Custom Robo

"Disappointing, but by no means a bad game"

Much like the highly successful fighting game series, Super Smash Bros, the Custom Robo series got its first start on the N64. While it did not quite achieve the large commercial success that Super Smash Bros did, Custom Robo received impressive reviews and sold well enough to have another game, Custom Robo v2, released shortly before the N64's demise. The series, now with enough of a following to be considered a franchise, later added a GBA title to its saga. However, it remained completely unknown in the rest of the world until the appearances of a number of trophies within Super Smash Bros Melee began to spark the interest of non-Asian gamers (ironically, Custom Robo isn't the only Nintendo series to come to the US because of Smash Bros Melee; it is incredibly likely the decision to bring over Fire Emblem to American shores was largely based on the popularity of Marth and Roy). Finally, Nintendo agreed to give American gamers a taste of the pseudo-mech battle game. The end result is a very satisfying game, but one that is not without its share of problems.

Custom Robo takes place in a futuristic world, where most things are mechanized, and all of civilization is within a tiny bubble sitting on a desolate planet. Much like the universe of such other Nintendo franchises as Pokemon, where one slight difference in a world that would otherwise be very close to ours governs pretty much everything about that world, kids and teenagers spend most of their time battling with tiny robots. These robots, only a few inches long, are placed into holographic coliseums and then mentally controlled by their masters as they blast and bomb each other until one player wins. While this certainly seems like something innocent enough, the robos are something that is apparently used by everyone, including crime bosses.

You are a young man trying to find a job when he is recruited by a mercenary organization who deals with robos. On his first assignment, he is faced with the task of stopping a crime syndicate from robbing a lab. After getting his first robo, he proceeds to battle each of the crime underlings, whom also apparently deal with the police by using their robos to battle (presumably because taking the time to set up a holoseum, get out one's robo, and then take the time and energy of mentally controlling your six-inch tall robo to beat the policeman's robo is easier than bringing a bloody gun). From there the story slowly unfolds, throwing in most of the obligatory sci-fi clichés (including but not limited to): a post-apocalyptic world, an "evil" robo that is responsible for the destruction of civilization, an organization naively wanting to harness the power of the evil robo, and alot of references to the hero's estranged father.

In short, the story is far from interesting. It's also muddled with alot of annoying characters and bad Japanese humor. However, in its defense, it's worth noting that the game is not an RPG, so expecting top-of-the-line characters and a jaw-dropping story may pushing it. There's also the fact that the story mode is fairly short and not too difficult, so it won't take very long to complete. It can be completed in as little as six hours, leaving you with a fair number of parts unlocked and the Grand Battle mode, the area where you unlock the majority of the parts. Finally, there's the alternative to not having the story mode: One could either have everything unlocked from the start (which would prove horribly unrewarding), or have the roughly 100 parts unlocked simply by playing Arcade mode over and over. Given that, I can bear a somewhat boring story.

Custom Robo is a unique mix of fighting game and mech combat game that could most easily described as Virtual On Meets Super Smash Bros. You are in control of tiny robots, but the control isn't nearly as complex as something like Virtual On. The maneuvers aren't incredibly intricate, and there isn't a great amount of skill required to be able to fight with your robo. However, it still contains an incredible amount of depth that many may overlook. The true strategy of the game comes from the way one sets up their robo.

Each type of weapon is unique, in that it has different strengths, weaknesses, and ranges. The Magnum is a very fast and powerful weapon, but one that is only useful at close range, whereas the Gattling is a gun that works best at medium to long range. What you use is dependent on what type of body your robo is equipped with; a well-built, balanced robo may find the Gattling more useful, while the small-but-fast robo might be able to more effectively utilize the Magnum by using its speed to run by the enemy before it has a chance to retaliate. And even beyond that one must consider the body of the enemy robo, and how it will react to the chosen weapon. And that's just what you have to think about when choosing your gun! With five completely customizable parts to each robo, there is a huge amount of strategy that is involved in the game. With roughly 25 selectable parts for each section of the robo (excluding legs, which only has around 15), the sky is the limit on how many combinations there are available to you.

