ROBOTICS;NOTES is the third mainline entry into the SciAdv (Science Adventure Series) visual novel series. Unlike its predecessors, the story of R;N offers a laid back, light mystery story about highschoolers trying to build a comically large robot. What's not to love?

Well, if you're just getting off the absolute roller coasters that are CHAOS;HEAD NOAH and STEINS;GATE, R;N can feel like a bit of a tone shift, but not an entirely unwelcome one. It's nice having a story that isn't completely insane from beginning to end that leaves you gripping your seat, cringing, wincing, or crying the entire time. This is definitely beneficial for those who are planning on continuing their SciAdv journey afterwards, as this entry "cleanses the palate" before you're thrown head first into CHAOS;CHILD.

That being said, this entry took me the longest to complete due to me periodically spacing out from the lack of engagement. The arcs, however, are great. The entirety of the first chapter was very entertaining, and I loved the hobby robot tournament from beginning to end. Some characters are better written than others. Kai, the protagonist, has a personality like wet cardboard, and he feels like 95% self insert to 5% character. As the story progresses, it is revealed why he acts the way he does, but it feels like too little too late. Akiho, the token heroine, is in a somewhat similar position, but her development is better overall, and her reasons for acting the way she does are far more apparent. Other members of the cast are hit or miss. Koujiro is effectively a hornier female version of Daru from S;G, but she has a great character arc which I feel justifies her character. Junna however is basically a walking archetype, and doesn't change even after her arc is over. Nae returns in the flesh, though she has a pretty minuscule role, even as one of the "heroines" of the VN. Her moments are some of the funniest, however.

The endings are a bit of a mess, implementation-wise. Unlike previous entries, there really is only one ending. However, for some reason, (my guess is to keep the game consistent with the other entries), they broke up the character related arcs, making each chapter focusing on a character its own "ending" even though they all happen one after the other. The final ending feels a little too happy in my opinion, and even a bit too far-fetched, but it is consistent with the more lighthearted tone of the VN as a whole, even if it was still tackling literal world ending stakes.

The music is also pretty solid in this VN, though It cannot hold up to S;G's legendary soundtrack, or the diversity of the C;HN track, it holds its own for the most part. The main theme manages to somehow feel nostalgic, even upon hearing it for the first time, and it has pretty good variety. Though, there is this one upbeat action track they love to play every thirty seconds in the final few chapters that will slowly begin to get on your nerves.

All in all, ROBOTICS;NOTES is a relaxing and mysterious visual novel, and feels like a breath of fresh air in the SciAdv series. Even if it struggles a bit to live up to the previous entries, it is still a great read and definitely worth getting. Due to the game's age it is constantly going on deep sale during the seasonal sales, so I would recommend picking it up then if you don't want to spend 35 on a 12 year old visual novel.

Oh yeah, if you're confused about my time, I played the game elsewhere first, but my data ended up transferring when I got it on steam, so I just had to spend a few hours mopping up the achievements that didn't fire when I first started up the game. I more than enjoyed it enough to 100% it.

El. Psy. Kongr-
Oops, wrong one.