Chibi-Robo! Plug into Adventure!

The Good
I love that Nintendo is willing to "push the envelope " and make unusual and odd games, like Pikmin (1 and 2) and this odd game. It is refreshing to play something other than a super hero, monster, wizard, or sword swinging rogue. I can't recall the last time I ever played a tiny (4 inch) cleaning, happiness generating robot! The game is cute, as are the characters and the game is simple. I love the way, while mute, Chibi-Robo makes cute musical notes with every step and sweet music while using his various tools to clean or accomplish tasks. Just when you think this is some kind of "Sim" game with endless cleaning, it begins to open up into much more. There is a definite story line and you are given specific tasks to move the game along. You must explore a HUGE world that encompasses most of the house, and along the way meet other odd characters, like the toys which only come alive at night when the humans are asleep! They too give you tasks to perform to not only move the story along, but to earn "Happiness Points" which are your reward for making others happy. You also must collect coins to use at your private store and when accumulated to move the story into it's SECOND phase. Without giving too much away, anyone who has played Pikmin 2 will know that hidden attribute. It is a similar ploy used in both these games! Some of the side stories and tasks are so bizarre and so crazy, it is sure to make you laugh, and is great for the kids. There are, as in most games these days, mini games like drag racing, flying, and "training" games for the egg army. Chibi-Robo is great in it's approach, and has lots of gameplay and puzzles to keep you involved. Because of it's unique story and characters, it keeps you on your toes and you never know where it's going and everything is a surprise!

The Bad
At times, especially while collecting coins, cleaning etc. it does get bogged down and tedious. When most of the earlier tasks are done, there seems to be a large stretch of the mid point that most of what you do is clean, collect points/coins/happiness etc. It does get quite boring until you "unlock" the second half.
Some of the characters are odd acting, and one might be considered a mildly racist stereotype (when you see it, you decide).
Perhaps it is the Japanese "translation" of the characters "personalities" and the Japanese take on western/USA characters. The Sandersons seem almost to be a Japanese stereotype or caricature of an American marriage/relationship. While I don't believe it is intentional, but it does seem like the games characters are overblown to make it feel more western. What it does is make them odd and mildly irritating at times.
When dealing with the characters there is no way to speed up or even stop the interaction when started, meaning you must sit through the whole speech/cinematic till it is ended. This bogs down the game is very irritating when you make a mistake and talk to a character when not meaning to, and some of them have VERY long speeches! This is easier to do than you'd expect, because if you are in their proximity, it will launch the character if you press the button, and you either may not notice how close you are to them or some other action may be dangerously close to the character and makes it harder to discriminate the difference.
There really isn't much of a help system, while your pal, Tele Vision does help at times, he too becomes repetitious and unless you revisit some characters/locations, you might miss something that is important to the game. This too is easy to do, as when you do a task for the character, it seems that your interaction with that character is now complete, and you are not aware it is not the case. Again, I think some of this is due to the "Japanese translation" of not just the dialogue, but the game play/action sequences. They SEEM finished and over. There seems to be no reason you need to approach the character again, which is a mistake, and makes you run around in circles trying to figure out what to do next. Again, a unique game like the Pikmin series, but not quite as lush, deep or fulfilling. This isn't as sophisticated as Pikmin. It seems rushed and has an unfinished feel to it. While the worlds are huge and seem detailed, they actually have very little that is truly interactive. Most of the scenery is simply scenery.

The Bottom Line
A fun time waster, it will hold your attention.
Lots of "size puzzles" in that you must figure out how to get to things in a giant world, i.e. climb here, jump there, climb again over here etc. It is fun to try and figure out. You gotta think small!
Some of the tasks and characters are very weird and unexpected. That makes Chibi-Robo fresh and unique. It is an OK game to have in a collection, and is mildly addictive. Fun for everyone, as is no gore of any kind, and is mild enough for any child. The puzzle solving is more for 10 and up, but the cute factor makes if fun for small kids as well. They will like making Robo run around and make his little musical footsteps! Good, not a great game but solid and fun.