Vimm's Lair: DS Reviews - Solatorobo: Red the Hunter

Nintendo DS
Solatorobo: Red the Hunter

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:
8.22
7.99
7.70
8.05
Votes: 77
Reviews: 1


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Reviewer: Kobun42 Date: Oct 4, 2022
Solatorobo is a game for the Nintendo DS created by Cyberconnect2 for their Little Tail Bronx series. This series has been obscure for the longest time, but just because it's not one of the popular games doesn't mean it's not good. In fact, it's easily become among one of my top picks for the Nintendo DS. It's such a charming game that deserves to be played by DS enthusiasts at least once.

Graphics: 9
Solatorobo stands out as, in my opinion, one of the best looking DS titles around. The colors are vibrant and just really pop. The 3D model of the player characters are in that charming low-poly DS aesthetic. The environments are lively and rather well detailed. The pixel art for NPCs and character portraits are absolutely stupendous. There's a lot to love with the look of this game alone, especially compared to other games on the DS.

Sound: 7
Solatorobo's sound, like many other games, is divided into BGM and Sound Effects. The BGM is wonderful, setting the mood for whatever is going on in the scene. From the peaceful theme of Airedale, to the heart wrenching vocal theme Re-CODA. In terms of SFX, their choices for sounds are great for the most part. However, these sounds do end up getting quite a bit repetitive. Especially the UI sounds. Looking past that, plenty of the sounds associated with actions are great picks and really add some life to the experience. Overall, Solatorobo's sound is full of great tunes and sounds to please your ears.

Gameplay: 8
Solatorobo's gameplay boils down to taking quests, and fighting in battles, with some puzzles sprinkled throughout. I like to think of it as Phantasy Star Online with a mech... in a sense. The comparison I made isn't 100% accurate, but I can't stop comparing the two games so whatever. Taking and completing quests will net you money to buy better parts to upgrade the DAHAK as well as level Red's hunter level up. The higher your hunter level is, the more quests you can take on. Fighting in battles revolves around grabbing your enemy and throwing them to the ground. You can chain this together three times (like how you can chain attacks in PSO) to maximize the possible damage at a time. It doesn't get too much more complex than that. No complex fighting game inputs or anything, it's quite simple. My only real complaint is that this method of fighting may get tiresome and repetitive after a while. Overall, Solatorobo isn't just held up by graphics and sound. Solatorobo has great gameplay to keep the experience from being a all-spectacle, no-substance experience.

Overall: 9
Solatorobo is a true hidden gem of a Nintendo DS game. Cyberconnect2 put their all into this game and it's a true shame it didn't do as well as it deserved to do. Don't let the anthro characters or it's steep price put you off from playing this wonderful game. It has a lot to offer, and if you give it a chance, I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

If you want to support the series, your best bet is to buy FUGA: Melodies of Steel. It's more of a traditional RPG than this is, but if you liked this game, you really should support CC2 and the LTB series in general.