NES Stack Up - Why Is ROB Required?

[Slate]

The title says it all - Why is ROB Required with Stack Up (NES)?

It's confusing and odd. ROB Doesn't connect to the NES In any way when you are playing Stack up (Or at least that is what i think)

Thanks in advance.

[rayearthknight]

It's a gimmick gone wrong. Gyromite doesn't actually NEED ROB either, but it's an interesting test in how long you can keep your sanity and not chuck ROB to other side of the room...he's not very aerodynamic anyway.
You'll notice that "Robot Stack" never did get a lot of air time in the original commercials.

If I recall...ROB was only included so Toys R Us would sell the NES---he was the "toy".

[CocoVG]

Stack Up uses R.O.B. in a simplistic way - R.O.B. stacked the coloured blocks according to the on-screen pattern. IIRC you need him for Stack Up but not Gyromite. It's been a while since I had him plugged in - after upgrading the television.

[Slate]

If I recall...ROB was only included so Toys R Us would sell the NES.

Then why were Some ROBs sold seperately?


Stack Up uses R.O.B. in a simplistic way - R.O.B. stacked the coloured blocks according to the on-screen pattern. IIRC you need him for Stack Up but not Gyromite. It's been a while since I had him plugged in - after upgrading the television.

Thanks.

Now, to the next question: Is Stack Up playable without ROB?

[rayearthknight]

Then why were Some ROBs sold seperately?

I assume to make more money...maybe someone out there didn't want to buy the Deluxe set (at 249.99 in 1985) and instead bought the action set...then later got ROB and Stack-up...instead of Robot Gyro/Gyromite.

You are right, he isn't really needed to play, but as I said, it was a gimmick just like the 3-D glasses for 3-D Worldrunner and Rad Racer (both by Square; but published by Acclaim and Nintendo, respectively, and note the driver in RR looks like the Worldrunner) are gimmicks that make people go Oooh!, cool!

Power glove, anyone?

[CocoVG]

I wasn't aware that R.O.B. was ever sold separately. Stack Up was available separately, but IIRC R.O.B. was only available bundled in North America with the NES and Gyromite. That's why Stack Up is such a rare cartridge - once Nintendo discontinued the R.O.B. bundle, there was no reason to continue producing Stack Up.

As to whether or not Stack Up is playable without R.O.B., if no-one else can satisfactorily answer that, I'll hook him back up and find out. If you CAN, I don't see why you'd want to; the whole point of the game is to use R.O.B. :)

Not even the Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stack-Up) is of any help on this one.

[rayearthknight]

Stack Up is extraordinarily rare, mostly because it's difficult to find anyone with all of the extra parts for the robot that came packaged with the game. It comes with five platforms, and 5 pretty colored blocks. The general goal of the game is to provide R.O.B. with orders which will allow him to manipulate the blocks from one formation to another. There are three main gameplay modes. In the first, Direct, you simply have to jump on the proper buttons to send R.O.B. the commands. In the second, Memory, you have to basically write a program for the robot to follow, then let it run and see if it worked. The final mode, Bingo, is more of an action game, where you have to jump around a grid turning squares to a different color, and whenever a row is completed, a specific command will be sent. The trouble is that there are enemies about, some of whom will trigger commands you don't want triggered, others of whom will just knock you off of the board.
Personally, I thought that Direct was slightly boring, but useful as a tutorial that you will need when playing Memory, my favorite variant. Writing these little routines is a good way to get your brain working, and I got a real kick out of this as a kid (then again, I am a computer programmer today). As for Bingo, I never cared for it much, since when ROB gets a bad command (and this holds true for all modes) it has the potential to totally screw your game up.
The only real problems with this game lie in the ROB unit itself. As fun as it is to use, it's a pretty slow moving machine, so it's not really a very fast paced game. But as a puzzle game, it's one of my favorites. The other issue is how easy it is to cheat. If you screw up, you can just move the blocks yourself, tell the game you suceeded, and it will give you the points anyway. Oh well.

