[This piece was originally published in 2015. In light of recent rumors about the next Nintendo Direct and an ensuing eyebrow-raising tweet from Nintendo of America today, it just felt right to revive it. -Jordan]
Chibi-Robo is a refugee from GameCube country, born from the co-mingling DNA of the industry's most well-known publisher and one of its least mainstream-friendly developers, he was ready to die from the moment he hit the ground, aiming to please at every turn. It’s actually a gosh darn miracle that he’s still here. After a commercially tepid GameCube outing, a Walmart-exclusive handheld follow-up, a Japan-only return to housecleaning, and a largely ignored AR photography title on the 3DS, it’s seemed that every Chibi-Robo release has been poised to be his last.
Now Chibi is back for what may be his final grasp at success. This time he’s in a 2D action platformer, a historically popular genre on Nintendo consoles, with a pack-in amiibo to boot. If he doesn’t make it this time, he likely never will.
A small but dedicated fanbase who covet strange, silly, and sincere video games are currently on the edges of their seats, preparing to either cheer for Chibi-Robo's long-awaited triumph, or mourn his final passing. Maybe he'll live, maybe he'll die, but no one will be able to say he didn't try.
via destructoid http://ift.tt/2mgaZqf