Like many people, I’ve never experienced Chibi-Robo on the Gamecube.
It looked like a cute enough game, but it never caught my interest.
The same can be said for all of Chibi-Robo’s games.
But with his newest release, Zip Lash, I finally got a chance to know the character in a form
that’s more my style.
I adore platformers.
They’re still one of my favorite genres to this day.
So I was curious to see how well Chibi-Robo could adapt to an entirely different way of
playing.
The story finds Chibi-Robo working at a space station when he learns of a crisis on Earth.
It seems tiny aliens have invaded the planet and begun to steal all of the world’s resources.
Recognizing the problem, Chibi-Robo sets out across the world to stop the aliens.
It’s a light-hearted story meant to push Chibi-Robo from one place to the next, but
I completely forgot everything about it except evil aliens very quickly.
But that’s really not a problem when it comes to platformers.
What did stand out was Chibi-Robo’s personality.
His level entrances, victory animations, and tiny personality quirks helped him stand out
and become quite loveable really quickly.
When it comes to gameplay though, Chibi-Robo doesn’t stand out that much.
His two main abilities are his jump and his Lash attacks which come in two forms.
There’s the standard Whip Lash which is the primary attack.
It’s quick but can only be aimed horizontally and at an upward angle.
It also has a short range that only occasionally gets longer.
But it is the go-to option when dealing with most enemies and basic platforming.
The other is the titular Zip Lash.
This one must be charged in order to be used, but it can be aimed in any direction.
At the start of each level, it’s the same length as the Whip Lash but collecting blue
orbs extends the range and even ties in to certain puzzles.
The Zip Lash can also be ricocheted off most objects in order to collect hard-to-reach
items or far off platforms.
And in the most basic sense, that’s it.
But because it’s so simple, it can be a lot of fun.
The levels are well-designed and fully take advantage of Chibi-Robo’s abilities.
There’s a reason the Zip Lash is featured.
It’s used in almost every major puzzle and is incredibly satisfying.
Once it becomes longer, it’s fun to see Chibi-Robo’s cord bounce around the level
until hitting a block that it can plug into.
And because it’s stronger than the Whip Lash, it can cause a ton of destruction.
The game also finds ways to change things up to varying degrees of success.
The skateboard and waveboard levels are fun and challenging because they have simple,
responsive controls.
It’s all about reacting quickly which is a great change compared to the relative leisurely
pace of the rest of the game.
But then there are the sky levels and submarine levels.
The sky levels have you control your height based on how much Chibi-Robo swings back and
forth.
Oftentimes I found myself moving either way too fast or way too slow and I just couldn’t
get a handle on it.
It felt needlessly complex.
The submarine levels are by far the worst in the game.
Though there are only two, controlling the submarine was an agonizing experience.
It was based entirely around momentum so getting the sub to move became a massive chore and
having stop was just as bad.
Add in the fact that you can only attack a short distance directly above you and it just
becomes a boring and aggravating experience.
Oh, and you fight in a boss in this way which is just inane and takes way too long.
But these special levels also highlight a trend of odd design decisions with the game.
It will try to break up the pace by introducing new elements to a level.
But, for the most part, it only does this twice; once to introduce it and then later
in a harder version.
Only the main mechanics get any kind of consistent evolution as the game progresses.
And while these new elements can be fun, they also make Chibi-Robo feel like a very by-the-numbers
experience.
You expect them to come back once and only once.
Never are they integrated with some of the other ideas they used to create brand new
challenges.
And then there’s the level progression.
To complete a stage, Chibi-Robo must strike either a bronze, silver, or gold UFO.
This determines how many chances the player has to select their next level.
There are six levels in each world and theoretically they can be played in any order after the
first.
But rather than let the player decide which level to go to next, a Destination Spinner
is spun.
Depending on which number you land on, you go that many spaces forward and play that
level.
Even if you land on a level that you’ve already completed, you must go through it
again in order to access the spinner.
Now it can be manipulated through the game’s currency system, Moolah.
Different panels can be bought in order to either increase the chance of getting what
you want or outright guaranteeing it.
But the whole system became moot.
I didn’t feel like going out of order when I had no idea what level offered what.
So I simply made sure I went one level at a time.
It makes no sense why progression is set this way especially when any level can be chosen
at any time after the world is beaten.
It just seems like a way to push players to spend Moolah which is mostly useless unless
you buy panels, including ones that weaken bosses, or items that I never needed.
The only required purchase was the massive one right before the final boss.
And that highlights another issue.
The collectibles are essentially worthless.
Moolah did have a use by the end but it felt arbitrary.
Star Coins and Chibi-Tots can collected in each level, but I never found a use for them
outside of getting a higher score which I didn’t care about.
There are candies and snacks that can be found in each level and they’re all real ones
from around the world.
These actually do have a use, but it takes so long that I’m not sure it’s worth it.
Essentially there are toys that ask for specific snacks.
Give it to them and you’ll be treated with basically an advertisement.
At least it felt that way for the American snacks.
The treats I wasn’t familiar with were actually a little interesting.
Giving the toys all the candy rewards you with a costume, but that’s a long process
since you can’t even give the toy all the candy they want in a single level.
They must be visited multiple times.
It’s that extra hassle that’s seemingly there for no reason, just like the Destination
Wheel.
Chibi-Robo is not an amazing looking game.
Levels are pretty basic in design though they complement Chibi-Robo’s abilities well.
Everything has a blocky appearance to it, which makes the whole look seem a little un-inspired.
It’s like you can see where they plugged in each element of the game.
However, the music is fantastic.
I was consistently surprised how much I enjoyed each track and felt like it fit the mood well.
It was always just so upbeat.
Chibi-Robo!
Zip Lash is a pretty standard platformer.
The things it does well, it does really well.
The Zip Lash mechanic is fun, the levels mostly compliment Chibi-Robo’s abilities, and it’s
apparent that the developers tried to integrate the basic ideas of Chibi-Robo’s original
gameplay into the necessities of a platformer.
But other design decisions just detract from the game and make it less than special.
I liked it enough that I can recommend it to players looking for a new platformer on
the go.
It is pretty fun.
But if you’re looking for an experience that goes beyond the standard, you won’t
find it here.
Thanks for watching and make sure to stay tuned to GameXplain for more on Chibi-Robo
and other things gaming.