SolatoRobo : Red the Hunter

Solatorobo: Red the Hunter for Nintendo DS is a hand-drawn action role-playing adventure from CyberConnect2, released in Japan in 2010 as Solatorobo: Sore Kara CODA e and brought to North America by XSEED Games on September 27, 2011. Namco Bandai published the Japanese and European editions, the latter arriving in July 2011. It continues the Little Tail Bronx setting introduced by Tail Concerto, but tells a new story that newcomers can follow on its own. The game places its fantasy adventure among the airborne islands of the Shepherd Republic, where dog-like Caninu and cat-like Felineko travel by airship and rely on compact personal robots called Robos.

The player controls Red Savarin, a seventeen-year-old Caninu Hunter who takes freelance jobs alongside his adoptive sister, Chocolat Gelato. Red pilots the small Robo Dahak, and its powerful arms establish the game's central combat idea: rather than simply striking enemies, Dahak grabs them, lifts them, and throws them into obstacles or other opponents. Repeated throws can build a stronger attack sequence, while later tools expand Red's options. Red can also leave Dahak when a task calls for swimming, climbing ladders, operating machinery, or using his stun gun, so exploration switches between robot action and on-foot problem solving.

An early assignment to recover stolen files leads Red to a mysterious Felineko named Elh and to a medallion connected with far larger events. From there, Solatorobo moves through towns, ruins, airships, and floating routes as Red meets allies and rivals and investigates threats to the republic. The campaign is arranged around story areas, bosses, puzzles, and a broad job system. Completing optional requests for local residents raises Red's Hunter rank, which opens further story work and gives the journey a reason to revisit its communities instead of treating the world solely as a series of battle stages.

Progression blends character growth with mechanical customization. Victories earn experience, while money and collected materials support changes to Dahak. Parts use a geometric fitting system, with new slots made available through exploration, letting players tune the robot rather than receiving every improvement in a fixed order. The Nintendo DS presentation also makes room for animated scenes produced by Madhouse, character designs associated with Nobuteru Yuki, and music by Chikayo Fukuda. The result is an adventure whose bright anime styling and airborne setting support both its lighthearted jobs and its increasingly serious central mystery.

Solatorobo: Red the Hunter also includes Air Robo GP, a racing mode for up to four players through Nintendo DS wireless play, alongside the single-player story. The original regional releases differed in how some extra quests were distributed: certain missions were downloadable in Japan and PAL territories, whereas the North American XSEED version included those quests on the game card. Its Japanese title, which refers to moving on to CODA, and its western title both identify the same Nintendo DS game. For players exploring CyberConnect2's Little Tail Bronx world, Solatorobo stands as the direct spiritual successor to Tail Concerto and a later point on the series timeline before Fuga: Melodies of Steel.