Robotics; Notes is at first a chill, slow burn slice of life of various characters joining a dream in building a robot. Exploring various ideas of what robots are, and what they can mean for people. With a cast of quirky and likable misfits, and a passive protagonist who has to step up and acknowledge that time is moving forward without him.
The more grand and mysterious plot points are threaded throughout, but the game keeps some sense of grounded science and engineering, even when it goes full conspiracy nut.
The more grand and mysterious plot points are threaded throughout, but the game keeps some sense of grounded science and engineering, even when it goes full conspiracy nut.
It's like the Megabots real life giant robot duel but the results are actually not disappointing
The game's a pretty chill time but also there's a lot of care taken to build up a convincing universe and really lovable characters. The gameplay triggers aren't annoying at all and definitely bolster the experience, and though the final fight was cheesy, I still enjoyed every part of it.
Also you get to save the world with your gamer powers. So that's pretty cool too.
Fantastic VN from the Sci;Adv series and I loved this way more than Chaos;Head.
Also you get to save the world with your gamer powers. So that's pretty cool too.
Fantastic VN from the Sci;Adv series and I loved this way more than Chaos;Head.
Half of Robotics;Notes is a slice of life story about teenagers on a rural island messing around at their school club where they're trying to accomplish the monumental task of building a working giant robot, and the other half is a conspiracy thriller about a shadowy organisation supposedly trying to kill billions of people.
Whether or not this story works for you is likely going to come down to how well you think these two halves mesh together, and while they're an odd combination, I think there's something special in the result.
You might have guessed from the title that this is a story in the Japanese mecha genre, but I'd argue it's more about mecha fandom than mecha itself. Every character has their own relationship to giant robots that is explored in detail, from heroine Akiho growing up on Super Robot anime, to rival Subaru's fascination with the Real Robot side of things, or shy martial artist Jun's fear of robots based on a traumatic childhood incident, and they each inform the casts perspective on mecha in unique ways as they come together to make a giant robot.
Something that makes Robotics;Notes different is in its structure. Whereas most visual novels either have a single route or multiple diverging routes with different endings, Robotics;Notes has multiple character endings that follow on directly from one another instead of being different branching routes. While this does mean the player can accidentally play these endings out of order and mess with the flow of the story, I think this approach creates a more cohesive narrative overall, as by the time you reach the true ending, most members of the robotics club have gone through their own character development and resolved their character arcs in a single timeline, instead of it happening in a different narrative branch that might not occur on the path to a true ending.
While almost every character gets their time to shine, there is one character who unfortunately misses out, as all the character endings only revolve around the female cast. This means that Subaru, who in my opinion is one of the more interesting characters, doesn't get a completely satisfying character arc until the inferior sequel, Robotics;Notes DaSH.
Graphics wise, Robotics;Notes is somewhat unique among visual novels in that it opts to use 3D models instead of 2D portraits or the more recent Live-2D animations. The 3D models look quite good, and animate well, making for a more dynamic look than static 2D images, but it does leave the game feeling like it has a lack of a distinct art style compared to its cousin Steins;Gate, which had beautifully drawn 2D portraits with a unique look to them. You still see the characters in 2D during CG's, but they have a fairly generic look in order to match their 3D models. In addition, presumably because the 3D models were more expensive or took longer to produce, only a small handful of characters outside of the main cast can appear outside of CG scenes, meaning often the main cast will be talking to thin air as the game couldn't justify giving a 3D model to more minor characters like the protagonist Kaito's parents, where I think they likely would have had at least one portrait drawn for their appearances in a 2D visual novel.
Overall, Robotics;Notes is a very slow paced story, both in its laid back slice of life half, and it's slow burn conspiracy thriller half, but I think that only enhances both sides of this unique pairing. The slice of life elements benefit from a pacing that allows the player plenty of time to get attached to these characters, and helps convey the stillness of rural life on the island of Tanegashima, while the conspiracy thriller elements are enhanced by the background sense of dread that bigger forces are at play behind the scenes, and our protagonist could be silenced at any time for what he has discovered. It also means that whenever a big plot development does happen, it feels monumental in comparison to the relaxed daily life the characters experience. I wouldn't blame anyone for not being on board with its pacing, but I think if you stick with it, it's ultimately a rewarding experience.
