First up, Selectron™ actually chose ‘Sonic Rush’ on the DS for me to play. I dutifully abided, but playing it only succeeded in hammering the final nail in my Sonic shaped coffin.
See, I’ve never really enjoyed Sonic games. The only reason I even own Sonic Rush is that I saw it very cheap and it had “The best Sonic Game Ever!” emblazoned on the front.
So I thought, if any game can change my mind then surely it’s ‘The best Sonic game ever’?
Sadly not.
I just can’t get my head around when I should and shouldn’t get involved with the action in these games. I love a bit of old school design but this is trial and error taken too far; when do I let the blue blur pinball around the screen on his own and when do I step in to make something happen? Git gud? Probably.
There’s no doubt that ‘Sonic Rush’ is a spectacular looking game, and in particular I really enjoyed the soundtrack (which put me in mind of Jet Set Radio) but there’s just something about me and Sonic that don’t get on.
So, second time around Selectron™ chose “Chibi Robo!™ Ziplash”
.I know nothing about the Chibi Robo brand other than what I discovered by doing a bit of research for this. Essentially it's a relatively new, ‘B’ tier, IP for Nintendo. Consisting of five games, with the original on the Gamecube being followed by two on the DS and two on the 3DS. The first three games are action adventures in which Chibi Robo chisels himself a niche on the themes of helpfulness and conscientiousness.
The fourth game was apparently an AR effort focused on finding and disposing of rubbish, and, finally, Chibi swings into the platforming genre in ‘Zip Lash’ to save earth's natural resources from being stolen by aliens.
This most recent game is very much in the laid back vein of something like Yoshi’s Woolly World. The emphasis is on exploring and meeting certain conditions in order to win ‘badges’. This is all done with a characteristic lack of urgency, and, it must be said, a lack of any real peril.
At this point I feel the need to interrogate my own tastes. Having come directly from not enjoying ‘Sonic Rush’ to getting a lot entertainment from Chibi Robo, I have to ask myself whether I just don’t like speed and challenge in my platformers - but then I remember 'Rayman Origins' and 'Super Meat Boy', just a small sample from this genre that I absolutely loved and both of which are blessed with an abundance of both of those elements.
I definitely enjoy a slow, exploratory game though; Flashback would be in my top ten of all time, for example, and Metroid is one of favourite franchises - although I suppose that’s a sub genre all to itself now...
Chibi Robo’s (not particularly Unique) USP is how he uses his power cord ‘tail’ to latch onto a platform; the eponymous ‘Zip Lash’. The cord can be flung around the level, ricocheting from surfaces, collecting objects and power-ups in the process. It’s huge reach in comparison to Chibi’s size and basic jump makes it essential for exploration.
The basic goal of each level is to reach the exit, but there are several ‘sub-goals’ that include collecting three gold coins, saving three smaller robots, or, in keeping with the friendly, helpful little robot vibe, Chibi can collect all of the rubbish he finds around a level to turn it into energy. The achievement of all these would be impossible without extensive use of the ‘Zip Lash’ move.
This also feeds into the game’s focus on replayability. You won’t be achieving all of the extra goals on your first play - there are some that don’t actually appear until the second time around, even selecting a level to play in each world is done ‘Wheel of Fortune’ style, although it is easy to manipulate if you don’t like the idea of moving along 1-to-3 levels at random.
There is one last layer of collecting, and replaying, to the game that has received some understandable distaste in other reviews.
‘Snacks’ are found around the world with various NPC’s asking you to retrieve particular examples for them.
Chief among the several issues with this is that these snacks are real, branded, items from ‘our world’ represented with a photographic image and their inclusion clashes with the bright, cartoony aesthetic.
Furthermore, something about promoting snacks in a game that rewards picking up discarded waste (which is usually food and drinks cartons) doesn’t really fit.
And then there’s the whole product placement of treats like Mentos and Pez in a game that is clearly very child-friendly…
It all feels a bit weird, and could easily have been removed without impact to the game, but I personally didn’t find it unpleasant enough to ruin the rest of the experience - although I would find it impossible to defend to anyone that did.
One the whole, this is a very low key game. From the ‘B’ tier character to the laid back play style, and even the original budget price-point; this is not a game that was ever going to set the world on fire.
But I think fans of exploratory platformers and the kind of collectathon design that many associate with the more popular Yoshi franchise will get a good amount of fun from it, apparently the Amiibo integration is high quality too, but I wasn’t able to check that for myself.
