R.O.B.

Robotic Operating Buddy

R.O.B. with NES color scheme
Manufacturer	Nintendo
Type	Video game controller
Generation	Third generation
Retail availability	^JP July 26, 1985 ^NA October 18, 1985 ^EU September 1, 1986

R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy), released in Japan as the Family Computer Robot (Japanese: ファミリーコンピュータ ロボット Hepburn: Famirī Konpyūta Robotto), is an accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was launched in July 1985 in Japan, and October 1985 in North America. It had a short product lifespan, with support for only two games which comprise the "Robot Series": Gyromite and Stack-Up. R.O.B. was released with the intention of portraying the Nintendo Entertainment System as a novel toy in order to alleviate retail fears following the video game crash of 1983.^[1][2] R.O.B. is available in the Deluxe Set, a configuration for the console that includes, among other things, R.O.B. and Gyromite. Stack-Up is packaged separately and includes its own physical game pieces.

R.O.B. has also appeared as a cameo character in various video games.

Operation

R.O.B. receives commands via optical flashes in the screen. Once the screen lights up, R.O.B. is ready to receive six commands. Just like the NES Zapper, R.O.B. only functions correctly when coupled with a CRT (cathode ray tube) type of television. Both Gyromite and Stack-Up include a test feature, sending an optical flash that should make R.O.B.'s LED light up.

Hardware

The R.O.B. unit's height is 24 cm (9.6 in). It has a head movement range of a 45° horizontally centered tilt. The arm movement range is 240° left and right with five stopping points, 7 cm (2.75 in) up and down with six stopping points, and 7 cm (2.75 in) between hands when open. The unit has five accessory slots around the hexagonal base, numbered clockwise, starting at the rear-left from the robot's point of view; and notches on the hands allow for specialized parts to be attached for each game. The optional tinted filter can be attached over the eyes to compensate for overly bright televisions. The unit is powered by four AA batteries.

Games

Nintendo's vintage issuance of R.O.B. functions only with the two games which comprise the Robot Series for the Nintendo Entertainment System: Gyromite and Stack-Up.

Gyromite

The Gyromite retail package consists of the following items: two claws for R.O.B.'s hands; two gyros (heavy spinning tops); two red and blue trays upon which the gyros will rest, causing buttons to be pressed on the second NES controller; one spinner motor for accelerating the gyros; and two black trays upon which the gyros are placed when not in use. Direct game mode is a feature used to learn how to use R.O.B. or to play with R.O.B. without playing the game. Gyromite is a puzzle-platformer in which the character has to collect dynamite before the time runs out, with several red and blue pillars blocking his way. In Game A, the commands are made by pressing START and then pushing the direction in which to move R.O.B., and using the A and B buttons to open and close his arms. If R.O.B. places a gyro on the red or blue button, it pushes the A or B button on the second NES controller, moving the pillar of the corresponding color. If both buttons need to be pressed at the same time, the gyros are placed in a spinner so that they will stay balanced on the button without R.O.B. holding it. Game B has the same controls, except that START does not need to be pressed to make R.O.B. accept a command.

Stack-Up

Stack-Up comes with five trays, five different colored blocks, and two claws worn by R.O.B. for grabbing the blocks. In the Direct game mode, the player makes their block stack match with the one on screen by moving Professor Hector to the button that corresponds to the desired movement. In Memory, the player has to make a list of commands to recreate the displayed block set up, and then R.O.B. follows the list afterward. In Bingo, the player makes the shown block stack, where the color of the block does not matter. There are two enemies: one causes the player lose a life, and the other makes R.O.B. perform undesired actions.

Amateur

In 2014, independent amateur game developer Retrozone produced a limited release NES cartridge titled 8-Bit X-Mas 2014. The title screen features R.O.B. character graphics, and interacts with the vintage R.O.B. toy by making it dance to Christmas music.^[3]

Reception

The creation and marketing of R.O.B. as a "Trojan horse" after the North American video game crash of 1983 was named fifth in GameSpy's twenty-five smartest moves in gaming history.^[1][2] Yahoo ranked R.O.B. as one of the craziest video game controllers and noted the unfortunate fact that the gaming peripheral only worked with two games.^[4]

Legacy

R.O.B. has appeared as a cameo character in various video games, such as StarTropics, Kirby's Dream Land 3, the Star Fox series, the Mario Kart series, the WarioWare series, the F-Zero series, the Super Smash Bros. series, and Viewtiful Joe; his head appears in Pikmin 2, where it is referred to as "Remembered Old Buddy". R.O.B. is featured as an unlockable character in Mario Kart DS, Super Smash Bros. Brawl,^[5] and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.^[6] In Brawl's adventure mode, The Subspace Emissary, R.O.B. plays a major role in the story's plot. He first appears as the Ancient Minister, a cloaked figure who initially leads the Subspace Army in an attempt to transport the Super Smash Bros. world into Subspace, an alternate dimension ruled by a mysterious force. Upon being betrayed by Ganondorf, one of the Army's chief commanders, who forces his fellow R.O.B.s to self-destruct against their wills, R.O.B. joins the allied protagonists in their bid to stop the Subspace Army.^[7]

References

1. "NES". Icons. Season 4. Episode 10. G4. December 1, 2005. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
2. "25 Smartest Moments in Gaming". GameSpy.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2007.
3. "8 BIT XMAS 2014 - retroUSB". RetroUSB. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
4. "Hard to Handle: Craziest Game Controllers - R.O.B.". Yahoo. May 26, 2010. Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
5. "R.O.B.". Smash Bros. DOJO!!. Nintendo. March 6, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
6. "R.O.B.'s SSB4 page".
7. "The Subspace Army". Smash Bros. DOJO!!. Nintendo. August 21, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2013.