Medabots has always been a bit of an odd case. Clearly created to hitch a ride on the Pokémon hype train, it's a series about people who - instead of capturing and fighting with creatures - collect machine parts to build and fight with robots. Unlike Digimon, which was also similar in setup, Medabots never really seemed to catch on outside Japan. It was initially created as a game, then turned into an anime series, which then spawned several more games - the two titles now on the eShop were the first to be released after the anime started, and are in fact partially based on that series.
In Medabots: Metabee & Rokusho - originally released for the Game Boy Advance - you play as Ikki Tenryou, a young boy who somehow manages to end up owning his own Medabot, after which he embarks on a quest which turns out to be bigger than he could've possibly imagined. It's basically, the same story as almost every RPG ever made. Medabots are, of course, the most important thing in this game world. Each consist of six different parts - a frame, a head, two arms, legs (which count as one) and a medal, which essentially brings it to life. Naturally all this stuff can be fully customized to create lots and lots of different combinations. You can also have up to nine Medabots at once, so you don't just have to keep changing one
After obtaining your first Medabot it won't be long before you're thrust into your first robot battle, or robattle as the game calls them. Robattles will be the main thing you'll be doing when playing this game, and you'll quickly find out why. These fights are quite a bit more complicated than those in other similar series, and it'll take a while to truly understand all the mechanics.
The basic gist of it is that you and the opposing side can have up to 3 robots in each fight. Before each turn you and your opponent will assign actions, which are then all carried out at the same time. Naturally, each robot's stats will determine how effective and fast their attacks are and how much damage they can take. What's particularly interesting is that robots do not have one single health pool - they have four different health pools for different body parts. This means that certain parts might end up getting destroyed first, disabling certain functions.
Although this idea sounds cool on paper, it's completely impossible for you to decide what exactly your robots are going to shoot at. Destroying an enemy robot's head instantly defeats it, and if said robot is the leader of the team it even instantly ends the battle, but since you can't target the head manually you're going to have to rely on complete and utter luck to make battles end quickly. Unfortunately this goes both ways, as the enemy could very well give you an instant blow to the head and knock you out.
While the game has its fair share of plot-related battles, it also has those accursed random battles when you're just walking around. And unlike Pokémon these aren't just limited to specific areas, they're practically everywhere, including in towns. It's likely not a stretch to say that over half the game will be spent in random battles, and considering it can take around 30 hours to reach the end during your first time playing that's quite a lot of fighting!
Aside from the fighting the game is generally fairly similar to the series it takes inspiration from. Expect lots of walking around, talking to people and shopping for items and parts, before setting off for the next plot marker and getting in some fights along the way.
It should also be addressed that there are indeed two versions of the game available for purchase. If you're interested, it really doesn't matter all that much which one you buy - the only differences are that you start with a different Medabot, and that each version has a few of its own exclusive parts to find. Originally you could trade things between versions with a GBA link cable, but as with other Wii U eShop games this feature is unfortunately unsupported.
Graphically it's quite a nice game for being released relatively early in the Game Boy Advance's life. All of the characters have anime-styled portraits, and the sprites are all nicely detailed, with the robot sprites even changing depending on which body parts get destroyed. The music isn't amazing by any means, but good enough, and there's certainly some enjoyable, catchy themes in there.
Conclusion
Mechanically, Medabots is quite interesting and offers a unique spin on the Pokémon formula, with its 3-on-3 battles and simultaneous actions. There's also arguably a lot more strategy involved, but unfortunately it's marred by some random factors. Expect some amount of frustration if you choose not to use the available save states! The random battles when walking around can also be a major annoyance, but if you're willing to put up with all of those aspects - as most surely are when picking up a Virtual Console RPG - then you can find a fairly decent, if not truly special alternative to Nintendo's famous franchise.
Comments 14
I still actually quite enjoyed this when I played it on the GBA. I thought it would get at LEAST a 7/10. That's about what I would give it anyway. And I never even really was that big of a Medabots fan.
The review was really reading like a 7/10 to me. The 6 seems to honestly come out of nowhere.
