First Impressions: Customize this, bee-yatch!
Japan gets all of the really good games. Especially if you define good as: 1) being unique; or 2) being quirky. I mean, it was only by the grace of Tecmo that Gallop Racer came to the states. And who else could come up with Princess Maker? Anyway, the point that I'm trying to make is that Japanese game players have enjoyed a number of video game titles that we've only dreamed of, including Nintendo's Custom Robo series. At least, we haven't had the pleasure of playing Custom Robo, yet.
On the GameCube horizon is Custom Robo, the long-awaited US release of the Japanese fighting/RPG franchise. In Japan, the Nintendo 64 saw two releases of this title, the second of which debuted on the sales charts at a healthy number two spot. So, what was the buzz about? Custom Robo took some of the best elements of mech games like Armored Core and fighting games like Power Stone and mixed them in a giant vat. As a Custom Robo operator, you would customize your robo, picking from oodles of robot parts, and send it into battle. A pretty simple concept with a widespread appeal. When Custom Robo hits US shelves, expect the game to carry the torch that the first two games lit.
Set in the not-so-distant future, Custom Robo is going to feature a single player RPG-esque story that is shooting to stand on it's own two legs, a great leap forward for any of the genres that this game is branching across. As mentioned before, you are going to have to customize your robot before heading into battle. Fortunately, you will have more than 200 parts to select from, allowing you to really put a personal stamp on your creation. Of course, a fighting Robo needs someplace to fight at, right? Custom Robo is going to feature 30 unique battle arenas and if Custom Robo V2 is any indication, each will be filled with destructible and interactive elements/
Now, what good would it be to customize your own fightin' machine if you couldn't square it off against your roomate's sissy robot? That's right, Custom Robo is going to be all about the multiplayer stylin'. At the heart of four-way action is a plethora of game types. Two-on-two versus matches, Tag-Team bouts, and four-way battle royales are all lining up for you and three friends to knock down. All of this multiplayer action is going to be happening on a single-screen, meaning that there will be no split-screen slowdown issues. While nothing regarding the matter has been announced yet, this editor wouldn't be surprised if we even see some link features that take advantage of the GBA title, Custom Robo GX.
