Robot Ponkottsu: Sun Version is a Japanese monster-collecting role-playing game released by Hudson in 1998, one of three versions (Sun, Star and the later Moon). The player builds a team of robots, the Robopon, and battles through a story-driven adventure, a genre far removed from a puzzle game or a virtual pet.
Its real interest is the hardware. The cartridge uses Hudson's HuC-3 chip, which combines GB KISS infrared with a real-time clock and a small built-in buzzer, so the module can keep time and chime an alarm from inside the cartridge itself. Labelled Game Boy Compatible, it runs on the original DMG-01 as well as the Game Boy Color. The later North American release, Robopon Sun (Atlus, 2000), keeps the same chip but drops the Japanese GB KISS file system.
More from the Museum's Journal: Pocket Bomberman, Pocket Family and Robopon: Three Cartridges That Taught the DMG-01 New Tricks.
