R.O.B.

R.O.B.
Release year: JP/NA: 1985 EU: 1986 Manufacturer: Nintendo Compatible: NES Model no.: JP: HVC-012 NA: NES-012

R.O.B. (short for Robotic Operating Buddy) was an accessory for the NES. It was designed for usage with the NES, and was compatible with only two games: Gyromite and Stack Up!.

History

Although only 2 games were compatible with this NES accessory, it played a much larger marketing role. After the 1983 North American video game crash, retailers thought that home consoles were dead, and when Nintendo presented the NES, nobody would buy it. However, by using R.O.B. and other accessories such as the NES Zapper, they convinced retailers that the NES is a toy, not a videogame console.

Appearances in games

Game	Year	Appearance(s)
StarTropics	1990	Nav-Com's design is based on R.O.B.
Kirby's Dream Land 3	1997	R.O.B. and Professor Hector from Gyromite make a cameo appearance in this game. In their appearance, stage six of Sand Canyon, Professor Hector asks Kirby to find the five pieces of R.O.B. to reassemble him.
Star Fox 64	1998	ROB 64, introduced in this game, is named after R.O.B. This character has since appeared in all future Star Fox titles.
WarioWare, Inc. Mega Microgame$!	2003	R.O.B. appears in the Stack-Up microgame, in which the player must stop its arms in order to grab a set of rings.
F-Zero GX	2003	The Famicom version of R.O.B. makes a cameo appearance in the background of the Port Town Aero Dive stage.
Pikmin 2	2004	The head of a R.O.B. appears as a treasure in this game, referred to as the "Remembered Old Buddy".
WarioWare: Twisted!	2004	A R.O.B. is one of the items seen in 9-Volt's room.
WarioWare: Touched!	2004	By shooting the 3D barrels in the Gunslinger microgame, a R.O.B. is one of the items that may appear.
Mario Kart DS	2005	R.O.B. is one of the unlockable playable characters in this game.
WarioWare: Smooth Moves	2006	In the Star Fox microgame, the boss the player must defeat is a R.O.B.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl	2008	Various types of R.O.B.s appear as enemies in The Subspace Emissary. An individual R.O.B. appears as one of the new, unlockable playable character in this installment. In The Subspace Emissary, this R.O.B. is the true identity of the Ancient Minister, the commander of the R.O.B. forces. Like in F-Zero GX, R.O.B. appears in the background of the Port Town Aero Dive stage.
Tomodachi Life	2013	A R.O.B. is one of the treasures that the player can obtain.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U	2014	R.O.B. returns as an unlockable playable character. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the Port Town Aero Dive stage returns along with the R.O.B. cameo.
Super Mario Maker	2015	R.O.B. is one of the costumes that can be unlocked for Costume Mario, either by using the amiibo or by completing 100 Mario Challenge.