Robotron 64 is a port of Robotron X, which is an updated version of Robotron: 2084. I hope I have all that right, or at least close enough to be right. In the mid-to-late 1990s, there was a push to have updates to 1980s arcade games.
A lot of these games had their rights passed around as the industry changed. Companies would go out of business or be sold off. There were also a few mergers. All of this is to say that it was a bit of a mess. This game was published by Crave Entertainment in 1998.
This is another one of those games that I had no idea existed. The only version of the original that I played was the Atari port of Robotron: 2084. I thought it was decent. The controls were a little weird, but that isn’t necessarily the game’s fault. It was a little rough to have arcade games ported to the Atari 2600 back in the day.
TLDR: A decent idea that falls flat due to not having a lot of content.
Narrative
This game has a story. Robotron 64’s story isn’t all that amazing, but it doesn’t have to be. It reminds me of other stories from arcade games in the 1980s.
In this game’s story, you play as a mutant scientist trapped in another dimension, trying to save the last human family. This scientist has special mutant powers that let him defeat the evil robots. You know that these robots are evil because they’re killing humanity.
I don’t mind this story at all. Something like this doesn’t need to have a grand story or anything like that. Out of all the problems I have with Robotron 64, the game’s story isn’t one of them.
Gameplay
Robotron 64 doesn’t have the best gameplay. It is repetitive and can be rather tedious at times. It is just an updated arcade game that lacks game modes. The controls aren’t great; there is only one game mode, and it made me want to play a better game.
You can play a single player or a two player game. That’s about it. The developers didn’t put anything else into this game other than the regular arcade mode. This is one of the more disappointing things in the game.
I don’t like the control scheme. Thankfully, you can change it to something that makes more sense. The C buttons are what you use to shoot. I’m just not sure that this was the best way of doing things. You have a trigger button, and you just have your character shoot in the direction they’re facing.
It is really easy to die. This is a result of the game being an arcade port. If you like fast-paced arcade action, then Robotron 64 delivers on that. I’m not sure how many N64 owners really wanted this, though.
There are a lot of enemies, and things get harder as you go. This is essentially an arcade game, so you’re just playing for that all-important high score. Which makes me a little confused that it has a save function.
This game never really got fun for me. If I had a second person to play with, then this might’ve been better. With only one game mode, it got old very fast.
Visuals
Robotron 64 looked okay at first glance, but it never really got better than that. There isn’t anything that really stood out to me or got me excited. Things got way too repetitive for me. This is a game from 1998, so I was expecting something more.
I wasn’t expecting to write down that I was confused by beating a level. The animation made me think that I died, but I just beat that level and moved on to the next. I really don’t understand this.
Having a bunch of options for the camera sounds like a good idea. It helps in some spots, which is nice. Some are more useful than others, but the camera isn’t the worst part of the graphics.
It just looks like a boring game. Back in the 1980s, a single screen arcade game was perfectly fine. For a game released in 1998, I was expecting something more than this. It looks like the developer just put something out to fulfill a contract.
The game has tiny character sprites, depending on which angle you use. There is some variety to the character models but not enough to make things stand out. There are some people that you can save, and they blend in with the robots if you’re zoomed out.
Robotron 64 doesn’t look all that different from other average N64 games. The level design is uninspiring, character models aren’t too great, and the graphics are boring overall. It isn’t terrible, but it doesn’t really do much aside from having some dated 3D graphics.
Reviews for Robotron 64 at the Time
Robotron 64’s reviews were much higher than I was expecting them to be. The scores were between a 5 and 7, which was mediocre for the time. I looked at four publications for this.
GameSpot gave the game a 5.9/10. They said that this game “isn’t up to snuff,” and that you’d be better off “playing the original Robotron 2084.” The reviewer made the comment that this game would’ve been received better if it came out a year earlier.
IGN gave the game a 6.9/10. They called this game a rental.
N64 Magazine gave this game a 75/100. The review said that it is “good, extremely good,” but added that it could’ve “been so much better.” They were much gentler with their critiques of this game, even when compared to what Nintendo Power said.
Nintendo Power gave this game a below-average score, if you take the averages from what they listed. They did point out that the game is more fun with two controllers, which might’ve been my problem. The reviewer said that the game had “Unimpressive graphics,” and there were “limited strategies” in the gameplay.
Most reviewers didn’t like this port all that much. I can see why, because there isn’t too much to it. Reviewers at this time put a lot of weight on graphics, and while I don’t always agree with them, I do in this case.
5/10. Robotron 64 functions. You can pick up a copy and play it. I’m sure that there are people who like it. I didn’t enjoy playing this game because it was just a different version of Robotron: 2084. It was a struggle to find something that I enjoyed in it.
Pros
- It is a fast game
- Easy to learn
- Lots of camera angles
Cons
- Overly confusing
- I don’t like the controls
- The graphics are boring
- Only one game mode
- Boring
Conclusion
I wasn’t old enough to play Robotron 2084 in the arcades, and I didn’t live near one. My only experience with it is on the Atari 2600. That version was fun for what it was. That type of game isn’t necessarily for me, but I do have fun messing around with them.
Robotron 64 feels like it should’ve been part of a collection. It is a disappointing N64 game because there just isn’t much here. If the developers had put something more into this game, then I might like it more. As it stands, I felt like I was playing a pretty Game Boy game from 1990.
There are a few other remakes of 1980s arcade games on the N64 and on the PS1. There is also the PS1 version of this game to look at. After this, I don’t have high hopes for them. I’ll try to keep an open mind about the others, but I’m not going to lower my expectations a bit.
If you like this post, check out some of my others on N64 games. Such as Paper Boy 64 or Dr. Mario 64.