Zip Lash has plenty of sharp ideas behind it, but they never once feel as though they gel into a cohesive whole. Perhaps this seems like a lot of nothing to complain about, but taken as part of the whole Chibi-Robo: Zip Lash package, the gormless gushing about brand-name products feels like a case of badly misplaced priorities. Sometimes Zip Lash will remind you of Klonoa, but only just enough to make you sad there'll never be another Klonoa game. It's essentially a celebration of acquisitiveness, and there's no getting over the fact that its breathless enthusiasm for snack food from around the world lacks the slightest iota of irony. release by Nintendo to come packed alongside an exclusive Amiibo figurine. And perhaps that should come as no surprise, either after all, this is the first U.S.
Unfortunately, that's not the case Zip Lash dearly lacks the self-awareness to pull off such a feat. I'd like to think there was some clever message behind it all, some wry commentary around the fact that the snacks that are treated with such affection are barely indistinguishable from the garbage you pick up to toss into your ship's incinerator. The whole thing is weird and intrusive, and feels incredibly tacked-on. Not only that, but once you complete your scavenger hunt task and bring your requisite junk food to the NPC who exists entirely to demand these products, you're treated to a long-winded description of that food product and all its attendant wonders. It's not simply enough to have little miniature polygonal models of chips and candy in the game gathering brand-name snack foods actually exists as its own independent quest line. No, what sets Zip Lash apart is the intensity with which it incorporates these products. In practice, this makes perfect sense for Chibi-Robo in a game where the hero spends his time picking up after the slobs of the world, it only follows that some of this litter would be properly branded. From the functional (in-game iPods that you could load up with alternate music in Metal Gear Solid 4) to the immersion-breaking (SoBe soft drinks in Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee), it seems there's no publisher in the world who isn't above making a little extra scratch by dropping some kind of product into a game world, no matter how far removed from reality it may be. This is nothing new to video games, of course product placement happens all the time. Besides collecting cash, litter, tinier tiny robots, and upgrades, Chibi-Robo also spends a great deal of time searching for real-world licensed food products. There's no accounting, however, for just how far it takes this concept. Between its theme and the genre it occupies, Zip-Lash comes by its focus on material goods naturally. Speaking of acquisitiveness, Chibi-Robo offers plenty to do with the packed-in Amiibo, though nothing particularly exciting.Ĭhibi-Robo, a tiny robot whose life largely revolves around picking up after slovenly humans, was basically WALL-E before WALL-E existed. That includes coins, power-ups, and even literal clutter: Assorted debris and waste that's been left strewn about the world. He also needs to accumulate as much clutter as possible along the way. As has been the case with this genre since time immemorial-i.e., since Mario first snatched up Pauline's lost accessories on his way to sending Donkey Kong plummeting to unconsciousness-it's not enough for Chibi-Robo to simply reach the end of each of the game's 40-odd stages. Of course, as a platform action game, the element of acquisition in Zip Lash seems essentially unavoidable. And yet, here's Zip Lash, a 3DS release in which that very concept sits front and center, permeating the game from start to finish. Please keep these out of the reach of children!Ĭrafted from mega-steel, a powerful new alloy.I didn't expect the Chibi-Robo series, of all innocuous things, to bring us a game so centered around the idea of consumerism. Houses a very powerful and efficient battery. All you’ll need to get started is some moolah!Ī handy one-use pick-me-up for clumsy robots. Your one-stop shop for handy items that can be ordered directly from the home office. If a Chibi-Robo amiibo has been linked to the game, any unlocked Figures will be recorded here too. These albums record the snacks and trash Chibi-Robo has found. Helpful information about the stages Chibi-Robo has cleared so far, such as high scores and which items have been collected.
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