This is everything that comes in the kit.
Here's a good look at the robots.
While these two controllers, which control the right and left punching arms, are connected to each other, their connection to the bots is wireless.
As the robots land punches, they move around the ring, but the movement is totally controlled by the momentum of their punches.
The wireless motion controller doubles as a bot charging station.
The faster you move your hands, the faster the little bots punch.
Those wheels keep the Robots pretty mobile in the arena (or ring).
The robot head is where all the damage is registered.
Robot fight!
Modern society wants, heck, it demands that we get along and not fight.
We’re OK with that as long as we have access to a collection of products like TOMY’s Battroborg 3-in-1 Battle Arena (available at Toys R Us for $69.99). Too bad this otherwise entertaining wireless fighting game is hobbled by horrible instructions and limited entertainment value.
See also: Double Robot Wants to Take Over the Office, Not the World
Battroborg comes from a long line of fighting games, but this is one of the few that lets you wirelessly control pint-sized physical fighting bots. That’s right, where Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots let you stiffly punch your plastic opponent via a couple of push-button controls connected directly to Knock ‘Em’s stiff robots and unidirectional punching arms, Battroborg hands you a set of wireless controllers. Holding one in each hand (they’re connected with a cable), you rapidly punch the air, while your tiny bot moves forward and relentlessly pounds your opponent into submission.
Sounds like fun, right? However, the devil is in the details.
The toy, which features a gray plastic arena, two remote-controlled robots (Tomy sells additional bots, with controllers, for $34.97 apiece), stretchy ring rope, plastic ring posts and two sets of controllers, doesn’t exactly start off on the right foot.
If you plan on using the printed instructions to help you set up the game or even figure out how to play it, be sure to get your magnifying glass. Printed in seven languages, the text is stupefyingly small. I eventually put aside the instructions and figured out the set-up on my own.
As I mentioned, the controllers come in two tethered parts. One gets four double AA batteries. You install them and then attach the Battroborg robot to it to charge. Before doing so, you have to make sure the tiny switch on the robot and the larger one on the controller are in the “off” position. It takes roughly 20 minutes to charge the robots — be sure to charge both at once if you want to battle.
With that done, you place the robots in the ring, preferably facing each other. Turn on the controller and robot and they’ll automatically pair (a nice touch). You’ll hear a chime and see the light on the bot turn green.

Now you’re ready to box. Each controller has two parts, because each side controls a hand. Punch forward with your left hand and the robot’s left arm punches — straight out like your old-school Rock ‘Em Sock 'Em bots. Throw a right jab and the robot’s right hand pokes forward. You also use the motions to control the direction and movement of each bot. As you punch right, the robot turns right. Rapid punches with both hands moves your Battroborg forward. During battle, the robots do give and receive damage. A solid punch to the robot head takes away “points.” A green light indicates full health, blue means you've sustained some damage, white and yellow a bit more, red you’re in real trouble, and flashing red along with a sound means you’ve been knocked out. The light colors are accompanied by a series of synchronized controller sounds that also indicate the state of your robot’s health. The fight is usually over within a matter of a few minutes. To reset the robot, you press its mask into its face for a couple of seconds. When the two Battroborgs are facing each other, this can be fun and exciting. However, since your position control is mostly based on where momentum takes you, it’s not unusual for each robot to be facing the wrong way. The good news is you can punch your way out of almost any position. Of course, this did not stop me for punching the other Battroborg in the back of the head. If you don’t like breaking a sweat, you can put the Battroborgs into Autopilot mode, which will let the robots battle to the “death” for two minutes. The third play option is Tag mode. Setup for either of these modes is way too complex. Instead of a switch or button, both modes require you to perform a series of steps, including holding the game mode buttons, shaking the small controller and pressing each Battrobot’s face. None of this ever worked properly for me. Overall, Battroborg is entertaining, but a somewhat premium price, lack of full directional control and confusing and nearly unreadable instructions make this game a few punches shy of a knockout. The Lowdown The Good: The next logical step in toy boxing evolution. Lots of fun when you’re boxing face-to-face. The Bad: It should get an award for printing the world's tiniest instructions. A little pricey. The Bottom Line: There’s certainly some entertainment value here, but Tomy should simplify the instructions, lower the price and turn the fight options into a set of easy-to-use switches. Then it’ll have a knockout toy. Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments. Image: Mashable Topics: Gadgets, Tech, toys
Now you’re ready to box. Each controller has two parts, because each side controls a hand. Punch forward with your left hand and the robot’s left arm punches — straight out like your old-school Rock ‘Em Sock 'Em bots. Throw a right jab and the robot’s right hand pokes forward. You also use the motions to control the direction and movement of each bot. As you punch right, the robot turns right. Rapid punches with both hands moves your Battroborg forward.
During battle, the robots do give and receive damage. A solid punch to the robot head takes away “points.” A green light indicates full health, blue means you've sustained some damage, white and yellow a bit more, red you’re in real trouble, and flashing red along with a sound means you’ve been knocked out. The light colors are accompanied by a series of synchronized controller sounds that also indicate the state of your robot’s health. The fight is usually over within a matter of a few minutes. To reset the robot, you press its mask into its face for a couple of seconds.
When the two Battroborgs are facing each other, this can be fun and exciting. However, since your position control is mostly based on where momentum takes you, it’s not unusual for each robot to be facing the wrong way. The good news is you can punch your way out of almost any position. Of course, this did not stop me for punching the other Battroborg in the back of the head.
If you don’t like breaking a sweat, you can put the Battroborgs into Autopilot mode, which will let the robots battle to the “death” for two minutes. The third play option is Tag mode. Setup for either of these modes is way too complex. Instead of a switch or button, both modes require you to perform a series of steps, including holding the game mode buttons, shaking the small controller and pressing each Battrobot’s face. None of this ever worked properly for me.
Overall, Battroborg is entertaining, but a somewhat premium price, lack of full directional control and confusing and nearly unreadable instructions make this game a few punches shy of a knockout.
The Good:
The next logical step in toy boxing evolution.
Lots of fun when you’re boxing face-to-face.
The Bad:
It should get an award for printing the world's tiniest instructions.
A little pricey.
The Bottom Line:
There’s certainly some entertainment value here, but Tomy should simplify the instructions, lower the price and turn the fight options into a set of easy-to-use switches. Then it’ll have a knockout toy.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Image: Mashable