Hey all, I’m back with a pretty unique game and series for this week’s Retro Game Friday. It’s Custom Robo.

Plot: So, this title has an interesting history. Custom Robo released on the Nintendo GameCube as part of a Nintendo-owned franchise that originated as a series of video games in Japan, first debuting on the Nintendo 64 in 1999. Several Custom Robo titles were released in Japan before the GameCube entry, but the 2004 GameCube release was the first title in the series to be officially localized internationally, which is why it may have felt like a brand-new or standalone property at the time.

As such, the GameCube release of Custom Robo: Battle Revolution was therefore designed as an accessible introduction to the series for new players.

Gameplay: Honestly, I mainly played Custom Robo for the multiplayer, which was excellent. It let you battle against your friends, which was a lot of fun. I mostly got a kick out of it because it had mechas, and I was on a mecha kick at the time.

Art: The graphics have aged fairly badly, but given that this was a GameCube era title, that isn’t surprising at all.

Music: The music for this entire series was exciting and appropriate.

Overall: Although the multiplayer was fun, there were plenty of better platformers out there like Banjo-Kazooie to enjoy.