Cubix Robots for Everyone: Showdown

Join Cubix and the gang for fun-filled turn-based battle!

NA release: 2nd June 2003
JP release: N/A
EU release: N/A
Developer: Blitz Games
Publisher: The 3DO Company
NGC Magazine Score: N/A
Mods Used: Widescreen Hack

Cubix is a South Korean kids TV show that got an english dub from 4Kids. It’s about a town that has “more robots than people” with each robot specialising in a specific chore, and there’s an alliance substance and evil scientist that causes chaos for the main kids to solve. Showdown is a video game adaptation that’s part turn-based RPG and part 3D platformer, although it does neither of those really well.

The turn based combat is just odd. You collect different robots, each a different type (fire, water, electric, etc) that has certain strengths and weaknesses against other types. Three can be taken into battle and you can choose one to attack in an aggressive, balanced or defensive manner. When you attack, you have to stop a spinning target so it lands on the correct colour of a roulette wheel. Succeed, and you’ll attack (and your opponent won’t). Miss and they’ll attack and be on the offensive and you’ll need to wait for them to miss.

The quick time event gets more difficult with every hit so you’ll just about manage the first two, then lose, get hit once, then back to two attacks. Robots have no stats other than type or hit points and, while each robot has different attacks, which one happens is random and there’s seemingly no difference between the results. The strength and weaknesses also don’t matter or might just be flat out wrong, as some “strong” attacks resulted in very little damage. There’s only one valid strategy and every battle plays out the same.

On the overworld, there’s some basic platforming and lots of simple block puzzles. Just move them around to collect upgrades and batteries, the latter of which serves as health. However, there are plenty of batteries just in the open and they respawn whenever you leave or reset the room (you can press Z at any time to reset the room if you think you’ve messed up the puzzle). It’s all immensely dull, and you have to put up with the extremely creepy human characters at the same time.

Poor

This game has so many blocks to push. That’s what every single puzzle is. I’m not kidding. Cubix, the titular robot, is composed of blocks, so they must’ve figured that blocks in general must be what the entire game should be centered around. You push blocks to reach platforms you can’t jump on. You push blocks with electricity inside them onto specific tiles to activate doors and such. Some blocks have wheels and only stop when they reach a wall. Others are cylindrical and must be facing the correct way so they connect two tubes together. The entire game is comprised of pushing blocks and stopping spinners correctly.
Anders Hammerstrom, Misfit Momentum

Remake or remaster?

Nothing for this.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to get Cubix Robots for Everyone: Showdown.