Review: ROBO OH

At a Glance

ESRB Rating: NR - Not Rated
My Rating: Ages 6 and up
Genre: Fighting
License: Commercial
Fun-O-Meter:
Release Year: 2020
Reviewed Version: 1.25
Review Published On: November 27th, 2020
Played on: Thaddeus

Available on:

Windows

Available from:

Itch.IO
Steam

Areas of Concern:
  • Mild violence


How to Save and Pause:

There isnt one. Youre supposed to play through the entire tournament in one go.

If you need to pause, press ESC.

Time needed per session:

Expect to play for around fifteen to twenty minutes, as thats enough time to complete the games story mode.

Does this game pose issues for Christian players?

No - this is a great game for Christians
Remember Rockem Sockem robots? Thats basically what you have here: giant robots punch, kick, and fling large sushi rolls at each other in a tournament setting.

Screenshots

[view screenshot]
KAPOW!

[view screenshot]
Food fight!

[view screenshot]
Traditional VS Screen



Game Overview

One of the things that makes FoxyBoxys current catalog of games interesting is that they all copy the look and feel of old NES games, right down to the two button controls and the faint interference pattern produced by old TVs. ROBO OH is their latest release, and its also the only one of the three games thats available on Steam.

Like most NES games, story is fairly simple, just enough to set the stage for the gameplay. In this case, it goes like this: a challenge was sent out throughout the universe, asking the strongest robots to compete in a grand tournament. The winner shall be known as the King of the Robots, and be awarded a lifetime of free upgrades, oil changes, and whatever else robots desire. Six robots answered the call, and now the battle has begun!

The gameplay itself is fairly standard for a fighting game. You select which of the six robots you wish to control, and then you battle each of the other five robots in one-on-one battles. Each robot has its own strengths and weaknesses, as well as a handful of special techniques and a powerful overdrive attack. Between rounds, you can also upgrade your robots Speed, Energy, Power, or Armor to improve their abilties.

However, the gameplay does hit some limitations from the NES theme. Fighting games werent very common on the NES, and the genre didnt really hit its stride until later on when your average game console had six or more buttons on its controller. Thus, this two-button control scheme doesnt give you the option to grab, throw, or taunt an opponent, and you only have a choice between a weak or strong attack rather than the multiple types of punches and kicks youre probably used to.

Despite these limitations, this really turned out to be a fun game, and Id strongly suggest taking a look at it if you like retro games, fighting games, or Super Robots in general. At a mere $2, this games a steal. It literally just came out too, so the developers have been updating it almost every day with balance fixes and other tweaks based on player feedback.

Points of Interest

Six unique characters

Every robot in this game is unique and has their own story going on. Ringking is a giant prizefighting robot that fights like a boxer. Dragonoh is a transforming robot, switching between robot and dragon modes as needed. Autofive is a gestalt (combiner) and is the hero of a Voltron-eske TV show. Every good fighting game has an inhuman character, and Nekogami fits not only that role, but the role of the agile female assassin. Then there are Megastar and Masamioh, who are nods to FoxyBoxys previous two games.

Multiple game modes

Aside from the story mode, theres an option to play against another player, a computer controlled opponent of your choice, and a training room where you can study and practice each robots special techniques without risk.

Very short

You can play through the story mode in under fifteen minutes. This is a side effect of there only being six total bouts and a strict time limit. Of course, youre not being charged an unfair amount for this game, so it does work itself out.

Concerns and Issues

Mild Violence

This is a tournament fighting game, so youll be witnessing a lot of robots punching or kicking each other. A few can also fire projectiles like energy beams or extra large cuts of sushi at other robots. But, there is no blood or gore (where would it come from anyway?), nor do you see any damage on the robots.

Basically they just smack each other until one of them falls down or they run out of time.

References to astrology and the zodiac

Megastar is a reference to ZODIAC, another game by FoxyBoxy. I havent played this other game (yet), so I dont know the full details, but when Megastar wins a match, they sometimes make references to destiny being written in the stars. This sounds a might close to astrology, and may be a turn off for some.