"There's no need for a "replacement." But when I see your innocence, it makes me want to protect you. I'll keep protecting you and your family, Aya. You can count on that."
- Robin to Aya during a flashback
Robin - initially referred to as just the "Blonde-Haired Boy" - is a major character in the game, and is initially believed to be one of the test subjects revived during Monika's curse. Throughout Aya's adventure, Robin tries to get her to come with him so that they can flee from the mansion together.
Appearance[]
Robin is a young boy with blonde hair, and light-brown eyes. While he initially isn't seen wearing it, he later sports bandages bounded around his head that conceal his right eye, which is missing its eyeball thanks to Alfred taking it away. His attire consists of a white-collared shirt that is slightly stained with blood, as well as brown pants with straps over his shoulder.
During his only flashback, Robin is shown to look about the same as he does now, albeit with his right eyeball intact and his white-collared shirt being rather clean and spotless.
Personality[]
Robin is shown to be a rather stoic young man, and is rather mature for his age. It's likely this is due to an incident in his past, which resulted in the death of his parents and his sister, which forced him to look at life a little differently. Robin appears to love his departed family dearly - especially his little sister, whom he regrets being unable to save - as he did not wish to view Alfred or Aya as replacements for them.
In spite of his maturity, Robin is shown to have some naivety. When he first tries to get Aya to follow him, he never considered the possibility that Aya would be afraid of him upon noticing he was missing an eye, though after that happens, he makes sure to cover up his empty eye socket with bandages. An Old Man also implies that he's too trusting towards Monika, who he thinks is simply using the young boy to further her own agenda.
Robin is shown to be very determined and focused on his goals, as he promised a sleeping Aya that he would do his best to protect her and her family. After he gets revived by Monika and asked to escape the mansion with Aya during the anniversary of Monika's death, he does what he can to try and do so, warning Aya of the dangers and trying to convince her that her quest to save her father is pointless. At the game's climax, he asks Aya to never forget the people that suffered under Alfred, as all of them were ignored and forgotten by the world at large.
IF Mode reveals that, while his revival has nothing to do with Monika's curse - since he was revived before that - he chooses to have Aya and Maria believe that it is, as he feels if they knew the truth, they would make him pay. He also doesn't want to drag them down since they're trying to move forward with their lives. This may imply he doesn't think too highly of himself.
History[]
Prior to Mad Father[]
Not much is known about Robin's past, but what is known is that he loved his family deeply. At some point, an unknown-yet-horrible accident occurs that takes away the lives of his parents and his sister, leaving him an orphan. Afterwards, Alfred took him in to work at his mansion, and insists to the young boy to view him and his daughter as family. Robin was very reluctant to do so, as he felt no one could replace his family. Before he leaves elsewhere, he begins to hear Aya sing a song, and decides to listen to her for a bit.
Some time later, he finds Aya sleeping in the Mansion 1F West Hallway. He tries to wake her up, concerned she'd catch a cold, but upon hearing her mumble "Mother... I love you..." he decides to get her a blanket instead and sits next to her. He begins to reminisce, noting that she is a bit like his sister, and wishes he could've saved her. After hearing Aya cry out for her mother to not leave her, he realizes she's lost someone too, and promises her that he'll do her best to protect her and her family. It can be assumed he eventually left to let Aya sleep in peace.
Before he can interact with Aya again, Alfred ends up using him as part of his new experiment and pulls out his right eye, which kills him. As he lay in the bed located in the Basement 3F Left Private Room, Monika, who was the late-wife of Alfred, arrives as a ghost and saves him. At the Basement 2F Chapel. Monika instructs him to, on the anniversary of her death, find her daughter Aya and flee the mansion with her. She then kisses his forehead and says "May you be smiled upon." Robin presumably goes into hiding as he waits for the day to arrive.
