Robotrek

1994 · RPG · SNES

About Robotrek

Robotrek (1994), Slapstick in Japan, is Quintet's comic SNES role-playing game in which a young inventor builds and programs up to three robots to fight for him, often cited as a forerunner of Pokémon.

Robotrek in Depth

Unlike most RPGs, the hero does not fight himself; the robots he invents do. Up to three can be built and customised in equipment, special attacks, colour and name. The player must invent their equipment, assign their attributes with Program Points rather than having them set automatically, and program special attacks as macro-like combinations of commands. Inventing is central: an invention machine combines items and Scrap into new equipment, more recipes come from the "Inventor's Friends" books, and weapons combined with others of the same type grow stronger, up to nine levels.

Battles start on contact with enemies on the map. One robot fights at a time, against up to three enemies, under a variation of the active-time system: it moves freely and attacks, then a gauge from E to F drains according to the action, and enemies act until it refills. Switching robots costs a turn. Experience comes as "Megs of Data", with bonuses for quick melee kills, and dropped items can be recycled for money. On the planet Quintenix, the hero, son of the inventor Dr. Akihabara, fights the Hackers, a gang led by Blackmore who want a time-travelling stone called the Tetron.

Making Robotrek

Quintet, maker of ActRaiser, Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia, developed the game with sound by Yuzo Koshiro's Ancient and music by Ayako Yoda. Quintet president Masaya Hashimoto directed, Shinji Futami produced, Takebayashi was chief designer and writer and Shigemi Kita lead programmer, recoding the battle system several times. The concept was devised three years before release and development took a year and a half; an army of villains was later added to the original town-helping idea.

Enix released it in Japan on 8 July 1994 and North America that October, one of its last Western releases before a hiatus. Former Enix America producer Robert Jerauld blamed poor sales on little advertising and a crowded market. Reviews were mostly average: GameFan called it "a totally different and refreshing RPG experience" and critics liked inventing and robot-building, but GamePro said it "unsuccessfully attempts to push the envelope of its genre", and its graphics and rough translation drew criticism. Several writers have since noted its similarities to Pokémon and Robopon.

Robotrek Trivia

It was billed as a "comedy RPG", as its Japanese title Slapstick implies.
Designer Reiko Takebayashi first imagined the player building robots to help townspeople, who would rate the help to give experience.
Kōji Yokota designed the robots to look "retro" or "old fashioned".
It sold only 45,000 copies in Japan and 20,000 in North America.
Next Generation's Joe Keiser credited it as a predecessor of Pokémon's core play, with robots kept in capsules outside battle.