Gyromite

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Gyromite (also known as Robot Gyro) is a video game released in 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, designed for use with the Robotic Operating Buddy. Gyromite is one of two games in Nintendo's Robot Series, the other being Stack-Up.

Contents

1 Story
2 Equipment
3 Game principle
4 General strategy
5 Game modes
6 Trivia
7 External links

Story

Professor Hector and his assistant, Professor Vector, navigate side-scrolling platform levels with the help of their creation, R.O.B. Their lives are threatened by dynamite and hungry little lizards called Smicks, and Professor Hector's sleep-walking tendencies get him in trouble as well. Is there no rest for R.O.B.?

Equipment

Two Gyros: weighty, metal-tipped tops that spin independently of their handles.
One holder: occupies two accessory slots (instructions dictate #4&5), holds Gyros when not in use.
One Tray: occupies two accessory slots (instructions dictate #2&3), holds one standard NES controller plugged into controller port #2, and operates the A and B buttons on it when Gyros are set atop the appropriate color-coded pedestals.
One Spinner: occupies one accessory slot (instructions dictate #1), powered by one D battery, used to spin the Gyros up to speed so that they can rest on the tray's pedestals. At full speed, a Gyro may spin for approximately five minutes.
Two Hands: claw-shaped tips for R.O.B.'s hands that let him tightly grip the handles of the Gyros. Can easily recover a spinning gyro that has begun to wobble.

Game principle

As the Professor character moves through the levels, R.O.B. must aid navigation by raising and lowering red and blue gates. When a Gyro depresses the red pedestal, red gates are lowered. When a gyro depresses the blue pedestal, blue gates are lowered. The action on the screen never stops: so while operating R.O.B., the on-screen character continues to be vulnerable.

General strategy

R.O.B. equipped for Gyromite

Gyros needn't be spinning when lowering just one set of gates at a time. R.O.B. can simply hold a Gyro, and use it to press the pedestals as needed, without setting it spinning or letting it go. Only when lowering both colors of gates simultaneously must a Gyro be brought to the spinner, then abandoned on a pedestal so that the other Gyro may be used in conjunction.
A spinning Gyro can be dropped from any height to rest on a pedestal. (From maximum height, this is a very satisfying maneuver to watch, but it may leave indentations.)
Though the instructions recommend the accessories be attached as illustrated here, other configurations are possible. The player may set them up in any order desired.

Game modes

Game A (1 or 2 players)

In this mode, the player controls both R.O.B. and a Professor character, switching on the fly. Professor Hector (Player 1) and Professor Vector (Player 2) must collect all of the bundles of dynamite in each of 40 successive levels. When the player presses start: the screen turns blue, the Professor looks outward from the screen toward R.O.B., and the next button pressed issues one command to R.O.B.—every command to R.O.B. must be preceded by a press of the Start button. Wandering smicks are a threat, but are harmless when eating the turnips found throughout the phases, which the professor may pick up and move at will. A Smick crushed in a gate is worth 500 points. Bundles of dynamite are worth 100 points. Seconds left on the clock after each level are worth 100 points. Five extra lives are supplied.

Game B (1 player)

In this mode, Professor Hector is sleepwalking, and the player controls only R.O.B. Commands need not be preceded by the Start button, as R.O.B. is controlled directly. The Professor starts at the left edge of the screen, and walks slowly toward the right side of the screen. If he hits a gate, he'll just continue to walk straight into it until it moves out of his way. The player must use R.O.B. to move the gates, allowing the Professor to reach the right side of the screen. Smicks are present in this mode, but they mostly confine themselves to dead ends. There are 25 phases in this mode. Three extra lives are supplied.

Test

Serves only to confirm that the R.O.B. can receive signals via the television. Pressing select sends a signal that should cause his red LED to light up.

Direct

In this mode, no game is played: commands are simply sent directly to R.O.B. First-time players or players who just want to operate R.O.B. without playing Gyromite can use this mode to deliver R.O.B.'s commands. Pressing up or down on the directional pad causes the arms to move up and down. Left and right make the arms swivel counter-clockwise and clockwise. The A button opens the arms, and the B button closes them.

Trivia

The opening screen of the game shows the title "Robot Gyro", the Japanese name of the game, released for the Famicom. Essentially, a Gyromite cartridge contains the circuit board from a Famicom "Robot Gyro" cartridge, attached to an adaptor that allows the game to be played on NES systems (Famicom games had 60-pin connectors, so the adaptor converted the game so it can be used with a 72-pin connector). Internationally minded collectors can disassemble Gyromite cartridges in order to use the Famicom cartridge adaptor inside. Gyromite cartridges are far easier to find than conventional Famicom-NES adaptors.

Professor Hector appears in Kirby's Dreamland 3. He rewards Kirby with a Heart Star if Kirby retrieves all the pieces of R.O.B..

In Tetris DS, in the main game menus, Professor Hector walks back and forth along the bottom edge of the top screen, sometimes sleepwalking as in Gyromite Game B.

It is now common to find unaccompanied Gyromite cartridges at vintage game stores, priced at only a few dollars apiece. Gyromite was included with every R.O.B., and was not sold separately. Virtually every unaccessorized Gyromite cartridge represents a lonely R.O.B., out there in the world somewhere.

A large portion (possibly a majority) of Gyromite fans prefer to cheat by operating controller two without R.O.B. There are many people who love the game, and have never used a R.O.B.

External links

[Gyromite] at MobyGames

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