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Astro Bot - TV Tropes

  • ️Thu May 30 2024

For the 2024 game of the same name, go here

Astro Bot (Video Game)

Astro Bot is a series developed by Team Asobi (formerly a subsidiary of SIE Japan Studio) exclusively for the PlayStation line of systems.

The games star a tiny white and blue robot named Captain Astro, who embarks on various platforming adventures to rescue his various bots from villainous forces.

Astro Bot began life as "Robot Rescue", a minigame on the PSVR's 2016 The Playroom VR app.note  The minigame had players controlling a single Bot moving through a 3D level to rescue his robot comrades (at this time Astro was not named, as multiple players could join in and they would control other differently-colored bots). Fan feedback was strong enough to justify a full-fledged 3D platformer — Astro Bot Rescue Mission — which was released exclusively on PSVR in 2018. Astro would eventually become a Breakout Character for PlayStation, starring in a series of 3D Platform Games that act as tech demos showcasing the PlayStation's hardware capabilities, while also celebrating their long history.

The Astro Bot series contains the following games:

The Astro Bot series contains examples of:

  • Alternate Company Equivalent: Particularly by the time of Astro Bot (2024), Astro has shades of being Sony's version of Kirby. Astro's bot buddies (and Astro himself in the 2024 game, via available costume changes) dressing up as different PlayStation characters can be likened to Kirby's ability to adopt the characteristics of other creatures (including other franchises in Super Smash Bros.) while the act of collecting the bots and having them follow you around and helping out when you need them is similar to Kirby's relationship with the Waddle Dees in Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Also they're both particularly notable for their high cuteness quotients.
  • Breakout Character: Astro Bot has quickly become this for PlayStation Studios, to the point that when SIE Japan Studio closed down, the team behind Astro Bot was the only team kept around since they were the only profitable team within the studio. Sure enough, the series has continuously grown in popularity, ultimately culminating in a full-fledged 3D platformer in 2024.
  • Cute Machines: The robots, with their sheer tininess, the screens for faces with huge and expressive eyes, their high-pitched, squeaky voices, and their innocent and friendly personalities, are almost painfully lovable.
  • Genre Throwback: Astro Bot, since Rescue Mission, has often been lauded as a return to the 3D Collect-a-Thon Platformer gameplay reminiscent of late 1990s and early 2000s games such as Banjo-Kazooie or Super Mario Sunshine (or even Sony's own Ape Escape series) at a time that Sony's general strategy for the PlayStation brand has shifted focus away from such whimsical, simple-to-understand games with a classic premise.
  • Hammerspace: Several of Astro's Idle Animations see him pull out a piece of PlayStation hardware from out of nowhere to keep himself busy until you assume control again.
  • Leitmotif: Several pieces of music persist throughout the series, getting remixes in each installment they appear in. Probably the most notable one is "I am ASTRO BOT", which originates from the credits sequence of Rescue Mission and has received some form of remix in both Playroom and Astro Bot. Other recurring themes include the boss theme (which is itself arranged uniquely for every boss enemy) and the theme called "Follow Me (Into the Storm)".
  • Nice Guy: While he can be mischievous on occasion, Captain Astro is generally a friendly, compassionate, and loyal little robot. This doesn’t mean you should mess with him or his friends, however.
  • No Fourth Wall: Astro will wave to the player if left alone. In Rescue Mission this is because the player is a large robot that accompanies Astro and assists him so Astro and the player are in the world together. In the others he's just being friendly to the player controlling him.
  • One-Hit-Point Wonder: Astro can only take a single hit in all of his games before having to reset to a checkpoint. Thankfully some enemies are non-damaging and simply push Astro around. To keep things fair, while the boss fights don't change this and have no checkpoints, Astro also gets two floating hearts that represent extra attempts whenever he is defeated during a boss battle (meaning as the fight progresses and the boss changes tactics players aren't punished instantly by having to start the entire thing over as they attempt to learn the new patterns).
  • Percussive Maintenance: Pretty much anything interactable is accomplished by giving it a punch. Even saving Astro's bot friends is done by running up to them and Astro giving them a swift punt. Although the CPU in Playroom's CPU Plaza does get annoyed at being jarred by Astro's punches and will bump the glass dome it lives in to retaliate (if you do this on the upper floor and bring at least 10 bots with you then you'll get a trophy when he knocks all of you down).
  • Spectacular Spinning: Astro's Charged Attack is a spin punch that gives him a 360-degree attack. It can also be used to activate switches that require the player spin them and certain enemies (particularly the screw nut foes) must be defeated with the spin attack. Additionally Astro's attack while jumping is a single spin punch. This can be used to create an extended jump if properly combined with the Double Jump, as Astro doesn't lose altitude during the spin punch (this is never necessary to do, the standard double jump is enough to clear any gap the developer intended for the player, but can cover more ground in the air and clear areas faster which can be useful for setting new time records).
  • Tech-Demo Game: The series acts as this for the PlayStation lineup, showing off the system's hardware and technical capabilities by designing unique platforming levels around those capabilities.
  • Weaponized Exhaust: Astro's Double Jump has rocket jets on his feet lift him and any enemy caught below will be damaged. Some enemies require you defeat them like this because punching them will harm Astro.