"Spread the happiness!"
I often say that the eras between N64 and GameCube were quite a charming, experimental phase for Nintendo games. And while Chibi-Robo! came out quite late in the GameCube's lifespan, it still manages to fold in many great design choices of Nintendo's "Disney-like" approach to their products. In a sense, it's a great game!
At least in the states, it's not often we get Nintendo games like this. (This is the same developer that made games like Giftpia and Captain Rainbow, of the same genre.) It's ultimately an adventure game, set throughout an in-game clock cycle, with movement reliant on a constantly-draining meter. It's not as difficult as it sounds, but it might not be for some gamers. Underneath all of this though, Chibi-Robo! reminds me a lot of something recent like Splatoon: a video game with cute designs and a dark undertone. This is pretty much Nintendo's take on Toy Story, although involving some mature things such as marital divorce and environmental consequences, one with a wide range of different characters from a pirate figurine, to extraterrestial robot beings, to even an army of egg soldiers. It's charming as hell, down to the sound design from individual movements and dialogue making noises.
The only thing I was a bit annoyed by this game though was its pacing. The little side stories are nice for those who want to discover them, but there are certain moments in the later half of the story that require currency and grinding to progress, which involves cleaning up the random messes in the house and hoping for certain enemies to spawn. This can be even more annoying when planning out your day; allowing you to set the timer to your own speed, but not allowing you to end your day early (unless you have a certain costume unlocked). When you're required to simply go around and collect money to get the equipment you need, it can be a bit too much of a slog, but I think the rest of the game makes up for it. Naturally though, with the genre, the cutscenes can be quite abundant and lengthy.
Not the best from the GameCube library, but Chibi-Robo! absolutely has that much-adored Nintendo charm, folding together into a time-based adventure game that we don't typically see outside of Japan. It's a cute one, for sure.
I often say that the eras between N64 and GameCube were quite a charming, experimental phase for Nintendo games. And while Chibi-Robo! came out quite late in the GameCube's lifespan, it still manages to fold in many great design choices of Nintendo's "Disney-like" approach to their products. In a sense, it's a great game!
At least in the states, it's not often we get Nintendo games like this. (This is the same developer that made games like Giftpia and Captain Rainbow, of the same genre.) It's ultimately an adventure game, set throughout an in-game clock cycle, with movement reliant on a constantly-draining meter. It's not as difficult as it sounds, but it might not be for some gamers. Underneath all of this though, Chibi-Robo! reminds me a lot of something recent like Splatoon: a video game with cute designs and a dark undertone. This is pretty much Nintendo's take on Toy Story, although involving some mature things such as marital divorce and environmental consequences, one with a wide range of different characters from a pirate figurine, to extraterrestial robot beings, to even an army of egg soldiers. It's charming as hell, down to the sound design from individual movements and dialogue making noises.
The only thing I was a bit annoyed by this game though was its pacing. The little side stories are nice for those who want to discover them, but there are certain moments in the later half of the story that require currency and grinding to progress, which involves cleaning up the random messes in the house and hoping for certain enemies to spawn. This can be even more annoying when planning out your day; allowing you to set the timer to your own speed, but not allowing you to end your day early (unless you have a certain costume unlocked). When you're required to simply go around and collect money to get the equipment you need, it can be a bit too much of a slog, but I think the rest of the game makes up for it. Naturally though, with the genre, the cutscenes can be quite abundant and lengthy.
Not the best from the GameCube library, but Chibi-Robo! absolutely has that much-adored Nintendo charm, folding together into a time-based adventure game that we don't typically see outside of Japan. It's a cute one, for sure.