PETA calls out Nintendo for its use of Mario’s ‘tanooki’ power-up in Super Mario 3DS

Picking up where it left after its case against Seaworld violating the Thirteenth Amendment by enslaving whales (No, it only applies to people), PETA has taken its crusade to the offices of Nintendo. Citing Mario’s use of the tanooki suit power-up, PETA sees this as an indication to gamers that wearing an animal’s pelt is a splendid idea.

Well known for its controversial actions, most notably the recent “I’d Rather Go Naked”  advertising campaign where celebrities pose naked to protest the creation and social acceptance of wearing fur, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals seems to find no target sacred. Despite having used the tanooki suit and its magical properties for some time now, PETA found it prudent to wait until the release of Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS to at last begin their campaign.

Decrying the game in public forum was not enough; they went so far as to develop a game portraying Mario in wearing a tattered, bloody pelt. The game consists of jumping the same repetitive area as a horrifically maimed raccoon as you chase down a flying, tanooki-wearing Mario in hopes of catching him and reclaiming the fur he stole. Pelt covered coins and a hellish iteration of a typical Mario stage abound the repeating zone, creating an area far more evil than anything Bowser could have possibly imagined. (check it out here: http://features.peta.org/mario-kills-tanooki/)

PETA wrote on its website that “When on a mission to rescue the princess, Mario has been known to use any means necessary to defeat his enemy – even wearing the skin of a raccoon dog to give him special powers…By wearing tanooki, Mario is sending the message that it’s OK to wear fur.” Where Mario directly indicates this is anyone’s guess, but the activist group assures us that you, the player, are being influenced.

When raccoons are facing the endangerment of extinction, perhaps they can claim that jumping pixels (which have no speech or expression) provide an influence on gamers hunting targets. Does this mean that Bethedesa will soon have a lawsuit on their hands? After all, tearing the wings off of the butterflies that fill Skyrim’s enormous landmass is clearly driving gamers towards becoming homicidal maniacs of the animal kingdom.