Some years ago, when region locking wasn’t in place yet for the DS, I couldn’t resist importing my first Japanese game. Not because of it being in Japanese, but simply because I really, really wanted to play this game, and it wasn’t released here. I guess the only Chibi Robo title for DS released in the west, Park Patrol, wasn’t a big success. A pity really, because Chibi Robo is such an adorable character, and the games are quirky like only Nintendo can make them.
How can I explain it if you’ve never played Chibi Robo? This game is set in a house, where the family lives and you are just a little robot helping out. Cleaning after them, brushing away spots with your toothbrush, vacuuming and picking up trash. I can tell you they leave a lot of rubble lying around. While doing that you meet interesting characters that look like toys, but in reality live their own lives. They need your help too. You’ll have to use your whits to reach all places high and low, climbing, jumping, finding hidden spots. Challenging and relaxing rolled into one!
So, I played this one, without any knowledge of the Japanese characters, without Google Translate and without YouTube play throughout and such. It just wasn’t available at the time. Not always easy, and I got stuck in some places. Like just not knowing which button combinations I should push for a specific action. And sometimes having difficulty of just not knowing what they wanted of me. But I finished the game for 95%, getting stuck on the last assignment. I popped the game back in the 3DS last week, thinking that maybe I would give it a go again, trying to finish it all. And I think I will, because now I see some good walkthroughs on YouTube that will be an immense help!
Really, if you would want to try your hand at a Japanese game, without having to import a Japanese 3DS, I would recommend you try this one. In my opinion, this series is one of the highlights of Nintendo!