PlayStation’s latest titleAstro Bothas been a whopping success for the console across its first week. Pulling heavy inspiration from the platformers of Nintendo,Astro Botdoubles as both a clever and charming platformer on its own, while also existing as a fantastictribute to the PlayStation console’s rich legacy and history. It’s one of Sony’s most inventive and charming titles in recent memory, and an incredibly commendable effort from the developers at Team Asobi.
As a title that takes heavy inspiration from platformers such asSuper Mario,Nintendosurely has to be keeping an eye on how this game is doing. After all, many of Nintendo’s development philosophies have been applied here to rousing success, and the game has certainly raised a bar for modern platformers. Nintendo has the perfect opportunity to capitalize on this, but it should consider doing so with a pre-existing character.
Nintendo Should Give R.O.B. His Own Chance In A Game
R.O.B. Is Secretly Important To Nintendo
Nintendo could capitalize onAstro Bot’s success by making a game starring the classic Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.) character. It tends to be forgotten, butR.O.B. was a vital part of Nintendo’s historyand even played a noteworthy role in the company’s success with the Nintendo Entertainment System. At a time when the industry had gone through a crash and gaming was seen as a fad, Nintendo opted to bundle the R.O.B. accessory with the NES to give the impression of the console being a “toy.”
R.O.B. itself was a clunky NES peripheraland only worked with a few games, but in hindsight, the move to turn it into a Trojan horse passed with flying colors. The NES massively revitalized the gaming market and set the course for the publisher that fans know today. Thus, as much as R.O.B. feels like an obscure character, it’s nevertheless an important piece of Nintendo’s legacy.
R.O.B. Has Only Appeared In A Few Nintendo Games
Still, despite R.O.B.’s incredible importance in Nintendo’s history, the character has not made a big impression in modern games. For the most part, it’s been relegated to some meager cameo appearances across Nintendo’s library. While R.O.B. has had a few playable appearances, he has only been seen inMario Kart DS, and the last few entriesin theSuper Smash Bros.series.
Notably, though, R.O.B. played an important role inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl’sstory mode,The Subspace Emissary. In it, a large squad of R.O.B. units is assisting what seems at one point to be the game’s main antagonist, the Ancient Minister. Being that Nintendo has already been willing to let R.O.B. be a notable part of a game’s main story, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched to let the character star in its own game.
Despite R.O.B.’s incredible importance in Nintendo’s history, the character has not made a big impression in modern games.
Nintendo’s Library Is Screaming For An Astro Bot-Esque Game
In fact, Nintendo feels ripe for a game in the same vein asAstro Bot. Beyond the publisher’s skill with 3D platformers, there’s essentially no company in gaming that has aricher library of IPs to pull from than Nintendo. The publisher has a treasure trove of content to pull from, between its incredible library of games and the products it was creating before jumping into the gaming market, making a platformer akin to Astro Bot a brilliant idea for Nintendo.
Furthermore, if Nintendo were to make such a game that so heavily honored its history, it would be a no-brainer for the publisher to have the game star the iconic toy that helped lead it to success with the release of its first console. As an underrated piece of the publisher’s rich lineage - and a character who has proven to be a vital part of a previous Nintendo game’s story - R.O.B. is long overdue for a title of his own. Hopefully, Nintendo istaking notes fromAstro Bot’s successand exploring a similar game, specifically one with the NES’s robot pal.
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