Whether or not this story works for you is likely going to come down to how well you think these two halves mesh together, and while they're an odd combination, I think there's something special in the result.
You might have guessed from the title that this is a story in the Japanese mecha genre, but I'd argue it's more about mecha fandom than mecha itself. Every character has their own relationship to giant robots that is explored in detail, from heroine Akiho growing up on Super Robot anime, to rival Subaru's fascination with the Real Robot side of things, or shy martial artist Jun's fear of robots based on a traumatic childhood incident, and they each inform the casts perspective on mecha in unique ways as they come together to make a giant robot.
Something that makes Robotics;Notes different is in its structure. Whereas most visual novels either have a single route or multiple diverging routes with different endings, Robotics;Notes has multiple character endings that follow on directly from one another instead of being different branching routes. While this does mean the player can accidentally play these endings out of order and mess with the flow of the story, I think this approach creates a more cohesive narrative overall, as by the time you reach the true ending, most members of the robotics club have gone through their own character development and resolved their character arcs in a single timeline, instead of it happening in a different narrative branch that might not occur on the path to a true ending.
While almost every character gets their time to shine, there is one character who unfortunately misses out, as all the character endings only revolve around the female cast. This means that Subaru, who in my opinion is one of the more interesting characters, doesn't get a completely satisfying character arc until the inferior sequel, Robotics;Notes DaSH.
Graphics wise, Robotics;Notes is somewhat unique among visual novels in that it opts to use 3D models instead of 2D portraits or the more recent Live-2D animations. The 3D models look quite good, and animate well, making for a more dynamic look than static 2D images, but it does leave the game feeling like it has a lack of a distinct art style compared to its cousin Steins;Gate, which had beautifully drawn 2D portraits with a unique look to them. You still see the characters in 2D during CG's, but they have a fairly generic look in order to match their 3D models. In addition, presumably because the 3D models were more expensive or took longer to produce, only a small handful of characters outside of the main cast can appear outside of CG scenes, meaning often the main cast will be talking to thin air as the game couldn't justify giving a 3D model to more minor characters like the protagonist Kaito's parents, where I think they likely would have had at least one portrait drawn for their appearances in a 2D visual novel.
Overall, Robotics;Notes is a very slow paced story, both in its laid back slice of life half, and it's slow burn conspiracy thriller half, but I think that only enhances both sides of this unique pairing. The slice of life elements benefit from a pacing that allows the player plenty of time to get attached to these characters, and helps convey the stillness of rural life on the island of Tanegashima, while the conspiracy thriller elements are enhanced by the background sense of dread that bigger forces are at play behind the scenes, and our protagonist could be silenced at any time for what he has discovered. It also means that whenever a big plot development does happen, it feels monumental in comparison to the relaxed daily life the characters experience. I wouldn't blame anyone for not being on board with its pacing, but I think if you stick with it, it's ultimately a rewarding experience.
This review contains spoilers
i would die for the robotics club.
i can't believe the depth and quality of the writing behind (most of) these characters. akiho and kai's relationship is one of the best, most unique, honest, and well-developed i've ever seen in a game.
the plot is classic SciAdv, with maybe too many elements from prior games pulled in and a bit of a rushed finale. but the first half of the game with slice-of-life character hangouts and a slowly unraveling mystery was masterful - I wish I could've stayed in that part of the game for another 40 hours.
it's a shame the sequel focuses on the worst character in steins;gate, but oh well.
i can't believe the depth and quality of the writing behind (most of) these characters. akiho and kai's relationship is one of the best, most unique, honest, and well-developed i've ever seen in a game.
the plot is classic SciAdv, with maybe too many elements from prior games pulled in and a bit of a rushed finale. but the first half of the game with slice-of-life character hangouts and a slowly unraveling mystery was masterful - I wish I could've stayed in that part of the game for another 40 hours.
it's a shame the sequel focuses on the worst character in steins;gate, but oh well.
