Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash just released this week to both low sales and critical opinion. This Zip Lash features new, simpler 2D side-scrolling gameplay in lieu of the 3D platformer, resource management traditional Chibi-Robo! games. Assistant producer of the title, Risa Tabata, has mentioned in a recent interview that the decision was based partially on the financial resources it would require, but also the difficulty the game would pose to younger gamers:
A 3D landscape would allow you to do more, but would also make controls and aiming more complex and the game harder overall. Chibi-Robo is a character who’s beloved by a lot of small children as well, so I wanted this game to be accessible to that audience too.
Chibi-Robo! was a cult classic to begin with, made for a very niche audience. Following the poor performance, it seems like this may be the last Chibi-Robo! game on the market. Do you agree with Tabata-san’s opinion on the series, or would you have preferred a traditional 3D Chibi-Robo! title?
Chibi-Robo isn’t appreciated by young children: they wouldn’t even know him in the first place! The only good game he had was way back in the Gamecube era, you can’t tell me that the majority of Chibi-Robo fans are younger audiences.
I would much rather have a 3D Chibi-Robo.
Omai Nintendo~.
Honestly. The article title sounds like they were gonna include sex toys in their games or something. X”D
Game**** Singular.
It’s like saying that Minecraft isn’t kid friendly because it’s 3D.
Yes because suddenly it would become
“Find and retrieve the batteries for the vibrator!”
Didn’t the original deal with themes like divorce and death? THAT’S kid-friendly but a game being 3D isn’t?
Are you guys gonna come out and say the 3D Mario and Zelda games aren’t kid-friendly now too?
Get it through your thick heads, Nintendo- your audience does not solely consist of children, though at the rate you’re going, it might become that way, and to your detriment.
Well we haven’t gotten a true 3D Mario game since Galaxy 2.
Believe me, I know. I was bored of 3D Land after 20 minutes and I skipped 3D World because it pretty much looks like 3D Land with multiplayer.
Part of 3D Mario games is the ability to explore, but you can’t do that in linear levels or when every level has time constraints, which every level in 3D Land is.
I played 3D World and while it was a little bit better in the exploration department than 3D Land it was still extremely linear so you didn’t really miss out on much.
I would even say since Sunshine
I actually do agree with you on that since that was the last 3D Mario game with true exploration but while the Galaxy games were lacking in that department, it at the very least wasn’t nearly as bad as in the so called 3D series where they took almost all sense of exploration and threw it right out the window.
never played a chibi robo game in my life only got it for the super adorable amiibo. game is fantastic.
i adore this game
Let me guess? The subject of death and diverse would be too tough for kids to swallow? These are real life situations that certain people deal with and Nintendo seriously has to stop “thinking of the children” at times like this. That’s exactly why the first game was great since it show that not all cartoony video games are sunshines and rainbows.
So I was right? The GC game did touch on those?
I never played it, but I read about it when Nintendo Power was a thing, and my brother has it.
Yes, those things were touched upon in the game. The divorce (which I misspelled in that last post) is essentially the main subplot with Jenny’s family and it gets worse from there soon as you keep playing.
And let’s not forget Sunshine the Bear, who more or less has a nectar obsession and experiences some frightening withdrawal when he doesn’t get any.
Is it just me, or does the excuses Nintendo keeps giving these days never make any sense?
Nope, it’s not just you. Between NoA’s reasoning for releasing Yoshi’s Woolly World 4 months after the rest of the world, ANYTHING regarding Federation Farce, and now this, it’s clearly not just happening any more, it’s getting worse.
It only had low sells in Japan idiot! It doesn’t count if the fucking game been finish in ONE WEEK!
God this website is stupid! And they say that gaming companies are giving Nintendo flack just because the game came out in Japan first….
Don’t get hacked in the future? I’ll say this much?
1.) If it underperformed in Japan, it debuted to low sales. There isn’t much more to be said on the matter. We are looking at the market from a worldwide spectrum — not a US-centric one.
2.) The poor critical response is likely going to translate to poor sales. The fact that Amazon is selling copies of the game for $20 suggests people are buying it for the amiibo and shipping it right back.
Here listen to this French song that I found on sound cloud. :3
https://soundcloud.com/madeon/yelle-que-veux-tu-madeon-remix
I WAS going to buy it just for the amiibo. But then I decided to import the amiibo from Japan. So I didn’t buy the game at all.
Oh, excuse us. I’m sure in a month it will sell so well, we will all eat our words and chibi will rule the world!
*Facepalms* Oh give me a break…
https://soundcloud.com/travisscott-2/travis-scott-antidote
LOL
this game sucks
Honestly I liked the concept of the whip. But apparently it wasn’t implemented to well. I’m not willing to pay thirty to find out I’ll pay half that
Looks kid-friendly to me. After all, he’s already naked. What more would a kid want?
Hahahahaha the game looks like it’s for kids alright. Man Nintendo is messing up so bad it’s cringe worthy.
*shakes head* The beginning of the end of Chibi-Robo is finally here.
Where it’s not REALLY a “beloved character” they could’ve done whatever they wanted. While he’s cute he doesn’t necessarily have to focus on children. That’s a mistake Nintendo loves to make over and over: catering to children and ignoring the adult fanbase. It sounds like Chibi Robo wasn’t made to be for children. Dumbing it down to make it easier for children is not a good reason to do so. Lack of resources, sure. But honestly it seems like they are hoping to revive the series with a new game (that they clearly said they dumbed down to make easier) and an Amiibo, which will have Amiibo hunters grabbing it. They should focus on making it the best game it could be not half-assed. I do hope it is actually good because it does look like it could be, I’ve wanted it a while honestly, but it sounds like it’ll be a game you can beat within a few hours.