Custom Robo

" Customization for dummies"

As extravagant and culturally diverse as the ever hungry need to visit a cosplay convention is for some, games like Custom Robo are consumed best with a side dish of rice, and overall eagerness to be enrolled in an anime-esque world. While Japan does show for good overall taste in gaming, its people can sometimes lose themselves in the oddest of things. While cultural themes aren't quite as prevalent as they are in titles such as Shinobi, or Otogi, it can still be quite numbing at times with the styles, mannerisms, and whatnot displayed by the lead roles. Now for the less privileged fools who didn't import the original N64 Custom Robo for themselves (my self included) there is a new exciting experience for you, otherwise I suggest keeping to your N64 copy which has been said to be nearly the same game.

While I cannot promise anything as I wasn't one of the lucky bastards who got into the importing scene, I am pretty sure that Custom Robo has made some sort of evolution since the N64 days. With over 100 different parts to collect and add on to 30 different robotic frames, it's a given that Custom Robo has content, or certainly enough for a rental. Even if you aren't a huge fan of Nintendo's overall kiddy direction, if you are mature enough to look past that you'll find a shallow RPG.

With all kiddy aspects shoved to the side, the RPG portion of the game is light on thought, and is seemingly only appearing to support the robot-fighting sequences. Custom Robo isn't far too unique. Although it is passable as an RPG alone, its really nothing without its fast-paced Robo-battles. You are a member of the bounty hunting group called the steel hearts, with your team rocket-esque competition being the Z Syndicate team whom has decidedly been running amuck causing bad things to happen all over the place. While Z Syndicate will keep you plenty busy there is also a Robo that has been programmed to operate outside of a holosseum and can be operate itself, and challenge for fights on its own. Whatever you think of this odd behavior, or even the polices response to having a friendly Robo-fight with vandals, you'll be sure to enjoy what little the story mode does offer.

Holosseums are little arenas in which your robos can duke it out in. Some characters can create their own holosseum or can program their cube (somewhat like a pokeball) to generate one for them. Anyway, the holosseum will simulate an electronic battleground in which you can pilot your tiny robot. If I were you I wouldn't let my imagination run wild, as these things aren't big Mechs as I was hoping for them to be. This sort of cookie-cutter RPG system mixed with quite a few battlefields doesn't give you as much to do as you would imagine. In some cases I found myself sitting through un-needed text to get to a challenging battle, and then losing only to have to read the text again. If anything, that was my only motivation to win (no game overs, or deaths whatsoever here!?) While this is only a simple action RPG which relies so heavily on its action aspect to drive its not so well thought out story mode, its still a blast getting into the action.

This game is pretty much light on everything. There is no true reason to even bother with the story mode, but it is kind of cool once you're done to have everything unlocked for multiplayer mode. It is fun stacking up the ultimate Bot to all your needs, although the areas you can customize are fairly limited. You will probably find a Custom-Robo that will work wonders for you, and will get you through almost all of the game. While the presentation is slightly flawed, and Nintendo's lack of effort in extending the story mode proves unimpressive, the actual fights are fun. Although terribly easy, if your not piloting the bot specific to your needs you are going to quickly turn into a heap of scrap metal. In the beginning of a bout you are launched off to a chosen side of the field than are held in a container with a time on it showing when you'll be released (you can speed time by button mashing) so essentially the winner will probably be the fastest, most agile Robo that has lots of endurance. After awhile the battles will wear off in charm, and will challenge your experience, in other words the battles get old really freaking quick. While most battles will look like some computer wire-frame program there are also a variety of other holosseum builds ranging from a park to a Chinese food restaurant.

While the battling is the highlight of the show, weaving through all that text takes a chunk from the action, which is why Nintendo is bringing you grand battle, and arcade mode once you've successfully gotten through the story mode (how can you be unsuccessful?) Anyway these modes are nice as Grand Battle lets you get right to the fight, and battle it out with townsfolk in harder fights. Arcade mode puts your head on the cutting table for 8 rounds of scrap-burning action.

Although the Arcade and Grand Battle modes are neat it hardly saves the game. The characters individuality hardly shines through as many of the characters are clones (hell the game even reminds you of this in several cases throughout the game!) In one section I was placing in this tournament and I saw this boy against the wall, and being curious I decided to have a conversation with him. He told me that he was a worthless clone of other characters that looked just like him. While I felt bad for him, I thought he was worthless as well. That isn't very Nintendo-like now is it?

Even if I don't like spending a whole chunk of time babbling on about graphics, Custom Robo looks far too similar to Pokemon Coliseum, and I'm not going to take it as a coincidence either, Nintendo meant to do this, and they will pay for being so unoriginal and ripping off of their own games. The robots hardly look unique either, and the Holosseums are terribly laid out.

All is fair in love and war. All is fair in Nintendo fanboyism, and Generic-Robo gameplay as well. Although it may turn those of you lucky folks who experienced the N64 version, the update didn't strike any nostalgic chord with me this time. Although it does reek of originality, and a creative backset for an RPG, it turns itself linear, and doesn't provide enough gameplay time, or replay value to even suggest more than a rental. For fans it may be different, but I'm rating it by what I played.

6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/16/04