R.O.B.

R.O.B. is a small robot that attaches to the Nintendo Entertainment System. R.O.B. stands for Robotic Operating Buddy. It was released in Japan in 1984 and arrived in America a year later.

R.O.B. was only sold as part of the NES Deluxe set and another set containing R.O.B. and Gyromite. R.O.B. was not very popular at the time because the the games he worked with were too complex for young children. Also, people were frustrated with how slow R.O.B.'s movement was. Players pressing buttons themselves was much easier.

However, R.O.B. was very successful as a Trojan horse. Nintendo managed to convince stores to stock the NES because it came with R.O.B., the "robot toy."

Operation

R.O.B. receives commands from the television through flashes. To communicate within the NES, R.O.B. either uses a controller or depends on the player.

Compatible Games

• Gyromite
• Stack-Up

Cameos

• In StarTropics, the robot Nav-Com looks like R.O.B.
• The Gameboy Camera has a picture of R.O.B. that can be unlocked if you score 500 points in Ball.
• In Kirby's Dreamland 3, players have to reassemble R.O.B. for Professor Hector.
• ROB 64 from Star Fox 64 is named after R.O.B. Also, the boss Spyborg resembles R.O.B.
• Both F-Zero GX and F-Zero AX feature R.O.B. on their tracks.
• R.O.B. appears in some of 9-Volt games in the Wario Ware series.
• In Pikmin 2, R.O.B.'s head is one of the treasures as well as five Stack-Up blocks.
• In Wario Ware: Smooth Moves, R.O.B. appears as a boss wielding a NES Zapper.
• R.O.B. is an unlockable racer in Mario Kart DS.