Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash

 3DS
User Score
5.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 132 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 132
  2. Mixed: 27 out of 132
  3. Negative: 56 out of 132
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  1. harryjc
    Aug 24, 2017
    7
    This is a pretty fun game! There's a small learning curve to it, but once you get the controls down it's plenty of fun. It's very much like a normal platform game, but it offers unique game play. Basically, you're this little robot, and you have to use an extension cord as a weapon. It acts like a whip, and it allows you to progress through all the levels. You can do crazy moves, and getThis is a pretty fun game! There's a small learning curve to it, but once you get the controls down it's plenty of fun. It's very much like a normal platform game, but it offers unique game play. Basically, you're this little robot, and you have to use an extension cord as a weapon. It acts like a whip, and it allows you to progress through all the levels. You can do crazy moves, and get power ups, and collect coins, and fight baddies. However, it's not all action. There's also a small puzzle element to this game that makes it more challenging. If you're into casual games this will be something you'll like.

    However! There is one annoying feature that I just don't understand. What's with the spinning wheel that randomly places you in levels? I want to make progress. I don't want to do levels that I've already done. You know, I think this is what made people not like this game. It's a small "feature" but is a real nuisance.    … Expand
  2. JRRR
    Oct 21, 2015
    6
    I like the game, it's a good game but it has too many flaws and some weird choices by the developers that ultimately affects the game. First off no option to play solely with the d-pad, this is not major issue but options are always better. It's too generic and by the books, it's enjoyable but nothing amazing or one of a kind. Getting from level to level can be a pain with the roulette,I like the game, it's a good game but it has too many flaws and some weird choices by the developers that ultimately affects the game. First off no option to play solely with the d-pad, this is not major issue but options are always better. It's too generic and by the books, it's enjoyable but nothing amazing or one of a kind. Getting from level to level can be a pain with the roulette, that was completely unnecessary. Lastly there's too much stuff to unlock behind the amiibo, a complete world, a capsule machine for figurine collecting, a power-up that Nintendo advertised with the game, too much stuff and only if you have an amiibo (which I do) and a NFC reader (which I don't own) if you don't have a new 3DS model (which I don't). It'a a good game but it's not worth 30$, my recommendation is if you like 2D platformers give it a go, if you don't skip it.… Expand
  3. SableSoldi3r
    Aug 24, 2016
    7
    Considering that I absolutely loved the original Chibi-Robo game for the GameCube, I was very skeptical about Zip Lash, as they'd completely rewritten the formula for the series and turned it on its head. As a Chibi-Robo game, I couldn't understand why they'd go in this direction with the series, but I respected the developers for taking a risk with their IP, something that most developersConsidering that I absolutely loved the original Chibi-Robo game for the GameCube, I was very skeptical about Zip Lash, as they'd completely rewritten the formula for the series and turned it on its head. As a Chibi-Robo game, I couldn't understand why they'd go in this direction with the series, but I respected the developers for taking a risk with their IP, something that most developers are terrified to do.

    As a game in its own right, however, Zip Lash has been a lot of fun for me. It has a classic Castlevania sort of feel to it, as Chibi-Robo can use his plug like a whip to defeat enemies and grapple onto higher platforms in order to advance. He can also use his plug to grab items, as well as swing it around above his head like a helicopter blade to cross small gaps and hover for a short time. It feels good to collect coins, gather power-ups, and search for the hidden goodies in each level. It seems less like an action-platformer and more like an adventure-platformer in that regard. Although the level design can be a bit bland and forgettable, I've been enjoying my time with the game thus far.

    While I appreciated some of the design choices for the game itself, some of those same choices didn't make a lot of sense for the series as a whole. Why take a robot designed for doing housework and make him fight snack-hungry aliens? Why take one of the most unique features of Chibi-Robo — his short power cord, which was meant to limit his abilities — and completely throw that away in favor of an "Extend-O-Cord" that, on its own, can defeat enemies? The battery doesn't seem to play as big of a role as it did in previous iterations, either. It just seems that Chibi-Robo, instead of feeling like a vulnerable little robot, feels more like a video game character, which bastardizes the theme and origins of the series.
    The product placement was very in-your-face, although it was fun to learn fun facts about all the different snacks. It's refreshing to see games like Pikmin 2 handle advertising uniquely, but in Zip Lash, it just felt forced.

    The level selection method is a bit bizarre, and probably my least favorite thing about the game:
    In a world with six levels, instead of going from one level to the next, or simply choosing which level you want to visit, you have to spin a wheel. The number you land on (1, 2, or 3) determines how many levels you move forward. And the world maps are circular; if you pass level 6, you'll go back to level 1, then start moving up again. In order to move on to the next world, you have to beat all the levels in the current world. In other words, you're basically leaving it up to chance whether you advance to the next world, or you go back and replay a level you've already beaten.
    You can influence this slightly, though. At the end of each level, there are three UFOs: A large, bronze one; a medium-sized, silver one; and a small, gold one. The gold ones are always out of the way and harder to hit, but depending on which one you smack with your plug, you earn a certain number of spins for the wheel: bronze is worth one spin; silver is worth two; and gold is worth three. So, if you get more than one spin on the wheel, and you're unsatisfied with your first spin, you can spin again and try to get a better result. But the spinner thing as a whole seems entirely unnecessary to begin with, so why not just let the player either select levels or move from one to the next? It's absolutely mind-boggling as to how much effort they put into a system that impedes your ability to fully experience the game.

