Robopon 2: Cross Version Review

Robopon 2 may be a Pokémon knockoff, but it's also a charming role-playing game in its own right.

Robopon 2 may be a Pokémon knockoff, but it's also a charming role-playing game in its own right. Robopon are fighting robots that you build, collect, and customize. As the story progresses, you'll have many chances to create and battle with your Robopon. Unlike the multitude of other Pokémon wannabes, however, the characters and story are intricate enough to keep you interested even when you've already fought in thousands of battles just to gain experience.

Although your primary goal is to become a Robopon champion, there are a plethora of other missions and side quests that bring a sense of vitality to the villages you'll visit as well as the characters you'll meet along the way. For instance, one of the first enemies you'll face is a maniacal pharaoh who fights to support the mortgage on his pyramid. Later in the game, you'll come across a duo of software publishers, named Gait and Waffle, who are entrenched in a vicious war over their competing products. A time-travel element also basically doubles the size of your quest and lets you see how some characters came to be good or bad based upon events in their past.

In most cases, the way you solve disputes and acquire the items you need is to fight against other Robopon trainers. Just like in Pokémon, you remain on the sidelines while your Robopon take part in actual combat. You can bring up to four Robopon into battle, and matches are turn-based. During your turn, you can command each robot separately to attack opposing robots with weapons or skills, to defend itself from attack, or to use whatever items you have in your inventory. The winner of the match is whoever manages to scrap all four of the opponent's Robopon.

What makes combat so interesting is that you can heavily customize each of your Robopon. There are weapons available that can give your robots new and stronger attacks. As they gain experience, your Robopon will also learn a variety of offensive and defensive skills to use in battle. In addition to these skills, you can also purchase software upgrades to further enhance their abilities. Depending on the software combinations you install, you may unlock hidden skills that further diversify your arsenal.

Other customization features are heavily reminiscent of Nintendo's Pokémon series. Your robots can evolve into newer and stronger Robopon once they reach a certain experience level. The type and class of your Robopon also influence their ability to use spare parts as well as the extent to which their attacks will damage an opponent. There are three main Robopon types and 15 subclasses, and just like with Pokémon, each class has a vulnerability to another specific class in the game. As well, Robopon can like or dislike one another based upon their oil type--which affects your ability to attack as a team or use healing skills on all of the members in your party.

prev
advertisement

Player Reviews

Critic Scores

*The links above will take you to other Web sites and are provided for your reference. GameSpot does not produce or endorse the content on these sites.

Game Stats

  • Rank:
    9,526 of 59,148
    (down by 647)
    GBA Rank:
    256 of 1,355
    Tracking:
    36 Track It»
    Wishlists:
    26 Wish It»
  • Player Reviews:
    3
    Player Ratings:
    45
    Users Now Playing:
    3
  • Number of Players:

    1-4

  • Top 5 User Tags:
    1. cross version
    2. robopon
    3. robopon 2
    4. robopon 2 cross
  • Everyone Rating Description

    Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. Learn more

Games you may like…

Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.

See More Similar Games