One nice surprise on the show floor is a brief demo of Chibi Robo. This cute little title puts you in control of a very small cylinder-shaped robot with a plug coming out of his back side. He’s basically a toy that also doubles as a housekeeper. The plug can drag behind Chibi Robo or you can pick it up to move more quickly or plug it into sockets that either charge Chibi Robo’s battery or drain it to open doors or raise ladders. Your battery continually uses power, so you’ll need to plug in to a walk socket every so often to keep going.

The ultimate goal of Chibi Robo is to keep your family happy. You accomplish this by scrubbing the floors, feeding crumbs to the fish, picking up paper and putting it in the trash or putting on costumes to amuse the little girl. As you complete various tasks, you’ll earn hearts (Happy Points) and money. You’ll also find junk scattered through the living room, which can be used to build devices later on.

Several costumes are available in the demo, all of which are very cute. There is a frog suit, a dog costume with the body of the dog extending from the back of Chibi Robo’s head, a super hero costume, and a hilarious patient costume, with poor Chibi Robo all bandaged and in casts.

Chibi Robo also has an array of tools at his disposal. The Chibi Copter allows him to extend his jumps, but at this current stage, doesn’t give Chibi Robo any lift and only works for a short time. There is a toothbrush, which is used to clean up spots on the floor, a cup that lets Chibi Robo hide Metal Gear Solid style, a spoon which may be able to dig or flip objects, and a ray gun that is used to attack the mysterious metal spiders that are attacking Chibi Robos everywhere.

Chibi Robo boasts a style that kids will probably love, but even many adults may not be able to resist his charm. Even in the demo there is a wide array of quirky characters, including the family and some of the children’s toys. Music plays whenever you walk or use certain items like the toothbrush.

The biggest surprise is that it seems Nintendo may be planning to bring Chibi Robo to the US, and I can’t wait to find out when that will be. Chibi Robo has already found his way into my heart.