Crossover: Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron

When I was growing up, I loved Charlie Brown and his faithful hound, Snoopy. Part of it was because the Peanuts comic strip and cartoons kept me entertained at home and on my bus rides to school (my parents bought me a number of TPBs because school was about a 45 minute ride away), and part of it was because my great aunt actually knew Charles Schultz (long story), so when I stayed at her house there was a lot of original artwork of Snoopy and the gang in her kitchen. I'm always a bit hesitant when I see my favorite franchises converted into a game, largely because such titles tend to suck... needless to say, I wasn't particularly thrilled when Namco announced that it was developing a game based on Snoopy's imaginary air battles with the infamous Red Baron.

It seems like an odd thing to make a game out of, especially since the comic strip really isn't nearly iconic as it was about ten years ago. However, there have been other fun games produced from more obscure comics -like The Red Star- so I sucked up my pride and picked up a copy of the game for my PS2, confident that my childhood memories were about to be defiled once more. However, to my pleasant surprise, I quickly learned that Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron was not only not a pile of crap, but it was actually a pretty fun little budget title.

The game itself, released for the PS2, PC and PSP, was set up as a combat simulator featuring old biplanes, zeppelins, strange flying machines that never really existed, and a cast of characters from Schultz's strips. Essentially, Snoopy has a dream that he's a WWI ace pilot, and players end up going into his dream world and fight the Good Fight for the Allied flying forces. But, the combination of Snoopy, strong combat mechanics, and weird historical fighter planes combines together to create a game that feels like it's actually a more kid-friendly version of Crimson Skies.

In fact, there really wasn't anything about this game that felt phoned-in. The graphics, while not amazing, were cartoony enough to stay true to the strip's visual style; voice-acting and music was surprisingly decent, too; but where the the game really shines is in the fact that the gameplay is actually pretty strong. Even though there weren't any innovative play modes, the fast-paced action and entertaining missions were more than enough to keep me coming back for repeat gaming sessions.

Snoopy vs. The Red Baron is one of those games which is a rare find: a good game based on a relatively obscure comic franchise. However, it's a bit difficult to find, as it didn't have the biggest of releases. However, if you're looking for a fun little combat simulator that happens to contain a lot of childhood nostalgia, this little gem makes for a fun diversion.