Robotrek

Released in Japan as Slapstick, Quintet's Robotrek is a hybrid-JRPG whose fights couple sideview perspective with real-time movement/attacks, pausing only to issue commands while balancing offense via cooldowns. The main draw - however, lies in the ability to invent robots, with 'recruitment' and customization options that hark back to SaGa's blank slate allies. Their upgrades are handled by stat allocation (spending from a shared pool of points rather than per unit) and collectibles for synthesis (unlocking recipes for improved weapons, armor and even Zelda-like tools, not only items), while the influence of SRPGs is felt in their limited time, battle-screen treasure as well as the clear distinctions between weapon types (whether in range, AoE, recovery, etc.). On the downside, the proceedings tend to indulge in obscure solutions or lengthy grind-walls, that - altogether, are more of a distraction than an attraction. From combat to setting, humor and subject matter - though, one ultimately gets the impression that this paved the way for Mega Man Battle Network.

I've been a fan of Quintet games ever since I was a young child, ActRaiser having been the first game I ever beat, but for some reason Slapstick (retitled Robotrek outside of Japan) eluded my attention until this year. It's a bit of an odd entry in Quintet's SFC lineup, not fitting in with the Soul Blader trilogy or the ActRaiser games, and didn't sell very well. While Quintet's other games had more focus on action, Slapstick is a turn-based RPG, and contains some unique systems which distinguish it from other RPGs of the era. It has a goofy sci-fi story and is aimed a younger audience, though adults can enjoy it as well. My first impression of the game brought to mind Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. Both games are beginner-level RPGs featuring the same style of overworld, symbol encounters, and dungeons which require the use of tools to progress. I'm not a fan of Mystic Quest, but I think Slapstick succeeds where that game fails by providing a more engaging experience with unique ideas.

You play as a young boy, the son of famed inventor Akihabara, but battles are fought using robots that you build and customize. There are many different types of equipment to build, including swords, hammers, guns, lasers, shields, bombs, backpacks, and more, each with their own utility. You cannot buy equipment, but can make it by learning how from reading books found around the world and being a high enough level to understand them. There is also an item synthesis system, which allows you to create new items and equipment by combining two items. Through synthesis, you can create items regardless of your level, making it the best way to create powerful equipment. Throughout the game you'll pick up Scrap items which have no use outside of synthesis combinations. Robots have four stats, affecting their offensive power, defensive power, evasion, and charge time for attacks, in addition to HP. Each level awards you an additional 10 points to spend on each robot, which can be distributed to whatever stats you wish. You can even respec your robots if you find your builds aren't working out.

Battles are fought on a a 2D plane with 3 horizontal rows. Robots and enemies can be moved around on the field in order to get in and out of range for attacks. Each action you make consumes a certain amount of your robot's action gauge, depending on the weapon used or action taken, and the gauge must refill before you get your next turn. Only one robot can be on the field at a time, but others can be swapped in through a command or if the active robot is destroyed. In addition to normal weapon attacks, you can program special attacks for your robots. Programs include hitting the same enemy multiple times, pushing an enemy back on the field, warping behind an enemy and striking their back for extra damage (nothing personnel...), hitting enemies on multiple rows, and so on. Programs consume a large amount of your action gauge, but are very useful in different combat situations. Between programs, free stat distribution, equipment variety and synthesis, there's a good amount of customization involved in building your party. Alas, the game is too easy for this customization to feel particularly rewarding. Early on I realized that dumping points into attack and defence could make a near-invincible robot, and it wasn't until after maxing defence that I found I needed to start increasing HP or the other stats much. Since I was so strong, I only needed to make equipment for one robot, whom I gave all my best weapons to while the other two simply acted as tanks when I needed to revive the main robot during boss fights. Some boss fights present a significant difficulty spike over the regular encounters, but I found all that was needed to overcome them was a good stock of healing items and some patience. Considering the target audience was younger children, this wasn't surprising, but nonetheless combat did get repetitive and boring.

Exploring dungeons requires the use of a variety of tools, including a drill to break through cave walls, a noisemaker used to distract or scare guards, and the ability to transform into a mouse and crawl through ventilation ducts, among others. Dungeons don't feel like typical RPG dungeons, as they involve a lot of tool-using in between short events with other characters. It's gimmicky, but the pacing is great and the events and dialogue are consistently entertaining to follow. Despite not enjoying the combat much, I liked the dungeons for their gimmicks and events. From the mid-game onwards, you get access to powerful multi-target weapons which speed up encounters, as well as an item that temporarily turns you invisible so touching enemy sprites won't trigger an encounter, making it easier to focus on the adventure stuff instead of combat. There were a few times where I was confused about how to proceed, as there are some odd flag triggers like needing to talk to a character multiple times in a row, but by the end of the game I could better predict what I was expected to do and stopped getting stuck. More than anything, the dungeons brought to mind the Paper Mario series, as the style of play, pacing, and even humour are quite similar.

The premise of the story is that you are chasing down an evil group called Hackers, who want your father to work with them in studying a mysterious technology. It's a lot more goofy than it sounds from the premise, and includes a lot of funny scenes, likeable characters, and villains with amusing mannerisms. Outside the main story, there are a number of small events you can find in the main town of Rococo, and later in other parts of the world. While these have no bearing on story, and usually don't even have any reward, the events in Rococo are entertaining and add a lot of life to the setting. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that it's worth going around town and talking to people periodically throughout the game, as there are many details to be found which add personality to the town.

I wasn't sure how much I would like Slapstick, as goofy, quirky RPGs aren't often my thing, but by the end I found it quite satisfying. It walks its own path, distinct from other RPGs of the time, and was clearly made with a lot of love. I think it will appeal to fans of quirky RPGs like Paper Mario or the Mother series more than it appealed to me, and I'm left scratching my head wondering why it hasn't seen a resurgence of interest in recent years along with other games of that type. While I didn't look into it in detail, I've heard that the English translation was very poor, which may explain why it has remained relatively out of the spotlight. I played it in Japanese, and found the dialogue very colourful and amusing. Perhaps all it needs to gain more attention is a decent re-translation. At any rate, I think there are a lot of people who will enjoy Slapstick if they give it a chance.