Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest

"A great game inflicted with various problems"

If you're reading this review, you probably already know what it's about and all the great things about Cubivore: the hilarity of the situation, the addictive eat-them-all gameplay, and the overall weirdness. Yes, Cubivore is quite fun, but it's plagued by many shortcomings (not just the graphics and sound), making it a poor performance overall by Nintendo. Shall we begin?

Presentation (6.5/10)

Atlus did a great job of translating this one, so you won't have much trouble understanding the game mechanics. At first, the new unique vocabulary and technicalities will confuse you, but it will make sense later. The manual does an okay job of explaining things, but luckily, the game introduces new concepts to you one-by-one. You'll probably need to clarify some things by experimenting on your own, but you'll understand what's going on pretty soon. The menus are also aren't too clear until you play around with them, which takes only two a few seconds. I'd complain about the blockiness and grey colour in the menus, but somehow I think that was intentional. The boxart doesn't really fit and can be really misleading, but that doesn't matter at all (just a mindless rant brought to you by VLam). Overall, the presentation is not bad, but could be better.

Graphics (2/10)

You could practically recreate the square, basic textures using Paint. They're used everywhere, over and over again. But it's forgivable. It's just part of the bizarre style the developers decided to use. If you can get past it, you'll be fine. However, they really should have put in a more bright, colourful touch. Even on the N64, the colours did not have to be so washed-out and dull.

Sound (5.5/10)

Minimal, yet effective. Soft jingles and abstract guitar/strings tunes repeat every minute in the background, while various clips of plastic, phony animals play in the foreground. It's surprisingly quite charming and warm; makes you feel cozy and at home. Of course, the music changes to fit the boss battles, mating and other events. It's nothing special, but fits right in with the simplicity of the game. My only complaint is the annoyingly unusual squeak you hear every time you bite down on a Cubivore. The quality isn't so hot, but that's understandable.

Control (2.5/10)

If you took away the fighting and the camera, the rest of the controls are pretty straightforward and well done. The attack system is meagre: L to lock on, A to attack, control stick down to bite. A big problem is the inability to choose which opponent you want to lock on. It really hurts the strategy, since you can't target the weakest Cubivore unless you position yourself correctly. But even worse is the camera. The N64's C-buttons were used to control the camera. On the GameCube, you have to hit the C-stick into a direction to move the camera. It would be okay if it weren't so painfully slow and tedious. It really impedes during group or boss battles when you keep getting bounced back and forth due to a really bad camera angle you couldn't change fast enough. I'd imagine that on the N64, you could quickly tap the C-buttons to swivel the camera around you. Not so with the GameCube. Surely Atlus could have spent a little time making the camera analog? The speed at which your Cubivore moves hurts the gameplay as well, especially when you're trying to explore some. Your Cubivore does get slightly faster as the game progresses, but you'll have to suffer for awhile first.

Challenge (5/10)

The learning curve starts out very slow, so that you understand the game basics. It picks up later though, so don't worry. The levels themselves are pretty easy. There's alot of exploring involved if you want to max out your Cubivore (which you do, since it's quite rewarding). There's enough variety in the level design to make them interesting and fun. On the other hand, boss battles are excruciatingly difficult (normally this would add to the challenge, but it's really just messed up). It's partially due to the awful camera, and partially due to the fact that multiple Cubivores will gang up on you. Hit-and-run-and-eat-grass-to-gain-health tactics work well, but it makes the battles drag on drearily. What really sucks is when you lose a battle, since you'll have to start from the beginning of the level and collect all those tidbits you had meticulously searched out. So basically, the difficulty of the levels greatly contrast the difficulty of the boss battles. It makes the game feel unbalanced and the bosses a burden to fight. Otherwise, it's all good.

Story (8/10)

The overall story is a pile of nonsense, but watching your Cubivore think and develop is downright hilarious. Every time you finish a level, your Cubivore writes a bit of a diary entry. Not only does he tell you what he's learned and experienced as a sort of review of the game mechanics, but he also writes about his feelings, hopes and dreams; and at the end, you're treated to a very wacky poem signed by your Cubivore. It's all done in a very comical way. Bless those translators at Atlus for being able to maintain this absolutely entertaining part of Cubivore. These diary entries are the best parts of the game IMHO. It's the only reason why I've been able to play through the game, level by level. Okay, so there's no drama, no surprises, no complex developing plot, but there's more side-splitting laughter than you'll ever get from a videogame.

Gameplay (6.5/10)

What can I say? Despite certain flaws mentioned above, the gameplay is quite fun. The main point of the game is to fight and eat other Cubivores to morph into newer, stronger Cubivores. It's rather amusing to watch what kind of weird shapes your Cubivore will turn into next. You also need to do alot of exploring in the levels to collect various bits and pieces to upgrade your Cubivore. There are also training grounds, where you do a specific task to receive enhancements. It might seem boring and tedious, but once you're motivated by those primal, must-become-stronger instincts you develop in the game, it becomes a more integral part of the game. Plus, you'll naturally want to see all of the level before going off to fight the boss. You won't be racking your brains trying to solve any puzzles though. Opening up new areas is just a matter of walking around and eating more bits. Boss battles, on the other hand, are 100% fighting. They're also quite imposing, unless you enjoy beating up numerous Cubivores using a petty three-step fighting system. Mating, well, to be honest, just involves you walking into a heart-shaped portal, waiting a bit, and then selecting which offspring you want to play as. You don't have to control anything (fortunately o_O;). There are other, less important things you do in the game, but I won't mention them. They don't help in the lack of variety anyway. What I've already mentioned are the barebones, just to give you an idea of what to expect.

Replay Value (2/10)

The game is surprisingly long, if you're aiming to morph into every shape, to collect every bit, and to become the strongest Cubivore you can possibly be. But this is coming from someone who was expecting a three-hour game. So with that said, it's still not nearly as lengthy as most games. And once you painfully manage to wade through this problem-ridden game (think of the diaries!), you won't want to play it again. There's absolutely no incentive to, perhaps besides your own inane desire to experience it once more.

FINAL (5/10)

Pros:
- quirky
- innovative design
- great translations
- cute music
- hilarious diaries and thoughts
- good learning curve
- nice, easy levels
- mostly fun to play

Cons:
- terrible camera
- inability to change lock-on
- simple fighting system
- absurd boss battles
- terrible, terrible camera
- dull graphics
- slow movement
- repetitive
- did I mention terrible camera?
- little variety in gameplay
- relatively short
- no replay value
- yeah, that terrible camera sucks

You can always count on Nintendo to come up with something totally unheard of. The ideas are there, but the execution is severly lacking. They could have made this game so much more, but it's not. It's held back by several bothersome hitches that shouldn't be there. And before you say I'm just being anti-Nintendo, truthfully, I feel I'm being a little too generous with the scores only because I actually love Nintendo (well, usually). Still, I don't regret the purchase, since the best part about buying Cubivore is the feeling that you have something most people want, but will never see. So if you're a hardcore Nintendo fan like me, don't hesitate to pick this one up. Otherwise, there are better investments for your money.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 01/25/03, Updated 01/25/03