During the events of Mad Father[]
On the eve of Monika Drevis's death at the stroke of midnight, Monika would return and place a curse on the mansion, reviving all of the test subjects Alfred had killed. When Aya is about to be attacked by two of the revived corpses during her investigation to see if her father was alright, Robin calls out to her and tells her to follow his voice. Once she enters the Mansion 2F East Hallway, Robin urges the young girl to follow him. However, after Aya notices he's missing an eye, she runs away from him in fear. Presumably, he then leaves to bandage his head and cover up his empty eye socket as to not frighten her.
Later on, after Aya was almost choked to death by a Test Subject, Robin finds her and takes her out of the room and into the Basement 2F Chapel. When she comes to, he tries to convince her flee with him, but she refuses, as she's adamant about saving her dad. As he tries to convince her about how dangerous and pointless it is, Maria arrives and throws some knives at him, mistakenly believing he was trying to harm Aya.
Before Aya leaves, she decides to check on him. He feebly cries for her to not go, then shows her a vision of when he was adopted into the Drevis family. Afterwards, he passes out. At some point after Aya jumps into the portal to the Other World, a mysterious man named Ogre finds him and gives the young man some mysterious medicine so that Robin's knife wounds would quickly heal before leaving.
In the True Ending, Robin makes his final appearance during the climax of the story. While Maria and Aya are mourning the death of Alfred after Maria tossed some knives at him to save Aya, the mad doctor makes a swift recovery and attempts to off both of them. However, Robin manages to save them by killing Alfred in the nick of time. Afterwards, Aya faints from shock and exhaustion.
Afterwards, Aya recovers and thanks him for saving them. Robin tells her there's no need, as he was only doing what her mother asked of him, and apologizes for scaring her earlier. He then informs her not to be sad, as Monika is always watching over her. Afterwards, Robin tells them a small fib, claiming to Aya and Maria that he'll disappear soon due to Monika's curse slowly dispelling. But before he vanishes, he'll set fire to the mansion to ensure no one else can use the Drevis family research to hurt more people. He then asks Aya to remember her father's victims, since their existence would be forgotten otherwise. After Aya promises to do so, Robin sets the mansion ablaze, then approaches Aya and kisses her on the forehead, saying "Goodbye, Aya. May you be smiled upon." He then watches Aya, Maria, and Aya's pet rabbit Snowball exit the mansion before he heads out a bit later as well.
During the events of IF Mode[]
After Robin saves Maria and Aya from Alfred, Aya passes out. Robin and Maria decide to take the young girl back to her bedroom so she can rest a bit. Inside, Robin and Maria have a short discussion, with Maria apologizing for attacking him early on. After hearing Aya mumble in her sleep about asking Maria to stay with her. Maria wonders what the three of them should do now, Robin claims that Monika's curse was the only thing keeping him alive, and now that she's gone, he'll be returning to his eternal rest with the others soon. Maria laments being unable to help him, but Robin assures her he always knew this was his fate, and he's okay with it. Robin then decides to rest for a bit in another room, since he feels awkward to be staying in a girl's room, but before he leaves, he asks Maria to live and protect Aya, as that was Monika's wish for her.
In the Mansion 1F Reception Room, he meets with Monika's ghost, who thanks him for fulfilling her request. She then asks him to say goodbye to Aya for her in her place, since she feels she no longer has the right to face her anymore. Robin tries to ask Monika why she chose to save him in specific, but she leaves before he can. Robin decides to not dwell on the matter, and just gives her a simple "Thank you."
In the Mansion 1F Bathroom, Robin encounters an Old Man, who assumes the young boy was invited to work at the Drevis Mansion as a servant like him. The old man reveals that Monika and Alfred actually intended for him to be a servant for their family and weren't intending to use him as raw materials, but once he learned the truth of what the family does, he attempted to flee as far away as he could in secret. However, Monika had known about his escape plans from the start, and managed to catch up to him and kill him. Noting how sharp she is, the Old Man then implies to Robin that she brainwashed Alfred, as well as the blonde boy himself for her own selfish goals. Robin refuses to think ill of her, as he believes the feelings she has for her daughter are genuine, to which the Old Man scoffs at before telling to believe what he likes.
