Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash Reviews

Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash is ranked in the 23rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Oct 14, 2015

In the end, I was very pleased with Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash. It took me about 9 hours to beat it, and that’s without having found all the Badges and Alien Babies. The replay value will mostly depend on your willingness to find a bunch of things that have no bearing on the completion of the game. I wasn’t sure how it would translate to a platformer, but I feel Chibi did so successfully, albeit with a couple of missteps. Most importantly, I find most if not all of the complaints I saw leveled at the game without merit. It is a fun, challenging and occasionally frustrating game. Considering it’s a totally new genre for this environment friendly robot, I was really impressed with the whole thing. It’s not the best platformer I’ve ever played, but it is by far my favorite game in the Chibi-Robo series. Here’s hoping it did well enough to keep seeing Chibi in strange adventures far into the future.

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8 / 10.0
Oct 8, 2015

Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash is a solid game that was a very entertaining experience. It's not a ground breaking revolution in gaming, but not every game has to be. It's fun, easy on the eyes, and the gameplay is very well crafted. It's a shame that Nintendo said this could be Chibi's last adventure if this game doesn't sell well, because I think this is the most enjoyable Chibi-Robo game yet. If you plan on picking it up, do yourself a favor and get the amiibo bundle. Even though I'm not the biggest amiibo fan, the quality on the Chibi-Robo amiibo figurine is outstanding. If you are looking for a quality 2D adventure, and enjoy being a completionist, Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash should be on your radar. Chibi whips it, and he whips it good!

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8 / 10.0
Oct 8, 2015

It's a minor part of the game—Chibi-Robo will find snacks during his clean-up duties, and can give them to his hungry plane friend for a useful return—but it's so weird to see real products in a game like this that it stands out more prominently than it should. Here's a fictional game world, devoid of all people and recognizable buildings, filled with stuff you'd buy at Wawa during a road trip. Actually, that might make it the most ingenious thing about Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash: it's not just trying to sell you something, it's trying to sell you something you'd buy to kill time in the back of a car, just like the game itself.

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Oct 8, 2015

Overall, Chibi-Robo Zip Lash is a very fun platformer that feels very Metroid in how it handles exploring worlds.While the difficulty can be lacking at certain points, once you master all of Chibi-Robo's moves you begin to really enjoy and appreciate the puzzle aspect of each level.

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8 / 10.0
Oct 8, 2015

Chibi-Robo: Zip-Lash is a fun game. It's got some frustrating moments (stage select, vehicles) but the highs outweigh the lows, and I like the Amiibo functionality. Give it a shot, kids.

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75 / 100
Oct 13, 2015

With everything taken into account, Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash is a well-put together title. The pros outweigh the cons by leagues and it has fun packed into all the right places.

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Justin Celani
Top Critic
7.5 / 10.0
Nov 10, 2015

I had my doubts about Chibi Robo, and was this close to not even trying it out. The video game player in me gave it a chance though like it tends to do, and I was really surprised. It has issues, but ones that I can easily overlook, not just to throw caution to the wind but because it just didn't affect my overall thoughts and feelings while playing the game. I was having a good time the majority of the time, and it strikes me as a unique platforming experience at the end of the day. It's cute, charming, and very Chibi, and that's just how I like it.

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8 / 10
Oct 27, 2015

Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash is a nice break from the series' usual 3D platforming formula and offers some solid gameplay, even if it stumbles a bit along the way.

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7.4 / 10.0
Oct 10, 2015

Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash is varied enough to keep every skill-level of player engaged throughout its 30+ worlds but isn't as polished as one would hope. There's a quirkiness here that's come to be expected of the series – of the more "off-beat" Nintendo efforts, this is the closest thing to a Mario game that exists in the same space as, say, Tomodachi Life — but the oddities feel incongruous with the game at large, as if the previous game's environmental and "do-good" themes were just pasted on instead of weaved meaningfully into the experience. That said, it's still a slightly above-average platformer that'll eat up time for on-the-go gamers looking to satiate their appetite.

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73 / 100
Oct 8, 2015

Chibi-Robo: Zip Lash is a solid little platformer that entertains despite faltering at times. It's cute, it's charming, and it offers some nice little twists on the 2D action/grappling formula that make it stand out. Be warned, however, that you will likely come out of the experience with a serious sugar craving. (I want to try some of the tasty-looking German candy I collected, but I don't know anywhere around here that would carry it. Argh!)

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3.6 / 5.0
Nov 30, 2015

Chibi-Robo Zip Lash may not be the most original game of 2015 but it gives the player an honest arcade experience with a fun protagonist and some old-school gaming mechanics with a few twists and challenges to be found along the way. To borrow an element from the song by Devo "I say whip it… Whip it Good!"

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7 / 10.0
Oct 8, 2015

This is a breezy, simple platformer with a fun gimmick and a few weird design choices. How long you stick with it depends on your tolerance for repetition

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7 / 10
Oct 8, 2015

It's a testament to its stage design, though, that I came away feeling utterly satisfied despite the game so constantly getting in its own way. Chibi-Robo may not be destined for Nintendo stardom, but Zip Lash shows how the tiny robot still has plenty of room to grow, experiment, and find what works for him.

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Oct 8, 2015

Chibi-Robo makes the leap to 2.5D with gameplay mechanics that are very well implemented, but baffling decisions like the Destination Wheel and repetitive level design take away from what could have certainly been a better game in Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash.

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3.5 / 5.0
Oct 13, 2015

Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash is a drastic departure from immersive 3D exploration, but still offers a respectable and fun 2D platforming experience that shines with all the Chibi charm and cuteness fans know and adore.

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6.5 / 10.0
Oct 8, 2015

Ten years on, even with the aesthetically wonderful amiibo that can be purchased with this game, it's hard to see how the titular Chibi is suddenly going to become a wildly popular player in the Nintendo universe based upon his exploits here.

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3.3 / 5.0
Nov 14, 2015

[I]f you like old-school action and see yourself not minding the spin wheel mechanic for accessing stages, then Chibi Robo! Ziplash might just be a game you'll want to plug into.

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Oct 8, 2015

The amiibo coming with the game is definitely a perk because it's friggin' adorable. The game is only an average experience. It has plenty of levels but many are the same kind of grind. Half of the non-platforming stages are fun, and the other are torturously placid. Environments do change from world to world, but the challenges are almost identical. It's not bad, but it's not great either. Could've used more "zip," I think.

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6 / 10.0
Oct 9, 2015

Nintendo's latest Chibi-Robo adventure transforms our tiny, sweet robot house cleaner into a long-leaping, whip-slinging mechanical alien fighter

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Nov 8, 2015

Some interesting ideas, then, but they remain a set of novel detours rather than coming together as a coherent whole.

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