R.O.B.

For information on ROB from the Star Fox series, see ROB 64.

R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) is a robot that could substitute as a second player in the NES games Stack-Up and Gyromite. He has also had cameos in Star Tropics, F-Zero GX, Warioware Inc., Mario Kart DS, Star Fox 64, and others. While the robot itself didn't last long at all, he still appears in games every now and then, most notable is his character appearance in Mario Kart DS and Super Smash Bros. Brawl where he was a playable character.

Gyromite
Gyromite was the first game to use R.O.B. They were bundled together as an attempt to get people to buy video games after the video game crash of 1983. The goal in the game is to guide Professor Hector through his lab so that he can pick up all the dynamite before they exploded. There are also dangerous lizards called Smicks that Professor Hector had to avoid. However, his path through the rooms is hindered by red and blue gates, and this is where R.O.B is needed. By pressing Start on the controller, the player can give commands to R.O.B. He has to move gyro discs from their starting point to the right colored pedestal, and then the same colored gates will open. Sometimes both gates needs to be opened at the same time, and as R.O.B. only can press on one of the pedestals at a time he will need to have one of the gyro discs spin on their pedestal to stay in place. To make the disc spin it will have to be moved to the Gyro spinner and it can then be dropped on the pedestal.

In Game B Professor Hector is sleepwalking, and the player only controls R.O.B. This time the goal is to guide Hector safely through the room by opening the gates at the right time.

Stack-Up
Stack-Up was the second and final game to be compatible with R.O.B. In this game R.O.B. is equipped with five blocks and a base where the blocks are placed. There are various game modes but all have the same general idea; to move the blocks from their stating places to the goal placement. This is done by moving Professor Hector on a 3x3 grid with instruction buttons which gives different commands to R.O.B.



Super Smash Bros. Brawl
R.O.B. happens to be a playable character in the Wii video game Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where he retains his original Japanese colors. Most of his moves, excluding his Gyro, is exclusive to the game and have no real reference points. To unlock R.O.B., one must either earn a total of 250 trophies, play 160 Brawls, or get him to join your party in the Subspace Emissary mode. R.O.B.'s final smash is called Diffusion Beam.

In the Subspace Emissary, it was revealed that the Ancient Minister thought that he was controlling the R.O.B Squad, while Ganondorf was really in control, while being controlled by Master Hand who was being controlled by Tabuu. After being lit to flames by the R.O.Bs he starts to help the other charecters.

Cameos

 * Star Tropics - The Sub-C submarine's navigational computer is based off R.O.B.
 * Star Fox 64 - R.O.B. 64 pilots the Great Fox while the team is flying, and sends supplies and hints. Also, the boss of Sector X resembles R.O.B.
 * Kirby's Dream Land 3 - In Sand Canyon's Level 6 you must find all the parts to R.O.B. and reunite him with the Professor.
 * Game Boy Camera - The twenty sixth image in the B Album is R.O.B.
 * F-Zero GX - On the first Port Town stage, you can see R.O.B. in his red and white color loading cargo. R.O.B. also appears in the Port Areo Drive stage of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * WarioWare Inc. - One of the micro mini games involves R.O.B.
 * Pikmin 2 - 6 of the pieces you have to find are parts of R.O.B, one is his head, and the rest of them are gyro blocks.
 * WarioWare: Twisted! - Is included in some of the mini-games.
 * WarioWare: Touched! - Is included in some of the mini-games.
 * Mario Kart DS - Some people may call it a cameo, and some may not, but in this game, once you beat all GPS on all levels, then you will be rewarded R.O.B. as a playable character.
 * Tetris DS - While on the menu for Wi-Fi, you will see the professor from Gyromite on the top screen walking around
 * Chibi-Robo - It is possible that Giga-Robo's design is based off R.O.B.'s since they both look very similar.
 * WarioWare: Smooth Moves - R.O.B. is the boss in 9-Volt's level.

Other information
In Gamespy's top twenty five smartest moves in gaming history, ROB was placed at number five. In the January 2006 issue of Wired, ROB was placed as the forty fifth best robot ever. For a time, ROB had a segment in the IGN podcast Gamescoop!, where people "called in" and asked ROB questions. It is believed that ROB was voiced by Hilary Goldstein of the IGN Xbox team. In Mario Kart DS, in the American and European versions have R.O.B while in the Korean and Japanese versions they have HVC-012, the original Famicom robot.

On page 80 of Nintendo Power V232, which featured a Mushroom Wars preview, a R.O.B. can be seen in the background as a minor cameo by the artist.