Solatorobo: Red The Hunter Review: A Fun Action-RPG

Solatorobo. It just rolls off your tongue, doesn’t it? Solatorobo, Solatorobo, Solatorobo. Yeah, that name’s a mess. That said, this spiritual sequel to Tail Concerto (Remember that game?) is a competent and fun action RPG that doesn’t really challenge you all the much, but definitely makes you enjoy every moment that you’re playing it.

Did I just say every moment? Let me backtrack a little bit. On the onset, Solatorobo: Red the Hunter is a slog. Learning how to use your robot, which is essentially a jumping crane, is boring, and the dialogue windows are too slow. If I weren’t reviewing the game, I probably would have put it down in the first half hour because it was putting me to sleep. So it certainly doesn’t have the best beginning. But after the half hour mark, I was surprisingly into it, going on missions, which are essentially fetch quests, because I wanted to, not because I had to. It’s a cute tale and it features dogs and cats co-mingling and speaking French (I’m not joking) to each other. As mentioned earlier, the dialogue windows are far too slow, and there’s often way too much talking going on, but the story grows on you after a while. You get into the characters even if you’re not totally into the storyline, and it all comes about with good pacing. I definitely enjoyed my playthrough with the game.

The actual RPG elements involve leveling up after battles. As mentioned above, this is an action RPG, and the battles are the most interesting part about the game. This is surprising because you would think it would get boring since all it involves is picking up things with your robot and slamming them back down again. But, interestingly enough, the bosses and enemies have a bit of a strategy to them, with some of them needing to be picked up from behind, or others needing to be shot with their downed weapons. None of the battles are really that difficult, but you always have that bit of tension before each fight. It almost makes you thankful that none of the enemies are too overpowered. It makes for a brisk pace. You’ll want to come back for more.

And the graphics for this baby are beautiful. While I was playing it on my 3DS, I must say that it’s a nice swansong for the moribund DS handheld. As one of the latter games on the system, it’s nice to see it stretch the handheld’s graphical capabilities to the max. See? 3D isn’t needed for a good game. You just need great gameplay, which this game has.

The box also comes with a CD with songs from the game, but it’s unnecessary since the music isn’t all that great. It’s a nice added feature, but you could definitely do without it. Overall, XSeed scores again bringing this game stateside. If you like fun games in general and you have a DS, then pick this game up. You’ll have a good time.

Players: 1

Platform(s): Nintendo DS

Developer: CyberConnect2

Publisher: XSeed Games

ESRB: E1

Rating: