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Chibi-Robo
is the latest Nintendo release on the GameCube and has to be one of
their most original ideas on the format to date. After Donkey
Konga, Animal Crossing, Odama and  other such
titles, Nintendo have one again become renowned for bringing new and
interesting games to the industry, and they have done it again with Chibi-Robo.
Chibi-Robo is a Third-Person Puzzle/Adventure game
where your primary objective is to spread happiness around the
household. You control a Chibi-Robo and have to do chores, cleaning
and tidying stuff around the house. Now this may sound much like the
least interesting basis for a videogame possible, but it works very
effectively. A Day/Night System is evident in the title and
different things occur depending on the time of day; different
objectives and items are available. During the day rubbish and
stains will appear for you to clear-up to gain Happy Points and
Moolah, and you will be given bonuses by Telly for achieving a
certain amount of stains cleaned or rubbish cleared-up. As you
progress through the game you obtain upgrades for your Chibi-Robo
which open-up new areas of the house. As you complete tasks you
obtain Happy Points (which build up and increase your Chibi-Robo
Rank – the ultimate goal being to reach Rank No.1), you also
obtain Moolah which is used to buy the upgrades from your PC.
The overall gameplay is one of which you can either just
pick-up and have a quick play or you could spend the whole day
playing it; it’s just that sort of game. The game also appeals  to
plenty of demographics, for those who just want something fun to
play and for those gamers who want a game to occupy them for hours
on end and still keep offering new and exciting little tasks for
them to complete.
The game isn’t stunning, but it’s of a reasonable
standard although it may not be one on Nintendo’s greatest games
graphically, the gameplay makes up for this slight lapse. There
aren’t many flaws in the actually graphics they just aren’t of
the usual high standard that Nintendo produce. If they had just
brushed over the game with there usual standard of graphics then
this game would have been improved in one of the only ways that it
was slightly flawed. Saying this though, the graphics don’t really
need to be to the highest of Nintendo’s standards as its just not
that type of game, the environment provided is comfortable and
without bugs or flaws. Nintendo don’t really seem to care if their
games are to the highest graphical standard they tend to prefer
making games that have a much better content rather than something
that looks amazing but doesn’t play well at all.
The sound on Chibi-Robo isn’t anything spectacular,
more of passive noise in the background which you don’t really pay
any attention to as you are playing through the game. The  sound
effects feature plenty of nice touches; as if you actually spend
time to listen to the different sound affects they are actually
really well done.
This game doesn’t offer anything new to the industry as
such, if anything it enforces what Nintendo have already brought
into the light and they are just showing that they can still make a
cracking title without having to perfect the graphics. It’s as if
they have just taken a step back and gone for the good gameplay
rather than trying to make it look like an Xbox360 game or Resident
Evil 4. This doesn’t hinder the game at all, if anything, it
has the opposite affect as it makes the title seem less intense and,
in general, a more fun game to play – it just doesn’t seem as
serious or punishing as other titles released in the past. The game
wont appeal to everyone, as many see it as a little kids game - its
all about making people happy - but if they actually gave the
release a fair trial and played it they would soon realise its so
much more.
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