An sbsolutely overlooked DS classic
I never played the original CUstom RObo, but this was my jam when I was stuck on car rides for hours and hours.

It's a sequel that takes an approach and setting similar to Megaman Battle Network: showcasing a sem-futuristic urban world where kids enter the cyberspace to fight while impersonating funky robot humanoids. It's a fun setting that is accompanied by a cast of characters that are simple, but really endearing, creating a anrrative that just like Battle Network doesn't shy aways from darker moments.

The progression is nothing to scoff at: it's similar to a classic RPG, where you go around interacting with various people, but the battles is where the game truly shines: being completely in 3D is already impressive for a DS title, but the incredibly frenetic battles are variety of maps you can fight in never chase to amaze and leads to battles that require a more strategic planning in the weapon selection and the positioning. The enemy variety also lead to some specific boss fights that will keep you on your toes without feeling unfair (even if they kinda re unfair in the context of the story)

Add the incredible ability of weapon customization and the ability to play as different characters leads to an addictive battle system that I went back in over and over again.

Absolute overlooked nintendo DS title. There is a reason why this series is often considered one of the hidden gems in Nintendo's catalogue. I really recommend it.

I once played this game when I was a young little shit, and it suddenly came to my mind not too long ago. I started replaying it that day as a very spur of the moment thing, and today I beat the game again, while also doing all of the endgame fights and collecting almost every robo part, both of which are things that I didn't give a shit about last time I played this. I'm still kinda surprised I got through this game back then, only looking at a guide once that I can remember even with my shitty english level, as there is a fair bit of text and characters tell you to go do things a lot. The story is very generic, predictable and almost condescending stuff for kids, though I found some of the characters enjoyable. The combat is really where this game loses me. Firstly, the ds can barely keep up. There's constant slowdowns whenever there's a lot of shit onscreen or just from the stage moving in any one with lava or water. Making a 3d brawler for the system was pretty bold, and I can admire how hard the developers tried, but perhaps the efforts would've been better spent in making a 2d brawler that ran well instead of a 3d one that runs like shit and plays like crap. The combat itself kinda blows to be honest, there's a lot of guns, bombs and pods (which basically also drop bombs) that work very differently, but easily 90% are total gimmicks that aren't worth the effort required to use effectively when there are several easy to use and low risk alternatives with good damage, and once I found a loadout that worked well together I had no reason to change it as I basically never lost in any story fight. Doesn't mean it was fun to stomp either, I swear every single enemy loves to run around like a headless chicken so killing them tends to take a while, and every single motherfucker can do a sort of tackle that hits like a truck, has a near instant startup animation and seemingly at random it's uninterruptible. Only the AI can do this by the way, not the player. You eat shit and take that 200 damage because fuck you. The combat themselves just don't feel great, there's a certain clunkyness to it all. Your jump leaves you unable to move for a bit when you land, though there are certain leg parts to alleviate this, and getting hit stuns you pretty easily. I could never really figure out why but some attacks seemed to stun for a lot longer, even if they were not freeze bombs or pods which are supposedly made for that. Still, I think dealing with all of the bullshit challenges and grinding for the endgame fights with annoying requirements left kind of a bad taste in my mouth. I really think this series could use one more entry, it has been over 10 years, a lot of things could be refined. Hell, I'd even take a spiritual successor at this point.

This game definitely isn't as cool as the Gamecube version but it's a fun little battle shonen anime with custom robo combat on the DS. Hands down THE BEST thing this game had tho was the dirt system, where as you fought your robo would accumulate dirt which, with enough dirt, would like slow you down and stuff and so periodically before combat you had to wipe clean your robo with the stylus and I can see people finding that annoying but I thought it was really cool. The robos feel a lot more like Gunpla in this than they do in the Gamecube game and I think that little mechanic adds a lot to that fantasy.

Despite the hardware's limitations, the childish nature of the story, and the somewhat awkward controls, I love this game. The fact that they expanded on the GameCube title and had it on the DS still astonishes me, as the amount of content here is staggering.

Being able to create and fight with your little Robo, with each piece affecting your build in unique and interesting ways shattered my mind as a kid. I loved using the hornet guns and making an agile build. After all this time I can agree that the controls do take some getting used to, as you need to move around a 3D environment using a D-Pad, which is pretty cumbersome.

The story, while cliche and childish, was still fun and I was always invested in it, especially with the characters and the contemporary setting. Graphically it looked pretty good, and the music was not very memorable either, however, the fact they got this to run on the Nintendo DS still boggles my mind.

Nowadays more in-depth titles capture the magic of this original game, but it's the balance of simplistic design with complex combat mechanics that makes this game worthwhile to revisit. I truly think this game is a hidden gem of the console, and people should at least check it out once.

One of the hidden gems on the stacked console that is the DS. The core of this series is its action packed mecha gameplay, and Custom Robo Arena(CRA) is no different. With millions of potential unique combinations each with their own unique playstyle to master, combined with the snappy, yet realistic controls/movement that promote thoughtful positioning, CRA always leaves me feeling like I can get better at it, even after having completed everything the game has to offer. In that regard, it’s very similar to fighting games, maybe that’s why I love it so much! But a eriously, I just can’t stress enough how satisfying and limitless the core gameplay of CRA is.

While I played through the game solo, I’d recommend playing through this game alongside a friend that you can challenge and play against frequently, as the story mode is passable at worst on its own. It does its job creating decently believable scenarios to thread each battle together, and it’s pretty obvious how much work and love went into the core gameplay compared to the story. The 2000s digimon-protag-esque character designs are quite lovable if you let yourself enjoy them(Dennis is literally me), but some people just can’t get over the… er, stylized overworld, and I don’t blame them for it, even if it’s a shame to let that overshadow the core gameplay in my opinion.

Overall, CRA is a really fun gem that always leaves me hungering for more with its addictive mech battles. While I think Custom Robo on the Gamecube has a better story mode and characters, if you’re up for some awesome mecha battle gameplay, I simply can’t recommend this game enough.