Robotics;Notes draws you in with its compelling characters and its warm, friendly atmosphere. The characters all grow in believable and heartwarming ways and you really get attached to the Robot Club. As you get immersed, the curtain is pulled back on a deeper plot with a cathartic and very earned finale. Akiho best girl
easily peak SciADV took what was great in C;H and S;G and fixed the issues I had with them primarily the weak cast dynamic. nothing but fantastic characters even though one of them felt kinda rushed near the end but I still liked them. was such a treat for C;H and S;G fans.
BIGGEST ISSUE IS THE STUPID DUMB """""""ROUTE""""""" SYSTEM AAAAA PLEASE USE A GUIDE DURING PHASE 4. 9/10 Akiho is the GOAT
BIGGEST ISSUE IS THE STUPID DUMB """""""ROUTE""""""" SYSTEM AAAAA PLEASE USE A GUIDE DURING PHASE 4. 9/10 Akiho is the GOAT
This review contains spoilers
One of the more grounded SCI;ADV games, that I found myself enjoying quite a lot. Even while being a fan of the subplot it's not really the main focus, as such I'll leave it for later. The characters are nothing short of Amazing, and complement each other very well. It's story is more focused on slice of life, with an interesting subplot I quite liked. It's music is nothing short of excellent Tanegashima's theme being my favorite as it's a remix of Neutrals from Chaos;Child. Overall, I recommend this game and despite some awkward keybinds hope the experience is great. Remember to use a spoiler free guide for the routes, as they are a little too specific and feel like one of those fake pokemon rumors (Mew under the truck) with how specific it can be.
Kaito is a hardass and a shutin that deeply cares for AKiho and only wants to protect her in the end. Throughout the game he keeps everything to himself because of the fear of losing those around him. This is only confimed by what happened to Mizuke. Kaito dedicates himself to his fighting game to become number 1 and get recognized by Misaki. Kaito is a scarred individual that is hard to open up, but cares for those around him he's a great protagonist and has shown he'd do anything to keep Akiho safe. Akiho is the best character in the game, and is there to fulfill her ambitions of making a giant robot based on Gunvarell Just like her sister wanted. She only wishes to make people like robots like she does, and is very helpful to all members of the robot club. Her sister betraying her was one of the worst scenes in the game, and Kaito helping her up was heartwarming and endearing. The two have an excellent dynamic and look out for each other even if the other doesn't realize it. Even with the betrayal she stands strong and makes her dreams come true. Akiho really is an excellent character and the glue to the main cast, she keeps up her cheery attitude at all times and helps out the others disregarding herself just like Kaito. Subaru is the son of a fisherman, that loves robots and uses them as a side hobby. He keeps this love for robots secrets and the various times he is caught, are heartwrenching scenes as he is forced to give up what he loves and tear it apart. Akiho always is there to help him rekindle his love for robots, and get him through his situation. Despite his accident he continues to help the robotics club make their robot, and seems to care a lot for Daikotu even if he doesn't show it. Daitoku is a great character with a huge fear of robots, which she can't get over. She blames herself for what happened to doc's business and shuts herself out. Her route has to be the best one. She gets over her fear of robots after seeing the photo with her grandfather. She is willing to get near the robot that hurt her, to get close to her grandfather and help him realize his dreams of humans getting along with robots. Daitoku also greatly cares for her family and brothers acting like a mother for them. Even with her limits, she acts towards her dream of being a karate master and doesn't give up. Finally we have Frau Kojiro, I don't really like the perverted characters in the SCi;ADV series and it's just uncomfortable most of the time. Fraus character does suffer from these issues, but her backstory and writing is pretty good and does alleviate some of these problems. She's the developer of the fighting game Kai loves, and is on an endless pursuit of her mother. She became a shut-in because of the trauma of losing her mother. She has two robot assistants that are gunvarell characters as it is her mothers life work. She hasn't really grown because of these traumatic events in her life and only opens up to Kaito. When Gunvarel became hated, she tried to take her own life as her mothers work was desecrated. Her character has a lot to it, and her story is horrible. I may hate the perverted comments, but her writing is nothing short of excellent and her dedication to the robot club and her mothers work is inspirational. Going nights without food or sleep. As you can see, all of the characters have their own trauma and they all work alongside each other to get over it and accomplish their dreams. They all started as shutins. One of the Main themes of the game is trauma and getting over it. This game quite frankly left quite an impact on me and even if it's ending was a little rushed to tie all those knots with the subplot and Kimijima. It really was great. I only went over the Main members and missed Airi, Mizuka and Misaki which all have stories revolving around the main theme as well. Please check out the game on full price or sale. I haven't even gone over half of the game, and why it's so good. Watching all these events unfold is it's own experience and I recommend it. I talk a little about the subplot below, but I really feel like what's above is the real meat and bones of the game.
