Faith Fighter 2: This Time, It's About Respect

It didn't take long Molleindustria to bounce back from the Faith Fighter controversy by releasing Faith Fighter 2, but this time around it's all about the tolerance and respect.

More than a year after its release, the Flash-based fighting game Faith Fighter began to draw heavy criticism following a report by Metro.co.uk which quoted local religious leaders saying the game was "deeply offensive" and "disrespectful," and calling for it to be pulled from the internet. Following a complaint from the Saudi Arabia-based Organization of the Islamic Conference, which accused the game of "inciting intolerance," developer Molleindustria removed the game from its site, although not without noting that the game is still easily available elsewhere.

But the Italian studio apparently wanted to do more to express the depth of its regret over the controversy and thus it created Faith Fighter 2, a sequel that eschews the theological throw-down of the original for a simpler, more reflective experience. "We regretted the use of irony and violence and this time we want to offer you a positive, nonviolent educational game that teaches the universal values of tolerance and respect," the company said in a brief note. "This is a very simple game that can be played by children of all ages, religious leaders and even journalists!"

The rules are simple: "Faith Fighter 2 is a game about tolerance. Your goal is to give love and respect to all the religious entities on the screen," the game's load screen says. It may not offer as much in pure gameplay as the original Faith Fighter, but it does serve as a rather pointed response to the outcry and the real fun, I think, will be in watching the responses of those who were offended by the first game. Tolerance, respect and love can't be offensive, right?

Give it a try here and see for yourself.

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