#634 Chibi-Robo

Posted: 7th June 2018 by Jeroen in Games
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699th played so far

Genre: Adventure/Platform
Platform: Gamecube
Year of Release: 2005
Developer: Skip Ltd.
Publisher: Nintendo

So there are a few action/adventure-like games left that feature you playing as a robot – aside from this, we’ve yet to play Rocket: Robot on Wheels, and I believe Space Station Silicon Valley is another. It means that I’m ill prepared – in my prep I realised this isn’t set on a space station or alien planet, it’s actually set at home. In other words, today I’m going in completely blind.

Our Thoughts

I’m not quite sure what I expected, but this wasn’t quite it. You’re left in a household as a helper robot to fix a family, in a world that actually reminded me of the early stages of Katamari Damacy – lots of messy items thrown around while you are a tiny character in your own home. It’s a perspective that always turns the mundane in something challenging and scarier and even though this is a friendlier world, here it adds some more exploration.

Here, however, you don’t grow – nor do you need to. Instead, you help out in small and big ways. Early on, cleaning the living room is a nice way to get some brownie points that allow you to gain some upgrades and grow to get your first extra abilities. Later, you start to focus on bigger stories, reuniting husband and wife and fixing a lot of people and creatures’ lives around the house. As you unlock abilities, you also get the chance to engage in some combat, get to different areas and otherwise proceed further.

Through all of this, an energy limit stops you from going too far. There are plenty of plugs where you can recharge, and running out isn’t a game ender, but it prevents you from pushing yourself too far when exploring. It doesn’t take too long for it to become less of a hindrance, as your battery size increases, but it is enough to feel like a hindrance from time to time.

The game is pretty cute, not exaggeratedly cartoonish to look at, but the perspective enhances some of the more cartoony points. The characters are exaggerations – especially when they aren’t human – and it creates a fun tone to what is partially a fairly dramatic storyline. It’s quite well executed in a world I want to see more of.