There's nothing quite like Chibi-Robo. The teeny, tiny little robot came out late in the GameCube's lifespan in the west and never really got the love he deserved. We never forgot about him at least, but it's been a quiet few years since developer Skip Ltd and Chibi-Robo have plugged into adventure, despite the game getting a few DS and 3DS follow-ups.
And it seems like there might be a reason for that. In an exclusive interview with our shiny new sister site Time Extension, Chibi-Robo's director Kenichi Nishi talks about how the game came to be on Nintendo's little purple box, and how Miyamoto managed to help keep the project alive. But, near the end of the interview, the director admits that many of the original staff who worked on the series are no longer at Skip:
"Skip is a company that I founded, but I left halfway through to work on a separate project, so I don't know what happened to it. Currently, most of the staff have moved on to other companies, and some of them are now working with me on my projects. We didn't have any troubles or quarrels, and we still see each other once in a while and get along well, but I think they chose not to work together at the same company."
It sounds like it's pretty doubtful that we'll ever see Chibi-Robo make a return, as Skip has gone relatively quiet since the release of Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash in 2015. In fact, there were rumours back in 2020 that the developer may have shut its doors as its website disappeared.
- Further reading - Has The Chibi-Robo Studio Skip Pulled The Plug On Development?
But there is a minuscule shred of hope for the dinky little 'bot. While Nishi admits that he doesn't "know if Skip will release another Chibi-Robo", he does want to make a sequel himself — but only if the "timing is right, because he's a fascinating character", and we agree with that sentiment!
We'll just have to settle for giving our Chibi-Robo amiibo a hug, but we're holding out hope that one day this little robot will get his time in the limelight once again.
You can read the full interview with Kenichi Nishi over on Time Extension. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts on Chibi-Robo, and lament the seven-year gap with us in the comments.
[source timeextension.com]
Comments 32
The original Chibi robo for gamecube goes for 200$ on ebay... they should of stuck to the the character defining gnere. The market is waaaay to over saturated with 2d games
I liked the GameCube game.
Wish we'd at least get that JP-only DS Chibi-Robo game translated at some point but yeah, I know it's not happening.
Zip-Lash wasn't really a true Chibi-Robo game, and it wasn't even a good sidescroller either. I wonder what the story behind that game is.
If I remembered, there was Chibi Robo clones by indie developer (I forgot the title).
Also, even games like Pikmin have the clones by 3rd party developers.
Somewhere, Scott the Woz is quietly crying
Sad Scott the Woz noises
I'm ashamed to admit the only Chibi Robo game I l've played is Zip Lash... Which I didn't hate tbh.
I'd love Nintendo release an HD remaster of the GameCube game.
I loved the one they made for the DS, Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol. Too bad they killed the franchise on the 3DS with a side scrolling platformer that nobody asked for.
Honestly, I do remember someone saying that Skip weren't doing too well in recent years. A shame as they did quite quirky titles. Sadly, I can imagine Skip no longer being a thing eventually and I don't think a new Chibi-Robo or remaster is going to save it.
Chibi-Robo was a favourite of mine. I bought it on an impulse because I saw Nintendo published. Here we had a colourful, cutesy looking game that had a pretty sad theme of a broken home. The dad was an obsessed manchild, the daughter was living in her own little world and the mother was on the verge of filing for a divorce due to it all.
It's actually kind of dark really...
Thanks Nintendo for doing everything in your power to make sure this series was successful...[/s]
@Mountain_Man I think the main issue is that Chibi-Robo just never got the sales to really comfortably exist as a regular staple of Nintendo's output. I think the original maybe sold 400k based on what I could find online. For comparisons Fire Emblem a series Nintendo was ready to axe was averaging 500k sales before Awakening.
I think the 2D platformer idea was hopes that people would get into the series through it and pump sales. But, that probably was not a very good idea as Zip-Lash I think sold around 320k worldwide (its hard to find official numbers so I had to rely on VGCharts which is highly unreliable). It was just a really bad gamble and they should had just doubled down on what made the original great.
Well sometimes a franchise lives or die depending on their creator, without the whole team the series may as well rip. I did enjoy the GameCube one but it's no longer in my possession. Hopefully they had a reboot in mind or a remastered in the wing.
No game in 7 years.
I would say Skip are done.
I'd honestly never expect another one. They tried the original style, a download only game and a 2d platformer and none of them set the world on fire.
Now that Nintendo games have to get big HD releases games, and the industry is more competitive, there's no way a studio that has lost staff from the pre-HD era is going to produce a HD console game.
I recall around Ziplash's release they said it was Chibi-Robo's last chance, I believe it.
Yeah I could have told you this series was dead before this interview. Zip-Lash was dire.
@Anti-Matter Oh, you are right! I don’t think it is out yet, but there is one announced called “Misc. A Tiny Tale”.
I only played the 3DS one. It was $5 at Walmart and the amiibo was cute, so I bought it for the amiibo. The game itself sucked the big one.
Kinda obvious, but at least a remaster would be nice.
Due to the unreal value of the Gamecube original, it would be neat to see a re-release. The four handheld games wouldn't be so simple to port though. For anyone interested, there is a fan project in the works to translate the oft-forgotten (and much cheaper to buy) Wii port of the original Chibi-Robo!
It's a shame. I love the GameCube original. I only wish more people could play it. It really was an original concept. Maybe one day we'll see a remaster or get it through NSO.
@HexagonSun Right! It is a really cute 3D metroidvania. 😊
@Broosh I wish we had gotten the Wii port outside of Japan.
I guess I’m the only one that likes zip lash...
I mean, I love Chib-Robo games, but there are enough of them and they had a good run. There are plenty of other awesome franchises that never got more than one or two games. CR got like ... 5? more?
Zip lash wasn`t that bad , try it for cheap !!! Just aproach it as 2d platformer and that`s it !!!
Someone might need to call the fire department for this flaming hot take
i dont think it was their first choice to make a platformer spinoff, shame it became one of the most infamous examples of companies going like "buy this game first before we give you the game you actually want"
That's sad, but expected. The gamecube game was awesome. Of course, some of the gameplay wasn't spectacular, but overall great game. It was kinda like playing a Toy Story movie where a robot bridge the gap between the family and the toys and helped out the family. I still have my gamecube copy.
This makes me so sad because I’ve supported the other games that came out in hopes they would either rerelease the game or have a sequel :/ it was a really fun experience as a kid and it’s one of those games that is a hidden gem for sure …original Chibi was so amazingly fun
A port of the original one would be nice. Low key one of the best GameCube games.
If I had the money I would buy the dang ip from nintendo and make my own dang chibi robo games with an indie game dev team, it's a shame ips never get used if they don't make enough money
@EarthboundBenjy Umm... That game got 100% translated years ago my dude. It's great.
No major love loss there, the best entry was the first entry and even that wasn't anything amazing. It had more chances to prove itself to be a series worth keeping around, but it ultimately just didn't have enough to keep people interested.
I do think that Chibi Robo should be an Assist Trophy in Smash though. The Mii costume suffices, but he'd be even more greatly suited as an Assist Trophy.
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