With the Final Smash Presentation now over and done with, we now know every character that will appear in Super Smash Bros for Wii U & 3DS. However, I still plan on doing these articles and I hope you still plan on reading them. My reasoning is that the Super Smash Bros series is a lot like Mario Kart. There will always be one every main console generation and so there is no doubt in my mind that Nintendo’s NX will get a version of Smash in due course. It may not be until 2022 but it will happen. So, unless the Smash series dramatically changes into a MOBA or a Kart racing game, I think it is safe to say that the Smash formula will not get a massive overhaul so these character movesets will still be relevant when the next Super Smash Bros. game begins development. Hopefully by then we will also have a big enough backlog of characters that we could, in theory, have anyone playable from King K. Rool to the Badge Arcade Bunny. With all this said, today’s Dream Smasher has been a somewhat popular choice from a somewhat neglected series in Smash. As promised in my final Nintendo History article on the guy, here is Dream Smashers: Chibi-Robo!

Who is Chibi-Robo?

Chibi-Robo is one of Nintendo’s micro mascots and has been around since 2006. He is a small, silver, robot whose purpose is to make the world a better place. There have been at least four different Chibi-Robos throughout the series but they are all identical. Chibi-Robos main functions are to clean and so he often come with various cleaning tools like a toothbrush and a vacuum cleaner. One of the big features of the Chibi-Robo series is the Chibi-plug. As a little robot, Chibi-Robo is powered by batteries and so in order to stay functional he has to plug himself in and charge himself up. Chibi-Robo has the ability to be upgraded as well so that his battery power lasts much longer. Overall he is a very functional little robot and really feels like something that could exist in the real world.

Chibi-Robo was invented by skip Ltd., a second party company to Nintendo. Chibi-Robo is essentially their mascot as it his series that has received the most games (excluding the ArtStyle series which often gets released in waves and has no recurring characters). Chibi-Robos first game was for the GameCube but he then jumped over to the handheld side where every other game has come out on, up to the latest game that came out in 2015 called Chibi-Robo! Zip-Lash. Chibi-Robo1 Zip-Lash was a very divisive game among Chibi-Robo fans but is also a very important one as it showed that Chibi-Robo could come out as an action star and fight enemies. As a 2D platformer, it worked perfectly for showing how Chibi-Robo could function in Smash although it ignored a lot of what made Chibi-Robo so special in his previous titles.

Chibi-Robo’s only appearance in all of Smash 4

While the Chibi-Robo series has never sold outstandingly, it can still be thought of as one of Nintendo’s key franchises that have yet to be represented in Smash, alongside Rhythm Heaven and Golden Sun. While enjoying much more popularity in Japan, it should be noted that most of the games success does come from America and the games almost always get great reviews. The future of Chibi-Robo is a bit bleak but his relevancy is still there. Like all of Nintendo’s all-stars, Chibi-Robo received an amiibo of his very own and even appeared in Super Mario Maker as a costume. The brand awareness is there so all he needs to get into Smash NX is a new game to come out between now and then. Something to show the franchise is not dead. It is possible and hopefully the Amiibo and appearances in other mainstream games will help boost Chibi-Robo awareness.

History & Importance to his series/Nintendo.

Chibi-Robo gets his own amiibo. How many other non-Smash characters can say that?

So in this section I usually talk about the History of the character and how he relates to Nintendo. However, i have already done that in some previous articles and so instead I am going to link them below. I hope you have read them as I put a lot of effort into writing them and they can help to shed some more light on Chibi-Robo’s chances in the smash series.

Nintendo History: Chibi-Robo! Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

As for Chibi-Robo’s importance in his own franchise, well he is the titular character. He is the main character and although the actual Robot always changes, they all look the same so it makes no differences whatsoever. He is the only playable character in the franchise and so clearly is the most logical choice. This segment was very self-explanatory so I guess we’ll just move on from here and onto how he would play in the Super Smash Bros series.

How will he play?

