General Discussion about Chibi-Robo. Let's get discussing!

uh.. what's chibi robo?
(just found this link from your sig)

Yeah, what is this?

quote Gamer Within

Chibi-Robo is a game that may seem simplistic in nature when first viewed, but turns out to be fairly entertaining when actually played. It’s about a somewhat dysfunctional and totally wacky family called the Sandersons. Their daughter Jenny is celebrating her eighth birthday, so her father buys her a miniature robot named Chibi-Robo. Now, it’s up to Chibi to fix things up through hard work and of course sheer cute factor.

At the opening of the game, it’s obvious things aren’t right with this family. The daughter seems to think she’s a frog, always wearing a frog hood and saying nothing but "Ribbit". The father is lazy, unemployed and fairly oblivious when it comes to others. The mother is nitpicky and upset with pretty much anything her husband does. Sounds like quite a job for one little robot to fix that, eh? He’s not alone, though. He’s got his friend/manager Telly Vision to help him, a flying TV set with a very excitable personality and a bit of a stress disorder. Telly’s always obsessive about trying to keep up appearances and make sure everything is running smoothly. Since Chibi-Robo can’t talk, he acts as the little robot’s voice and helps Chibi figure out what to do in the game.

The main point of the game is to try to gather "Happy Points". These sort of act as a rating system to figure out how happy the family is with their Chibi-Robo. They’re gained by fulfilling little tasks around the house, such as throwing away garbage, cleaning up spills, and returning items to their owners. He also gets a little money for performing those tasks, too, letting him buy new accessories and parts online. All sorts of tools can be used by Chibi-Robo during the course of the game, a toothbrush being one of the earliest examples. With it, he can scrub away stains on carpet or tile. He also comes with a helicopter attachment that lets him hover for a short time, then descend slowly to the ground. He has to be careful while performing his duties, though. In the lower right portion of the screen is a battery icon, displaying how much power he has left. If he runs out, Telly Vision has to drag him back to his Chibi House to power up again, losing some time in the process. It’s fairly easy to avoid that for the most part, though, since Chibi-Robo can plug himself into any outlet in the house. His power cord is always dragging along the ground right behind him. Plugging in also gives you the opportunity to save your game as well. But those aren’t the only uses for his power cord. Every so often during the game Chibi-Robo would come across little metal doors which Telly dubs "Chibi Doors" since they have eyes similar to those of Chibi-Robo. Next to the doors is a little slot that Chibi can plug his cord into and turn to get the doors to open. Inside is a strange sort of extra-dimensional area with a few coins and things inside for Chibi to gather up. There is a bit of combat in the game too. Later on, robo spiders (or "Spidors") start to appear and try to attack Chibi, so he has to use a blaster weapon to fend them off. They get progressively larger throughout the course of the game, making for a bit more challenge. Still, it’s not exactly the focus of the game, so they’re not that much to worry about.

Happy Points also serve a more direct purpose. By returning to the Chibi House, Chibi-Robo can upload his happy points and he will get a ranking based on his performance. When he reaches certain ranks, he’ll receive a new battery that lets him stay out running around a little while longer before having to plug in again. And as Telly often informs you, if you get to rank 1, you become the Super Chibi-Robo!! We’re not sure exactly what that means, but it’s obviously a good thing. Gives the gamer a goal to be aiming for as well.

Another element of the game that makes things interesting is a day/night system. During the day, the humans are up and moving around the house and making plenty of messes for Chibi-Robo to clean up. At night, though, everyone goes to sleep and a whole new world awakes. The toys of the house come alive at night and start wandering around, giving Chibi a whole new set of characters to interact with. There was even a toy super hero named Space Hunter Drake Redcrest who, after a lengthy (and fairly amusing) monologue about good and evil, gave Chibi-Robo a new suit and a hero pose he could use. The different costumes affect interactions with other characters, such as a caterpillar toy with a secret crush for the hero. By talking to her in the costume and striking Drake’s pose, you can make her so shy she’ll run away, opening up the doorway she had been blocking.

The entire feeling of the game is fairly lighthearted, and even the problems of the family seem almost laughable. They’re problems obviously and you want to fix them, but it’s not anything that has you squirming in your seat with discomfort. The visuals and audio reflects that lightheartedness, very colorful and full of life. The characters are amusing just in the way they look and act, and the script is full of funny points. Much of the game has a distinctly Japanese feeling to it, but it makes the transition to America fairly well, amusing even to those who haven’t necessarily had too much involvement in Japanese culture. Old and young gamers alike are likely to enjoy the game. It’s simplicity makes it easily accessible to just about anyone. From what we’ve seen, we’re looking forward to this game.

Man this game looks and sounds awesome!
I must get this when it comes out.

sounds cool, but kinda weird

I've included pictures in the pictures thread

I really want this game. I love games like these. This one seems like another game that would have only been in Japan, but will make it to America, like the Katamari Damacy series.

I've found myself making a lot of contributions to this section of Neoseeker. Did you ever notice that the release date and game description were wrong? Don't worry, I've put in the correct information and asked the staff to change it.

Nice one GM, let's hope that we can make this forum active

So, will this game be played in the pikmin perspective? I mean the time. And do you actualy conrol chibi? or is it one of those click and he moves.

You actually control Chibi, but game still looks similar to to Pikmin... Probably because they're both on such a small scale.

anyone know the UK release date

quote F0X92

anyone know the UK release date

I am now the proud owner of a copy of Chibi-Robo. I haven't played it yet because of homework but expect a detailed review after I've had a thorough dose of it.