Medarot 1

Medarot メダロット
Genre	RPG
Platform	Nintendo Game Boy
Developer	Natsume
Publisher	Imagineer
Release Date	November 28, 1997

Medarot (also referred to as Medarot 1) is an RPG that was released in 1997 for the Nintendo Game Boy, and the original game that started the Medarot franchise. It follows Hikaru Agata on his quest to compete in Robottle tournaments and defeat the evil Roborobo Gang.

Like the other creature-collecting games of the time, Medarot 1 was released in two versions: Kabuto (Rhinoceros beetle), where the player's starting Medarot is Metal Beetle, and Kuwagata (Stag beetle), where the player starts with Head Scissors. Along with the starting Medarots, there are some Medals that can only be obtained in a specific version, and parts availability in specific shops differ. No English versions of the game were released.

Medarot 1 is a monochrome Game Boy game with only basic palette support when played on a Game Boy Color. However, it has a border and more advanced colors when played on a Super Game Boy.

A "director's cut" edition of the game titled Medarot Perfect Edition was released for Bandai's Japan-only Wonderswan system in 1999. It had two versions and was also monochrome-only. Later that year, the direct sequel Medarot 2 was released for Game Boy.

Story

Hikaru Agata is a young boy who, unlike most kids his age, has no interest in Medarots. After having a dream where his childhood friend Kirara explains the basics of building and operating Medarots, Hikaru goes on his morning routine and plays fetch with his dog Bonaparte. Bonaparte leads him to a Medal dropped by a member of the RoboRobo Gang. The local Select Corp office allows him to keep it and when Hikaru brings it home, his father is excited by his son's apparent interest in Medarots and gifts him a male Tinpet and a set of parts. On his final day of class, Hikaru and his class are given an assignment for their summer vacation: explore the region.

As he does so, Hikaru gets in many adventures such as rescuing Kirara from the "Bad Kids" Kubota and Yanma, stumbling upon a RoboRobo hideout at the Harbor Town, defeating RoboRobo operatives disguising themselves as mischievous monkeys in the mountain, defending the Select Headquarters from a RoboRobo attack, and fending off an assault on the Medal Dig Site leading to the Ruins where the Medals were originally excavated. Eventually, Hikaru enters a nationwide Robattle tournament and wins both of its preliminaries, ascending to the National Tournament.

Hikaru makes his way through the National Tournament but before fighting his final opponent, Taiyo leader of the Select Corps, he finds him kidnapping a disguised Kirara. Trailing him to a nearby warehouse, he find that Taiyo tried to silence Kirara for interfering with his plans and that he actually is Typhoon, the leader of the RoboRobo gang. When Hikaru wins the finale of the tournament, Typhoon breaks his Medal.

On advice of his friendly rival Yuuki, Hikaru heads to the ruins and place his broken Medal in the central pond. The Aliens watching the spot accept to repair the medal and introduce themselves, saying they have decided Hikaru will make for a proper ally. Immediatelly after he returns home, the RoboRobo begin their master plan. They seal off the Select Headquarters and activate the Rampage System, making all Medarots equipped with a Select Medal attack indiscriminately. Hikaru manages to procure a Periscope from a RoboRobo operative and heads to the Select HQ, where he defeats the RoboRobo lieutnants stationed there with help from his friends and turn off the Rampage System.

Hikaru confronts Typhoon on the last floor of the Select HQ and beats him in Robattle. Left with no options, Typhoon unleash his secret weapon, the powerful but uncontrollable Medarot Beast Master. Hikaru manages to defeat Beast Master, making it rampage and bring down the Select HQ. As they fall, Hikaru and Typhoon are rescued by the Aliens. The Aliens explain that they, the Medals, were sent to protect Earth and bid Hikaru their farewell. While Typhoon is apprehended by Select Corps officier and imprisonned for his crimes, Hikaru is briefed by the Chick Seller. Depending on his choice throughout the story, Hikaru can meet Kirara or the Medarot reseacher Nae who will confess their feelings for him, or be given a Blue Chick by the Chick Seller as a consolation prize.

Selection of Medarots

Main article: Medarots in Medarot 1

Medarot 1 contains 60 different Medarots (49 male, 11 female), for a total of 240 collectable parts.

Some Medarots are version exclusive, and others can only be obtained by trading (as some parts transform into different ones upon being traded; a feature removed from later games). Several Medarots are one-of-a-kind or missable, so players are encouraged to trade with other players or with one of the Parts Collections.

Differences from later games

• One of the most notable differences from the later games is the lack of Medaforce, which was introduced Medarot 2. Rather than charging MF points, the down-arrow command in battle simply makes the Medarot do nothing when it reaches the attacking line.
• During battle, the player can surrender by pressing the Select button. The ability to surrender does not reappear in any subsequent game.
• The battle screen does not display a Medarot part's HP value separately, instead only displaying the total combined value of a Medarot's parts. This would be carried over to Medarot 2 before all subsequent games started displaying the individual health value of each parts.
• Players have two opportunity to use a RoboRobo Medal: when a random battle starts, and again on the setup screen. Subsequent games only allow players to use their RoboRobo Medal at the start of the battle.

Manga

A manga series by Horuma Rin ran in Comic BomBom from mid-1997 to mid-1999. (The serialization started several months before the game's release.) It covered the entire story of the game with some changes, and was eventually collected into 3 volumes by Kodansha. An omnibus edition containing all 3 volumes was released in June 2013.

Gallery

Box art

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  Kabuto version

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  Kuwagata version

Screen

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  Title Screen (Kabuto)

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  Title Screen (Kuwagata)

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  Title Screen (Kabuto) Super Game Boy

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  Title Screen (Kuwagata) Super Game Boy

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  Super Game Boy Border (Kabuto)

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  Super Game Boy Border (Kuwagata)

See also

• Medarot 1 Parts Collection
• Medarot 1 Parts Collection 2
• Medarot 1 (manga)

Notes

• Medarot 1's characters are primarily named after agriculture. The main characters (Hikaru, Yuuki, Paddy, etc) are named after rice and related processes, the Bad Kids are named after tractor brands, and the RoboRobo Gang executives after animals and conditions known to disrupt agricultural processes.

Medarot 1 links:   Medarots - Parts - Medals - Actions - Stats - Characters - Locations

Video Games View - Edit
Main series / Parts Collections	Medarot 1 (PC / PC2) - Medarot 2 (PC) - Medarot R (PC) - Medarot 3 (PC) - Medarot 4 Medarot 5 - Medarot DS - Medarot 7 - Medarot 8 - Medarot 9
Side games	Medarot Navi - Shingata Medarot - Medarot S: Unlimited Nova
Remakes	Medarot Perfect Edition - Medarot 2 Core
Action games	Metabee Shot - Medarot G - Medabots AX - Medarot Brave - Medarot Dual - Medarot Girls Mission
Collections	Medarot Classics - Medarot Classics Plus
Other games	Medarot Cardrobottle - Pocket Robottle - Robattle 3D - Medarotch