Gamertell

The current trend is to try and go Green to help conserve natural resources and protect the Earth. It should come as no surprise that videogames have been going Green for years. Quite a few titles convey Earth-friendly messages to players in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

Their methods may occasionally be unconventional, but at least they’re putting a positive message out there. In order to celebrate Earth Day (which happens to be today, April 22, 2008), Gamertell is going to salute Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Final Fantasy VII, Chibi Robo!: Park Patrol and Eco Creatures: Save the Forest. Just a few of the Earth-friendly games which have appeared over the years.

Each game will also be thoroughly analyzed to see just how effective its methods and execution are. After that, the games will be ranked in shades of green, based on the crayon colors shown at Crayola’s website.

Captain Planet and the Planeteers (NES, Genesis)
How is it Green? How is it Green? Can you seriously ask that with a straight face? It’s Captain Planet! Not only that, but his Planeteers are with him! Captain Planet and the Planeteers was an environmentally-friendly TV series that ran 1990-1996. NES and Genesis games based on the show came out during the series’ run. Both the show and the game followed the adventures of the 5 Planeteers as they tried to stop bad people from polluting the Earth. If a villain was too difficult, the Planeteers would join together to call upon the superhero Captain Planet for help.
Earth/Planet Friendly? Definitely. The game and show praised recycling and volunteering and showed what happened if people recklessly polluted. Of course the game focused more on the really cool powers of the Planeteers, but still.
Real-World Applications? The TV show definitely had some. At the end of every episode there would be some sort of tip for how kids could make the the planet a better place. The game didn’t really have that though. It mainly focused on Captain Planet and the Planeteers’ powers. Magic rings that let you control earth, wind, fire, water or hearts don’t really exist. It’d be awesome if they did, but they don’t.
Entertaining? The 1992 NES game stunk, but the 1993 Genesis version was surprisingly fun. Sadly, the Genesis version was only released in Europe.
How Green is It? I’d say its a Mountain Meadow if you factor in the TV show, but a Forest Green if you don’t.

Final Fantasy VII (PS1, PC)
How is it Green? The whole reason Avalanche existed was to stop ShinRa from destroying the planet with their constant Mako-siphoning. Then, once Sephiroth went on his little psycho-rampage, Avalanche went off to save the planet from a giant meteor. Its the story of a militant environmental group actually succeeding in saving their planet from eminent disaster.
Earth/Planet Friendly? It is debatable, but basically yes. Cloud & Co. don’t really spout off any Earth-friendly phrases, recycle, conserve resources or anything like that, but they mean well. And they did end up saving the planet in the end.
Real-World Applications? Absolutely none. Of course you could argue that it acts as a conversation piece, getting people to look at how real world companies are killing our planet.
Entertaining? Definitely. Final Fantasy VII is a classic and one of the best known and most influential games ever made.
How Green is It? It is definitely an awesome game, but when you look over everything, it’s Yellow Green.

Chibi Robo!: Park Patrol (DS)
How is it Green? Chibi Robo is sent to a dilapidated park to revitalize it and clean it up again. He does so by planting flowers. Once enough are planted in a section, that section is rejuvenated. People begin to come to the park to play outside once things start looking better. Chibi also can pick up scattered trash and throw it in the garage or recycling bin, whichever is more appropriate. Both he and his vehicles run on rechargeable batteries powered by love. (Hey, hearts power him, so it has to be love - right?)
Earth/Planet Friendly? Definitely. The best part is, it is presented in a way that isn’t preachy or overbearing. It just ends up being a lot of fun.
Real-World Applications? It promotes a lot of good ideas, like recycling toys, disposing of trash properly, planting flowers and trees, using wind power, using rechargeable batteries and spending time outside in parks.
Entertaining? Occasionally. It can feel a bit repetitive at times. However, plenty of park toys can be built for Chibi to play on, and even after the game is completed, players can try to unlock all of Chibi’s stickers.
How Green is It? Chibi Robo!: Park Patrol and Chibi Robo are so Green, they’re Tropical Rain Forest green.

Eco Creatures: Save the Forest (DS)
How is it Green? Players act as orange, fuzzy monster Dorian who sets out with his army of various rodents to protect and save the forest from the King, Queen and Minister who want to tear it down with their bad, unnatural, mechanical army.
Earth/Planet Friendly? It takes a fairly complicated issue - the destruction of Earth’s forests - and makes it palatable for kids. While it contains some fantastic and far out characters, it still does a good job of educating players about environmental destruction.
Real-World Applications? A massive squirrel army would be pretty sweet, but alas, it isn’t meant to be. It is a good way to get kids thinking about protecting forests.
Entertaining? Eco Creatures is a pretty good real-time strategy game, but it gets a bit preachy. The bad guy Minister told the King and Queen (2 kids) that the big, orange fuzzy thing was a monster (Dorian totally is) and that the forest should be torn down to make candy. Its kinda preaching to kids that candy is bad, and monsters and forests are good.
How Green is It? Even though the story is pure fantasy and there aren’t many tips applicable to real world situations, the whole “save the forest” message makes Eco Creatures a solid Green.

Site [The Nature Conservancy] Site [The Captain Planet Web Site] Site [Crayola Creativity Center]