Robotics;Notes
Robotics;Notes is a visual novel video game developed by 5pb. It is the third main game in the Science Adventure series, following Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate, and is described by the developers as an "Augmented Science Adventure". The game was originally released by 5pb. in Japan on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012; the enhanced version Robotics;Notes Elite was released for PlayStation Vita in 2014, and for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2019. An English version of Robotics;Notes Elite is set to be released by Spike Chunsoft in 2020 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.
Six manga have been produced, and an anime adaptation by Production I.G aired in Fuji TV's Noitamina slot between October 2012 and March 2013. The anime has been licensed by Funimation in North America. Robotics;Notes DaSH, a sequel to the game, was released in 2019.
Gameplay
Robotics;Notes is a science fiction visual novel in which the player follows the perspective of multiple characters, mainly Kaito Yashio. Its gameplay requires little player interaction as much of the game's duration is spent on reading the text that appears on the screen, which represents the story's narrative and dialogue. The text is accompanied by 3D animated character models, which represent whom Kaito or Akiho is talking to, and background art. Throughout the game, the player encounters CG artwork at certain points in the story, which take the place of the background art and character models. Robotics;Notes follows a branching plot line with multiple endings, and depending on the decisions that the player makes during the game, the plot will progress in a specific direction.Throughout the narrative sequences in which the player follows Kaito, the player may activate the PokeCom Trigger, which replaces Steins;Gate Phone Trigger system and allows the player to use the applications installed on Kaito's tablet computer. These applications include Deluoode Map, a map application; Twipo, a Twitter-like social networking application, which the player may use to reply to other characters' tweets with predetermined responses; and Iru-o, an augmented reality image recognition application which the player may use to examine the environment and information tagged on characters or objects.
Plot
Story
In Robotics;Notes, the player assumes the role of Kaito Yashio, someone who enjoys fighting games. He is in his school's robot club. The story begins when the protagonist finds out that one of Robotics;Notes' main heroines is actually a genius programmer who created the game engine for a world-renowned fighting game. The main character then decides that he wants to create a robot based around command inputs and motion capture technology. He decides to go to the karate club to look for someone to perform the motion capture sequences.Setting and themes
Robotics;Notes is set in 2019 on Tanegashima, an island to the south of Kyūshū in southern Japan. The game's theme is robots and the question "What would happen if you really tried to make a giant robot?"Characters
;Kaito Yashio;Akiho Senomiya
;Subaru Hidaka Mr. Pleiades
;Frau Koujiro Kona Furugōri
;Junna Daitoku
;Airi Yukifune
;Misaki Senomiya
;Mizuka Irei
;Mitsuhiko Nagafukada
;Kaoruko Usui
;Tetsuharu Fujita
;Kō Kimijima
;Ken'ichirō Senomiya
;Sumio Nagafukada
;Hiromu Hidaka
;Toshiyuki Sawada
;Nae Tennouji
;DaSH
Development and release
The planning and original concept and basic story of Robotics;Notes was headed by Shikura. Naotaka Hayashi is the scenario writer for the game and Tatsuya Matsubara the producer. The character designs are done by Tomonori Fukuda and the mechanical designs are done by Makoto Ishiwata. The composer of the game is Takeshi Abo. Shikura had been working on the game as early as July 2010. The team received development support from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and according to Shikura, this allowed the game's sciences and themes to better reflect reality. Nitroplus also provided assistance with the game. Robotics;Notes features 3D visuals, and the development team were aiming for high quality 3D models like Catherine and Idolmaster 2. The game is described by the developers as an "Augmented Science Adventure".Robotics;Notes was announced through 5pb.'s official website on December 22, 2010, noting that details about the game would appear in the interview with Chiyomaru Shikura, the CEO of 5pb., featured in the issue of Famitsu magazine that was being sold on the same day. Robotics;Notes is the third entry in the Science Adventure series following the release of Chaos;Head in 2008 and Steins;Gate in 2009. When the target platform for the game had not yet been announced, Shikura had said that they were not going to let down the fans who have supported their past works in the Science Adventure series. He also stated that said they were aiming for a release some time in 2011. The game was released for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on June 28, 2012. The PlayStation 3 version allows support for Remote Play with the PlayStation Vita. A PlayStation Vita port was released on June 26, 2014 under the title Robotics;Notes Elite, featuring new features and additional animated scenes. Characters in the enhanced version were remodeled, and new animated video scenes were added. A Nintendo Switch version of Robotics;Notes Elite was announced by Shikura through a live stream in 2018; both it and a PlayStation 4 version were released on January 31, 2019, as Robotics;Notes Elite HD in a double pack with the sequel Robotics;Notes DaSH.
In 2018, Shikura said that a Western release of the game was under consideration; English versions of Elite and DaSH were announced by Spike Chunsoft at Anime Expo 2019, and are planned to be released worldwide for Microsoft Windows on October 13, 2020. The PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions are planned to be released in a bundle, on the same day in North America and on October 16 in Europe.
Reception
Famitsu gave the PlayStation Vita port Robotics;Notes Elite a review score of 30/40. Japanese pre-orders for the original release of the game were over 80,000, a large increase over the preorders for Steins;Gate, the previous game in the series. Neither Famitsu nor Media Create revealed sales numbers for the DaSH and Elite HD bundles for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch as part of their weekly sales charts, although Media Create listed both as ranking higher than the Nintendo Switch stand-alone version of DaSH, which sold 2,834 physical copies.Related media
Manga
A manga adaptation, titled Robotics;Notes and illustrated by Keiji Asakawa, was serialized Mag Garden's Monthly Comic Blade magazine between the March 2012 and September 2014 issues. The series was collected in six tankōbon volumes, released between July 10, 2012 and September 10, 2014. A second manga, titled Robotics;Notes Phantom Snow and illustrated by Gō, began serialization in Enterbrain's Famitsu Comic Clear online magazine on July 26, 2012. As of September 14, 2013, there have been two tankōbon volumes of it released. A third manga, titled Robotics;Notes Revival Legacy and illustrated by Tatsuya Shihara, began serialization in the September 2012 issue of Shueisha's Ultra Jump magazine. The series has also been compiled into three tankōbon volumes released between December 19, 2012, and January 17, 2014.A fourth manga, titled Robotics;Notes Dream Seeker and illustrated by Tsuzuri Yuno, began serialization in the October 2012 issue of Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan magazine. Its first volume was released on September 21, 2013. A fifth manga, titled Robotics;Notes Side Junna: Chiisana Natsu no Monogatari and illustrated by artist NB, began serialization in the November 2012 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Shōnen Ace magazine. The first volume of Side Junna was released on November 26, 2012, and a second one, on April 25, 2013. A sixth manga, titled Robotics; Notes Pleiades Ambition and illustrated by Tokumo Sora, began serialization in the November 2012 issue of Media Factory's Monthly Comic Alive magazine. As of July 27, 2013, there have been three tankōbon volumes of it released.