A perfect follow-up to the original Chibi-Robo. The first 2 games didn’t do too well in America, so I can kind of understand why Nintendo didn’t bring this one overseas. But man, I really think this could’ve turned the fate of series around if they did.

This one goes back to the absolute basics of the first game, adds a bunch of cool new ideas, and fixes up some old ideas. There’s a much bigger focus on Chibi’s plug. This time, Chibi can use their plug and cord as a weapon or as a means of transportation. You can upgrade your cord to make it longer to climb to higher outlets or to charge from far away. There’s a vacuum cleaner where you can empty the dust panel and find bits of gold or gemstones for money. Picking up trash serves a purpose as you can now recycle it and convert it into energy. You can climb up furniture to easily access higher areas. There’s no more fall damage so you don’t have to be extremely careful in high places. You can even play Blackjack with ghosts. I could go on and on about all the improvements and cool mechanics, but I’ll leave some surprises for you.

As for the story, it’s a lot like the first game, possibly even more sad (but not overbearing). It takes place about 20 years after the first game. A different Chibi-Robo and their Telly are now considered retro and are bought by a very poor family in a thrift shop. In their house, the wallpaper is peeling off, many appliances are missing, and there’s trash everywhere. The mother is constantly working overtime to be able to afford the house, the son skips school to work a job delivering papers for extra money, the family dog is perpetually dirty, and the father is no where to be seen. As a cleaning robot and the newest member of the family, it’s up to you to tidy up the house and make some money to make their lives a little better. They can’t afford electricity, so you can’t recharge all the time; instead you have to recycle garbage to resupply the house with power. As you progress, you make the family happier, learn a bit more about each member. You’ll also meet lots of little side-characters with interesting personalities and problems to solve. The further you progress, the happier and sillier the main story gets.

Off the top of my head, I don’t really remember any glaring issues with this game. The controls are a bit odd; you have to use the touch screen to move Chibi around but you get used to it pretty quickly. I played this with a controller in one hand and a screenless drawing tablet in the other and it surprisingly felt okay. I suppose the sifting minigame gets a bit boring after a while, but you can just throw the dust bags away for tons of energy, so it isn’t mandatory.

Overall, this is a very charming game and it’s pretty impressive for the DS. It’s an absolute shame that Nintendo never brought this one to the west. Thanks to the efforts of some dedicated fans, there’s an English translation floating around. I highly recommend this game, even if you haven’t played the original; you can understand and enjoy it without any prior knowledge.