[D_N_G]

I wasn't aware that R.O.B. was ever sold separately. Stack Up was available separately, but IIRC R.O.B. was only available bundled in North America with the NES and Gyromite. That's why Stack Up is such a rare cartridge - once Nintendo discontinued the R.O.B. bundle, there was no reason to continue producing Stack Up.



This is not correct. ROB in NA was also available in a stand alone box with only the robot.

Stack-Up and Gyromite were both available separately as well, Gyromite separate came in a larger box than stack-up and has the gyros and all other parts included.

The "Big-Box" Gyromite i would venture to say is more rare than Stack-Up

[boatofcar]

This is not correct. ROB in NA was also available in a stand alone box with only the robot.

If this is true, I've never seen it. Pictures?

[donkeykong1]

I have never heard of a big box Gyromite. Pictures??

Also, a recnt auction on ebay had a complete Staack-up and Gyromite and it sold for over $300.00

[NintendoMan]

Then why were Some ROBs sold seperately?

I assume to make more money...maybe someone out there didn't want to buy the Deluxe set (at 249.99 in 1985) and instead bought the action set...then later got ROB and Stack-up...instead of Robot Gyro/Gyromite.

This is off topic, but I do have just the stand alone ROB Brand New never opened in it's box. Wonder what that would fetch on ebay??

Anyways, this topic has been very helpful to me. I too have wondered if you could play stack-up or gyromite alone.

[Slate]

I bookmarked an auction with a Complete, Sold Seperately ROB And Sold Seperately Gyromite. (Big Box)

http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-NES-NINTENDO-SYSTEM-ROBOT-SET-WITH-BOX-GYROMITE_W0QQitemZ8217018877QQcategoryZ62054QQrdZ1 QQcmdZViewItem

Ended for $305. Yes, there are pictures of both items! Enjoy!

[Slimedog]

I bookmarked an auction with a Complete, Sold Seperately ROB And Sold Seperately Gyromite. (Big Box)

http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-NES-NINTENDO-SYSTEM-ROBOT-SET-WITH-BOX-GYROMITE_W0QQitemZ8217018877QQcategoryZ62054QQrdZ1 QQcmdZViewItem

Ended for $305. Yes, there are pictures of both items! Enjoy!

I've seen stand alone ROB, but not a stand alone Gyromite. The pic for the auction has French on it, so I just want to confirm that there is a big box stand alone Gyromite that was released in the US. Does anybody here have the US version?

[D_N_G]

http://www.geocities.com/d_n_g/Imga0060.jpg

Here is a pic of the US release of the big box gyromite

http://www.geocities.com/d_n_g/Imga0057.jpg

Here is a pic of the US release ROB[/img]

[donkeykong1]

Excellent. Would that happen to be yours? I would like to see the back of the Gyromite box. Thanx.

[sniperCCJVQ]

French on it because it's a Canadian release. So you can be sure at 100% the US version exist.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

You can quite easially play Stack Up and Gyromite without R.O.B. It's pretty easy to simply hold two NES pads in your hands in a way that means the required buttons are accessable.

All R.O.B. does is press the buttons anyway, so why bother with him at all? It's hell of a lot easier and quicker to press them yourself, and don't have to wait for ages for him to get his shit together and actually do what he's supposed to.

[CocoVG]

@Slate & D_N_G: Wow, thanks. I learned something today. Perhaps I'll keep an eye out for those during mad collector runs. ;)

[Slate]

@Slate & D_N_G: Wow, thanks. I learned something today. Perhaps I'll keep an eye out for those during mad collector runs. ;)

Your welcome. :)

[christhegamer]

It's almost impossible for me to play Gyromite, so I'm just assuming that the game responded to flashes on the screen? (even if I can't find a decently conditioned/priced ROB, I can still smash the gyromite cart open so I can get that FC-to-NES adapter inside! :D)

[Dr. Morbis]

It's almost impossible for me to play Gyromite, so I'm just assuming that the game responded to flashes on the screen?
You mean to tell me that you are not capable of putting controller 2 in your lap and pressing A & B when you need to lower a pillar? When I tested out Gyromite (a long time ago) I put controller 2 on the floor and used my big toe to control the pillars. I ended up going through the whole game in one sitting because I was digging the funky music so much.