I was a big fan of the Subplot Kai was tangled in. The cover ups and restriction of information flow. Inhumane experiments sealed behind closed doors, and using the player as a puppet. The Komijima reports are excellent bait to the player, helped only by the sick music that plays when you read them. Just like Kai the player feels compelled to solve this mystery, wanting to be the protagonist to the play just like in Metal Gear Solid only to end up playing into the committee's hands. The chess pieces lined up perfectly. I really did expect the reports to be true, tons of trite information on the internet is passed everyday. It's not unreasonable for the government to cover up anything unfavorable to them and these weird events were happening in Kai's life. The Gunvarrel episode was bone chilling and seemed like a prophecy. The subplot was a great way to raise the tension, we as the player were given nothing and chilling things like the lost episode and Kagome Kagome alongside the music made it thrilling.
Kaito is a hardass and a shutin that deeply cares for AKiho and only wants to protect her in the end. Throughout the game he keeps everything to himself because of the fear of losing those around him. This is only confimed by what happened to Mizuke. Kaito dedicates himself to his fighting game to become number 1 and get recognized by Misaki. Kaito is a scarred individual that is hard to open up, but cares for those around him he's a great protagonist and has shown he'd do anything to keep Akiho safe. Akiho is the best character in the game, and is there to fulfill her ambitions of making a giant robot based on Gunvarell Just like her sister wanted. She only wishes to make people like robots like she does, and is very helpful to all members of the robot club. Her sister betraying her was one of the worst scenes in the game, and Kaito helping her up was heartwarming and endearing. The two have an excellent dynamic and look out for each other even if the other doesn't realize it. Even with the betrayal she stands strong and makes her dreams come true. Akiho really is an excellent character and the glue to the main cast, she keeps up her cheery attitude at all times and helps out the others disregarding herself just like Kaito. Subaru is the son of a fisherman, that loves robots and uses them as a side hobby. He keeps this love for robots secrets and the various times he is caught, are heartwrenching scenes as he is forced to give up what he loves and tear it apart. Akiho always is there to help him rekindle his love for robots, and get him through his situation. Despite his accident he continues to help the robotics club make their robot, and seems to care a lot for Daikotu even if he doesn't show it. Daitoku is a great character with a huge fear of robots, which she can't get over. She blames herself for what happened to doc's business and shuts herself out. Her route has to be the best one. She gets over her fear of robots after seeing the photo with her grandfather. She is willing to get near the robot that hurt her, to get close to her grandfather and help him realize his dreams of humans getting along with robots. Daitoku also greatly cares for her family and brothers acting like a mother for them. Even with her limits, she acts towards her dream of being a karate master and doesn't give up. Finally we have Frau Kojiro, I don't really like the perverted characters in the SCi;ADV series and it's just uncomfortable most of the time. Fraus character does suffer from these issues, but her backstory and writing is pretty good and does alleviate some of these problems. She's the developer of the fighting game Kai loves, and is on an endless pursuit of her mother. She became a shut-in because of the trauma of losing her mother. She has two robot assistants that are gunvarell characters as it is her mothers life work. She hasn't really grown because of these traumatic events in her life and only opens up to Kaito. When Gunvarel became hated, she tried to take her own life as her mothers work was desecrated. Her character has a lot to it, and her story is horrible. I may hate the perverted comments, but her writing is nothing short of excellent and her dedication to the robot club and her mothers work is inspirational. Going nights without food or sleep. As you can see, all of the characters have their own trauma and they all work alongside each other to get over it and accomplish their dreams. They all started as shutins. One of the Main themes of the game is trauma and getting over it. This game quite frankly left quite an impact on me and even if it's ending was a little rushed to tie all those knots with the subplot and Kimijima. It really was great. I only went over the Main members and missed Airi, Mizuka and Misaki which all have stories revolving around the main theme as well. Please check out the game on full price or sale. I haven't even gone over half of the game, and why it's so good. Watching all these events unfold is it's own experience and I recommend it. I talk a little about the subplot below, but I really feel like what's above is the real meat and bones of the game.
