Rabi-Ribi

Rabi-Ribi is perhaps my favorite game that's impossible to recommend. It proves that you can make an excellent Metroidvania while being completely unbeholden to any of Metroid or Castlevania's aesthetics or conventions. But most people will take one look at the box art and screenshots and immediately disregard the game, waving it aside as a "gooner game." And it's easy for me to say that those people are wrong, and that the game's aesthetic has no bearing on its amazingly-executed exploration, fun and well-designed bosses, and incredible replayability. But, yes, this is a game filled with attractive female characters, most of whom have a personality the depth of a puddle, that it likes to flaunt repeatedly, and it's reasonable to be skeeved out by that.
However, Rabi-Ribi is not solely defined by its copious amount of anime boobs. It is, as I have alluded to, the best-designed Metroidvania you can play right now. Many people like to praise the genre for its nonlinearity and freedom of exploration, and this game maximizes on that quality. If you know what you're doing, you can go just about anywhere as soon as you're past the tutorial segments, and it's extremely gratifying to feel like you're breaking the game by being somewhere you're not supposed to yet. It's possible to beat the final boss with every item collected, or none at all.
That, of course, brings us to the bosses, which are also excellently constructed. Given that you can tackle most of them in just about any order, their attacks are designed so that you can make do with whatever moves you've acquired up to that point, and even if you're well prepared, you can still get crushed. But it never feels like you lost without putting up a fight, since you get a fair amount of hits you can take before going down, and there are healing items you can stock up on (if you'd like). The end-game bosses, however, pull no punches, and require you to use your entire moveset to the fullest to have any chance. The game uses its bullet-hell elements well here, using tons of projectiles to box out where you can and can't move to make problems with specific solutions in a way that a game without these elements couldn't.
The graphics and sound on display are... they're fine. The pixel-art is importantly always readable, but none of the sprites or compositions really stand out, and with how sprites are stretched and squashed, there are often pixels of different sizes next to each other, which can be distracting. The music, for the most part, is memorable, but not something I paid much attention to in play, or that I'd listen to on my own time, outside of a few strong tracks (usually the final boss tracks).
As I made mention of in the introduction, the story and character-writing are definitely the game's weakest aspects. Most of the characters don’t have any identifiable traits, and exist just as objectives, bosses to be fought. The story never gets much more complicated than the opening suggests: Erina has turned from bunny to bunny-girl, figure it out. I think there was supposed to be some deeper stuff in the later chapters, but the writing is so muddy that it was hard to tell. Neither of these aspects hamper the game much; it is squarely about the gameplay, and the narrative exists just to further that along.
Overall, though, Rabi-Ribi is truly a triumph of novel ideas in a genre that’s beginning to become oversaturated with so many games that are content to remake the classics without much re-interpretation, to stick to the template put down by SM and SotN so closely that they become unmemorable. Just another game to be played and forgotten. But Rabi-Ribi, and its developers, have not left my mind even nearly a decade after this game’s release. I was extremely hyped for TEVI, and I’m extremely excited for whatever it is that they’re working on right now.
9.5/10

Rabi-Ribi is a game where at first glance it might be hard to get an idea of what the game is about. Well... it's about bunny girls, and there is lots of them! This game is a bullet-hell metroidvania where you play as a cute bunny girl named Erina, with her cute companion Ribbion. Despite your initial impressions on this game, what if I told you that this is one of the best metroidvanias out there? I have put hundreds of hours into this game, and after getting all 220 achievements I figured I should write a quick review for anyone who wants to potentially try this game, and to explain my thoughts overall. I’ll split it up into what I found good about it, what I found bad about it, and what to consider if you end up giving this game a try!
Pros
- Absolutely great music
- Amazing gameplay and encourages replayability
- Many difficulty settings for casual play and people looking for a brutal challenge
- Unique and varied boss fights
- Many great locations to explore and many collectables to find
- Beautiful character design and art
- Pixel art is beautiful and still holds up despite being released about 10 years ago
The music in this game is really good, and there are a lot of great themes that fit the mood of the place you are in and the bosses you fight. The game is very open-ended and you can go pretty much anywhere if you have enough game knowledge, as there are lots of places you can go to earlier than normal. You can beat the main and post game with 0 upgrades or items for reference. The world is very expansive, and contains many collectibles in the form of progressive abilities or potions to increase your stats.
Cons
- Story is fairly average and serviceable at best
- Dialogue contains a lot of anime tropes that you either like or despise
- There are some bugs but very few; notably in the second Ashuri fight she sometimes just clips in the ground
- Character design might not be your cup of tea
- Not very accessible to colorblind individuals
The story is in my opinion the weakest part of the game, as it was more of an afterthought than anything, however it does what it’s supposed to do fairly well. The game plays very much into common anime tropes, which isn’t too surprising considering the game is based on you playing as a bunny girl in a world filled with cute girls... and more bunny girls! However, whether you like it or not is purely on preference. The same applies to the character design, as I can understand if you don’t like how the characters in this game are designed. Since this game is a bullet hell there are a lot of things to dodge, and this game likes to put these bullets as the same color as the background sometimes, and while I find it easy to differentiate it, it might be something that you should keep in mind.
Things to consider
- If you plan on getting this game, I would highly recommend also getting the “Rabi-Ribi: Is The Order a DLC” DLC as it adds 2 extra chapters and ties loose ends in the story
- There are 2 free DLCs you can get which include the Halloween content and the TEVI Collab Skin which add new skins and content for free
- If you enjoy the game enough only then would I recommend the “Cocoa mode + Before Next Adventure” DLC as it adds a whole separate playable character and 4 superbosses, and the artbook DLC which does contain some exclusive gameplay content as well.
Closing Thoughts
This review only takes a portion of my full thoughts, as this review would be many paragraphs long if I really wanted to get into everything I love about this game. However, if any part of this review has interested you at all, this is a game I highly recommend and think more people should play!
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TL;DR
Rabi-Ribi is a bullet-hell metroidvania and despite the quirky premise, it’s one of the best metroidvanias out there (in my opinion). This game has incredible music, deep replayability, challenging boss fights, beautiful character design and pixel art. The story is a bit average and leans heavily into anime tropes, which may not be for everyone, and there are minor bugs and accessibility issues. Recommended DLCs (as explained in the last section) expand the story and add new content but are not required to fully enjoy the game. If you're into metroidvanias and/or bullet hells, this game is a hidden gem worth checking out.