[christhegamer]

It's almost impossible for me to play Gyromite, so I'm just assuming that the game responded to flashes on the screen?
You mean to tell me that you are not capable of putting controller 2 in your lap and pressing A & B when you need to lower a pillar? When I tested out Gyromite (a long time ago) I put controller 2 on the floor and used my big toe to control the pillars. I ended up going through the whole game in one sitting because I was digging the funky music so much.

:hmm:
Hmm... never heard of that method; I'll have to try this out...
Thanx!!! (p.s. I also think that the music is pretty trippy :)).

[Graham Mitchell]

It's almost impossible for me to play Gyromite, so I'm just assuming that the game responded to flashes on the screen?
You mean to tell me that you are not capable of putting controller 2 in your lap and pressing A & B when you need to lower a pillar? When I tested out Gyromite (a long time ago) I put controller 2 on the floor and used my big toe to control the pillars. I ended up going through the whole game in one sitting because I was digging the funky music so much.

:hmm:
Hmm... never heard of that method; I'll have to try this out...
Thanx!!! (p.s. I also think that the music is pretty trippy :)).

The title screen has awesome music in particular.

When I was younger I would actually take the piece with the red and blue buttons on it and stick controller 2 in it, then set the unit in front of me. You can open/close the gates with your right hand and control the character with the left (using the D-pad on controller 1) if you do this. That's my favorite way to play. Plugging an NES advantage in to port 2 is another good way (big buttons makes it easier.)

[chimp69]

did anyone see the nes story on g4? It said the nes was at first only released in NY. and limited. and to sell it, they sold it as a family entertainment system. so everything was invcluded. But in this thread, someone said 250$ for a system with rob and everything. but G4 said that it came out at 80$US. rob and everything

[boatofcar]

did anyone see the nes story on g4? It said the nes was at first only released in NY. and limited. and to sell it, they sold it as a family entertainment system. so everything was invcluded. But in this thread, someone said 250$ for a system with rob and everything. but G4 said that it came out at 80$US. rob and everything

The NES was tested first in New York, but it never retailed for $80.

For actual real information about the NES, you should read

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0966961706.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIlitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,32,-59_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Hands down the most authoritative book on the history of Nintendo.

[ice1605]

I wasn't aware that R.O.B. was ever sold separately. Stack Up was available separately, but IIRC R.O.B. was only available bundled in North America with the NES and Gyromite. That's why Stack Up is such a rare cartridge - once Nintendo discontinued the R.O.B. bundle, there was no reason to continue producing Stack Up.



This is not correct. ROB in NA was also available in a stand alone box with only the robot.

Stack-Up and Gyromite were both available separately as well, Gyromite separate came in a larger box than stack-up and has the gyros and all other parts included.

The "Big-Box" Gyromite i would venture to say is more rare than Stack-Up
Are you sure?? I have a friend that has the Gyromite "Big Box"!! I failed in buying it from him, but now, he will never give it up!

[Dr. Morbis]

The "Big-Box" Gyromite i would venture to say is more rare than Stack-Up
Are you sure?? I have a friend that has the Gyromite "Big Box"!! I failed in buying it from him, but now, he will never give it up!
The only people in the market for a big-box Gyromite back in the day would be someone who bought a NES without the robot, then decided to buy the robot seperately and pick up one or both of the games. Whereas anyone who bought the deluxe set with the robot packed in could potentially pick up Stackup. Since a person buying a standalone ROB could choose to buy Stackup with it and not the big box Gyromite, the latter is obviously the least common.

In order from rarest to most common:

Big Box Gyromite > Stand-alone ROB > Stackup

[exit]

I remember playing Gyromite with two controlers, it was pretty easy with the parts that came with ROB. I never botherd trying to play with ROB, I could never find working batteries and from what I remember my brother said it didn't work.

[Lothars]

Same here I played Gyromite with 2 controllers but it wasn't until a couple yearas ago that Gyromite was a game that rob used.

hey it's all good though, just very strange :)