This Week's Waste of Time

It's hard not to like PETA. I mean are you in favor of treating animals unethically? That said, the organization also likes to grab headlines with gonzo publicity, and their forays into the world of video games is no exception. For some reason they are very fervent about preserving imaginary species. It's time to play Pokémon Black & Blue.

Promotional games tied in with products and companies are almost universally mediocre. They usually are little more than poorly designed interactive ads. Not so with PETA's game development team which includes noted indie developer Noah Sasso of Bara Bari Ball and the rest of the This is Pop team. This is Pop has made games for Adult Swim and other popular brands. With titles like Pole Dance Party, Hemp Tycoon, and Tofu Hunter, they have their parody knives sharpened. It stands to reason that those same knives were used to create both Pokémon Black and Blue as well as PETA's previous stab at gaming, Super Tanooki Skin 2D. The latter wrapped Mario in a bloody raccoon suit having skinned the protagonist who must chase the beloved symbol of Nintendo's purity to retrieve his coat.

Pokémon B&B has Pikachu rising up against his overlords using special techniques like "Protest" and "Group Hug" to weaken them before pummeling them into submission. Apparently a solid beating is a good way to bring people around to your way of thinking. The moral seems to be that we shouldn't treat Pokémon like possessions. They should instead be free to roam the countryside. I guess this somehow relates back to treating actual animals with kindness.

I think PETA is willing to acknowledge the humor in their own creation as long as people pay attention. If you can't see humor in turning a beloved cartoon creature with a one-word vocabulary into an eloquent freedom fighter then you're taking yourself too seriously.