themed Adobe Flash games that could be played in Camp Hyrule.
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Beginning in 2000, each year would have its own theme; Super Mario Sunshine was the theme for 2002 and Super Mario Galaxy was the theme for 2006. The Nintendo GameCube and the Nintendo DS were the themes for 2001 and 2004 respectively. Also beginning in 2000, at the end of the four days of the camp, some event would take place forcing the camp to shut down.
1999[edit]
The 1999 Camp Hyrule had Donkey Konk Game,[sic] "The Rooftop", Kremling Krunch Game, "The Vine", "The Gator Pit" and "The Tree House" as Donkey Kong-themed areas.[2] The "Putting Green" was a tournament for the Nintendo 64 Mario Golf.
2000[edit]
The 2000 year's theme was The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask; the last day saw the moon from said game falling on the campsite forcing an abrupt evacuation.[3] The "Green" and "Tennis Court" sections were themed after Mario Golf and Mario Tennis respectively.[4][5] The "Green" was the second wave of the Mario Golf tournament from the second year.
2001[edit]
In the plot for the 2001 year's camp, the blueprints to the Nintendo GameCube were mysteriously stolen and it was tasked to players to help locate them. On the last day of the camp, Bowser wrecked the campsite.[6][7] A game based on Luigi's Mansion could be played in the "Luigi's Mansion Parlor" section of the camp, and in addition there was a Bowser-themed game, a Super Smash Bros. themed area (called "The Smash Club") and a Mario Kart: Super Circuit area.[8]
2002[edit]
For this Super Mario Sunshine iteration of the campsite, when players logged on for the first time they discovered the camp was plagued with graffiti and litter. The graffiti was gradually cleaned up by the players as the week progressed, and the culprit was discovered to be Shadow Mario.
2003[edit]
The 2003 year of Camp Hyrule was themed after 1080° Avalanche and its destruction entailed King K. Rool creating a massive earthquake that devastated the campsite with an avalanche. Super Mario themed events included one themed after Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (bearing the same name as the game), one after the WarioWare, Inc. series and "Mario Golf Clubhouse" and "Mario Golf Course".[9] A Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour tournament took place this year, following the 1999 and 2000 tournaments. The cabins were split between two teams: Mario Kart Team and the F-Zero Team.[10] A King K. Rool piñata was given out as a grand prize to one camper.
2004[edit]
The 2004 calendar year of Camp Hyrule was themed after the Nintendo DS. In the plot to this year's camp, the solar panels powering the factory that produces the Nintendo DS were destroyed. The final day involved a flood devastating the campsite, a possible reference to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. The "DK Jungle" was its own section of the camp, where the Donkey Konga themed Adobe Flash game Donkey Konga Beat could be played.[11]
2005[edit]
The 2005 year was themed after The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and involved the camp falling under the dark shadow of the Twilight Realm. Throughout the days, campers would restore light to the map. A Moblin raid on the final day started a fire that burned the camp down. This year had a Mario Superstar Baseball themed game, Mario Sports Complex: Barrel Blast. This year also had a Donkey Kong themed area. In the Flash game Feed Stumpy, the Mario Cap is one of the randomly generated items that could be served for Stumpy to eat.[12]
2006[edit]
For the Super Mario Galaxy-themed 2006 camp, the campsite was moved into outer space where it was hit by meteor showers, a space virus epidemic, asteroids, and a black hole. This year also had a Mario Hoops 3-on-3 themed area (called "Mario Hoops Basketsphere") and a Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis area (called "Super Mini Mario World"). The Super Mini Mario World area provided information about the upcoming Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis game. On the last day, the camp slipped through a wormhole, and was warped into the 1998 campground.
Camp Hyrule Cup[edit]
In 1999, Nintendo of America (through Camp Hyrule) hosted a Mario Golf tournament online and in-game called the Camp Hyrule Cup. The North American release of the title had a special password coded into the game that players could type in and be entered into the "Camp Hyrule Cup" in-game. Upon completion of the cup, players would be given a password that would be typed in online. This secret password would be tied to their score achieved in-game, and would verify the legitimacy of their score as only Nintendo of America themselves would be able to verify the score it matched up to.[13] This was repeated in 2000, with a second Camp Hyrule Cup in the Nintendo 64 Mario Golf, and would also be repeated in 2003 for Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. The later Virtual Console releases of Mario Golf removed the Camp Hyrule Cup.[14]
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- Donkey Konk Game[sic] (1999)
- Kremling Krunch Game (1999)
- Donkey Konga Beat (2004)
- Mario Sports Complex: Barrel Blast (2005)
- Virus Attack! (2006)
Gallery[edit]
1999 camp, with the Donkey Kong themed areas in the top right, and the Mario Golf area on the left
2001 camp; Bowser can be faintly seen on the left after destroying the camp
The vandalized camp in 2002
The 2003 camp, after King K. Rool destroyed it with an earthquake; Mario's Red Fire can be seen in the bottom
The 2004 camp, with "DK Jungle" in the upper left
The 2005 camp, with the Donkey Kong themed area in the bottom left, and a Mario sports coliseum on the right
The 2006 Super Mario Galaxy themed camp
2006 camp, with Super Mini Mario World and various viruses in the corner
2006 camp, with the Mario Hoops Basketsphere
References[edit]
- ^ @KingNintendoFan on Twitter.
- ^ Camp Hyrule 1999 Map - Night. archive.org.
- ^ Camp Hyrule 2000 Map - Moon Crash (Night). archive.org.
- ^ Camp Hyrule 2000 Map - Day 1. archive.org.
- ^ Camp Hyrule 2000 Gallery & Overview. archive.org.
- ^ 2001 official wrap by Nintendo on archive.org.
- ^ Camp Hyrule / August 2001 write-up by fan.
- ^ Camp Hyrule 2001 Gallery & Overview on archive.org
- ^ Camp Hyrule 2003 Map - Day 4. archive.org.
- ^ Camp Hyrule 2003 Gallery & Overview on archive.org
- ^ software Camp Hyrule 2004 Map. archive.org.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Password Tournament #1 - 1st Camp Hyrule Cup with DK! | Mario Golf (Nintendo 64). YouTube.
- ^ Don't know why, but @NintendoAmerica removed the Code Entry portion of Mario Golf. Twitter.