I was a big fan of the Subplot Kai was tangled in. The cover ups and restriction of information flow. Inhumane experiments sealed behind closed doors, and using the player as a puppet. The Komijima reports are excellent bait to the player, helped only by the sick music that plays when you read them. Just like Kai the player feels compelled to solve this mystery, wanting to be the protagonist to the play just like in Metal Gear Solid only to end up playing into the committee's hands. The chess pieces lined up perfectly. I really did expect the reports to be true, tons of trite information on the internet is passed everyday. It's not unreasonable for the government to cover up anything unfavorable to them and these weird events were happening in Kai's life. The Gunvarrel episode was bone chilling and seemed like a prophecy. The subplot was a great way to raise the tension, we as the player were given nothing and chilling things like the lost episode and Kagome Kagome alongside the music made it thrilling.
Para mi la peor del sci;adv series. Tiene una trama interesante sobre... bueno... robots, pero se siente tan infantil, aunque intenta ser madura en varias escenas... El final es mediocre, deus ex machinas aquí y allá, etc... pero al menos los personajes (excepto el MC) son buenos y aprecio las referencias a Chaos;Head y el uso de modelos 3d, pero fue una trama mal ejecutada comparada con el resto de VNs de la serie.
Me, halfway through the VN: "Man, I can't imagine how they managed to squeeze 22 whole episodes of an anime out of this thing..."
Me, nearing the end of the VN: "Good god there's no way they managed to squeeze this whole thing into 22 episodes."
Me, nearing the end of the VN: "Good god there's no way they managed to squeeze this whole thing into 22 episodes."
Big takeaway from this one: I never wanna hear Kagami Kagami again.
By far the weakest sciadv game but it still had it's moments.
the scrunklies !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Truly my favorite entry in the Science Adventure series, and one of my favorite VNs of all time.
A shining example of SciAdv playing to its strengths of character writing, slice-of-life, detailed sci-fi aspects, and larger narrative worldbuilding. The characters are steeped in analysis of personalities and relationships. The slice-of-life is mellow and serves to explore the characters well. As someone with a degree in electrical engineering, I can speak to how realistic, yet wondrous, the sci-fi behind electromagnetism and robotics truly is in this entry. And not to mention how well the story of R;N fits neatly and expounds greatly upon the already established lore of Science Adventure.
It's truly one of the coziest, loveliest, most heartwarming stories I have ever read.
I love it dearly. Please read R;N if you haven't already.
A shining example of SciAdv playing to its strengths of character writing, slice-of-life, detailed sci-fi aspects, and larger narrative worldbuilding. The characters are steeped in analysis of personalities and relationships. The slice-of-life is mellow and serves to explore the characters well. As someone with a degree in electrical engineering, I can speak to how realistic, yet wondrous, the sci-fi behind electromagnetism and robotics truly is in this entry. And not to mention how well the story of R;N fits neatly and expounds greatly upon the already established lore of Science Adventure.
It's truly one of the coziest, loveliest, most heartwarming stories I have ever read.
I love it dearly. Please read R;N if you haven't already.
JUSTICE ALWAYS PREVAILS
Man if this had better pacing it honestly could've been my favourite visual novel. The cast is absolutely stellar and a lot of the content when the cast isn't fucking around is excellent, but there's a large amount of fucking around. Definitely play with CoZ's patch that fixes the poor excuse of a translation and adds mouse support.
Power of friendship >>>>>>>>>
I miss the cast a lot
I miss the cast a lot
absolute masterpiece.
10/10 would die for Aki
10/10 would die for Aki
sci;adv game with robots? yes please
frau best girl
frau best girl
Akiho Senomiya is a girl who loves robots.
