I mentioned in my Golden Sun review how I essentially bit the bullet to get the expansion pass on my Switch online. This didn’t just give me access to GBA and N64 games, but also because I have a Switch 2, GameCube games. While I have reviewed some GameCube games before… Metroid Prime, the service gives me easy access to games and some I did not have on the old console. So let’s review a fun little game, Chibi-Robo.

I did not own this on my GameCube so this is my first time playing the game. It was initially released in 2006 a year after its release in Japan (a trend we’re all very happy no longer happens).

You play as the titular Chibi-Robo, a small robot that’s given as a gift by a somewhat large toy loving father to his frog loving daughter, much to the annoyance of his wife due to the cost of it all.

There isn’t really any grand mission to speak of. You are just a small little helper robot who is programmed to help out and make people happy. You start out with a small battery that uses up energy as you move and perform actions, initially probably only picking up small bits of rubbish on the ground, maybe you find some coins floating around. If your battery gets low you can recharge yourself by plugging yourself in. Back at your Chibi home you can order upgrades such as a blaster. As you gain enough happiness points by being helpful, you’re gifted larger batteries so you can do more without having to plug yourself in. You do tasks, finding things around the house until the clock runs out and you then move to either night or day and do the next things. One thing I found rather late on was you can make the time between cycles longer, wish I had known that sooner.

At night though an interesting thing happens, you find the toys come alive. Not in a sinister way, more Toy Story way. You can also find household small items like brushes, spoons and tea cups that will prove useful in exploring or being helpful.

While there was no big mission, as you are being helpful and helping people out, bits of story start to emerge. Issues with the family, the secret of why the toys are coming to life and the personal lives of those toys.

The game starts you out small (pun intended) with scope of things but slowly what was a plotless game has some nice bits of stories and surprises going on. Part of the charm comes from you being a small robot yet explore a regular (discounting the living toys and things related to them) home as if it was a large structure. Tasks like finding out how to get up the stairs require the use of tools. Just getting up in the kitchen reveals new things to explore and work through, It’s all very charming.

I enjoy this fun little game. Finding a new room and suddenly having a bunch of little stories come out of it puts a smile on my face. Its art style and nature of a small robot in a big world gives me a nice chill feeling as I move from room to room. The only frustration I had was my own fault about not knowing I could get objects to make the day and nights last longer. Once that happens I found I could explore and uncover large sections without needing to feel rushed. If you have a Switch 2 and the expansion pass, yes it’s worth checking this one out.

Rating: 🎮🎮🎮🎮