The review itself seems fair enough. Something that's not mentioned that I think is nice are the character interactions. They're pretty lighthearted but entertaining and at times funny. Although I guess that could vary for everyone, some might just dismiss some moments as cheesy. Also a good amount of stuff to do once you beat the game to keep you coming back. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a new RPG if you're on the fence.
These are some of my favorite games and I'm not entirely surprised to see some of the ins and outs of the combat system missed and seen as random. So I've listed what I remember for the combat system and where else the choice of version is going to affect. These are actually very good games and some of your choices not only can affect where you go and what you see but also which characters you get to know more about.
Battle system is actually quite beautiful. Shooting based parts highlight the enemy part they are going to target before you select them. Grappling or close range parts will attack the closest enemy to them when they reach the attach point. If an robot used an aim shot attack or berserker attack they can't dodge. If a robot uses a strike or berserker attack they can't block. Blocking causes the damage to go to the legs, then left arm, then right arm, never to the head and can reduce damage. If I recall correctly the damage will be transferred if blocked to the correct part in order in such away to prevent parts from breaking. Any grappling attack (strike or berserker) will hit randomly on a defenseless foe, where a shooting attack (shoot and aim shot) will hit the part they are trying to target. Medals have a built in aim of what enemy type parts they go after first.
Side note: losing side loses a random part, this can be once you after have two or more medabots (only having one and losing causes gameover) that are functional, this can be a part you can never get again, eg. your starting parts.
Medals have particular parts that they go better with. Eg. Shooting and if with the correct parts or if they have more skill in that type of parts from the 8 different types, the dodging and ability to defend is better. Having both is best and that's where the version becomes more vital. Metabee version contains shooting based medals primarily for attacking, where as Rokusho is pirmarily grappling with status based and defensive tricks mostly being shared. Which pretty much affects what style of combat your going to play and likewise what kinds of strategies you'll find work best for you.
Its not perfect but I enjoyed it. Fighting was the biggest obstacle to overcome at first since the game doesn't teach you how to fight nor does it start you off with easy simple battles for you to find out what you're supposed to do. Save states are a must and even the original game manual recommended you keep saving after every battle.
Honestly it sound a bit harsh to define the battle System as "random" since the randomness is only one of many factors. Medabots aim to specific targets depending from their medal (their main chip let's say), some prefer to attack healing parts, others attack shooting parts and so on and even when those parts are nowhere on the opponents they still tend to target always specific parts of other kinds (as the random battle allow to test plenty XP). Only exceptions the phisical attacks that aim to the closer enemy, but even in that case a Medabots with the right body parts can be tricked into attacking at the right time for hit the right enemy. (So glad @Aqueous said pretty much everything or I would have made a much longer post XD;;; ).
Overall it's definitly a peculiar system that some players will find annoying, but for those liking it there is room for strategy and thinking since there is very little randomness in it at the end.
Personally I got the game used an year ago since I didn't expect the title to arrive on VC and I loved it, I just hate how some things distracted me and without realizing I moved on without completing the story (and I was even 40 hours into it). it's definitly in my top 3 of games I must find the time to complete sooner or later.
@BakaKnight - You're welcome. I've been playing these gems since 2003-2004 took me a few years to get past the mash A racing.
Medabots was always something I liked, and the games were pretty decent. I'd agree with everyone saying about a 7/10, but definitely not more.
Now to dig out my Metabee and Rokusho figurines...
I never played the games, but enjoyed the anime way back when. (Especially Phantom Renegade) I might pick up the Rokusho version sometime in the future, as the comments section has convinced me more than the review.
I don't know any game that took a theme and still perfected it and kept it the same and cool.
I remember playing this. It was alright.
I ignore the gaming world for a year and this happens? Ugh!
i wish pokemon games were as fun as this! i love pokemon, don't get me wrong, but the battle mechanics and customization of this game felt unique.
would have been even better if the robattles were a bit shorter and there were more areas to explore, but i guess i can't have it all lol
Love this game! Still have it! Replaying on an emulator right now.
I loved this game as a kid! I haven't played it in a while, but I recall the humour in this game being a standout compared to the other games of its era.
The battle system and story were miles better than what pokemon had to offer IMO. I definitely felt like it deserved more than a 6.
It is such a shame that the later iterations of this game were never localised into English.
Tap here to load 14 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...