Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash

It’s got some frustrating moments (stage select, vehicles) but the highs outweigh the lows, and I like the Amiibo functionality.

Zip Lash is a polished game but not as inspired and surprising as New Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Country or Yoshi’s Woolly World. [13/2015, p.74]

It has issues, but ones that I can easily overlook, not just to throw caution to the wind but because it just didn’t affect my overall thoughts and feelings while playing the game.

With everything taken into account, Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash is a well-put together title. The pros outweigh the cons by leagues and it has fun packed into all the right places.

Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash is varied enough to keep every skill-level of player engaged throughout its 30+ worlds but isn’t as polished as one would hope.

Chibi-Robo: Zip Lash is a solid little platformer that entertains despite faltering at times. It’s cute, it’s charming, and it offers some nice little twists on the 2D action/grappling formula that make it stand out.

Chibi-Robo Zip Lash on the 3DS is a fun arcade game that delivers an enjoyable yet clichéd experience on this console!

It’s a fun and well made platform game, that suffers from a bit too much backtracking and cannot reach the heights of its predecessors, but still has some curious and original mechanics and decent level design. Get it if you’re looking for a new platform on the Nintendo 3DS, even if there’s definitely no lack of great ones for the Nintendo portable.

Zip Lash isn’t the game that’s ultimately going to convert people into being Chibi-Robo fans; it’s a competent platformer, but it sticks too close to the genre manual and is missing a much-needed spark.

Chibi-Robo makes the leap to 2.5D with gameplay mechanics that are very well implemented, but baffling decisions like the Destination Wheel and repetitive level design take away from what could have certainly been a better game in Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash.

It's a testament to its stage design, though, that I came away feeling utterly satisfied despite the game so constantly getting in its own way. Chibi-Robo may not be destined for Nintendo stardom, but Zip Lash shows how the tiny robot still has plenty of room to grow, experiment, and find what works for him.

I mean that on two levels, as it's a solid action platformer, but it also has a lot of untapped potential that players may be disappointed to discover by the time they're through.

Despite some qualities in level design and ideas, Zip Slash has not enough to justify his new platform skin. Flaws and framerate takes down a lengthy but mostly unremarkable adventure.

Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash is not a bad game, but it's quite boring and lacks inspiration. The mechanics work fine, but do not get renewed as you progress into the game. This makes the game feel repetitive.

With fun platforming elements, Chibo Robo! Zip Lash initially looked as a promising proposal, unfortunately a lot of bad design decisions gave us mixed feelings about it.

Ten years on, even with the aesthetically wonderful amiibo that can be purchased with this game, it's hard to see how the titular Chibi is suddenly going to become a wildly popular player in the Nintendo universe based upon his exploits here.

It's really far from Nintendo's quality standards. The level design is uninspired, and it spoils most of the fun.

A fun game marred by bizarre design choices. [Issue#168, p.93]

Nintendo's normally better than this. [Issue #18 – November/December 2015, p.76]

There's plenty of good times and fun to be had with Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash, but it's all bogged down by a restrictive and archaic level selection system.

Not as horrible as Let’s Go Photo!, but Zip Lash does not entertain as we hoped. If the level design offers a good level of challenge, incomprehensible design choices make the adventure tedious and frustrating.

Chibi-Robo doesn't make a good comeback with Zip Lash. The game has some good ideas... and that's it. Sometimes controls are dull and, despite the first levels actually are fun, in the long run it gets, unfortunately, monotonous.

Too average 2D platformer that, simple enough, cannot compete in the same league as Super Mario, Kirby or Donkey Kong among other great platforming adventures on 3DS.

The new Chibi-Robo chapter is certainly not a triumphant return to its previous titles but that doesn’t mean Zip Lash does not have its charms. The use of the electrical cable and the collecting of snacks are welcome components and the outfits certainly extend the game’s replay value. It can, however, become repetitive quickly and lose some of its appeal, as its unambitious level design demonstrates.

Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash is not the best Chibi-Robo - it is not even that great of a 2D side-scroller or platformer, either.

Even a bit of appealing Amiibo functionality isn’t enough to make Zip Lash a must-have for anyone, save perhaps the little guy’s biggest fans. If you want to play a platformer, plenty of better options exist on 3DS. And if you want to know what Chibi-Robo is really all about, best go back into his quirky past and do a few household chores or give life to some park plants.

It’s not bad, but it’s not great either. Could’ve used more “zip," I think.

The whole package is undoubtedly polished and pleasing, and if you're looking for a solid platformer that zigs where a Mario may zag then this is a safe bet for an enjoyable time. But for all the charm and smooth polish, there's little texture here to make the game stand out from others in this genre.

Grappling hooks are always fun; but boring levels and questionable design choices together with shabby product placement make this ten year anniversary of Chibi-Robo nothing more than a shrug. Better luck next time, lil'buddy.

An alright platformer with charming looks and characters, but nothing revolutionary.

Sadly, Chibi-Robo fails to deliver a good platforming game, relying on uninspired levels and forgettable action.

Less zip and more of a lashing, Chibi-Robo: Zip Lash has all the basics it needs to be an enjoyable platformer but trips over itself with some baffling design choices and an un-inspired candy center.

Had Nintendo taken the time to produce a sequel with the same amount of depth as the original Chibi-Robo, we'd be getting somewhere. But Zip Lash just feels like a routine platformer, not offering enough bang for the buck to satisfy die-hard fans of the series. Kids may get a kick out of it, but more could've been done to assure a long-lasting life for our environmental hero. Here's hoping we haven't seen the last of him.

Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash takes Nintendo’s adorable mini helper robot and throws him into a mediocre side-scrolling platformer that’s too easy, too frustrating, and too below the standards of either its hero or its publisher. There’s some good here, but it’s not enough to raise this one above being an average experience.

If you're a die-hard Chibi-Robo! fan, or if the possibility of having to replay the same levels over and over again doesn't bother you too much, then Zip Lash might be for you. Unfortunately, it's tough for me to give this game a good recommendation after the frustrating time I had with it. I still love you, Chibi-Robo, but this was not your best effort!

Nintendo’s littlest hero misses the mark in his latest adventure. We still love the little bugger but we start to loathe his games. [dec. 2015 / page 068]

Quotation forthcoming.

An okay game, but it is definitely only okay at best.

Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash has all of the basics that can can make a platformer good, but unfortunately, the experience is marred by its basic gameplay and mechanics.

Chibi-Robo returns in his most predictable and forgettable adventure yet: a by-the-books collect-em-up romp.

It’s fun in spurts, but overall a disappointment that hopefully doesn’t consign this series to years in limbo.

A boring and uninspired platformer hindered by baffling decisions like the ever-annoying stage roulette, Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash is, without doubt, the worst entry in the series. Avoid it.

Overall, a competent platformer that plays it safe, but one that is also painfully drawn out.

There's talk that Zip Lash could be the final Chibi-Robo game, and that's a shame. I'd prefer to see him go out with a bit more style than Zip Lash offers. The irony of this game focused around acquisition and collecting is that it's not really worth acquiring for your collection. Even if that Amiibo is awfully adorable.

Disappointing in every way.

If Chibi-Robot!: Zip Lash were very hyped, the disappointment is even greater. Nintendo has just given us one of the worst titles ever on the 3DS, and one of the worst Nintendo games of 2015.

What should have been the big comeback of one of Nintendo's most obscure heroes, is just a dull, uninspiring game that does not fit in with the other end of the year games that are worth your time.

Despite the name this lacks any kind of zip at all, in what may be the most mundane and unexciting platformer Nintendo has ever put their name to.