Chibi-Robo! Let’s Go, Photo! Review

Those of you who bemoan the lack of new IPs released by Nintendo should spare a thought for Chibi-Robo. This cute little robot cleaner has featured in only a handful of games, beginning on the Gamecube in 2006, and each one is a cult classic in its own right, despite never getting the attention they deserve. Chibi has starred in some very experimental games, consisting of unusual mechanics married with oodles of charm and weirdness, and his latest appearance continues this tradition.

This time around, Chibi-Robo finds himself in the employ of Mr. Curator, an expert and collector of NostalJunk: everyday objects from the past (our present) that seem to attract visitors to his own museum of tat. Mr. Curator is on the look out for more objet d’art to display, and Chibi is the tiny robot to do the job, finding objects with a particular silhouette and taking pictures of them. You’ll be doing all the snapping, as you’re asked to take shots of all manner of real life items like rolls of toilet tissue, electrical sockets and CDs.

However, before you can take pictures, you’ll need to buy film of each silhouette, and this is paid for with Happy Points. Chibi-Robo earns this currency by helping a colourful cast of characters with a variety of unusual oddjobs. Chibi can get out his toothbrush and mini-vacuum and clean up all of the game’s locales for Happy Points, but he’ll also get some slightly stranger requests from some characters, such as guessing lengths using a tape measure for a giant toy robot, or shooting balloons for a superhero.

Going back to the main focus of photography, you must take shots that match the silhouettes as accurately as possible, as photos taken with less than a certain accuracy are unacceptable and can’t be used to collect Nostaljunk. It’s a system that can easily be cheated, as it’s all too simple (and tempting!) to just grab a picture of the required item on your phone. In fact, sometimes that can be quite a necessity, as trying to get a decent picture from the 3DS Camera is an incredibly frustrating experience, unless you have absolutely perfect lighting to capture your subject. You get 9 attempts for each roll of film, and while that seems like a lot of tries, you’ll really need them to get that tricky 60% accuracy.

Unfortunately, when the film runs out and it comes to getting Happy Points to purchase more, you’ll end up having to grind the same few mini-games and tasks, watching the same overly long and slow dialogue, just to be able to progress with your photography quest. There are only so many times you can pull a measuring tape or find ingredients in a fridge before even the most surreal of situations start to become a pedestrian.

VERDICT: Let’s Go, Photo!’s biggest stumbling block is the Nintendo 3DS itself. Its poorly spec’ed camera has always been pretty useless, even for taking pictures – trying to use it for a game is a mostly fruitless endeavor. While Chibi’s charm is still just about intact, the repeated interactions and grindy mini-games wear the whole experience very thin. It’s good to see the tiny robot back, but it’s a real shame that it’s in a rather frustrating game.

DECENT. A 6/10 indicates that, while this game could be much better, it still has a fair amount to offer the player. It might be an interesting title sabotaged by its own ambition, or a game denied greater praise by some questionable design choices. Don’t avoid it outright, but approach it with caution.

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Review code provided by publisher.