For the record, if I could go back in time to my gamecube-playing kid self and get him to buy two games that I otherwise wouldn't have, I would 1000% pick this game and gotcha force. The 2000's hit the Custom Robo IP like a bulldozer, as the poppy colorful 90's pokemon-leaning vibes of the N64 game have been replaced with gritter, darker, cyber-coded aesthetics of the grand purple lunchbox. The character designs have gone from your cast of typical plucky pokekids to a bunch of adults that came straight out of a how to draw manga book. Luckily for me, I eat both 90's and 2000's vibes like breakfast so I win both ways, HAH.
The plot definitely has a bit of a different tone compared to the N64 original, but it still feels like custom robo all things throughout. Like the original game, there's a pretty tight-knit cast of characters that you will keep bumping into time and time again, and many robo-battling tournament arcs, but the actual contents of the story differ drastically. Since the cast isn't a group of kids fucking around with toys, the main cast all works for a bounty hunting agency that fights petty crimes the police can't be assed to work on themselves for meager pay. And the crimes are solved by means of fighting childrens toys-turned psychic cyber warriors, obviously. It's a pretty ridiculous plot and frankly the shit that happens at the end went absolutely NOT as I expected. The actual localization and writing of the game is really goddamn good too, I could tell that the treehouse guys were having a blast with the character writing as there's plenty of funny moments and running gags throughout the game. There's gotta be at least like one kid out there that was changed by playing this, I feel.
As for the gameplay, I'm pleased to say that it's much more polished and balanced than it's ever been. The core gameplay of having a customizable robo with 4 different methods of attack and combo between is intact here, as are the 4-player fights from V2. It really felt like the OP weapons in the N64 game such as the homing missiles and dragon shot were sufficiently nerfed to the point of making most weapons viable. I didn't do the (pretty substantial) postgame stuff so there might be some absolutely busted drops that I am unaware of, but at least doing the main campaign it didn't really feel like I was sticking to the same weapons because they were inherently better than the rest but rather they were the most fluid with my playstyle, and that's a pretty good mark of customizable balance imo.
It's both a good single-player adventure plus an awesome party game. I'm still absolutely baffled how custom robo didn't catch on because this series is like some of the coolest shit dude! I can only imagine the kinds of sleepovers or get-together nights I could have had back in the day if I had this game... Alas, as much as I wish I could say that changes now as I invite all my homies for weekly custom robo nights, adult life don't exactly be that way... Maybe there's a competitive tournament scene out there or something (apparently CEO had a tournament in 2018 at least?) Perhaps in another timeline I could have had this game in its time, but hey man better late than never, yanno?
what in the fuck is nintendo doing by not making new custom robo games
The plot definitely has a bit of a different tone compared to the N64 original, but it still feels like custom robo all things throughout. Like the original game, there's a pretty tight-knit cast of characters that you will keep bumping into time and time again, and many robo-battling tournament arcs, but the actual contents of the story differ drastically. Since the cast isn't a group of kids fucking around with toys, the main cast all works for a bounty hunting agency that fights petty crimes the police can't be assed to work on themselves for meager pay. And the crimes are solved by means of fighting childrens toys-turned psychic cyber warriors, obviously. It's a pretty ridiculous plot and frankly the shit that happens at the end went absolutely NOT as I expected. The actual localization and writing of the game is really goddamn good too, I could tell that the treehouse guys were having a blast with the character writing as there's plenty of funny moments and running gags throughout the game. There's gotta be at least like one kid out there that was changed by playing this, I feel.
As for the gameplay, I'm pleased to say that it's much more polished and balanced than it's ever been. The core gameplay of having a customizable robo with 4 different methods of attack and combo between is intact here, as are the 4-player fights from V2. It really felt like the OP weapons in the N64 game such as the homing missiles and dragon shot were sufficiently nerfed to the point of making most weapons viable. I didn't do the (pretty substantial) postgame stuff so there might be some absolutely busted drops that I am unaware of, but at least doing the main campaign it didn't really feel like I was sticking to the same weapons because they were inherently better than the rest but rather they were the most fluid with my playstyle, and that's a pretty good mark of customizable balance imo.
It's both a good single-player adventure plus an awesome party game. I'm still absolutely baffled how custom robo didn't catch on because this series is like some of the coolest shit dude! I can only imagine the kinds of sleepovers or get-together nights I could have had back in the day if I had this game... Alas, as much as I wish I could say that changes now as I invite all my homies for weekly custom robo nights, adult life don't exactly be that way... Maybe there's a competitive tournament scene out there or something (apparently CEO had a tournament in 2018 at least?) Perhaps in another timeline I could have had this game in its time, but hey man better late than never, yanno?
what in the fuck is nintendo doing by not making new custom robo games
I feel like most Nintendo fans have that one obscure title that they absolutely adore despite how niche of a reach it has. This is that Nintendo game for me. It has a banger of a fighting system that promotes creates loadout-making with a lot of versatility to it in spite of how simple it is, overall. To a point where it almost feels like a mix between a fighting game an a mech game.
