R.O.B.

R.O.B. (short for Robotic Operating Buddy) is an accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System who has recently made appearances in a few Mario games. In Japan, it was known as the Famicom Robot, which was short for Family Computer Robot. R.O.B. functions by translating flashes of information on the television screen into physical actions (using technology similar to the Zapper Gun). R.O.B. was first used for the game Gyromite.

Players could control R.O.B. with the control pad to make him raise and lower gyroscopes. To make the gyroscope spin, the player must set the object in the gyroscope spinner and then balance it on one of the two round trays that are connected to controller two. Placing a gyro on the red tray lowers the red GATES; placing a gyro on the blue tray lowers the blue GATES.

R.O.B. is also the last unlockable character in Mario Kart DS. To unlock R.O.B., players have to win all of the Mirror Nitro or Retro Grand Prix cups. In the game, he is one of the heaviest characters, his weight matched only by Bowser. R.O.B's symbol is a purple NES D-Pad. R.O.B. has two original karts: the ROB-BLS and the ROB-LGS. His karts are fast, heavy, and have good handling, which is uncharacteristic of a heavy character.

R.O.B. did not return in Mario Kart Wii or Mario Kart 7.

Karts

 * ROB-BLS
 * Standard RB
 * ROB-LGS

Trivia

 * R.O.B. appears to steer his kart by pointing his two arms in the direction the player is pressing on the + Control Pad.
 * R.O.B. is the first non-Mario character to appear in the main Mario Kart games. However, the first non-Mario character to appear in the entire series is Pac-Man.
 * In the Japanese and Korean versions of Mario Kart DS, HVC-012, the original Famicom robot, takes R.O.B.'s place.