Metroidvania, but with a cute anime bunny girl—and platforming, bullet-hell bosses, and anime hijinks that bite back.

Usually I don't reviews without having achieved at least 80 percent of what a game has to offer but since this example is so vast in its potential content, I'd surely need hundreds of hours to get each achievement. So for those, who have more playtime than myself, the review might not do it justice.
I have played quite a lot of games from all kinds of genres, including the original Tomb Raider, Dark Souls, as well as pretty tight platformers such as Crash Bandicoot. So, while certainly not even being close to others in terms of sheer reflexes or brain power, I think I am valid to say that I need to have a bit of persistence to have finished or even completed said games.
Rabi-Ribi so far has the potential to be one of the hardest games I have had the pleasure of playing so far. So if you are walking into this, expecting a cute and laid-back platformer with metroidvania elements, it certainly is not. Rather, the game is a Boss Rush game that has platforming and metroidvania elements to give you some room to breathe, with the main gimmick that the attacks of said bosses strongly resemble bullet hell genre attacks.
This does make the game not only chaotic at times, but requires precise movement and memorization to prevail, especially at higher difficulties. Therefore, I can understand people, who are not accustomed to these kind of obstacles, perhaps simply for the fact, that it is unique in how these genres are forged into a singular experience.
Does it make the game unfair? I am willing to bet, that it does not.
So far, each attack could have been avoided, as long as you have seen it once before and pay attention to how it behaves. Even if it couldn't have been, you get an amulet early on, that grants you the ability to become invincible for a couple of seconds, so I find this aspect frustrating, but in a good way, the same way you'd need to invest brain power into learning to drive, to draw, or anything that requires precision really. With the ability to choose from various difficulties, I think people need to appreciate the level of care the devs have put into making this a game, even a beginner of these genres can pick up and learn.
The music I find super fitting and some tracks are really striking a nerve, in a good way mind you. M.R. has got to be my personal favorite, though there are a couple that come close. I would say more, but the job is just nicely done here, no complaints.
The platforming was really hard to get into at the start. What I don't like is that there are special moves like a hidden walljump or reverse wall kick, that can make the starting hours until you've gotten your whole moveset - as is tradition in metroidvanias - unnecessarily unpleasant if not found out about. I almost put the game off, until I read of those moves and it really made a monotonous task an enjoyable exploration of "Can I get up there yet? How cool would it be if I could reach this now with a precise move?" rewarding experiments.
Lots of saves and teleporters to traverse the big maps make it hustle-free for the player to return to each spot previously blocked off. Important to note, some areas are a dead end, in a way, that you must load a save to get out of them without some upgrades. I noticed this two to three times, and could see it be a hindrance to some people more short-tempered than me.
Why I haven't addressed the fan service yet? Because it is subjective, could be a deal breaker to some and is the art decision of a developer, that I find fitting for what the game wants to represent. If you find bunny girls, succubi and little ladies only wearing thin clothing something disgusting, that is not for me to judge. All I can say is that it didn't break my enjoyment of the game. And I am willing to bet, that this game has more to offer than a discussion about preferences in presentation.
Such a long review, but in my eyes, the game deserves it for its abundance of items to collect, game modes, forgiving difficulty settings as well as a combination of genres, I have not yet seen done so exceptionally well.
Thank you for reading.

Rabi-Ribi is a bullet hell metroidvania game that was gifted to me years ago by somebody who presumed it was a "Hentai" game.
Only recently have I had the pleasure of beating the main game on hard mode, and through my raging about a boss being "annoying" because of that one attack I just could not get the pattern of down, I enjoyed the game. The "story" and characters are goofy, the gameplay is solid, and I have fun playing it on my Steam Deck during down time at College.
As mentioned, it's a bullet hell and a metroidvania. You explore the world, gradually unlocking movement upgrades that let you traverse to new areas, as well as passive upgrades that increase your stats or badges that are much stronger, however can be equipped gradually over time as you gain more PP (Yes, you can laugh at your immature humour) to equip them. While it might sound silly, games I would compare it to are the Hollow Knight, and some of the original Sonic and Mega man games.
It is certainly a game I can see myself returning to so that I can indulge my masochistic pleasures and play on higher difficulties to the point where my whole neighbourhood is politely "notified" that I have been defeated by Pharoah or Ashuri.

This is what you get when a game is made with care and passion. The exploration around the map is perfect, the music are just pure bangers, the bosses are insanely fun to beat. Even after 10 years this game is as good as always.

A good Metroidvania, but it does feel quite a bit longer than many contemporary options, plus it has a fair bit of postgame, and it expects you to do multiple playthroughs for many achievements, which can be a plus or a minus depending on the person. It's definitely a lot for the price though, if you value that.
Graphics and music are really good, and the character designs are all really cute. Navigating and getting upgrades is fun. Map layout is pretty good, and the amount of optional areas, or variability in what areas you can do, is very fun, as is adding to the base town area with the bosses you defeat.
It's a good game, but there's some plusses and minuses. Just keep that sort of thing in mind if you care about it.