10 talvez seja um pouquinho demais, o jogo tem problemas, mas meu deus como eu amo isso aqui
mid diff entire series
De todos los juegos de SciAdv hasta ahora, este ha sido el que tuvo su trasfondo más interesante: un futuro lejano, donde los mechas son populares y crearlos es mucho más fácil, y aun así, es probablemente el juego con más Slice of Life de la saga.
Ojo, todos estos juegos son básicamente slow burn en cuanto a cómo se abre la trama y el problema que deben enfrentar, pero wow... Aparte de que el protagonista es gamer y le chupa un huevo todo, su grupo es de lo más normal en apariencia, transcurre a lo largo de meses, y también la historia es, de alguna manera... menos trágica en comparación a las otras, manteniendo la escala del peligro. (No spoilers)
El CG (arte) en general es el más ambicioso que vi de todos los juegos de la franquicia, quizás también intentando poner énfasis en que es el futuro. Su punto más débil probablemente es el OST, siendo que no lo encontré muy memorable sacando el leitmotif que se escucha desde el inicio o el ED normal.
Pero bueno, ¡me gustó! Me quedan R;N DaSH para ya terminar con todos.
Ojo, todos estos juegos son básicamente slow burn en cuanto a cómo se abre la trama y el problema que deben enfrentar, pero wow... Aparte de que el protagonista es gamer y le chupa un huevo todo, su grupo es de lo más normal en apariencia, transcurre a lo largo de meses, y también la historia es, de alguna manera... menos trágica en comparación a las otras, manteniendo la escala del peligro. (No spoilers)
El CG (arte) en general es el más ambicioso que vi de todos los juegos de la franquicia, quizás también intentando poner énfasis en que es el futuro. Su punto más débil probablemente es el OST, siendo que no lo encontré muy memorable sacando el leitmotif que se escucha desde el inicio o el ED normal.
Pero bueno, ¡me gustó! Me quedan R;N DaSH para ya terminar con todos.
You can really tell the ending was written first and the rest of the game is just trying to get the characters where they need to be for it to happen, but the build-up period is far too slow paced for my liking. Having said that, the final few chapters are by far the most climatic SciAdv has ever been, so that was nice payoff to everything built up, even in Chaos Head and Steins Gate. The ending isn't perfect and definitely needed more time to properly explain things, but it is what it is.
My least fav in the SciAdv (at least mainlines) but still a good time.
My least fav in the SciAdv (at least mainlines) but still a good time.
can a spinoff fighting game boy and an original source material girl really find love on the battlefield
awesome cast and overall just enjoyable slice of life story I just dont like the s;g connections
It was good, but my least favorite SciAdv game I've played as of writing. Loved the characters, but the story was a bit weaker than Steins;Gate or Chaos;Head.
Giving half a star less because this game is Twitter propaganda
Fuck you Elon Musk.
Fuck you Elon Musk.
This review contains spoilers
This contains spoilers for Chaos;Head NoAH, Steins;Gate and Robotics;Notes.
Robotics;Notes Elite, Science Adventure Series #3, is a mech building project VN. Unlike the first two, it uses 3D models instead of sprites (though I would argue this makes them more noticeably repetitive in terms of expression, and also the 3D characters often look nothing like their 2D selves), and includes anime scenes from the R;N anime in this edition of it.
What I find weird about this one is firstly the structure. You "routes" except they're chapters, so you might end up accidentally doing Chapter 7 before 6 or something if you're not using a guide. Why!?
Secondly, the way the three main plot threads — (the Committee of 300 conspiracy, related to discovering clues on the island; BTW I liked the creepy cartoon part, that was cool), the Gunvarrel building project, and character motivations — work together. They feel like three different VNs in one. Like sometimes Kai (and the plot, really) remembers "oh right, I didn't do this yet" and decides to find another geotag of a clue. In general, it often feels like stuff juts happens sometimes in the plot. It just feels abrupt. And then you have stuff like the final fight where the OP plays for a minute (maybe I was reading lines too fast?) in a shounen-like fight, and I wasn't hyped at all. Song choice didn't help either, my favourite R;N OP song is the second anime opening track. The themes in this aren't very crazy like Chaos;, but at least they're more interesting than Steins;Gate's, so that's something.
