After 20 years, the $200 Nintendo cult classic that anchored GameCube collectors' retirement plans gets a modern release on Switch 2

If you've been waiting a couple of decades for a cheap, legal way to play Nintendo's cult classic GameCube platformer Chibi-Robo, I've got some excellent news: it's coming to the Switch 2 GameCube library via Nintendo Switch Online. $50 per year is, after all, a whole lot cheaper than the $200+ the title tends to go for on the secondhand market.

Chibi-Robo was among the first titles announced for Switch 2's GameCube library, but Nintendo has just confirmed that it'll finally hit the service on August 21. That brings our total Switch 2 GameCube library up to five games, with several more – including the likes of Luigi's Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine – waiting in the wings.

Developer Skip worked with Nintendo on several absolute oddities, including several infamous Japan-only titles like Giftpia and Captain Rainbow, but Chibi-Robo was one of the few to actually see a worldwide release. The game puts you in control of a little robot out to bring happiness to the world by helping a family with various chores around the house.

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It's a cozy concept, and Chibi-Robo would probably be well-remembered even if it was just a cute platformer set on the floorboards of a mostly ordinary home, but that's not really why it has its cult following. That's all down to its quirky and surprisingly human characters – the story of a woman seeking divorce because her husband is spending too much money on toys is not the stuff you typically expect to see in a Nintendo-published platformer.

These days, Chibi-Robo is one of the most expensive retail GameCube games on the secondhand market, with complete copies regularly going for more than $200, as shown on market-tracking site PriceCharting. That's not quite retirement money today, but who knows how the collector's scene is going to evolve in the decades to come.

For now, at least, there's finally an easy, legal way to play Chibi-Robo once again and experience its charms for yourself. The game's only re-release was a Japan-only Wii version, and while it got a handful of lesser sequels the series went dormant in 2015 with the dismally dull 3DS platformer Chibi-Robo: Zip Lash. I'm already seeing some hope in various comment sections that the NSO release might be the spark that gets us a full Chibi-Robo revival, and while I dare not to hope such things, the little bot's return has put a bit of extra light in my heart.

A whole lot of the best GameCube games still need a spot on Switch 2.