Sprites by TheAnvil, Recolours by Nantendo

When making Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash the team at skip wanted to make Chibi-Robo stand out among other platformers like Mario and Donkey Kong. This led to a Bionic Commando style of gameplay using the Chibi-Plug as a whip and tether. Giving Chibi-Robo a whip makes him more unique than other fighters that we have in Smash and so it will play a big role in his moveset. For fans of the older Chibi-Robo you do not have to worry, they will be referenced within the moveset as well. Chibi-Robo’s general design is not changed much from his home game and he will take a stance more akin to Zip-Lash, holding his plug in his hand by the cord. This is because many standard attacks use the plug as their main weapon. But, before we move onto his gimmick here are some statistics:

• Can he crawl: No
• Can he wall jump: No
• How many jumps do they have: 2
• Is there any exclusive abilities he has*: Yes.
• Weight Class: D
• Height Class: D
• Speed Class: B
• Is he mirrored when he faces the left: Yes

A big part of the Chibi-Robo games is the fact that Chibi-Robo does not have a traditional health bar. Instead, he has a power counter that you have to charge up by plugging his Chibi-Plug into sockets around the world. This mechanic is being brought over faithfully as Chibi-Robo’s gimmick. Starting at 999 watts, Chibi-Robo will slowly use up his power as the match goes on. It is a bit like the stamina gimmick of the Pokemon Trainer in Brawl but worked on to make it fun. Depending on the attacks you use, Chibi-Robo loses a lot more power. So using some of his specials will drain more power than using the tilts and smash attacks. How many watts each move will drain are listed below.

The counter as it would appear in-game.

When Chibi-Robo’s power runs out he does not die like in his original game. Instead he becomes really weak. Only his down special will work and he will no longer be able to perform smash attacks. All of his stats will drop as well such as his speed, strength and kockback. He basically becomes useless but there is a way to avoid that and that is with his plug-in move. Chibi-Robo’s down special will allow him to charge up his power. The longer you hold it down the more he charges up with the limit being 999. This can lead to some interesting gameplay mechanics where you have to decide whether it is worth having him attack and charge frequently or waiting it out for a good opportunity, say: only charging up when you knock someone off the stage. The charge rate is quite fast but gets slower the higher your percentage. Chibi-Robo is completely vulnerable during this mode so you will need to really time when to charge up.

With that out of the way, let us look at each of Chibi-Robos individual moves and animations so you can get an idea of how he plays.