The characters and humour didn't really click for me. Maybe I was overhyped, but the slice-of-life (and boy do I like slice-of-life, I'm a Key fan) and jokes and characters didn't really work for me. The humour was bland and I didn't feel a strong bond with the characters (contrary to the game's wishes). Kai especially feels weak compared to other SciAdv mainline protagonists. At least the cast is balanced, but there aren't any particular high highs. The VN wants me to care, and I just don't.
I was told I'd enjoy the mecha aspect here. I found it to be meh. Despite being real robot, they talk in very vague terms with how the Gunvarrel and other mechs actually work. There's times where they go shopping for parts or revise the design of the mechs and they are just talking about buzzwords. Unlike something like Gundam, All You Need is Kill, Muv-Luv, Gunbuster or Baldr Sky, I genuinely understand nothing, in concrete terms, about how each of these "actuators" or something contribute to the overall technology. You also have battle shounen-like tournament-style fights, except almost every mech has unique abilities that are not built from the same fundamentals as others, and not comparable to what the core cast has, so I find myself a bit reluctant to call this hard sci-fi, even if it technically is.
This VN is also the prime example of what I call a "SciAdvism". The way Science Adventure uses its connected universe is utterly unsatisfying to me. You have a series, except entries are written by different writers, and are of different genres, settings, core casts, chronologies, tones. God forbid you just want to read R;N and don't read Chaos;Head first, even if R;N isn't a direct sequel to C;H. You would have to sit through dozens of hours of something you don't want to read for something you do want to read. And naturally, any reader who has read several entries will likely run into one they don't really like.
In this one's case, the SciAdvism mainly comes in the form of Nae from Steins;Gate appearing, the NoAH experiments from C;H being connected to Kai's powers, various SciAdv characters appearing on what is basically Twitter, and the Committee itself. Nae is here, but she has sort of a weird presence. She could seriously be replaced by any other character and it would be the same. I don't really understand the point of having her here if she doesn't have significant development from S;G and isn't there to teach the core cast lessons as a mentor, which could be examples of what they could do with her. They do do this to a small extent, but not enough to justify having an MCU "hey, remember me? I'm character X from a previous entry!". The NoAH experiments are a cool connection, I guess, but it's really weird how R;N does the Committee connection where no previous confirmed Committee member from a previous entry appears, it's basically like if the villain was from another branch in the company. Like Steins;Gate, in Robotics;Notes, the antagonistic force is just another Committee branch with no sort of interaction with the ones in C;H or S;G except for the fact that they work for the same general group. The hype that SciAdv has built up about the mysterious committee has been a major thing since Sena's route in NoAH, and we still know absolutely nothing about them in reality (at least pre-Anonymous;Code, which I probably won't be reading). The "OMG, a reference!" comes through with the in-universe Twitter where you have people like Takumi, Daru and Kurisu appearing, and I just don't see the hype with that. Not everyone has to appear in person again, but wouldn't you want to do something more substantial with those characters if you're going to reference them, as opposed to just having short references that go absolutely nowhere? For three mainline VNs now, the Committee has been a mystery, except that the antagonists have been working far away from each other for the same vague, unknown force. What is compelling about this besides the cool factor? There's been no actual progress on this so far at the point of R;N.
Long story short, I'm overall just apathetic to this VN. For those who enjoy it, I'm happy for you, but for me personally, it was a rather major disappointment.
Robotics;Notes Elite, Science Adventure Series #3, is a mech building project VN. Unlike the first two, it uses 3D models instead of sprites (though I would argue this makes them more noticeably repetitive in terms of expression, and also the 3D characters often look nothing like their 2D selves), and includes anime scenes from the R;N anime in this edition of it.
What I find weird about this one is firstly the structure. You "routes" except they're chapters, so you might end up accidentally doing Chapter 7 before 6 or something if you're not using a guide. Why!?
