Chibi-Robo! Photo Finder

Genre: 3D Platformer / Misc.

Players: 1

.

Review:

Chibi-Robo! Photo Finder, released on Nintendo 3DS in 2014, is an odd game that combines various elements that make its genre hard to pin down. The core gameplay and movement has you running around in a 3D Platformer, but there are various minigames here, as well as a strong AR Game element. The result is a unique amalgamation that makes for a truly original experience.

The premise of the game has players taking the role of the titular Chib-Robo, a 4” tall robot with a power outlet plug for a tail. Players are tasked with assisting various odd characters with a variety of odd jobs, ultimately aiming to use Happy Points earned from those jobs to purchase special Silhouette Film that can be used to take snapshots of real-world objects that are transported into the game to be displayed in a museum.

It’s an odd premise, and the game runs with it by surrounding it with an odd presentation. Players will be working for various odd toys and anthropomorphic objects, assisted by what seems to be an anthropomorphic smartphone, and their boss appears to be a massive Frechman. All of these characters speak in an amusing-sounding babble-speak, adding to the surreal nature of the game. Perhaps fittingly, these sounds are joined by an eclectic soundtrack that includes themes ranging from synthesized rhythms to elevator music to 70s-style Jazz-style themes. It’s all quite bizarre, but it’s certainly not boring.

While the premise is odd, that’s not to say that the presentation is lazy or lacking. The 3D environments, characters, and objects in this game have an incredible amount of detail, and there are some really excellent lighting effects in places too. These stunningly detailed visuals are offset somewhat by the game’s less than stellar framerate, but overall this is an impressive-looking game, far more than you’d expect from a budget $10 title.

Due to the varied nature of the jobs you’re taking on, you’ll have a lot of variety in the gameplay, from deductive and reasoning tests to Shooting Gallery minigames. None of this is extraordinary, but it’s all decent, and the variety keeps things interesting.

I will say that I’m frustrated by Chibi-Robo’s constantly ticking-down battery and need to recharge. Yes, I understand this is canonically a part of this series, but that doesn’t make it feel any less like an unnecessary element that’s been shoved into this game regardless of how it affects the gameplay, occasionally requiring tedious trips back to the power outlet.

Ultimately, Chibi-Robo! Photo Finder is probably a bit too niche for many players, but I thoroughly enjoyed its odd presentation, its unique and varied gameplay, and the overall mishmesh of elements this game consists of. At $10, I’d say this is well worth trying out, especially because there’s not much else like it out there, and once the Nintendo 3DS eShop goes down, this game will be lost forever. If you’re a Nintendo 3DS owner who is on the fence about getting this game, I would suggest that’s an excellent reason to give it a try.

tl;dr – Chibi-Robo! Photo Finder is an odd game that combines various elements, including 3D Platforming, various minigames, and AR Game elements, all contained in a story about a 4” tall robot performing odd jobs and collecting artifacts to put on display in a museum. This is definitely not going to be for everyone, but at $10, I’d argue that it’s such a unique game that it’s well worth snatching up while it’s still available, before the Nintendo 3DS eShop closes and it’s lost forever.

Grade: B

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Andy Miller, Exlene, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Talissa, Eli Goodman, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Ilya Zverev, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}