However, like Smash Bros, the game never comes across as feeling incredibly complicated. Once the match begins, most of the game is simply reflex as chaos breaks out across the field; robos dash through the air firing various bombs and pods as others run along the floor, firing as they slide behind walls and take cover under various obstacles. The game also parallels Smash Bros in its unorthodox "feel" of a fighting game. The life-bar and rivaling opponents are present with no objective other than to eliminate the opponent, and yet it it has more of the characteristics of a party game than it does with something like Street Fighter. This doesn't at all detract from the game, but rather gives it the typical Nintendo feeling of being open to anyone, and easy to pick up.

The graphics further bolster the idea that Nintendo got lazy with the game, having a large mix of things that range from beautiful to mediocre. As is especially apparent in the story mode, none of the human characters are especially well designed. Low-polygon characters and somewhat blurry backgrounds make most of the story mode look like a Dreamcast game. While the style of the characters is certainly interesting, with various anime icons popping up for each character during dialogue, the models themselves are fairly unimpressive. It is not until one begins battling that it becomes apparent where most of the graphic designers spent their time. Once in battle, players are treated to the much prettier robo models, accompanied by the lush and colorful special effects of their various weapons. The Robo Customization screen allows us to get a close-up of our robos and truly get to see how pretty they are, as well as give us several trial levels to play around in. Most of these levels, while having a wire-frame look, are fairly pretty. There are a few blocky levels here and there, but the majority of them are well-designed and look great.

As stated before, there are over 100 parts to unlock, presumably giving the game a large amount of replay value. Once they are unlocked (which can be done quickly enough, once players adjust to the game's learning curve), players are free to use any of the parts to fight various computer opponents or friends in battle. It is here that the replay value is truly apparent, as the aforementioned limitless combinations can provide countless hours of enjoyment. Battles can be one-on-one, but they aren't limited to it; there can also be two-on-two battles, three-on-one, and the ever-popular four-player battle royal. Along with a few other nifty trinkets to unlock, like the ability to fight the battles in first person mode, the game has an incredible amount of reasons to keep playing long after you've beaten it.

However, as great as the game is to those who are fans of it, even fans have reason to be disappointed. American players will be greatly pleased by the game, considering this is the first chapter of the series to hit US shores. But for those that have played the previous games, they are bound to quickly notice something shocking about the game: There are fewer parts in it than ever! Custom Robo V2 managed to add dozens of new parts when it came out on the N64, yet somehow Custom Robo: Battle Revolution actually managed to lose parts. While the fact that there are still over 100 parts remains, the fact that the newest sequel manages to somehow have less parts than the original game which ran on an older system is another testament to Nintendo's inherent laziness with the game. This is a fault that ends up cutting its most devoted fans the deepest, and failing to impress newcomers.

As far as sound goes, the term "adequate" seems to accurately describe it. The game's tunes are composed well enough, but don't seem to carry any sort of particular spark with them. The only tune that ends up staying with players is the battle theme, solely for the fact that players spend most of their time in battle. There are also the Banjo Kazooie/Animal Crossing-esque “talk” sounds that each main character has. Rather than use voice acting (or, god forbid, SILENT TEXT), characters have tiny beeps that they make as their speeches are displayed. These quickly become annoying, and players are much better off scrolling through the text at their own speed to avoid them.

Ultimately, Custom Robo is a great game that just feels rushed. There are many things in the game that could have been tweaked easily if Nintendo had given the game more time: the story mode could've easily been made more appealing, more parts could have been added so that the game at least had as many parts as its original predecessor, and the graphics could have been slightly enhanced. Had these simple things been done the game would have been much better received than it is today. I may have come across more negative towards this game than I intended to, but Custom Robo is not an average game. If you can look past the bads of unpolished games and look to the core gameplay, Custom Robo is one of the most enjoyable games this generation. It carries with it an almost unmatched underlying depth in its combat, with a large amount of customization. If you find yourself to be a fan of quirky games and fighters that follow the more lax style of Super Smash Bros, then this is definitely worth checking out.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/03/05