R.O.B.

Robotic Operating Buddy
Games	Gyromite and Stack-Up
Debut	(1985)

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

In-Universe Information

R.O.B. was a robot originally working with Professor Hector, a mad scientist and possibly R.O.B.'s inventor as well. Originally in Gyromite, he aided Professor Hector and his assistant, Professor Vector, in defusing all the bombs in his laboratory by spinning gyros to move the columns blocking Professor Hector's path, allowing him to reach the dynamite before it explodes. His other main obstacle was the reptilian creatures called Swinks.

In Stack-Up, R.O.B. followed commands placed by the professors in a game similar to Simon Says.

Super Smash Bros.

R.O.B. is an unlockable playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and various smaller R.O.B.s act as enemies in The Subspace Emissary. R.O.B. is a major part of the game's storyline, as he is also the Ancient Minister. R.O.B. is unlocked by either playing 350 brawls, getting 250 different trophies or by getting him to join the party in The Subspace Emissary. R.O.B. has three unlockable trophies - one of his normal form, one of his Final Smash and one of the Ancient Minister. There are also stickers of R.O.B. from Stack-Up and the US and Japanese versions of Mario Kart DS.

The Subspace Emissary

R.O.B. in Brawl with the Famicom colors

In "The Subspace Emmissary", it was shown that R.O.B., the Master Robot, had once ruled over the world from the floating Island of the Ancients, which was inhabited by the Master Robot and a colony of smaller R.O.B.s that served the Master Robot with absolute loyalty. However, Tabuu later forced R.O.B. into the service of the Subspace Army by taking the other robots hostage. The Master Robot became commander of the Subspace Army, and the smaller R.O.B.s were used as suicide bombers, planting the Subspace Bombs (produced in a factory on the Island of the Ancients) that dragged pieces of the world into Subspace for Tabuu. R.O.B. and the other robots were grieved by the loss of their colleges, and the Master Robot took on the guise of the Ancient Minister due to his being ashamed of working with the Subspace Army.

Eventually the factory was infiltrated by Samus Aran and a group of other heroes, at which point Ganondorf ordered the detonation of all the Subspace Bombs in the building. The Ancient Minister protested, but Ganondorf had managed to gain control of all the R.O.B.s and turned them against the Ancient Minister, burning his robes off to reveal his true form. At this point R.O.B. joined with the heroes' party in fighting off the R.O.B.s. He then tried to stay behind in a futile attempt to save his people, but R.O.B. was ultimately dragged away by Donkey Kong, and they were able to escape the Bomb Factory before it was sucked into Subspace. The heroes were eventually able to defeat Tabuu, at which point the world was restored. However, it was impossible for the Island of the Ancients to restored to normal, and its exact fate remains uncertain.

There are three types of R.O.B. enemies encountered in the story mode: the R.O.B. Sentries, the R.O.B. Blasters and the R.O.B. Launchers. The sentries attack normally, while the Blasters focus on shooting lasers and the black launchers shoot missiles. Additionally, a giant R.O.B. is seen during one story scene attacking Olimar and his Pikmin on the Island of the Ancients until Captain Falcon arrived and took it down with a single Falcon Punch to the head.

Abilities

• Special Move: Eye Beam- R.O.B. fires a fast beam at opponents, the angle of which can be changed. It cannot be used twice in a row, as R.O.B. will need time to store up power. If the player wants long before Robo Beams, then the next time it is used it will be a powered-up Super Robo Beam.
• Side Special Move: Arm Rotor- With this move, R.O.B. will spin around, and increase power while continuing the attack with repeated pressing of the button. This move can also be used to deflect projectiles.
• Up Special Move: Robo Burner- R.O.B. propels himself into the air with jets attached to his base. This both allows R.O.B. to float into the air and can hurt enemies with the jet's flames until he runs out of fuel. Landing will cause R.O.B. to recharge fuel.
• Down Special Move: Gyro- R.O.B. produces a Gyro from Gyromite that can be charged and launched at enemies. However, others can use the Gyro after it lands, and only one can be onscreen at a time.
• Final Smash: Diffusion Beam- R.O.B. fires a continuous beam from its eyes, and can use other attacks while the beam is being emitted which makes various combo attacks possible.

Later Smash Appearances

ROB returns as an unlockable fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In the 3DS version, he is unlocked by playing 70 Vs. Matches or collecting 200 unique trophies. In the Wii U version, he is unlocked by playing 60 Vs. Matches or by playing through at least 10 rounds of Crazy Orders. In Ultimate, he could be unlocked through the game's variable-based system for unlocking characters or by awakening R.O.B. in Adventure Mode (where he was found within the Mysterious Dimension area).

He has received some gameplay tweaks in his later appearances, with the biggest being that he has a different Final Smash, known as Super Diffusion Beam. This move involved ROB shape-shifting into an invisible cannon form and firing a continuous, powerful beam which could be panned up and down.

R.O.B. has also been represented by two unlockable trophies (along with a trophy for the Final Smash in the Wii U version) in the 3DS/Wii U installment and several Spirits in Ultimate. There is a Fighter Spirit for R.O.B. himself, two Advanced-rank Support Spirits for Gyromite and Stack-Up, and an Advanced-rank Primary Spirit for the Ancient Minister.

In Ultimate, R.O.B.'s Classic Mode route was "Unreadable Expressions". In this route, R.O.B.'s opponents followed a theme of having their faces obscured or not having faces at all. The last pre-boss battle of this route is against a grop of R.O.B.s, and the boss is Galleom, possibly in reference to "The Subspace Emissary".

Cameos/Other Appearances

• 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 Dream Land 3, R.O.B. appeared in Stage 6 of Dune Canyon. Players could optionally assemble different pieces of R.O.B. that were hidden throughout a temple. If successful, the completed ROB would appear with Professor Hector at the end of the level, and they would give Kirby a Heart Star.
• ROB 64, who initially appeared in Star Fox 64, is named after R.O.B. (although in the Japanese version he is instead called NUS 64 in reference to the original name for the Nintendo 64, the Nintendo Ultra 64). 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 WarioWare series.
• In Pikmin 2, R.O.B.'s head is one of the treasures (referred to as the "Remembered Old Buddy") as well as five Stack-Up blocks.
• In WarioWare: Smooth Moves, R.O.B. appears as a boss wielding an NES Zapper in an altered version of Star Fox.
• R.O.B. is an unlockable racer in Mario Kart DS, where he is unlocked by completing the Mirror Special Cup. His three karts in the game are the Standard RB, the ROB-BLS and the ROB-LGS.
• A Yoshi pattern based on R.O.B. appeared in Yoshi's Woolly World, where it was unlocked by scanning an amiibo of R.O.B..
• In Super Mario Maker, R.O.B. appeared as one of the costumes that Mario could transform into when using the Mystery Mushroom item. Its costume could be unlocked by completing a 100 Mario Challenge on Normal or harder, or by scanning an amiibo of R.O.B..

Trivia

• R.O.B's color scheme varies from Japan to North America. In North America, he matches the NES's color scheme of Dark and light Grey. The Japanese version matches the Famicom's color scheme, White and Maroon red.