R.O.B. (universe)

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R.O.B. (universe)

Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Genre(s)	Puzzle Platformer
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo Entertainment System
First installment	Stack-Up (1985)
Latest installment	Gyromite (1985)

TheR.O.B. universe (ロボット,Robot) refers to the usage of the historically significantRobotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.) peripheral for the NES as a playable character in theSuper Smash Bros. series.

It was first represented inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, with the peripheral appearing as botha playable character and asa set of enemies inThe Subspace Emissary. R.O.B. returns as an unlockable character inSuper Smash Bros. 4 andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. Representation for the video games R.O.B. is used with is mostly minimal, with R.O.B.'s portrayal instead being a mixture of original creative elements and references to the physical hardware accessories.

Franchise description[edit]

The logo for the Family Computer Robot

The Family Computer Robot was created in July of 1985 as an experiment into the possibility of an external apparatus separate from the player controlling a video game. Two games were made for this peripheral;Gyromite andStack-Up. When necessary, the games will flash in a specific way that the robot will detect, triggering it to perform a desired action. The peripheral itself was a niche release in the Famicom aftermarket and, while selling decently well, did not initially have much of a cultural impact. However, its presence outside of Japan is its true claim to fame.

Roughly around the same time as Nintendo's domestic launch of its new video game console, the Famicom, in July 1983, one of the most infamous and historically significant time periods in the video game industry's early timeline was at its height: the two year-long North American video game recession that began in 1983 and heralded the catastrophic end of the second generation of video gaming. The main causes of this crash are an oversaturation of competition spreading customers thin and a general lack of quality control standards leading to a flood of low quality software meant as quick cash grabs. Burned by these events, consumers in general simply stopped buying video games and the industry as a whole was collapsing.

Around this time, Nintendo created a North American branch dubbed Nintendo of America to study the market and find a way to sell their product in such a turbulent era. The first order of business was to distance Nintendo from the stigma of video games, changing the luxurious Famicom into a toy-like aesthetic, selling it in the toy aisle of stores as the Nintendo Entertainment System. To further sell the idea that the system was a toy, some units of the console were bundled with the Zapper and the robot, now renamed to Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B. for short). The two games would also be released for the NES, though not in any console bundles.

The logo for the Robot series of video games.

Gyromite was effectively a side-scrolling game where the controls were split between player-character movement on player 1's Control Pad and environmental effects on player 2's A and B buttons, making it a cooperative game, and R.O.B.'s contribution toGyromite was effectively as an optional substitute for a second player, where pressing Start on player 1's controller would compel R.O.B. to press an appropriate button on the player 2 controller after going through roughly half a minute's worth of pre-programmed motions.Stack-Up, on the other hand, fared better as software that used the R.O.B. unit itself as a physical game device, where electronically inputting commands with the NES controller would compel R.O.B. to move and drop colored blocks onto stands surrounding its base, though the pre-programmed motions of the R.O.B. unit often knocked blocks off their stands unintentionally.

Analysts and historians argue that R.O.B. had a uniquely profound and important effect in the North American history of video games as a market, allowing Nintendo to turn an accessory that would otherwise be considered a commercial failure that was quickly abandoned into a type of Trojan horse product that put themselves in the good graces of the public and revived the North American video game market and helped it blossom into the multi-billion dollar industry it is today. How much of the early success of the NES is owed to R.O.B., however, is up for debate.

Nintendo has shown itself to hold the R.O.B. unit in high regard, as evident by having it make a number of cameos and even a few playable appearances in a rather large number of its modern-day franchises. Its cameos consist ofKirby being able to collect its parts and reassemble them in a puzzle inKirby's Dream Land 3, several R.O.B.-centered microgames appearing throughout theWarioWare series, a model of R.O.B. decorating a portion ofPort Town Aero Dive inF-Zero GX (which also occurs in the stage of the same name inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl), R.O.B. appearing in theCuriosity Shop inThe Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D, R.O.B.'s head beinga collectable treasure inPikmin 2, and R.O.B. appearing as on the back portion of the box art ofCapcom'sViewtiful Joe. Its playable appearances consist ofMario Kart DS, which marked its debut as a full-fledged video game character and even features a kart that resembles itsStack-Up accessories, and lastly and most notably, theSuper Smash Bros. series as ofSuper Smash Bros. Brawl. The recurring character inGyromite andStack-Up named Professor Hector has also made a few cameos like inKirby's Dreamland 3 andTetris DS, though he has not seen nearly as much representation as R.O.B.

In addition to cameos and playable appearances, R.O.B. has been referenced in some instances, with the most notable of these occurring within theStar Fox series.ROB 64 references R.O.B. both in name and in function as a robotic assistant, due to his status as the pilot of theGreat Fox. However,Star Fox Zero andStar Fox Guard both feature robots that are almost identical to R.O.B.Zero features Direct-i, who is tethered to the Gyrowing and functions similarly to ROB 64 and R.O.B. by being an assistant to the player.Guard features the A.T.K. Unit, which is one of the "combat class" robots in the game that threaten the player's mining facilities. Outside of these instances,StarTropics features a robot resembling R.O.B. named "NAV-COM", who is an important side character.

