Robo Pit

n/a

Robo Pit
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Altron, Kokopeli Digital Studios (US, Europe)
Developer: Altron
Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (12 tracks)
Genre: Fighting Action/Taisen Action (対戦アクション), Action
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code JP 1996-02-16 ¥5,800 (5,974)5,800e T-16603G US 1996 T-10002H EU 1996-11 T-10002H-50 DE 1996-11 T-10002H-50 PT 199x PL 1997
Non-Sega versions PlayStation

Robo Pit (ロボ・ピット) is a one-on-one fighting game developed by Altron for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation.

Gameplay

Robo Pit is a versus fighting game, in which players construct robots out of a selection of parts (a head/torso, eyes (because unlike the Western box art, the in-game robots opt for a "cute" aesthetic), "legs" and two arms) to fight one another on a 3D playing field. By default the camera is positioned behind the player, but it can be adjusted, for example, to create a first person fighting game.

You start with a ranking of 101, and can challenge any of the 100 robots ahead of you in an attempt to move up the rankings and into first place. Destroying your opponent will move you up, while losing will move you down. As you accumulate experience through matches, your robot becomes stronger which makes traversing up the rankings much easier - while it is fully possible to complete the game in a small handful of matches, the strongest robots will destroy you in one or two hits if the player hasn't practised.

An "auto fight" feature also exists, in which the computer will take control of your robot for you, however the outcome here is usually determined by raw stats rather than strategy, as the computer does not make full use of its surroundings.

Winning a battle can be achieved in two ways - either by draining a life bar or by knocking the opponent out of the ring. The winner then takes the opponent's arms (the only part of a robot that can be adjusted after its initial creation), which are often stronger than those found in the initial pool of components. Arms range from strong melee attacks such as swords and shields, to weaker long-range attacks like guns. Often an empty hand is a good way forward, as it can pick up obstacles on the field and throw them at enemies from afar.

Accumulated damage will add to a power bar allowing for special attacks. There is a standard ramming move available to all robots, and others which are determined by which arms are equipped. It is also possible to inflict damage just by jumping on your opponent.

There are about five stages (not including variants played at different times of the day) which are selected at random when entering a fight. Some matches feature special robots in their own arenas - the closest Robo Pit has to boss battles (although like all enemy robots, they can be avoided if the player chooses). The only battle that can't be avoided (although you may have to challenge the top ranking robot a few times to get into this position) is Zenith, a robot that only appears when the user is ranked at No. 1.

History

Legacy

In 1997 Altron released a sequel, Robo Pit 2, this time as a PlayStation exclusive. Robo Pit 2 is a huge departure from its predecessor, having more RPG-like features, an entirely different visual style, and attempting to bridge together a more cohesive story.

Versions

Despite launching a month after its PlayStation counterpart, the Sega Saturn version of Robo Pit is the more primitive of the two versions on a technical level, lacking much of the presentational polish of its rival. This is particularly noticable in areas such as the winning and losing messages - on the Saturn, there is often an long pause between the announcer saying "You" and "Win", with the second word sometimes failing to trigger altogether, while on the PlayStation the message is delivered more naturally. Special effects are also dialed back, and the lighting model is far simpler on the Saturn.

On a content basis, the Saturn version of Robo Pit heavily differs from the PS1 version despite being released close to it. The Saturn version features a completely redesigner user interface. While the PS1 version gives the player two pre-built robots when starting a new game, while the Saturn prompts the player to build their own robot when entering Tournament mode. The Saturn version adds Training Mode, which pits the player against three-randomly selected robots from the tournament grid and allows players to level up their weapons without risking losing ranking points or their weapons.

The Saturn versions lack the "Big Foot" legs present in the PS1 version, but adds an extra weapon called the Dagger. The roster of the Tournament mode is different between the two versions; many robots are exclusive either versions and the shared robots often appear in a different order on the default ladder. The Special Robots are also different between versions (the bosses on PS1 are Boomer, Lips, Samurai, Teketeke, Big Punch, and Zio Gigas. The bosses on Saturn are Shadelance, Gigantess, Geomantis and Zenith. Teketeke is also on Saturn with a different appearance and weapons, but is not marked as a Special Robot); the Special Robots on Saturn are bigger and have unique bodies but do not have special weapons. On Playstation 1, the winner of a bout is prompted to select between two of the loser's weapons to appropriate, while on Saturn, the victor simply gets both of the opponent's weapons.

Production credits

• Game Concept: Makoto Kitano
• Programmer: Kozo Nishio
• Robot Designer: Makoto Kitano
• Stage Designer: Norimasa Kawano
• Robot Animation: Kozo Nishio
• CG Animation: Kitano Makoto
• Sound Designer: Kiyohiro Sada
• Music Composer: Minako Adachi
• Manual Designer: Miho Tsujigo
• Special Thanks...: Satoru Takahashi, Kenji Ichimura, Miyuka Kidachi, Yumi Saito, Tamotu Maruyama, Toshiaki Okamoto, Ikuko Kuwabara
• Executive Producer: Masao Kuwabara

Copyright 1995 Altron Corporation All Rights Reserved

Magazine articles

Main article: Robo Pit/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #86: "September 1996" (1996-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Game Informer (US) #41: "September 1996" (1996-0x-xx)
• Next Generation (US) #22: "October 1996" (1996-09-17)
• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #87: "October 1996" (1996-xx-xx)
• Game Informer (US) #42: "October 1996" (1996-xx-xx)

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) #1996-03: "1996-03 (1996-02-23)" (1996-02-09)

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) #12: "October 1996" (1996-09-18)
also published in:

• Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) #12: "October 1996" (1996-09-18)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source GamesMaster (UK) 78

	78
Based on 1 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Computer & Video Games (UK) 25 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 64 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 80 Hobby Consolas (ES) 85 Intelligent Gamer (US) NTSC-U 58 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 50 Next Generation (US) 50 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 66 Sega Power (UK) PAL 80 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 63 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 70 Strana Igr (RU) 53 Total Saturn (UK) PAL 71 Total Saturn (UK) PAL 77

	64
Based on 14 reviews

Robo Pit

Saturn, JP
Cover
Disc

Saturn, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Saturn, EU
Cover
Disc

Saturn, DE
Cover
Disc

Saturn, PT
Cover
Disc

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	351,297,072		CD-ROM (EU)	T-10002H-50 V1.001
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	349,462,512	1995-12-29	CD-ROM (JP)	T-16603G V1.000
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	351,266,496		CD-ROM (US)	T-10002H V1.004

External links

• Sega of America webpage: Saturn