Sunday, June 26, 2011

I kind of want an R.O.B. too

Here's the thing: I've never used, let alone owned, one of Nintendo's Robotic Operating Buddies (aka Family Computer Robots in Japan).

There's a good reason for that, of course. Actually, there are two good reasons for it. First, the NES Deluxe Set--the one that included an R.O.B. and a copy of Gyromite--was pretty darn expensive when it was released back in the day (late 1985 here in the States). Second, the early word on the street--or the word in my small-town-Wisconsin neighborhood, at least--was that the R.O.B. and the games that utilized it were duds.



Anyway, as is often the case with my gaming obsessions, my childhood lack of experience with the R.O.B. and its games has me (somewhat) clamoring to own one as an adult. Unlike most of the games, peripherals and systems on my wish list, though, I can't really see myself buying an R.O.B. or copies of Nintendo's "Robot Series" titles anytime soon.

Someone calling himself Alan Rappa on Flickr seems to have three of these SAINT Number 5-esque accessories (as evidenced in the photo here and above), though; maybe he'd be willing to give--or even loan--one of them to me? Yeah, I doubt it, too.

See also: 'I want a Famicom light gun'

16 comments:

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Weird. I was just explaining R.O.B. to my friend Dan yesterday! How strange.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Oh, and BTW, that image is now my computer background.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ah, great choice for a computer background, Justin! Really, seeing that image is what prompted me to write this post. Have you ever used an R.O.B., BTW -- other than the one that lives with you, I mean? (Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Ha! Yeah, actually. It's cumbersome and prone to frustrating me.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Which one? If it's the former -- the NES one -- does this mean you have one??

Sean said...

I've never played with the R.O.B. either, but also have some interest in it. Something about the fact that there is a Robot for the Famicom is just too cool for me to ignore, even though I'm pretty sure that the word on the street in your Wisconsin town was true.

They have one of these at one of my local stores (same one I got my Light Gun at, in fact). I can't remember how much but it is insanely expensive (definitely over 100 bucks). I can't bring myself to spending that much on something I know isn't going to be much fun, but if I ever see one cheap I will definitely buy it.

Sean said...

Oh and BTW I did like the reference to Short Circuit there!

The R.O.B.'s head does look a lot like Number 5.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Sean: Yeah, I'm pretty sure the word on the street is true, too. Still, I'd love to try it sometime. Also, I think R.O.B. himself would make a nice accessory, if you will -- or maybe "conversation piece" would be a better choice of words?

As for the Short Circuit reference: I've always thought the two robots looked remarkably similar. Also, I had a major soft spot for "Number 5" and Short Circuit when I was a kid, so I guess it makes sense in a number of ways.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Oh, yeah. The NES one. The other one is...much the same. :-P But who can push your buttons if not the one you love?

Yeah...R.O.B. is actually Robb's older brother's, but we swiped it and brought it home. He sits on one of our end tables now and greets passersby.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, well, consider me *completely* jealous, Justin! That's what I'd like to do with the R.O.B. that I get someday -- use it as a conversation piece :)

BTW, what do you think of the R.O.B. games? Are they boring? Horrible? Something else entirely?

Katie said...

I've always wanted a R.O.B. as well, I need it for my video game collection, and I've always been curious to try it out.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Oh, I love Gyromite. It's a great game! It's horrible to control with R.O.B., but with a second player you trust (since they can easily smash your guts out), it's a lot of fun!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, Katie! Yeah, it's hard not to be at least curious about this contraption, isn't it? Hopefully both of us will be able to try it out some day :)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Well, that's good to know, Justin! Have you played Stack-Up, too?

It's amazing to me that Nintendo only supported R.O.B. with two games, BTW. Actually, what am I saying? They only put out four games that supported the Zapper, just a couple that supported the SNES gun (the Super Scope? Can't remember its name), etc.

I think I need to do a post about that soon -- "Why the hell does Nintendo release peripherals and then fail to support them?"

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I'd be interested to see that post.

And...I've never played Stack-Up. I hope it worked better than Gyromite.

Bryan Ochalla said...

I'm sure others have written great posts about it already, but why not throw my two cents into the mix, right?

Honestly, it is kind of infuriating that they do this -- develop and release peripherals and then barely support them. It's especially infuriating when those peripherals offer so much promise -- like the balance board.

As for Stack-Up being better than Gyromite, I kind of doubt it -- since Gyromite was the pack-in -- but I certainly can't say for sure!