Move Name & Action	Image	Description
Entrance		His entrance has him sitting down, plugged into the floor. He wakes up, stands up, and pulls out the plug – ready to fight.
Walking		This animation is the same as in Zip Lash.
Running		This animation is the same as in Zip Lash.
Jump		This animation is the same as in Zip Lash.
Falling Animation/Damage		This animation is the same as in Zip Lash.
Neutral/Jabs		His jabs involve swinging his free hand and kicking but then ends by leaning his head down and it opens up with chibi-copter coming out and damaging people before knocking them away.
F-Tilt		This tilt involves Chibi-Robo swinging his plug in front of him in a downward arc.
Up-Tilt		This tilt involves Chibi-Robo swinging his plug in a circle above his head.
D-Tilt		This tilt involves Chibi-Robo swinging his plug around his feet in front of him.
Dash Attack		Chibi-Robo skids to a stop while throwing his plug forward. It’s not as strong as the smash attack but it is quicker.
Up Smash		His Up Smash has the lid on his head open up. A possible three things can come out, getting stronger each time: a tick, a cross and a chibi-tot. It is like peach’s down smash in idea. It uses 50 Watts.
Down Smash		His Down Smash has him throw his plug a little bit forward before flicking it backwards and hitting behind him. Imagine Clouds down smash for a better idea. It uses 50 Watts.
Forward Smash		His forward smash is the whip lash. It has more range. It uses 50 Watts.
N-air		His standard ariel is special. He swings his plug above his head and if you keep tapping it, Chibi Robo can hover for a bit. If he hits someone though he just drops. The longer you stay in the air the faster your Watt drop so it is not doable on low power.
F-air		His forward ariel is like a karate kick that you see in kung-fu movies
B-air		His back air has him stretch his legs out straight behind him into a drop kick position
U-air		His up ariel has him throw his plug skyward in a line and damgaing anyone it hits.
D-air		This ariel can cause a meteor spike and has Chibi-Robo hold the plug under him and ride it as he falls down. If it does not hit anyone and hits the floor then it gets stuck in the ground which means a lot of landing lag.
Grab		His grab is similar to his smash attack but quicker. When he grabs people he flings them in different directions. Imagine the plug is like a rope and he is using it as a lasso.
Pummel		Chibi-Robo hits them with his hand while they are tied up in his chord.
F-throw		Chibi-robo flicks his chord forwards and launches them that way.
B-throw		Chibi-robo flicks his chord behind him and launches them that way.
U-throw		Chibi-robo flicks his chord upwards and launches them that way.
D-throw		Chibi-robo flicks his chord downwards and slams them into the ground in front of him (which can be followed up with a combo).
Neutral Special 1: Zip-Lash		His standard special is the Zip Lash. It is similar to the smash attack in animation however it can be charged longer, goes alot further and can bounce off of walls. This move uses 50 watts as its standard but the more it’s charged up the more it increases until it hits 100 watts for the full power throw.
Neutral Special 2: Flaming Lash		His first custom is a fire variant. It does not travel as far but does more damage. The amount of watts used is 10 more than the default.
Neutral Special 3: Freezing Lash		His second custom is an ice variant. It does not travel as far but will freeze anyone who is hit by the plug. The amount of watts used is 10 more than the default.
Side Special 1: Toothbrush		His side special is the Chibi-Brush. Taken from the first game, Chibi Robo pulls out a toothbrush and scrubs it in front of him. People too close can get caught in it and get stuck under the brush. They get fully cleaned before being thrown out. Chibi-Robo can move while this is on. This move uses 10 watts for each second the move is used..
Side Special 2: Vacuum		This custom is a stronger version that uses the vacuum cleaner from the third game but uses 20 watts each second instead.
Side Special 3: Electric Toothbrush		For this custom the toothbrush is a lot faster and deals the same damage as normal. However it uses 20 watts instead of the normal 10.
Up Special 1: Chibi-Copter		His Up special is the Chibi-Copter. The Chibi-Copter comes from his head and he flies up. You have control over which direction to fly him in but t cannot be stopped manually, you have to wait for it to automatically stop (like Duck hunt). This move uses 50 watts.
Up Special 2: Big-Copter		One custom gives you a bigger helicopter blade to hit people with but uses more power and is harder to control. This move uses 80 watts.
Up Special 3: Power Saver-Copter		The other custom allows you to stop the helicopter blade by pressing a button but you have no control, it just moves up. This gives you control over how much power it uses which will be 10 watts every time Chibi rises past his own height.
Down Special 1: Recharge		His down special is the most important move in Chibi-Robo’s arsenal. Chibi-Robo plugs into the ground and begins charging up. The little guy has a battery meter by his character icon that shows you how much power he has. The lower it gets, the weaker he gets and when it hits zero only his jabs and ariel’s work. No smash or special attacks except this move. Chibi is left vulnerable during charge-up but it does not waste time.
Down Special 2: Speedy recharge		The customs for this move affect Chibi-Robo as a whole. With this custom, Chibi-Robo charges up a lot quicker but all attacks use up 20% more power than normal
Down Special 3: Powerful Recharge		The other custom takes longer to charge but attacks use 20% less power.
Final Smash: Super Chibi-Robo		Chibi-Robo becomes Super Chibi-Robo and all of his attacks become stronger. His battery is also infinite for this period of time so go crazy.
Up Taunt		His up taunt has the chibi-tot appear out of his head and wave, before Chibi Robo forces him back down.
Side Taunt		His side taunt has Chibi Robo performthe dance he does when he finds a snack (though no snack appears).
Down Taunt		His down taunt has Chibi-Robo perform his ‘Eat Whip Lash, Evildoers!’ pose found in Zip Lash.
Victory animation 1		One has him perform the dance he does at the end of levels in Zip lash.
Victory animation 2		1 has him chasing after the chibi-tot and grabbing him, lifting him up onto his shoulder.
Victory animation 3		The final one has him swing in on his zip lash and after landing, he performs a cool pose.

His victory music will be the Captain Reddrake theme. It was used in Super Mario Maker as Chibi-Robos victory theme as well:

With this, our series of Chibi-Robo! articles has come to an end. While Chibi-Robo did not make it into this latest iteration of Super Smash Bros all hope is not lost for the next one. Hopefully Chibi Robo will stick around whether it will be on the NX or on mobile. But, when and if he does come, let’s hope that he is an interesting and fun character to play with. What did you think of my idea for a moveset? Is it how you imagined it or do you think it uses Zip Lash a bit too much as a reference? Do you think he sounds fun to play or do you hope Sakurai could do much better? Please let me know in the comments below and look forward to more Dream Smashers. Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS is over but there is no doubt in my mind that the NX will also get a Super Smash Bros title, whether it be the rumoured one or not, and when it does, hopefully we will be prepared.

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Joshua 'NantenJex' Goldie

A historian and avid gamer, NantenJex is the Editor-in-Chief for Source Gaming, overseeing videos and reviews for the site. He has a passion for obscure gaming so any article you see on uncommon titles like Nazo no Murusame Jo, Yuyuki and Marvelous, to name a few, are most likely from him. He also likes game design leading to the creation of Dream Smashers, a series on potential newcomers for Super Smash Bros. He wants you all to know that Yoshi is objectively the best Nintendo character.

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