Captain Novolin
Hello, All The Tropes! I have diabetes. Is there anything special I should know before describing Captain Novolin?
Widely considered one of the greatest Edutainment games ever released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Captain Novolin tells the heartwarming story of an Inspirationally Disadvantaged superhero, whose superpower is the fact that he happens to have diabetes. No, he doesn't fight diabetes, and his superpower doesn't involve giving other people diabetes; his superpower is having diabetes. As such, for him every day of his life is an epic struggle against his illness -- you must fight against evil alien invaders who have taken the form of malicious junk foods, all the while making sure to eat regularly and keep your blood sugar levels consistent (and check you feet for sores and blisters).
In case you couldn't tell from the above paragraph, the game was intended to help children learn about diabetes, but failed spectacularly at the job, and almost managed to seem as if it was mocking those who had the disease instead. (Why would diabetic kids need to be reminded of their illness? Aren't video games meant to be an escape from reality?) The game was endorsed by Novo Nordisk, manufacturers of the Novolin brand of insulin, from which the game takes its name. The game's publishers, Raya Systems, also released other educational games with similar themes, such as Packy and Marlon, a game starring two elephants with juvenile diabetes.
- Anthropomorphic Food: Except they are actually aliens disguised as candy. No real explanation for why the healthy food walks around, though.
- Let's Play: Diabetus takes this one on. How appropriate!
- Rouge Angles of Satin: Check you feet for sores.
- Save the Princess: The mayor was kidnapped... and he also has diabetes!
- Weaksauce Weakness: Sweets, even just by touching them.
- Any food, if you consume too much of it.