Metroidvania meets bullet-hell in this surprise hit…
Dodge bullets, missiles, and lasers in battle as you wrap your head around that bunny girl costume! Combo away with your mighty Piko Hammer or spam various spells from afar with your fiery fairy friend. Explore and explode through Rabi-Rabi Island as you collect power-ups and uncover secrets.
I had no idea what to expect when I first started playing Rabi-Ribi. It has a typical anime look to it through its cutscenes, including scantily-clad characters wearing bunny or cat ears and then the game began with what can only be described as Metroidvania meets Bullet-hell…
As with Metroid, Rabi-Ribi allows you to find upgrades across the world and has areas you will need to backtrack to in order to access them, while the 2D side-scrolling world looks Kirby-esque in its look. The game is misleading in these as you would expect it to be relatively easy to beat, but you’d be dead wrong. The bullet-hell moments of combat can be incredibly intense, perhaps too much for some players. But if you can get through them, then you’ll be rewarded with one of the best games in the genre.
The story itself is pretty decent too, especially if you are an anime fan…it’ll fit right in as one of the more interesting stories. Your character can attack with a hammer up-close or use spells from afar, while exploring the island, beating various bosses and collecting upgrades Metroid style. It helps that it also looks pretty neat too for a 2D side-scroller.
The Verdict
Make no mistake…Rabi-Ribi is one challenging game, but one that is well worth overcoming. It’s addictive, fun and a nice homage to the Metroid series and the bullet-hell genre. I hope we get a sequel of some sort down the line…