About Robopon 2: Ring and Cross Versions
[general][sparking][old robots]
[differences][link sparking][shroom spirits]



Robopon 2: Ring and Cross Versions boxart, featuring Sun-02 and SunZero

Released on June 12, 2002, it was immediately evident to anyone who played Robopon 2 how much it improved over its prequel. The graphics and music were completely redone, providing a more cheerful, upbeat and fun environment than the game's monochrome predecessor. Additionally, the battle mechanics were also completely reworked. While Robopon played very similarly to Pokemon, in that one Robopon battled only one other Robopon at a time, Robopon 2 allows for 4 Robopon on each team to be on the field at once, more like standard RPGs. The basics of the Robopon themseves stayed the same, though: on a given Robopon, you could equip parts and software to augment its abilities in battle. Robopon, upon growing enough, could also be enhanced into different forms, akin to evolution in Pokemon.
The sparking mechanic

The method of obtaining Robopon was also changed. Unlike in Robopon, where a player had to capture Robopon using magnets, Robopon 2 introduces the sparking mechanic. After a player obtains a battery folder, they can spark two batteries together to create a Robopon. The number of batteries reaches up to 20, though there is also a dummied out battery - the Sparta Battery - that is only obtainable through the use of Gameshark or similar device. Every combination of batteries creates a Robopon, though not all combinations are unique - many combinations create the weakest Robopon in the game, Bulbot (in Ring Version) or Gear (in Cross Version).


Bulbot and Gear

 Not all Robopon returned from the original Robopon game. Only about 35 or so of the original 153 Robopon appear in Robopon 2, though one Robopon makes a cameo appearance as the boat the main character uses to get to Majiko. Of the few that made a reappearance, some also had their name changed: Tacbot became Tokbot, Snipes became Gobby, Sammi because Musashi, and Muri becamse Kojiro. Additionally, many of the returning Robopon were given new or different enhancements.

 Though, on the surface, the idea of having two separate versions of Robopon 2 seems derivative of Pokemon, the differences between the games are more pronounced than they were in most Pokemon games. Ring Version is easier than Cross Version: there are fewer random battles, Robopon level up more quickly, and enemies are easier to beat. As in Pokemon, there are also Robopon exclusive to each version. SunZero, Hexbot, Scooter, and their enhancements are exclusive to Cross Version, while Sunny, Draco, Rider1, and their enhancements are exclusive to Ring Version.


The Cross Version exclusives:
SunZero, Hexbot, Curser, Reaper
Scooter, Boarder, Waver


The Ring Version exclusives:
Sunny, Sun-02, SunCust
Rider1, RiderV, Super-1
Draco, Dragon, Trigon

Bulbot and Gear seem exclusive to their respective versions, but they enhance into each other at level 99, the maximum level in the game. Additionally, they can be found fossilized at certain points in the game.

 Unlike in Robopon (and Pokemon to boot), players of Robopon 2 cannot trade Robopon with each other. Instead, they can undergo a process called Link Sparking: each player puts in two batteries, and the four total batteries spark with each other. Every Robopon in the game, with a few notable exceptions - Icarus and BigZap - can be Link Sparked.


Icarus and BigZap

Link Sparking, additionally, is the only way to get the version-exclusive Robopon in the other version, as well as Boiler, Rocker, Razor, Kojiro, and Nebulus.


Boiler, Rocker, Razor, Kojiro and Nebulus

 There is one more difference between the two versions. Over the course of the game, the player collects mushrooms of different colors. By taking the mushrooms to a mushroom shop, the player can release spirits from the mushrooms. The spirits follow the player and provide a variety of helpful of detrimental effects: one spirit, for example, increases the amount of experience gained from matches, while another increases the random encounter rate. One spirit defossilizes fossilized Robopon, allowing the player to get Gear, Rider1, and Draco (in the Ring Version), Bulbot, Scooter, and Hexbot (in the Cross Version), and Platnum. While the effects are mostly the same between versions, the spirit itself differs. Additionally, each version has three spirits with version-exclusive effects.


Gail, a spirit who randomly throws away some of your items


Bill, a Ring Version exclusive spirit who changes the background music during battles


Yu, a Ring Version exclusive spirit who randomly gives your party experience


The sprites are courtesy of Sprite Database.
ROBOPON 2: RING VERSION, ROBOPON 2: CROSS VERSION, ROBOPON: SUN VERSION and all related trademarks are copyright Hudson Soft, Red Entertainment, ATLUS, and Nintendo.
Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, and all related trademarks are copyright Nintendo.