Solatorobo: Red the Hunter, originally released in Japan as Soratorobo -Sore Kara Kōda e- (ソラトロボ -それからCODAへ-, lit. Solatorobo: And Then, to CODA, with "Solatorobo" being Japanese for "Sky and Robot") is an action role-playing video game developed by CyberConnect2 for the Nintendo DS. Originally released in Japan by Bandai Namco Games in October 2010, an English version was released by Nintendo for Europe in July 2011 and Australia the following November, with a North American release in September by Xseed Games. It is the spiritual sequel to Tail Concerto, and, like its predecessor, features artwork and character designs by manga artist Nobuteru Yūki and music by Chikayo Fukuda. The game includes animated cutscenes produced by Madhouse, as well as vocal themes performed by Tomoyo Mitani.

Set in a steampunk fantasy world of floating sky islands populated by anthropomorphic dogs and cats dubbed "Caninu" and "Felineko" respectively (lit. "イヌヒト" and "ネコヒト" / "dog people" and "cat people"), the game focuses on a canine freelance adventurer named Red Savarin who pilots a flying mecha. On a seemingly ordinary task to fetch a stolen file, he encounters a mysterious young Felineko named Elh, and becomes involved in a series of events that reveal the hidden truth of the origin of his world and those who live in it.

Solatorobo is an action role-playing game where players control Red, an adventurer who pilots his own small mecha equipped with long arms that can grab and throw objects or enemies. Red can throw enemies into one another, as well as repeatedly toss and re-throw the same enemy in a combo to deal extra damage. Each time an enemy is defeated, Red gains experience points that allow him to gain levels, making him stronger and increasing his health. His mecha can be upgraded and customized by purchasing parts with currency called "rings", which consist of simple geometric shapes that fit into slots unlocked by finding "P. Crystals" throughout the game. As the story progresses, he gains new offensive abilities such as swinging an opponent around or firing projectiles. The player may also allow Red to exit his machine at any time, giving him the ability to swim, climb ladders, activate panels or switches, and immobilize enemies with his stun gun.

Players advance the story by making it to the end of each new area, often solving puzzles and defeating enemies along the way. In addition to the main narrative, players must also complete a number of side quests to increase their "hunter rank", allowing them to gain access to new parts of the main storyline. A total of 83 quests exist in the game, which often require the player to find items, perform tasks for townsfolk, or play minigames. While 12 of these quests were only available as downloadable content in the Japanese and PAL versions,^[5] the North American release contains all of them on the game card from the start. The game also includes a multiplayer racing mode called Air Robo GP, which can be played over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Solatorobo was first teased in 2007 by an artwork on CyberConnect2's website. The game was later revealed in March 2010 under the title "Solarobo" by the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu with the release coinciding with the 15th anniversary of the studio. Part of the staff working on the title include Hiroshi Matsuyama and Takayuki Isobe as the directors, Nobuteru Yūki, who previously worked for Tail Concerto, as the character designer, Yoshitake Taniguchi of Super Robot Wars fame for mecha designs, and Madhouse for the opening movie. The game was presented at Japan Expo 2010 in France under the title "Project Coda". The demo was translated into French, which raised rumors of a western release.^[18] A release for Europe (including Russia and Turkey) and other countries (South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand) was confirmed by Nintendo in April 2011, and was released on July 1, named Solatorobo: Red The Hunter.^[19] The game was released on October 28, 2010 in Japan with a normal and a collector's edition, the collector's edition includes an artbook, a soundtrack CD and a "Prelude disc" DVD for the purchase of the game.^[20] Namco Bandai aired 100 commercials of Solatorobo on 21 October on the TV channel Tokyo MX in an attempt to challenge a Guinness World Record.^[21]

Xseed Games released Solatorobo in North America on September 27, 2011.

The title received a total score of 33 out of 40 from Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu based on individual reviews of 9, 8, 8, and 8, earning it the publication's Gold Award.^[31] Initial sales were low in the region, however, with the game entering the Media Create software charts as the seventh most-bought title in its debut week with 21,915 copies,^[36] and it would go on to sell approximately 100,000 copies worldwide.^[37]

Solatorobo earned mostly positive ratings in Europe and North America, with a 75% average score on aggregate review website GameRankings,^[27] and a 76 out of 100 from Metacritic,^[28] and game's overall bright tone and presentation were generally praised by critics. Some, such as Nintendo Power, remarked that the title went against the then-current video game market trend of "brooding teenagers and grim space marines" calling it "a game that captures the bold, experimental spirit of the NES era with some of the finest production values seen on the Nintendo DS".^[35] However, criticism was reserved for its lack of challenge and over-abundance of dialogue, stating that "its 20-hour quest is padded with a few more conversation scenes than it needs".^[35] 1UP.com similarly felt that Solatorobo's pace was hindered by too much text, calling it "an excellently localized treat to read, full of life and never clumsy; unfortunately, the game's major issue is that it just doesn't know when to shut up".^[29] While reviewers such as Destructoid found the gameplay as a whole to be "repetitive" and "mediocre", it commented that Solatorobo's unique visual style and well-produced cutscenes could have been the foundation for an animated film.^[38]

Solatorobo was nominated for DS Game of the Year, Best Adventure Game, Best Story/Writing, Overall Game of the Year, and Best New Character for "Red the Hunter" in the 23rd annual Nintendo Power awards in 2011.^[39] The magazine would later rank the game as the 268th greatest title released for a Nintendo console in its December 2012 farewell issue.^[40] IGN would also nominate the game for "Best 3DS/DS Role-Playing Game" during its "Best of 2011" awards feature.^[41]

A light novel adaptation of Solatorobo named Red Data Children was published in Dragon Magazine. The novel is a prequel to the main game, taking place seven years before the title's main storyline, and was written by Daishi Kitayama and illustrated by Dmyo. In November 2012, CyberConnect2 president and CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama revealed at a Bandai Namco press event in Barcelona that his company was interested in developing a follow-up to Solatorobo, confirming they had a story ready despite no finalized platform or release window.^[42] The mobile phone game Little Tail Story, set in the same universe, was later released in Japan in March 2014, with Red Savarin making a cameo appearance as a playable character in a July 2014 event.^[43] That same year, characters from Solatorobo also appeared in the Japanese mobile game Road to Dragons by Acquire Corp.^[44]

A proper prequel, only titled Fuga: Melodies of Steel was teased by Hiroshi Matsuyama on the February 2018 issue of Famitsu as part of the Vengeance series. This game is set 700 years before the events of Solatorobo.^[45][46][47] The game was released in July 2021.