Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash

Out of all of Nintendo’s IPs, Chibi-Robo is one of the few that never garnered much of a following outside Japan. Starting out as a quirky 3-D platformer on the GameCube and turning into a plethora of spin-off titles, Chibi-Robo’s footing was made with its cute, titular, mascot character who is programmed to help humans with their daily chores. In Chibi-Robo Zip Lash, the series takes a jump from a three-dimensional platformer to a two-dimensional one.

Zip Lash starts off with Chibi-Robo and has assistant Telli cleaning a space station when they see a report about aliens stealing the world’s resources. In an effort to put a stop to the mischievous aliens, the two head to Earth and push them off the planet. The story is ridiculous and goofy and serves as a way to move the player from one level to the next. There’s no real story aside from the opening cinematic, but Zip Lash honestly doesn’t need a strong narrative to succeed as a game.

The platforming mechanics in the game are definitely its selling point. By using his power cord as a makeshift grappling hook, Chibi-Robo is able to scale walls, solve puzzles, and fight enemies in a variety of different ways. One of my favorite ways is making use of Chibi-Robo’s power cord like a propeller. Before tossing out a whiplash, Chibi will wind up his cord by spinning it overhead, which when combined with jumping lets you stall in the air and can give you a little bit of extra distance on certain gaps or obstacles. Chibi has another tool in the form of the Zip Lash, which is a charged up version of his regular whip that can ricochet off walls and floors. While this is normally used to cross longer gaps the whiplash would not be able to reach, it can also serve as a puzzle solving tool. Many of the game’s hidden collectables require you to aim multiple bounces of the Zip Lash in order to claim your prize. It’s a little frustrating getting used to using the Zip Lash this way, but it feels rewarding once mastered.

Level progression in Zip Lash is strikingly good and polished for a game with such a small development team (and seemingly released ahead of schedule). Levels feel neither too easy nor too difficult, and curve at a nice rate. Each world out of the main 6 follows a certain gimmick or introduces a new mechanic that it plays with for the entirety of that world. Such as conveyor belts, icy floors, and various level specific power-ups. The variety in levels feels nice, even if sometimes they fall a bit flat. One gimmick I personally did not like was that certain levels made use of vehicles, in particular the few submarine levels and skateboard levels. The submarine is so clunky and slow that it doesn’t feel similar to any other part of the game. The skateboard levels feel like the exact opposite, way too fast compared to everything else. It also doesn’t help that if you fail in most of the vehicle stages that there are no checkpoints and you have to start all over. These segments were easily the worst parts of the game, and thankfully they only make up a small percentage of the stages.

On an aesthetic level the game is very pleasing to look at and listen to. Each world has its own style to it that is explored just a tiny bit more with each successive level, and the music slowly evolves with it. It’s not going to have you clamoring for a soundtrack, but at the same time it’s an enjoyable experience. It’s simplistic and minimalistic, a style that fits well with Chibi-Robo’s design.

Zip Lash is not without its problems though, and most of it comes down to feeling like it’s a little overstuffed in areas. World progression doesn’t happen in numerical order. Upon finishing a level you’re tasked with spinning a wheel that determines how many spaces you move across a game board-like level layout. This means you don’t have to do levels in order, but at the same time it means you can also throw yourself off if you spin poorly (even if predicting what the wheel lands on is fairly easy). You can buy replacement panels for the wheel if you want to reach a specific spot, but that just kind of drives the point home that the spinner really isn’t needed. It ultimately adds an unneeded layer of challenge to the game that feels a little out of place.

Amiibo compatibility also becomes an issue too. While I personally love the little guy, and think the Chibi-Robo Amiibo is one of the best ones to come out, there’s a hefty chunk of content locked behind that innocent plastic face. The Chibi Amiibo is the only way to unlock a capsule machine that gives out figures, but there’s a random chance after completing the game to unlock an extra world through it. Unlike the majority of the Smash and Mario Party Amiibo, Chibi-Robo is only bundled with his game. Thankfully though, I’ve yet to not see at least two or three bundle copies of the game available, but it does seems like an issue that copies of the game are sold without the Amiibo but said Amiibo is not also being sold separately.

Chibi-Robo Zip Lash is a charming little platformer on the 3DS, and probably one of my favorite games to come out on the handheld this year. It seems to have been overlooked by a lot of the major gaming media, but I’m pretty sure this game will gain a similar niche following the GameCube original had. If you can find the game with the Amiibo I highly recommend grabbing it. Zip Lash is a game that does so much more right than it does wrong, and is a breath of fresh air, reminiscent of games like Umihara Kawasei and Bionic Commando.

Approximate play time: 11 hours (finished)

Game obtained through: Purchase