Robopon 2: Ring Version

"What's a Robopon?"

Robopon 2 Ring Version

A wise gamer once said to me that a good RPG is like an interactive story. This game wasn't an interactive story, just a clone of Pokemon - with robots.

Since Robopon had it's debut in the original gameboy system, the game was fun and innovative. Some things have changed from the original versions of Robopon. You cannot catch "wild" robots with an item, instead you must build them from collectible batteries.

Story - 6/10

Your character starts off where the original Robopon left off. You have defeated Dr. Evil, and he triggers a self-destruct device and escapes. You run out of the collasping building and meet the rest of the characters outside. They then send you on a mission to compete in a Robopon tourney in another land. You get on a boat, and are shipwrecked without your Robopon on Majiko. You progress through the game world and discover that Dr. Evil must be defeated again!

Sounds majorly cliche, doesn't it? It is...especially when you meet a certain group of scientists who let you ride in an experimental car!

Also, characters are very one sided. You have the evil creep (Dr. Evil), the innocent corporation screwed up by said evil creep, and a couple of innocent girls.

Gameplay - 7/10

Lots of stuff to do, as with a certain RPG that starts with a "P". Mainly training your Robopon, and fighting boss battles. Your Robopon get stronger after each battle...battles are fought using "software" (the Robopon answer to magic) and "hardware" (which are equipped weapons). A in-battle bonus meter is here, in the form of a slot machine.

In-game puzzles are difficult at best, most of them being mazes and find the switch type of things.

Graphics - 3/10

Definately not eye-candy material. You'd be wishing for the cute, graphics of the original Robopon instead. The sprites look unproportional...your character looks incredibly lanky, and the others look just strange. If I were looking at a screenshot of Robopon 2, I would have thought that it was a bad graphic port of some other game.

The Robopon look chunky, and strange. The only good thing is that you can change the color scheme of the Robopon in a menu. Instead of the default color scheme, you can pick other colors. Have you seen a pink and purple Robopon before?

Sound - 7/10

Ugh! The battle theme is recurring. And I mean recurring, you have a lot of battles in this game, and this means listening to one track over and over and over.

Other than that, the sound effects are quite zany and perfect for the in-game environment!

Control - 6/10

Control is menu based, with A opening and selecting menus and the B button cancelling selections. Universal and easy. Your character cannot run by pressing down the B button although.

Multiplayer - 8/10

Two multiplayer options, you can battle or you can "Link Spark". Link Spark uses several batteries to make new Robopon for both players, and battles are accomplished with the help of the link cable for the gba.

Battles against human players are more fun than usual, but they usually last ten minutes or more. The battles are more varied and can be quite frustrating against a player who's gotten much further than you. Aside from that, it's not too bad!

Like Pokemon, the two versions feature different Robopon to collect!

Final Thoughts - 7/10

Classic collectible RPG gaming at it's peak. Grab a copy of this and a couple of Robopon loving friends to see what's up in the electronic world of Robopon!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/06/06