R.O.B.: Difference between revisions

{{forfighter|SSBB=y|SSB4=y|SSBU=y}} ''For enemy info, see [[R.O.B. Squad]]. For other uses, see [[R.O.B. (disambiguation)]].''

|image = {{tabber|title1=Famicom|content1=[[File:R.O.B. Famicom.jpg|250px]]|title2=NES|content2=[[File:R.O.B. NES.jpg|250px]]}}

|lastappearance = ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)}}'' (2023, cameo)

R.O.B is a battery powered mechanical apparatus outfitted with photosensing optical electronics just like its companion peripheral, the Zapper. The peripheral is compatible with two games, ''Gyromite'' and ''Stack-Up''. When the game requires R.O.B. to complete a task, the screen will flash in a specific way, which R.O.B. will detect and then perform the according action. ''Gyromite'' requires the use of spinning gyros that are placed on pressure sensitive trays which manipulate the game when activated. ''Stack-Up'' requires the use of several blocks, which R.O.B will stack in various ways. An unlicensed game that uses R.O.B was created in 2014 titled ''8-Bit X-Mas 2014'', which manipulates R.O.B. into dancing to christmas music.<ref>[https://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=132]</ref>

The peripheral started life in Japan as the Family Computer Robot in 1985, and was met with very little fanfare. The peripheral would have been considered a failure and a footnote in Nintendo history if not for its significance outside of Japan. Due to the {{s|wikipedia|video game crash of 1983}}, [[Nintendo]] sought to enter the North American market by portraying the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) as an advanced toy instead of a video game console. Nintendo of America's then-sole marketing staff Gail Tilden was tasked with promoting the system as such in preparation for its North American test launch. To this end, Tilden suggested that the Family Computer Robot and the Zapper be packaged alongside the NES in order to promote the console as a futuristic toy. According to Tilden, the Famicom Robot's North American name was "originally going to be OTTO, which was a play on the word 'auto'", but she instead settled on rechristening the Robot as the Robotic Operating Buddy, or R.O.B. for short.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VuA7DQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false|last=Kohler|first=Chris|title=Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life|date=2004|publisher=Brady Games|location=Indianapolis, IN|isbn=0-7440-0424-1}}</ref>

Despite its short-lived status as a peripheral, R.O.B. has gone on to make many appearances in games. The first in-game appearance was a cameo in ''{{s|wikirby|Kirby's Dream Land 3}}''; in this game, there is a stage in which [[Kirby]] must complete puzzles in various rooms to collect pieces of R.O.B. for Professor Hector, R.O.B.'s creator in ''Gyromite'', so that R.O.B. can be rebuilt.

R.O.B.'s head appears as treasure in ''{{s|pikipedia|Pikmin 2}}'', and is known as the "{{s|pikipedia|Remembered Old Buddy}}". Similarly to how its head is a collectable treasure, R.O.B.'s status as a collectable is referenced in ''{{s|zeldawiki|The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D}}'', where it makes a cameo in his entirety in the {{s|zeldawiki|Curiosity Shop}}. However, it can only be seen to the right of the counter when looking from the backroom and cannot be purchased. Robotic cranes designed in R.O.B.'s image can be seen in the ''F-Zero GX'' course [[Port Town Aero Dive]], which can also be seen in the ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' stage of the same name.  

''{{s|mariowiki|Mario Kart DS}}'' notably marked the debut of R.O.B. as a playable character; in this game, R.O.B. appears as an unlockable driver alongside three signature karts, one of which resembles the stand for ''Stack-Up''.<ref name=MarioKart>{{cite web|url=http://www.themushroomkingdom.net/mkds_j2e.shtml#rob|title=TMK - R.O.B. in Mario Kart DS}}</ref> Also in ''Brawl'', {{SSBB|R.O.B}} debuts as a playable fighter and has reappeared in every ''Smash'' release since.

The {{uv|Star Fox}} series in particular has been tied with R.O.B. closer than any other Nintendo series. {{iw|lylatwiki|ROB 64}} references R.O.B. both in name and as a robotic assistant, owing to his status as the pilot of the Great Fox, the Star Fox team's battleship and base of operations. On a related note, R.O.B. itself also appears as a boss in the ''Star Fox''-based levels in 9-Volt's stage in ''WarioWare: Smooth Moves''.

Lastly, ''Star Fox Zero'' and ''Star 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. itself by being an assistant to the player. Conversely, ''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.

[[File:SSBUWebsiteR.O.B.2.jpg|thumb|R.O.B.'s appearance in [[Port Town Aero Dive]] makes him the only playable character in the series to also appear in a stage that's not from the same universe as him.]]