Whatever Happened to Medabots?

Medabots, or Medarot in Japan, was one of those series that was incredibly popular in the early 2000s. In the UK, it gained its popularity due to the anime, which aired on Fox Kids in 2002. The plot was simple: in the 22nd century, many people have a Medabot partner, but Ikki, our protagonist, can’t have one as they cost too much money. After finding a medal in the river, he and Henry (Hikaru in Japanese) build Metabee from a bunch of old parts, and we then follow him and Metabee — whose medal is revealed to be rare, so people are after him — on their adventures.

It’s hard to describe how popular Medabots was in the UK. I distinctly remember toys of Metabee and Rokusho in the Argos (a UK retailer that sells a bit of everything) catalogue, and there were games. In fact, I especially remember having them on the Game Boy Advance. Likely, one of the Medabots: Metabee and Rokusho games. These titles were remakes of Medarot 2, which was only released in Japan, and I get why these were the ones they released, as they solidly focused on Ikki as the protagonist as opposed to Henry/Hikaru, who was the hero of the first game.

They were just 2D top-down RPGs, and while exploring the World Map, you could battle other Medafighters (those who battled with Medabots), and you could win medals, parts, and money. By all accounts, it was an okay game; I enjoyed it as much as any kid would. After all, I was only seven or eight when Medabots Metabee Version & Rokusho Version came out in the UK.

Medabots: Infinity came out in Europe in 2004, and according to reviews, the Nintendo GameCube game wasn’t much to shout home about. From what I could find, kids had gone missing in this narrative, and so Ikki needs to stop the Rubberobo Gang (the antagonists of the series) to find them. With 3D graphics, Ikki and Metabee need to fight others in three-on-three stages or a one-on-one battle.

Considering the anime had stopped airing in the UK by 2004, Medabots Infinity not doing well probably didn’t help matters. There was also Medabots AX: Metabee and Rokusho, but those were essentially enhanced re-releases from 2002, and so, by the time the TV series ended, it’s likely that they didn’t really want to bother releasing anything for a show that had by then run its course in the eyes of the media.

However, in Japan, Medarot had far more. Of the three games released in the UK, there were a total of 27 released in Japan. The series began with the first Medarot in 1997, followed by the Medarot: Perfect Edition for the WonderSwan in 1999. The mainline series had nine numbered entries in total, but also had enhanced editions released. Following the ninth entry, there were Medarot Classics and Medarot Classics Plus, which were released for the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch, respectively. But when were they released? Well, Classics Plus was released in 2020.

I’ll note that the Medabots spin-offs included the Parts Collection, which were supplementary games for some of the main series. From what I found out, the AX title was in fact a way to follow a closer storyline to the anime than Metabee and Rokusho. The last spin-off released was Medarot: Girls Mission, which actually sounds amazing. A 3DS game where there’s an all-female cast, visual novel elements, and… mild sexual content? Medabots? Why is there stripping in this game about robot fights?

On second thought, I see why that was the last spin-off. Since then, the series has been relegated to the world of mobile. Medarot S: Unlimited Nova was released in 2020 in Japan, and eventually released in the West as Medabots Survivors. Hence, when I pitched this article, we didn't think that we needed to ask what happened, but reviews of the game are… mixed.

While this has been more of a nostalgic exploration of where the series went on my part, it did disappoint me. After all, I remember loving the anime as a kid, and I remember how much I wanted to know about the Phantom Renegade (the games would have supplied me so much more info, even though I know who he is), and further information would inevitably have been supplied to me on the wiki.

Imagineer is the central publisher of the Medabots franchise in Japan, and while I’m happy that they’re still supplying content (even if it’s mobile only), I have my doubts about the release of any mainline games. After all, since 2010, the mainline entries were developed by Delta Arts, and considering the studio shut down during Medarot 9? Well… Natsume Co had developed the GBA titles; they tend to work more with Bandai Namco Entertainment these days, so it’s unlikely they’ll want to return.

Considering Medarot Girls Mission was published by Rocket Company before they were absorbed by Imagineer, and I haven’t been able to find anything about Engines and KUROGANE, who developed it (only the Jupiter Corporation, who assisted, but they’re primarily known for Picross titles), I’m not even sure if we’ll get any spin-offs for consoles anymore. While Girls Mission was quite positively received, some fans were (understandably) confused by the amount of fanservice. But, otherwise, it was still a fun game from what I heard.

Albeit, now it’s 2026. Medabots Survivors is now out in the UK, and there hasn’t been any inkling of a new title since then. It looks like it’s just living the mobile life now, and it’s a shame, because there are numerous fans who would love to get the chance to play all the other games.

I just want to beg for localisation of the Classics Plus collection, so I can at least play the first five games. Please. Imagineer. I beg of you. Give us something.