InSuper Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]

Since theR.O.B. universe only has two games to draw material from, it has minimal representation: it features one character, oneitem (produced by R.O.B'sdown special move,Gyro), one music track, and nostages. However, R.O.B. plays an integral role inAdventure Mode, with several different R.O.B.s appearing as enemies.

Due to not having any stages, R.O.B. usesMario Bros. as hishome stage inClassic Mode andAll-Star Mode.

Fighter[edit]

R.O.B. (Unlockable): R.O.B. is the only playable character in theR.O.B. universe. His moveset is largely original, although some of his moves are based on the real peripheral; for example, the flashing red light on R.O.B.'s head when hisRobo Beam is charged is based on when the red light flashed to indicate that R.O.B. was ready for use with the NES. Once all characters are unlocked, on the character select screen R.O.B. is in the fourth column alongside theIce Climbers,Pit andSamus, who all originated on the Famicom/NES and are also the only playable characters of their respective universes inBrawl (minusZero Suit Samus, who does not appear on the character select screen).

Music[edit]

Main article:List of SSBB Music (Nintendo series)

Original Track[edit]

Gyromite: A remix of the title theme ofStack-Up, the game R.O.B. was packaged with. WhileBrawl mislabeled this track as being the background music fromGyromite, there are some short tracks fromGyromite that are inserted into this remix. It is used on theMario Bros. stage and is played during R.O.B.'sCharacter Roll Call.

Victory Theme[edit]

Victory! R.O.B.: Upbeat music derived fromStack-Up's background music.

Trophies[edit]

Trophies which feature R.O.B.s are:

R.O.B. (Series: "Others". Unlock: Clear Classic Mode as R.O.B.)
R.O.B. sporting his Famicom colors. R.O.B. debuted in Japan as Robot in 1985 as an add-on for the Famicom. He could be combined with a "gyro set," etc. for two types of play. The player controlled Professor Hector, the TV emitted light, and R.O.B. responded to the light by moving. At the time, it was epoch-making game play. Recently, R.O.B. appeared in Mario Kart DS.

:Nintendo Entertainment System Robotic Operating Buddy

Diffusion Beam (Series: "Others". Unlock: Clear All-Star Mode as R.O.B.)
R.O.B.'s Final Smash. He emits a beam from his eyes that spreads across the spectrum and undulates in great variety as it travels. What makes this technique different is R.O.B.'s ability to move while using it. This allows him to use it in combination with his other moves to increase his Final Smash's effectiveness.

:Super Smash Bros. Brawl

R.O.B. Sentry (Series: The Subspace Emissary. Unlock: UseTrophy Stand)
A robot with a two-armed shot. This R.O.B. uses the booster on its base to propel its jumps. Often used in the Subspace Army bomb factory in defense or labor roles, the R.O.B. Sentry also works as a detonator. Its emotional capacity is unknown, but it has utter trust in the Ancient Minister and obeys him unwaveringly. This production model has been made in great numbers.

:Super Smash Bros. Brawl

R.O.B. Launcher (Series: The Subspace Emissary. Unlock: Use Trophy Stand)
An upgraded R.O.B. model with a missile-launcher head that bolsters firepower. The standard coloring has also been refinished with a green and brown military motif, stylishly accented with a blue cord connecting the arm sections and base. This R.O.B. does not use its arms—attacks are limited to the missiles fired from its head.

:Super Smash Bros. Brawl

R.O.B. Blaster (Series: The Subspace Emissary. Unlock: Use Trophy Stand)
A R.O.B. model boasting robo-beam-blasting eye lenses suited for long-range combat. There are two types—one acts like a stationary gun, sitting in place and lining up targets, and the other is mobile. Actually, the R.O.B. Sentry also features beam-firing capabilities, but because the roles of the R.O.B. Squad are so well defined, there's no conflict between the ranks.

:Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Ancient Minister (Series: The Subspace Emissary. Unlock: Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary)
The commander of the Subspace Army who uses Subspace Bombs to tear upthis world. He was once the lord of this world, living on the floating Island of the Ancients with many robots-but the robots were taken hostage on Tabuu's orders. Now that their home's a bomb factory, the robots carry out their functions while enduring deep sadness caused by the loss of their colleagues.

:Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Subspace Bomb (Series: The Subspace Emissary. Unlock: Clear Boss Battles on Easy difficulty)
A weapon that, when it explodes, draws every part of this world within its blast range into Subspace. The areas drawn into Subspace this way float about in bubbles as individual colonies. To detonate a bomb, two R.O.B.'s must be destroyed in the process. The Ancient Minister is bitterly aggrieved by this fact.

:Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Stickers[edit]

Name	Game	Effect	Characters
R.O.B.	Mario Kart DS	[Specials: Indirect] Attack +15	R.O.B.
Robot & Blocks	Stack-Up	[Specials: Indirect] Attack +27	R.O.B.
Robot	Mario Kart DS	[Energy] Attack +32	R.O.B.

InSuper Smash Bros. 4[edit]

TheR.O.B. universe returns inSuper Smash Bros. 4, though unlike inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, its representation is very minimal: while R.O.B. retains his status as the universe's sole fighter, its one song fromBrawl is exclusive toSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U. As a result, theR.O.B. universe is effectively akin to a "bonus" universe inSSB4, much like how theEarthBound andF-Zero universes were inSuper Smash Bros., and how theFire Emblem universe was inSuper Smash Bros. Melee.