Reviewed: March 18, 2006
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
Tecmo

Developer
Tecmo

Released: December 5, 2005
Genre: Action
Players: 1
ESRB: Everyone

8
8
7
7
7.8

Supported Features

Instead, we get Tokobot, a game so far out in left field that you have to stand up and take notice of it if for no other reason than we finally get something “original”. It’s so original; in fact, that I almost wish the game was available on the larger consoles.

There is no mistaking this game has its roots in Japanese design, starting with the atypical adventure who you will be controlling, and the wide-eyed orange and white robots he will be controlling. The Teletubbie meets Buck Rogers’ Twiki design isn’t terribly creative, but the gameplay rooted in exploration and puzzle solving sure is.

Tokobots are a mystery in and of themselves, having recently been found with an assortment of other Ancient artifacts that you, as Bolt, must seek out and catalogue. In order to discover just what these guys can do you get to take them with you on their adventures, unlocking new ways to use them in your exploration.

At the core are formations. You can line up your eight robot pals in single file either behind you or have four out to each side. You can also cluster them in a circular pattern around you. Depending on which formation you have the Tokobots in dictates the more advanced moves they can perform.

For instance, in single file you can use them as a whip to smack enemies out of the sky, or at certain magnetic locations you can use them as a vertical ladder, horizontal bridge, or even a rope swing. When they are out to the side you can spin the Tokobots around like a circular saw blade cutting through your enemies, and when in a circular pattern they can all jump up in unison to stomp on pressure plates or lift heavy objects up and move them around.

And those are just the very basic functions. You will also be collecting Karakuri parts that come in three colors. You’ll have collected numerous parts before you ever realize what they are used for. These are the “resources” for assembling more complex Karakuri Combinations, or larger robots composed of your smaller Tokobots.

In one location you will assemble your Tokobots into a giant crane, which in turn starts a mini-crane-game where you must relocate blocks to form connecting circuits. It’s all fairly ingenious in its implementation even if the concepts are the standard building blocks of games we’ve all played in the past.

As previously mentioned, you start off with eight Tokobots and it is possible to lose a few along the way, but it’s a temporary loss, as they will eventually respawn. It can be annoying to lose one or two just when you need them and then have to stand around waiting for them to show up. Most ladders and bridge puzzles require all eight robots.

There are numerous levels and the game design allows you to re-explore previous levels with newly acquired skills. The good news is that in doing so you will amass great quantities of Karakuri parts. Each level has a traditional boss fight which range in difficulty but always follow the standard procedure of watching the patterns and learning the proper formations to defeat the boss in each of his attack stages.

The game is really good about checkpointing before bosses and dangerous areas so you never have to replay too much if you die, and there are altars where you can save your progress to the memory card several places throughout each level.

The levels are surprisingly large and vertical in some areas, including indoor and outdoor locales. You have manual control over the camera when needed but the auto-camera was extremely efficient using locked camera angles that almost always gave me the view I needed. The only quirk is that your control is based on the camera so when the game takes over you can find yourself momentarily headed in the wrong direction.

Textures are reasonably nice fitting in somewhere between PS2 and Xbox quality, and the animation for Bolt, the Tokobots, and the enemies you encounter is simply delightful, in that Lemmings kind of way.

Sound effects are pretty basic and you have the various sounds of the Tokobots forming up and attacking. Stone grinds on stone as massive doors open and shut, and there are all sorts of mechanical sounds for the machinery you interact with.

Sadly, there is no speech in Tokobots, so you’ll end up reading the dialogue, but that is pretty much to be expected with these import titles. I’m sure the voices I hear in my head are probably better than what they could have come up with in a recording studio.

Level design is linear and the puzzles are singular in their solutions so once you have beaten the game there is no pressing reason to replay anytime soon. Multiplayer, mini-games, collectibles, or anything really would have helped to boost this score.