Developer: CreSpirit
Publisher: Sekai Project
Genre: 2D Side-Scrolling Platformer / Metroidvania
Release Date: January 28th, 2016
One part rabbit, one part fairy, and then throw in the kitchen sink. Developer CreSpirit and publisher Sekai Project team up to bring one hell of a metroidvania-like game entitled Rabi-Ribi. You begin the game trapped in a box, having been swooped away from your home while sleeping. Oh, and you’ve been turned into a human. That’s right. You’re a real bunny girl, swimsuit and all. You soon meet a fairy named Ribbon and your adventures begin! Many thanks to Sekai Project for the review key.
Bunny Girl? Check. Fairies? Check. Catgirl? Check. Ancient Egyptian princess? Check. Little girl mad scientist? Check. Maids? Check. Fake rabbit-obsessed bunny girls? Check. If this list hasn’t already convinced you, Rabi-Ribi has a character for just about everyone. And you fight them all at least once. YES. YOU EVEN FIGHT YOURSELF. This game does not skimp on the battles, nor the “moe” (if you don’t know what that is, look up “moe anime”. Sadly, that’s the best way I can describe it to you in one set of parenthesis). With loads of characters, there are also loads of enemies. You will never run out of things to fight, because leaving an area and coming back to it makes all the enemies respawn instantly. If you want to farm, you can farm, or you can just keep running through to the boss battle. It’s all up to you.
Character customization…. Isn’t that big of a deal. Yes, you don’t get to dress up Erina (our bunny girl) or Ribbon in funny cosplay outfits (though there are plenty of otaku in one area of the game for you to beat up on for taking your picture without permission), but you don’t really feel that you’re missing out on that. It would be cool, but it’s not needed as other parts of character customization are done very well. Throughout the game, you can collect badges to put on your pack that boosts certain abilities. You can buy potions that boost certain stats and gain items through gameplay that help you progress through the game. Ribbon can learn different colors/styles of magic that you can switch between in battle and play how you want! Or you can go around and bop everyone with your hammer. Your choice.
Rabi-Ribi is definitely a pretty game… in more than one way. *hehehe* *cough* Anyway, the game runs super smoothly and loads surprisingly well at times. On the other hand, sometimes the game can make everything run in slow motion as if it is choking on itself. However, those moments are few and far between and may even be fixed by the time you read this. Those minor issues aside, the menu and default controller controls are fantastic. Default keyboard controls could use some work to accommodate most keyboard players (such as on default using WASD for Up, Left, Down and Right). Luckily, you can easily remap both the keyboard and controller commands to your preferences.
The story mode of Rabi-Ribi is quite enjoyable and the adventure that unfolds in front of you feels unique and fresh. You can unlock the gallery and two more modes (Speed Run and Boss Rush) as you game and that adds a ton of replay value to the game. Even after you beat the story, you can find loads of reasons to keep playing Rabi-Ribi, such as collecting all the CGs (like in a visual novel!), collecting all the items/badges, finding new secret areas, speedrunning the game, and so much more. You may even find yourself addicted to the game. Or not. You don’t have to play it over and over again; you just have the option to do so. There might be a wonderful surprise for you if you do!
To summarize, Rabi-Ribi is a platform adventure game with loads of humor. Controls are simple to understand and easy to remap if you need to do so. The gameplay is utterly fun and nearly addicting. It runs smoothly in and out of boss battles and even though you revisit so many places, it’s still exciting. I can’t recommend the game enough as I had a blast playing it before release and will continue to have a blast playing it for the days to come. Rabi-Ribi is definitely a release that will please long-time platformer fans and newcomers alike. I highly recommend this on your wishlist. I don’t normally play platformers, but found myself wanting to play Rabi-Ribi more each day that I opened it. I even farmed an area for more in-game currency for shop items. This game is really, really, a thousand more reallies, really fun. The price hasn’t been announced yet but will be edited into this review after it is.
Lolinia gives Rabi-Ribi a Drastik Measure 9.5 out of 10.0 (95).
P.S. FIRST THEY GIVE ME A CYCLOPS FETISH AND NOW A FAIRY FETISH! STAHP IT, SEKAI. STAHP.
