Chibi-Robo
SCORE: 79
Chibi-Robo is a fun-filled adventure. This action title for the
Nintendo Gamecube is - interesting, to say in the least. No one has ever
taken this type of game into action. I mean, who would want to do chores
with their free time? Well, from the (very creative) minds who brought
you Mario and Zelda comes one of the most unique titles to ever hit the
Gamecube. Chibi Robo does more than cook and clean! He communicates with
aliens and even saves the world from an energy crisis! There are several
rooms in the house to discover and explore in! (Note: Chibi Robo is only
four inches tall, so exploring a room can be compared to exploring a
whole new world!) You can also communicate with humans AND the toys.
There is plenty to do in this game, and I have only covered the basics!
The point of the game is to make people happy, (A rare find in the video
game world today). Through the game you will collect “Happy points”.
Each time you meet a score of certain happy points, you level up, which
means more Chibi-battery (or else game over).
The graphics of Chibi-Robo, although not the full potential of the
Gamecube, still manage to stick you in their world.
With the brightly colored all paper to the blue shag carpeting, there is
plenty to see! The metal effects on Chibi work magnificently, and the
plastic shine on the toys are wonderful. However, the humans look like
something that came out of the Sega Dreamcast era (not that it’s a bad
thing but come on, Nintendo). from all that I have played, no offensive
images or
gestures were made. Good job!
The sounds in Chibi-Robo are vibrant and smooth. The music keeps you
in the mood during daytime to stay busy with the family.
During night time the music calms down to a “spy” type of beat, to which
you can easily sneak around (which on some missions you must sneak
around.) There is no voice acting. The games, however, does provide you
with Banjo-Kazooie style gibberish. Sound effects are top-notch!
Chibi-Robo’s feet pitter-patter with different sounds, depending on the
surface he is walking on. Sound effects such as items dropping, are also
believable.
There are some extras available too, such as an album of the cartoon
hero toy’s (Drake Redcrest) theme song titled: “Drake Redcrest Forever.”
During the game, you collect stickers. Although they don’t do anything,
it’s nice to take a break form the story and complete certain tasks for
these stickers. The game is rather short, so you may want to rely on
these stickers to keep playing. The controls are a little hard to get
used to, such as jumping. The game does it for you. You walk up to an
item (like a shelf drawer) and a little green bar will appear. When it
is fully green, then chib-Robo will jump. It is small things like this
that can frustrate some of our younger players. Once you get used to
them, the minute you pop in the game it becomes very natural. He needs
energy to survive. Luckily, the house has a lot of electric outlets.
There, you can also save, so you don’t need to travel across the house.
This way, quitting is quick and easy.
There is, a dark side to Chibi-Robo. The game gives you robotic
enemies to shoot with your laser. Although violence is minimal, this was
an element that could not be avoided for the story plot. This is the
first Nintendo game to ever mention divorce in it. The father finally
pushes the mother too far. “My only other option is Divorce.” Players
who have who have experience with this situation may feel a bit touchy
or emotional about this. Not to worry, it turns out ok, (I won’t spoil
it for you). I am afraid I must take off points for this. Really,
though, this is a family game worth getting. There is an important
lesson everyone can earn from this, so I recommend it.
- ClassicTyler
Graphics: 75%
Sound: 82%
Replay/Extras: 80%
Gameplay: 80%
Family Friendly Factor: 78%
System:
Gamecube
Publisher: Nintendo
Rating: 'E10+' for Everyone 10+
{Crude Humor, Mild Cartoon Violence}
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