Read transcript
Attention, ace pilots and Peanuts enthusiasts! Buckle up your aviator goggles and prepare for some canine combat as Play Comics takes a nostalgic dive into Snoopy vs. The Red Baron, the PS2 and PSP action extravaganza where Charles M. Schulz’s beloved dog finally got his chance to translate his doghouse fever dreams into actual gameplay. That’s right, somewhere out there a development team sat down and thought “You know what the world needs? Snoopy piloting an actual Sopwith Camel and engaging in legitimate aerial dogfights with the Red Baron, the nemesis who has haunted a beagle’s imagination since comic strips were still printed on actual paper.”
This episode is guaranteed to be more unpredictable than Snoopy’s victory dance moves and absolutely loaded with more nostalgia than Lucy’s psychiatric booth could ever handle. Joining us for this World War I aviation adventure is the incomparable Phil Theobald from the Player One Podcast, a man who knows retro gaming inside and out and whose encyclopedic knowledge of everything from the Peanuts universe to PS2-era gameplay mechanics makes him the perfect co-pilot for this particular mission. Together, we’ll soar through the skies, investigate how faithfully this game captured Snoopy’s long-running fantasy sequences, and determine whether this particular adaptation is more “Happy Dance” and less “Charlie Brown Disappointment.”
Will you discover that this game is a hidden gem that deserved more recognition, or will you find yourself grounded faster than a teenager who borrowed the car keys without permission? There’s only one way to find out!
Learn such things as:
Why does the Red Baron make for a surprisingly compelling video game antagonist despite being a fictional nemesis?
Did the PS2 version feel significantly different from its PSP handheld counterpart, or are they basically the same dog in different houses?
Did we really just get an entire Peanuts experience without trombones?
And so much more!
If you were looking at the post on the website, you’d see the ad for that baseball game that never came out right here. But you’re not, so you don’t. But you could be, so maybe go look at that.
You can find Phil on BlueSky @whimsicalphil and of course the Player One Podcast.
If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.
If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.
Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.
You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicspodcast on Threads, @playcomics on YouTube, or the Play Comics website.
If you want to hear Chris talk with Karrington Martin about the lessons we learned from children’s media and how crazy it is that we’re supposed to just forget about that now that we’re adults, then Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine is probably something you should check out.
A big thanks to Anime Field Guide and What’s Shakin with Shaner for the promos today.
Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who was definitely twitching in the bed but I have no idea why.<iframe style="display: none;" src="about:blank"></iframe>
Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics
Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.