    The inclusion of an amiibo was a nice touch, but it also seemed to be a sort of unnecessary gimmick in the game itself. You can scan the included amiibo figure to summon a capsule machine that you can sink coins into to unlock collectible toys within the game. 90% of the toys are the same Chibi-Robo figurine with the same base, just posed differently. You can scan other character amiibos into the game to unlock a figure of Chibi-Robo in that character's pose. They all have different rarities, and they get added to the capsule machine for you to try and win. You can also use the Chibi-Robo amiibo to unlock more playable levels in the game. While the amiibo figure looks great and is a nice inclusion, the in-game features feel like they could've been included in the base game, as you're more than likely to have the amiibo anyway.

    This is one of those ideas that would've stood on its own perfectly fine, had it not been associated with an already-established franchise. It doesn't affect my overall opinion of the game itself, but it's just something I'm bitter about. I applaud the developers for trying to take the series in a new direction, but I feel that, at the same time, they made Chibi-Robo more generic as a result. While I enjoyed the game, despite its few flaws, it pains me to say that the future of Chibi-Robo is looking very bleak, and I hope the developers do something about that.    … Expand
  4. greninjaX
    Jul 3, 2020
    7
    never played the original chibi robo. but this game aint that bad. although the way you select levels kind of sucks. like let me just chose the next level, there shouldn't be any luck involved
  5. Maxler5795
    Jul 31, 2020
    5
    This game blows! But not as much as you may think. The game yes, did screw the series. But, as a standalone game, the soundtrack is amazing at best and passable at worst. And i feel that the developers cared, but the superiors didnt.
  6. SirXyonder777
    Jun 8, 2021
    6
    This game is a decent 2D platformer, so long as you don't care about it being so different from the original. It's okay, but there are so many better 2D platformers on the system.
  7. WWD2
    Oct 26, 2021
    6
    I understand the Scott Wozniak school of thought that this game is chock-full of flaws and that it effectively killed the Chibi-Robo! series. And while I agree with many of the criticisms the Woz poses, in a vacuum the game is not that bad. Looking at it as nothing more than a 2D platformer for the 3DS, in many ways it misses the mark of a quality video game, but there is still fun to beI understand the Scott Wozniak school of thought that this game is chock-full of flaws and that it effectively killed the Chibi-Robo! series. And while I agree with many of the criticisms the Woz poses, in a vacuum the game is not that bad. Looking at it as nothing more than a 2D platformer for the 3DS, in many ways it misses the mark of a quality video game, but there is still fun to be had with the title.

    To first address the issues with this game that have been talked to death, the destination wheel is the most mystifyingly stupid game mechanic I have ever seen in terms of level progression. It's the type of gimmick that exists only to have something unique about the game on the back of the box. It also would appear to be a money pit, what with the ability to buy destination wheel panels. It doesn't add anything to the game, it's stupid, end of story. A specific game mechanic that made me want to put my head through a plate glass window was the submarine. My God, the submarine levels. The sub doesn't go anywhere until a solid two seconds after moving the circle pad, and then it goes really slowly. It feels like you're constantly wrestling with the controls, and if there was a moment of frustration that really stood out to me during the game, that was it. And of course, the way the game sets up the final boss probably prevents most people from fully completing the game. It should force you to buy a part of the giant Chibi-Robo after each level to indicate to the player that the coins will be necessary later on.

    I remember from The Darkest Age of Nintendo, Scott complained about the plug attack being split into two separate moves, and while I think that's fair criticism, I did not find it that annoying, I thought the whiplash was actually used in very fun ways besides just attacking. In certain levels, the player has to swing themselves over a large chasm by latching onto the ceiling, swinging forward, letting go, and catching the ceiling farther down. It was certainly difficult, but I loved seeing those elements in the game just because it was very fun. The hover ability of the whiplash is also helpful if the player happens to miss a jump and needs to find a way to correct it midair. In terms of the ziplash, I absolutely agree that the aiming of the attack was either uncontrollably fast or painfully slow, overall I found it fun to collect blue orbs and see how far my attack could go. The ricochet effect that the game uses so often for the ziplash not only forces the player to think outside the box to collect certain items, but also is just really fun. Maybe I'm too easy to please, but I thought it was a nice touch.

    The level themes are extremely generic and don't add anything to the story (which is already extremely barren) but the level design always seemed to lend itself well to the game. Each level was somewhere between a Mario game and a Genesis Sonic game in terms of linearity, which considering the fact that your ziplash can be used to reach out-of-the-way areas seems appropriate. But the same generic blocks and set pieces appear in all levels regardless of the world theme. In other words, the theme of a world equates to a different backdrop to the same set pieces that are consistent throughout the game. It certainly kills the immersion, but it's probably better than sacrificing level design for the sake of a world theme.

    Objectively speaking, this is not a very good game. But if you watched The Darkest Age of Nintendo and the game still entices you, then you would probably enjoy the game. As Scott Wozniak himself conceded, some games aren't for everyone, and just because the general consensus is that this game is bad doesn't mean you might not scrape some fun out of it. I know I did.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

41
#41 Best 3DS Game of 2015
5
#5 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2015
15
#15 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
59

Mixed or average reviews - based on 50 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 50
  2. Mixed: 40 out of 50
  3. Negative: 5 out of 50
  1. IGN Sweden
    Mar 15, 2016
    55
    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.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Jan 12, 2016
    75
    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]
  3. Power Unlimited
    Dec 10, 2015
    54
    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]
See all critic reviews »