At the Mansion 1F Cafeteria, Robin meets with Ogre, who is impressed that Robin recovered swiftly. Robin asks him who he is, since Ogre doesn't appear to live in the mansion, nor is he a test subject, to which Ogre claims he's just a wandering salesman. Ogre then admits to Robin how he enjoyed witnessing the many crazy events that happened throughout the night, and how far some people would go for love. Taken by surprise from this, Robin asks him what his end goal is. Ogre admits he has none, and simply enjoys observing "deranged humans" while revealing that he isn't really human. When Robin attempts to attack him, Ogre teleports behind him, and reveals he enjoys observing virtuous human as well, since a world of lunatics wouldn't be very entertaining. That's also why Ogre chose to revive the young kid instead of letting him die, asking him to stand against the madmen of the world before leaving.
As he heads back out to the Mansion 1F Entrance, he overhears Aya, who's apologizing to her pet rabbit for forgetting about him after she was concerned about being all alone, to which Maria muses that Snowball is an important member of their new family as well. Robin then approaches the three, happy to see that Aya is alright. Aya gives a shy response before running off, which Maria apologizes for. Maria then tells Robin that she and Aya have decided to leave the mansion to start a new life elsewhere, before noticing how serious Robin looks. He then tells her to be weary of "the red-eyed man in the black coat," feeling that he might put Aya's life in danger, which Maria promises to bear in mind.
After that, Robin sets the mansion ablaze to ensure that no one else can use the Drevis Family research to hurt more people, after which he gives Aya a kiss on the forehead, wishing her eternal happiness. He then watches Aya, Maria, and Snowball exit the mansion before he heads out a bit later as well.
Outside, Robin laments returning to a lonely life again, but views his time at the Mansion as his salvation for failing to rescue his sister, grateful that Monika revived him. He then notes to himself that he won't forget the people who suffered either as he prepares to set off. However, a rather old-looking doll, who was hiding behind a tree, asks him why he isn't tagging along with Aya and Maria. He tells her that he feels they'd make him pay if they knew he was actually alive, and that he doesn't want to drag them down since they're trying to move forward. The doll then asks if he believes in the "threads of fate," suggesting that he might cross paths with them again, to which he doesn't deny could happen.
She then asks what he would do if he found out she's continuing her father's research. Robin is initially taken off-guard by this question, but states he believes Aya wouldn't since she knows the subjects' pain more than anyone. The doll then points out that she said "if", and again asks what he would do, to which he responds he would try to stop her as best he as he could. The doll then wishes him luck if that scenario were to happen before deciding to rest near a tree, since the curse is about to finally fade away. Robin then wishes the doll a good night before leaving to parts unknown.
During the events of Blood Mode[]
While Robin doesn't make a physical appearance, a few illusions of him appear throughout the recreation of the infamous night that changed Aya's life.
Upon the much-older Aya's soul arriving in this world, exiting her bedroom, and re-encountering the two corpses that she first encountered during the night, Robin calls out to her to follow his voice to the Mansion 2F East Hall. Upon arriving, Aya is happy to reunite with him, telling him that she never forgot her promise to him. However, as he is nothing more than an illusion, he simply repeats what he said during their first encounter before vanishing, which makes Aya wonder how her life would've turned out had she followed him back then instead of running away.
A second illusion of Robin, along with Monika's ghost, is encountered at the Basement 2F Chapel, Monika informs Robin to protect Aya for her, as he's the only one she can count on. She then gives Robin's forehead a kiss before saying "May you be smiled upon."
The third and final illusion of Robin makes an appearance at the Basement 3F Private Room (right-side), this time from an earlier event before the scene at the Chapel. After Alfred took out Robin's eye, Monika's ghost appears and notes that Robin can't cross over to the afterlife just yet, so she revives him.
Relationships[]
Aya Drevis[]
In-game artwork of Robin carrying Aya.