Secondly, the way the three main plot threads — (the Committee of 300 conspiracy, related to discovering clues on the island; BTW I liked the creepy cartoon part, that was cool), the Gunvarrel building project, and character motivations — work together. They feel like three different VNs in one. Like sometimes Kai (and the plot, really) remembers "oh right, I didn't do this yet" and decides to find another geotag of a clue. In general, it often feels like stuff juts happens sometimes in the plot. It just feels abrupt. And then you have stuff like the final fight where the OP plays for a minute (maybe I was reading lines too fast?) in a shounen-like fight, and I wasn't hyped at all. Song choice didn't help either, my favourite R;N OP song is the second anime opening track. The themes in this aren't very crazy like Chaos;, but at least they're more interesting than Steins;Gate's, so that's something.
The characters and humour didn't really click for me. Maybe I was overhyped, but the slice-of-life (and boy do I like slice-of-life, I'm a Key fan) and jokes and characters didn't really work for me. The humour was bland and I didn't feel a strong bond with the characters (contrary to the game's wishes). Kai especially feels weak compared to other SciAdv mainline protagonists. At least the cast is balanced, but there aren't any particular high highs. The VN wants me to care, and I just don't.
I was told I'd enjoy the mecha aspect here. I found it to be meh. Despite being real robot, they talk in very vague terms with how the Gunvarrel and other mechs actually work. There's times where they go shopping for parts or revise the design of the mechs and they are just talking about buzzwords. Unlike something like Gundam, All You Need is Kill, Muv-Luv, Gunbuster or Baldr Sky, I genuinely understand nothing, in concrete terms, about how each of these "actuators" or something contribute to the overall technology. You also have battle shounen-like tournament-style fights, except almost every mech has unique abilities that are not built from the same fundamentals as others, and not comparable to what the core cast has, so I find myself a bit reluctant to call this hard sci-fi, even if it technically is.
This VN is also the prime example of what I call a "SciAdvism". The way Science Adventure uses its connected universe is utterly unsatisfying to me. You have a series, except entries are written by different writers, and are of different genres, settings, core casts, chronologies, tones. God forbid you just want to read R;N and don't read Chaos;Head first, even if R;N isn't a direct sequel to C;H. You would have to sit through dozens of hours of something you don't want to read for something you do want to read. And naturally, any reader who has read several entries will likely run into one they don't really like.
In this one's case, the SciAdvism mainly comes in the form of Nae from Steins;Gate appearing, the NoAH experiments from C;H being connected to Kai's powers, various SciAdv characters appearing on what is basically Twitter, and the Committee itself. Nae is here, but she has sort of a weird presence. She could seriously be replaced by any other character and it would be the same. I don't really understand the point of having her here if she doesn't have significant development from S;G and isn't there to teach the core cast lessons as a mentor, which could be examples of what they could do with her. They do do this to a small extent, but not enough to justify having an MCU "hey, remember me? I'm character X from a previous entry!". The NoAH experiments are a cool connection, I guess, but it's really weird how R;N does the Committee connection where no previous confirmed Committee member from a previous entry appears, it's basically like if the villain was from another branch in the company. Like Steins;Gate, in Robotics;Notes, the antagonistic force is just another Committee branch with no sort of interaction with the ones in C;H or S;G except for the fact that they work for the same general group. The hype that SciAdv has built up about the mysterious committee has been a major thing since Sena's route in NoAH, and we still know absolutely nothing about them in reality (at least pre-Anonymous;Code, which I probably won't be reading). The "OMG, a reference!" comes through with the in-universe Twitter where you have people like Takumi, Daru and Kurisu appearing, and I just don't see the hype with that. Not everyone has to appear in person again, but wouldn't you want to do something more substantial with those characters if you're going to reference them, as opposed to just having short references that go absolutely nowhere? For three mainline VNs now, the Committee has been a mystery, except that the antagonists have been working far away from each other for the same vague, unknown force. What is compelling about this besides the cool factor? There's been no actual progress on this so far at the point of R;N.
Long story short, I'm overall just apathetic to this VN. For those who enjoy it, I'm happy for you, but for me personally, it was a rather major disappointment.
I'm a simple guy. I see a Spike Chunsoft game, I purchase. Only problem is, I tried this one, and soon realized it's... well it's not a game. Takes the term "Visual Novel" very literally. It's kinda just a book? With pictures? And it's not a particularly interesting book? I got through the first chapter and didn't want to continue.