Although the Nintendo Gamecube console has been put on the back burner thanks to the Nintendo Wii, I find that the old Gamecube console brought some of the finest, most colorful and entertaining games I have ever played. For those of you who own the Wii, you can also play Chibi-Robo on it by using one of the regular remote controls, or by plugging in an old Gamecube controller - which makes it a great way to play some of your old, and soon to be new, favorites.
What makes Chibi-Robo so interesting was the fact that it was released shortly before the Wii was even introduced. Many forgot about the game with the introduction to the new console...many forgot...but for those like me, we have never forgotten Chibi-Robo. It was a game that seemed ahead of it's time, featuring graphics on the Gamecube that we'd never seen before, a level of realism was touched unlike any other game for the console, and it truly shines above the rest. Unfortunately though, like I said, once the Wii hit town like a rouge wave, many Gamecube games were looked over or forgotten all together. But, here is our gamer's review of Chibi-Robo so that you can see what you have been missing.
Let me re-introduce you to Chibi in Chibi-Robo. He's a shiny metal robot that if he were real would stand no taller than a pencil. In the game he gives off a very micro impression, seeing that his surroundings are all gigantic.
Chibi-Robo was purchased as a gift for the Sanderson family's daughter. Packaged with Chibi was another character called Telly Vision. Telly Vision is basically a small talking floating Television set that is primarily Chibi's tutorial.
In Chibi-Robo, Chibi's main goal is to bring happiness to his new family, and to power up to Super Chibi. He can however only obtain this title by completing missions, and puzzles that will be set up around the environments in Chibi-Robo. As he completes more and more missions he will get an upgrade.
Chibi-Robo is really a lot of fun. A little metal robot runs back and forth through a house cleaning up after his new family, and bringing order to things. Directing Chibi to clean and perform tasks are amusing on the eye, and the sounds that play while he goes about say mopping, or wiping up dirt make the game all the more enjoyable.
Chibi though is given time limits. With each day he wakes up from his sleeping chamber and is given a set amount of time to complete the task. I found the timing aspect of the game to fit perfectly, where many others complain about the time restraints. I find that time limits only begin to aggravate when toward the end of Chibi-Robo. Besides that though you will have plenty of time to explore, clean, and build.
You see Chibi runs off of electricity, so when he is running low on power, he must run to a wall outlet and plug himself in. Once he plugs in he will re-charge. You come to a cut scene, and it becomes a new day. If you failed to complete the tasks at hand before plugging in or running out of power, you will have to start over.
The beginning of Chibi-Robo pretty much starts off like any in game tutorial. You are set in the family room to learn the basic controls. You will find objects that Chibi will keep in order to perform tasks throughout the game. For instance, a toothbrush becomes his cleaning utensil, a spoon becomes his shovel, and a broken chopper blade becomes his means to gliding from high surfaces to the ground. It's quite entertaining to see what objects Chibi will come across to put to use!
As the game continues you realize that Chibi-Robo has a lot more to deal with than cleaning up trash and stains around the house. It seems the Sanderson family are falling apart at the seams, with Mr. Sanderson being kicked out of the bedroom while his wife sits in and cries. Chibi has a lot of work ahead of him in order to bring order back into this dysfunctional family.
Chibi-Robo can earn happy points by completing certain tasks. In the beginning of Chibi-Robo, getting happy points was easy, and they could be used to buy upgrades. Happy points are also used to complete other tasks which Chibi will encounter along the way. Chibi can also buy battery upgrades which will allow him to venture through the environments for a longer amount of time. The better the battery, the longer game-play he has ahead of him for the day. Battery upgrades are a must if you plan on continuing on to the end of the game.
What makes Chibi-Robo so addicting in my opinion is the environment that it all occurs in. In the game you are pretty much confined to one house; exploring what this house has to offer though satisfies the hunt, peck and find nature in many gamers. Chibi has access to searching close to every nook and cranny there is available in the home. You will come across bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, hallways, the backyard and more. He can search through larger dresser drawers, spot crumbs under couches, and crawl under beds with ease. Exploring the entire house from top to bottom is just fun, plus you will be collecting happy points with each find!
Of course though there are enemies in the game. The introduction to lethal enemies though does not really occur all that quickly in the game. The beginning enemies you come across are all easy to steer clear of, or kill. As the game goes on though enemies do pose a threat, but it is not a very challenging one.
Mostly you will be wandering around the home, pecking through the same rooms for new discoveries and solving puzzles along the way to becoming a Super Robot.