See, I’ve never really enjoyed Sonic games. The only reason I even own Sonic Rush is that I saw it very cheap and it had “The best Sonic Game Ever!” emblazoned on the front.
So I thought, if any game can change my mind then surely it’s ‘The best Sonic game ever’?
Sadly not.
I just can’t get my head around when I should and shouldn’t get involved with the action in these games. I love a bit of old school design but this is trial and error taken too far; when do I let the blue blur pinball around the screen on his own and when do I step in to make something happen? Git gud? Probably.
There’s no doubt that ‘Sonic Rush’ is a spectacular looking game, and in particular I really enjoyed the soundtrack (which put me in mind of Jet Set Radio) but there’s just something about me and Sonic that don’t get on.
So, second time around Selectron™ chose “Chibi Robo!™ Ziplash”
.I know nothing about the Chibi Robo brand other than what I discovered by doing a bit of research for this. Essentially it's a relatively new, ‘B’ tier, IP for Nintendo. Consisting of five games, with the original on the Gamecube being followed by two on the DS and two on the 3DS. The first three games are action adventures in which Chibi Robo chisels himself a niche on the themes of helpfulness and conscientiousness.
The fourth game was apparently an AR effort focused on finding and disposing of rubbish, and, finally, Chibi swings into the platforming genre in ‘Zip Lash’ to save earth's natural resources from being stolen by aliens.
This most recent game is very much in the laid back vein of something like Yoshi’s Woolly World. The emphasis is on exploring and meeting certain conditions in order to win ‘badges’. This is all done with a characteristic lack of urgency, and, it must be said, a lack of any real peril.
At this point I feel the need to interrogate my own tastes. Having come directly from not enjoying ‘Sonic Rush’ to getting a lot entertainment from Chibi Robo, I have to ask myself whether I just don’t like speed and challenge in my platformers - but then I remember 'Rayman Origins' and 'Super Meat Boy', just a small sample from this genre that I absolutely loved and both of which are blessed with an abundance of both of those elements.
I definitely enjoy a slow, exploratory game though; Flashback would be in my top ten of all time, for example, and Metroid is one of favourite franchises - although I suppose that’s a sub genre all to itself now...
Chibi Robo’s (not particularly Unique) USP is how he uses his power cord ‘tail’ to latch onto a platform; the eponymous ‘Zip Lash’. The cord can be flung around the level, ricocheting from surfaces, collecting objects and power-ups in the process. It’s huge reach in comparison to Chibi’s size and basic jump makes it essential for exploration.
The basic goal of each level is to reach the exit, but there are several ‘sub-goals’ that include collecting three gold coins, saving three smaller robots, or, in keeping with the friendly, helpful little robot vibe, Chibi can collect all of the rubbish he finds around a level to turn it into energy. The achievement of all these would be impossible without extensive use of the ‘Zip Lash’ move.
This also feeds into the game’s focus on replayability. You won’t be achieving all of the extra goals on your first play - there are some that don’t actually appear until the second time around, even selecting a level to play in each world is done ‘Wheel of Fortune’ style, although it is easy to manipulate if you don’t like the idea of moving along 1-to-3 levels at random.
There is one last layer of collecting, and replaying, to the game that has received some understandable distaste in other reviews.
‘Snacks’ are found around the world with various NPC’s asking you to retrieve particular examples for them.
Chief among the several issues with this is that these snacks are real, branded, items from ‘our world’ represented with a photographic image and their inclusion clashes with the bright, cartoony aesthetic.
Furthermore, something about promoting snacks in a game that rewards picking up discarded waste (which is usually food and drinks cartons) doesn’t really fit.
And then there’s the whole product placement of treats like Mentos and Pez in a game that is clearly very child-friendly…
It all feels a bit weird, and could easily have been removed without impact to the game, but I personally didn’t find it unpleasant enough to ruin the rest of the experience - although I would find it impossible to defend to anyone that did.
One the whole, this is a very low key game. From the ‘B’ tier character to the laid back play style, and even the original budget price-point; this is not a game that was ever going to set the world on fire.
But I think fans of exploratory platformers and the kind of collectathon design that many associate with the more popular Yoshi franchise will get a good amount of fun from it, apparently the Amiibo integration is high quality too, but I wasn’t able to check that for myself.
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