R.O.B.

This article is about the playable character. For other uses, see R.O.B. (disambiguation). For fighter info, see R.O.B. (SSBB) and R.O.B. (SSB4).

Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.)
R.O.B. File:ROBSymbol.png The original American R.O.B. peripheral.
Universe	R.O.B.
Debut	Stack-Up (1985, compatible hardware) Kirby's Dream Land 3 (1997, cameo, in-game)
Smash Bros. appearances	Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (cameo) (2015)
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo Entertainment System
Species	R.O.B.
Gender	Genderless (referred to as male)
Place of origin	Earth (Japan & America), Isle of the Ancients (The Subspace Emissary)
Article on Nintendo Wiki	Robotic Operating Buddy

The Robotic Operating Buddy, or R.O.B. (ロボット, Robot), was an accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), intended to be disguised as a toy, rather than a video game, due to toy stores' avoidance of video games after the video game crash of 1983.

Character description

File:ROBr.jpg

The Japanese R.O.B.

R.O.B. was originally advertised as a toy in order to get toy stores to alleviate retail fears following the North American video game crash of 1983. R.O.B. was compatible with two games, Gyromite and Stack-Up and although the player didn't necessarily need R.O.B. to play the games, it still remained a key figure in Nintendo's attempt to keep the video games industry alive.

Although R.O.B.'s time has passed, his legacy lives on, as he was named the fifth in GameSpy's top twenty five smartest moves in gaming history. On the downside, ScrewAttack called R.O.B. the fifth-worst game peripheral ever, citing that it only moved up and down and side to side, was noisy and slow, was nearly impossible to put together by oneself and specifically noted the lack of games that could be played with R.O.B.

Despite only appearing as a game peripheral, R.O.B. has made many appearances in games, both in playable and non-playable roles. R.O.B. appears as a playable character in Mario Kart DS. A treasure in the Pikmin 2 game was "Remembered Old Buddy", being R.O.B.'s head and having the initials R-O-B. In Kirby's Dream Land 3, there is a stage where Kirby must complete puzzles in various rooms to collect pieces of R.O.B. for Professor Hector, R.O.B.'s creator in Gyromite, so that R.O.B. can be rebuilt. Robotic-cranes designed in R.O.B.'s image can be seen in the F-Zero GX course "Port Town Aero Dive", which can also be seen in the Brawl stage of the same name. Also, R.O.B.'s legacy is also paid homage to in the Star Fox series where the Star Fox team's robotic helper, ROB 64, was named after R.O.B and 64 as in Nintendo 64. He also appears as a boss in WarioWare: Smooth Moves in 9-Volt's stage, where the player controls Fox in remakes of levels from the original Star Fox game, with R.O.B replacing the original boss character.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

R.O.B.'s artwork in Brawl

R.O.B. is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. There are also many R.O.B. enemies in the Subspace Emissary and he also appears when the Ancient Minister's clothes are burned off. He sports his Japanese color scheme, being white and red like the Japanese Famicom, though one of his alternate palettes is his North American design, being gray and black like the NES. He appears as the simple robot, without any specific accessory from his game configurations except for the hands, that are in fact his Stack-Up hands. He also uses a "Gyro" and the "Spinner" from his Gyromite configuration during his Gyro attack. Overall, the R.O.B. in Brawl looks more realistic than the actual toy.

R.O.B. is ranked 18th on the tier list in the C- tier.

Trophy

The R.O.B. trophy in Brawl.

R.O.B.

R.O.B. sporting his Famicom colors. R.O.B. debuted in Japan as Robot in 1985 as an add-on for the Famicom. He could be combined with a "gyro set," etc. for two types of play. The player controlled Professor Hector, the TV emitted light and R.O.B. responded to the light by moving. At the time, it was epoch-making game play. Recently, R.O.B. appeared in Mario Kart DS.

: Nintendo Entertainment System Robotic Operating Buddy

Sticker

Name	Game	Effect	Characters
R.O.B.	Mario Kart DS	AttackSpecialsIndirect+015 Attack +15	R.O.B.
Robot & Blocks	Stack-Up	AttackSpecialsIndirect+027 Attack +27	R.O.B.
Robot	Mario Kart DS	AttackEnergy+032 Attack +32	R.O.B.

R.O.B. (Mario Kart DS US)

Robot & Blocks (Stack-Up)

Robot (Mario Kart DS JP)

R.O.B. Squad

The R.O.B. Squad is the general term referring to the army and race of R.O.B. enemies in The Subspace Emissary. Although having no real canon of their own outside of the Smash Brothers series, the story of Subspace Emissary suggests that the race of R.O.B. robots called the floating island named the Isle of Ancients their home and was subsequently taken over by Tabuu in preparation for his invasion into the Smash Bros. world.

In Super Smash Bros. 4

R.O.B. as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4

R.O.B. returns as a playable character, being officially confirmed on the Smash Bros. site on October 15th, 2014.

Trophies

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophy descriptions

R.O.B.

This NES accessory was released in 1985, a groundbreaking system that controlled the robot via a game on the screen. In Smash Bros., R.O.B. has two projectile weapons and can use his rocket base to fly through the air. If you let his Robo Beam charge over time, it'll make for a powerful blast.

Originally released in 1985 as a peripheral for the NES, R.O.B. was a little robot that responded to flashing lights in games. In this game, he can fire gyros and lasers at his enemies. He also has the ability to hover, which is handy for recoveries. Keep in mind that his Robo Beam can be charged up for an extra-powerful shot.

: Robotic Operating Buddy (10/1985)

: Mario Kart DS (11/2005)

R.O.B. (Alt.)

R.O.B.'s side smash, S3, fires a laser beam that does more damage up close. You can also aim it slightly up or down before firing. His down special Gyro sends a spinning top hurtling forward and can be charged for more damage. You can even dodge while charging!

R.O.B.'s side smash, S3, fires a laser beam that does more damage up close. You can also aim it slightly up or down before firing. His down special Gyro sends a spinning top hurtling forwards. While charging it up, you can move left or right to do a quick dodge, then continue charging where you left off!

: Robotic Operating Buddy (10/1985)

: Mario Kart DS (11/2005)

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• ROBAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• ROBAllStarTrophyWiiU.png

  Alt. (Wii U)

Trivia

• The original R.O.B. peripheral had a product ID of HVC-012. This appears as R.O.B.'s name in the Japanese version of Mario Kart DS, in the filename of R.O.B.-related stickers, and is even referenced in the conversation between Pit and Palutena regarding R.O.B..
• R.O.B. is the only Super Smash Bros. playable character that debuted as hardware rather than as a game character.
• In Super Smash Bros. 4, R.O.B. is the only character whose default palette swap changes depending on what version of the game is played (Famicom colors in Japan, NES colors everywhere else).
  • Despite this, in the Sound Test in Smash 3DS, R.O.B.'s portrait is that of its Famicom appearance rather than its NES appearance, no matter what the game's region is.
• While hard to hear, R.O.B. actually has a "voice" of sorts, consisting of beeps and such. It is easiest to hear him when he is stunned or star ko'd.
  • This is contrary to actual R.O.B.s, which were very noisy.