Each weapon has its niche purpose. You can stick to a main loadout, but hardly any combination of parts is everything-proof, I simply wish you got new parts at a faster pace or at least that the main story was a little longer, because it's only towards the end and the post-game that you really get an opportunity to think out your matches and figure out a counter-build for your opponent. Though maybe that is for the best, since the postgame content is very much designed for the folks that want to stick around to keep playing. The game isn't the hardest, but it still has plenty of bite, especially for the postgame battles.
Needle Gun ended up being a mainstay for me for its relatively reliable poke but also really smarting when I get a chance to dive in and shoot it point-blank. Ended up switching between Float and Throwing pods, the former for the aerial space denial and the latter for being good at locking opponents into a corner. There's all sorts of combinations to mix and match that it's a delight to toy around and experiment. While some parts are more versatile than others, nothing felt blatantly overtuned and like it didn't have a notable weak spot of some kind. At least apart from illegal parts, but. They're illegal parts. D'uh, they're a little overpowered. I know Custom Robo Arena was a thing and had wi-fi matches, but I swear this game could make for a really compelling competitive multiplayer game in the same vein as a Smash or a Splatoon.
I do think the battles featuring any more than 2 fighters have a tendency to get a little chaotic. While there's no friendly fire for guns, there is friendly fire for bombs and pods, and 4 active fighters at once means there's a lot of explosions happening all over the place and little pods bumming around to a point where I've probably been blind-sided a stray pod from my own ally once or twice. It feels a bit like sensory overload, especially during the 3 vs 1 final boss of the main story.
The characters are delightful, colorful, and expressive. I only wish the main story had a bit more going on so that the plot punches could punch more, cause some of the things fall flat due to ham-fisted foreshadowing and just. Some of the characters not getting a ton of screentime to develop past their very simple anime-esque arcs. But it's hard to complain about the writing when it has so many touches despite it being a mid-to-short-length game. Losing in most games just boots you back to a the last checkpoint, here they have brief what-if scenes. And there's plenty more where that came from, with a lot of amusing character interactions and how each tutorial prompt from Helper Character Harry has a "mock or bully Harry" option where he repeats himself either out of frustration or sometimes just to spite you. And it has one of the best "but thou must" scenes in all the games I've played.
Underrated classic. If you can run Gamecube-level games on your PC, this game runs on Dolphin pretty much flawlessly. Play it.
Each weapon has its niche purpose. You can stick to a main loadout, but hardly any combination of parts is everything-proof, I simply wish you got new parts at a faster pace or at least that the main story was a little longer, because it's only towards the end and the post-game that you really get an opportunity to think out your matches and figure out a counter-build for your opponent. Though maybe that is for the best, since the postgame content is very much designed for the folks that want to stick around to keep playing. The game isn't the hardest, but it still has plenty of bite, especially for the postgame battles.
Needle Gun ended up being a mainstay for me for its relatively reliable poke but also really smarting when I get a chance to dive in and shoot it point-blank. Ended up switching between Float and Throwing pods, the former for the aerial space denial and the latter for being good at locking opponents into a corner. There's all sorts of combinations to mix and match that it's a delight to toy around and experiment. While some parts are more versatile than others, nothing felt blatantly overtuned and like it didn't have a notable weak spot of some kind. At least apart from illegal parts, but. They're illegal parts. D'uh, they're a little overpowered. I know Custom Robo Arena was a thing and had wi-fi matches, but I swear this game could make for a really compelling competitive multiplayer game in the same vein as a Smash or a Splatoon.
I do think the battles featuring any more than 2 fighters have a tendency to get a little chaotic. While there's no friendly fire for guns, there is friendly fire for bombs and pods, and 4 active fighters at once means there's a lot of explosions happening all over the place and little pods bumming around to a point where I've probably been blind-sided a stray pod from my own ally once or twice. It feels a bit like sensory overload, especially during the 3 vs 1 final boss of the main story.
The characters are delightful, colorful, and expressive. I only wish the main story had a bit more going on so that the plot punches could punch more, cause some of the things fall flat due to ham-fisted foreshadowing and just. Some of the characters not getting a ton of screentime to develop past their very simple anime-esque arcs. But it's hard to complain about the writing when it has so many touches despite it being a mid-to-short-length game. Losing in most games just boots you back to a the last checkpoint, here they have brief what-if scenes. And there's plenty more where that came from, with a lot of amusing character interactions and how each tutorial prompt from Helper Character Harry has a "mock or bully Harry" option where he repeats himself either out of frustration or sometimes just to spite you. And it has one of the best "but thou must" scenes in all the games I've played.
Underrated classic. If you can run Gamecube-level games on your PC, this game runs on Dolphin pretty much flawlessly. Play it.