When Robin first met Aya, he wasn't eager to view her as his new "little sister" as he didn't want to have a replacement for his former sister. However, upon learning that she lost someone close to her too, he decides to do his best to protect her and her family to ensure she doesn't suffer that again.
After getting revived from the dead, he attempts to get Aya to flee with him on the orders of Aya's mother, Monika. Ultimately, in the game's True Ending, he rescues her - and Maria - at the last second from Alfred. Afterwards, before he burns the mansion down, he asks her to never forget the people who suffered under her father. In IF Mode, it's revealed that he has grown quite fond of Aya, though ultimately he chooses to not journey with her or Maria, feeling he'd be dragging them down.
On Aya's part, she was initially scared of him - since he was missing an eye - but after he covered it up with bandages, she wasn't as bothered by him. Its later implied in IF Mode that she's grown a small crush on him, as she becomes incredibly shy around him. By Blood Mode, when she encounters an illusion of him, she initially thinks he's the real deal until he leaves, making her solemnly wonder how different her life would've turned out had she followed him.
Alfred Drevis[]
Initially, Robin was somewhat fond of Alfred, due to the man taking him in to live and work at the Drevis Mansion, though Robin was reluctant to view Alfred as his "new father". Once Alfred revealed his true colors and killed him, Robin lost any and all respect he had for the mad doctor, so much so that he attempts to inform Aya that rescuing Alfred is pointless.
Monika Drevis[]
Robin looks up to and greatly trusts Monika, due to her reviving him when he was teetering on the edge of life and death. When she gave him the mission of fleeing the mansion with Aya, he agrees to do so. When an old man begins badmouthing her, he defends her by saying that the love she has for her daughter Aya is genuine.
For her part, Monika seems to trust him, so much so that during IF Mode, she asks Robin to give her parting words to Aya since she feels she can't face her daughter anymore. However, Monika may simply be using him to accomplish her goals and may not actually care about him, as implied by the aforementioned old man.
Maria[]
Initially, Robin unintentionally gets on Maria's bad side, as she mistakenly assumes he was trying to hurt Aya when he was trying to convince her to flee with him, resulting in him getting pelted by her knives. In spite of that, he still saves her and Aya from Alfred when the mad doctor attempts to off the two of them. Following that, Maria realizes her earlier mistake, and apologizes for attacking him. After Robin fibs and claims he's only alive due to Monika's curse, she expresses regret at being unable to do anything to repay him for rescuing her and Aya, though he assures her not to worry about it.
Ogre[]
While Aya is off in the Other World, and later chooses to rescue Maria after Alfred betrays her, Ogre comes across Robin lying on the floor in the Basement 2F Chapel. The man gives Robin some mysterious medicine so that the wounds he got from Maria's thrown knives would get quickly and fully healed, This allows Robin to arrive at the last second and rescue Aya and Maria from Alfred.
During IF Mode, though he expresses gratitude for Ogre rescuing him, he becomes curious about who the man is, since he doesn't appear to be a resident of the mansion, let alone one of Alfred's subjects. Once Ogre reveals his true colors to Robin, the young boy quickly takes a disliking to him, so much so that he decides to warn Maria about him in secret.
Trivia[]
- Prior to the Steam release, as well as the 2020 remake, Robin did not have an official name, being referred to only as "The Blonde-Haired Boy" in Japan. Many Niconico fans began calling him "Dio" after a character in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure due to their similar appearances. When translating the original version of the game, VGPerson went with the fan nickname because she knew he would become a popular character within the fandom and had to call him something.
- That being said, in the first Steam announcement for the 2020 remake, Robin is referred to as "Dio" within the post.
- Due to Robin not showing up in either of the Bad Endings, it can be presumed that Ogre only chooses to rescue him if Aya chooses to rescue Alfred (instead of letting her mother Monika take him away with her to the afterlife), as well as if she chooses to save Maria after Alfred betrays her. Otherwise Ogre leaves Robin for dead.
Gallery[]
