#robot girl's dream -robotbattlechampionship-

[videogametako]

steam next fest jun 2024: robot girl's dream -robotbattlechampionship-

cute robot girl fighting everyone she can and living off scavenging for scrap. link here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2742730/Robot_girls_dream_RobotBattleChampionship/

the game starts in japanese btw, not too difficult to change it to english though

overview

robot girl's dream is an rpg where you play a robot girl who wants to beat up another robot girl she saw on tv (and everyone else who wants to fight)

weird meteorites fall to earth and scientists use them to give robots emotions, so the story goes. the prologue sequence explains this and hands off the exposition of the city we'll be exploring to a robot idol newscaster girl

(i thought her name was supposed to be "sweet" but i checked and it actually is suit)

she's a cutie. she also gives us an overview of the town, though she does overlook the area we actually start in, the waste area

we pop out of a box. the first thing we see is the television

we see the main concept the game is centered around, the robot battles. the undisputed champion, scarlet, beats someone up. like an impressionable child, we decide that our life goal is to beat the champion of the biggest robo battling tournament

and that kicks off the game

gameplay

this game has this neat announcement graffiti transition before every battle. really gives the homey cartoon vibe, i like it

after you play a tutorial battle (which is just the two of you spamming your one attack, y'know like how two jank robots would duke it out) and more system-introducing events, the game opens up

sitting. this game features a surprisingly large amount of customization that we'll see a bit later

the game revolves around managing your robot girl's (default name Thin) finances and life decisions. first very important thing to note is that you need 100 Nem for food everyday or you start to lose energy and perform worse in battles. fail to eat for 3 days and it's game over

to get money you need to work. to start, you can only scavenge for scrap, which gives around 300~400 Nem and a random item, so it's not actually that bad. you unlock opportunities for different jobs as you play (hint: visit the recycling plant with more than 5 karma)

you can also choose to go somewhere and meet new people (trigger events) or shop. you can only either work or go out, though. i found myself having trouble to do everything i wanted to do in a single playthrough, so i imagine you have to really manage your decisions in the full game

starting a new game lets you pick between the full, a short, or entirely skipping the prologue. skipping actually removes an opportunity to put 10 Nem in the collection box of the garbage shop and get +1 karma so, that's interesting

customization

one of my favorite parts about this game is thin's sprite changing based on the outfit you're wearing. this applies in battles, events, and the main home screen. sounds like a bit of a nightmare for the artist, especially in the full game with more items but honestly it's super nice to see

different parts give stats, skills (passives), and tech (actives). some parts have a set bonus, like the maid and gothic lolita outfits. both of those give a new tech for wearing the full set

there's a skill tree, too. you get "memory" from remembering things. this usually happens in events, or by talking to people. some of this resource is missable btw (for example, you can get memory by talking to the tournament champion in battle iirc). it's super valuable though, providing permanent buffs for thin. i've only ever upgraded the knife so far (because i like using the maid and gothic lolita parts). i've since tried that grayed out 5 memory in the screenshot and it gives you a gun and gloves that's actually really great (and invalidates a point i make later), highly recommended to use. you can practically only get like 15 memory in the demo i think? since you get some memory for talking to people after the demo boss

battles

battles take place on a 1D grid. that is to say, on a line. you can move every turn, but can only perform an attack if it's within range after movement. also you can talk to your opponent, which can give some useful stats/resources (though you do lose the turn, which could cause you to lose)

i haven't actually checked what the stats do exactly, you can kinda just wing it if you know the general amount of damage you and your opponent can deal. there's systems like overheating to keep track of too (move/act too much and you lose a turn)

i find that upgrading your knife with memory twice to turn slash into double slash helps a lot with your damage output. though, that alone isn't enough to beat the boss. the reversible slash seems like it's good in theory because it provides spacing but 2/3 of the bosses in the tournament have ranged attacks, and even if they didn't they could just... move... though some moves can only be performed if you don't move, so it's mainly countering that (which does apply for the second tournament boss)

your main disadvantage is that nearly all your attack options are melee (i found one ranged attack in the shop but it's a one-time use so...), which feels super unfair against bosses that not only have ranged options, but can knock you back as well. fortunately, you can move while using defensive tech (which usually don't use a turn) so in practice it doesn't feel horrible

above is not true. you get a gun from unlocking something in the skill tree. it's really good paired with the combo gloves you get, i can beat battles without being at full health

closing thoughts

i'm gonna choose not to talk too much about the characters, but they're all a treat (especially the last two bosses). oh another thing i like about this game is the care that goes into the events, and specifically the interaction between thin and the other characters. there's a meeting after the first tournament boss that goes differently depending on whether or not you were able to meet the character beforehand. little things like that make the game really feel, uh alive i guess? i'm struggling to think of a better term, but you know what i mean. it's that rpg magic

i found the music a bit weird at first but it's grown on me. i am pretty excited for the full game too

OH also there's a sentai cartoon in one of the events (do the babysitting job) and it's conceptually glorious

this game is really cute and has a lot of potential. it's very japanese doujin game, if that makes sense (probably because it is one). if you like robot girls and fighting other robot girls, give the demo a try. wishlist the game on steam, it helps the devs