Super underrated Metroidvania game. The movement mechanics of the game and the exploration were the highlights for me. It was so cool stumbling upon each hidden tech and using it to reach areas super early. Best of all, there's even more sequence-breaking that can be done. The story and character aesthetics were definite lowpoints. Characters yak on too much, the ending gets all overly melodramatic, and some of the character portraits (esp. Ribbon and Miru) are FBI-inducing.
If you can get past that though (I can't blame you if you can't), this is a must play if you're a fan of Metroidvanias or bullet hells.
If you can get past that though (I can't blame you if you can't), this is a must play if you're a fan of Metroidvanias or bullet hells.
Okay, so this might just be the best Metroidvania/OSNAP ever, but how could I recommend it to anyone with a straight face?
The day someone makes a reskin of this game to make it less... shameless... is the day this genuinely becomes one of my favorite games.
The day someone makes a reskin of this game to make it less... shameless... is the day this genuinely becomes one of my favorite games.
A solid metroidvania hidden behind an embarrassing aesthetic and a terrible story. Such a shame.
Mi viejo me vio el otro día jugándolo, no me arrepiento.
I played a shit ton of this game and it's very fun. The characters designs are kind of gaudy and I heard the dialogue sucks, but honestly I always skip dialogue in games lol. The actual game parts have a few flaws but the bullet hell & metroidvania mechanics are very fun. I would definitely recommend, and there's a mod which removes the character dialogue portraits if you don't want big anime tits on your screen
If you like cute anime girls and MSX-style Metroidvania games with a lot of kinda weird mechanics, give it a look. The story is extremely tedious and I do not know what's going on with the progression structure, but it's a decent time and you'll probably like it a lot if you're into what it's going for.
So I found a bullet hell metroidvania themed around cute girls, bunnies, and sweets. Fearing the loss of my trans license, I of course chose to play Rabi-Ribi.
To be honest, the metroidvania elements are pretty light. They have the structure, the abilities-as-keys, etc., but the quest markers and general simplicity of the world makes the exploration which defines that genre not all that necessary, though it will reward you with additional items. Being my first time really playing through a bullet hell, I'm not really sure how to comment on that end of it. I can say that it's difficult trying to process the millions of projectiles on screen while also trying to account for the arc of your jump. I imagine that's a large part of the appeal and what makes it stand out against other examples of the genre...it's kind of mind-bending. This game also has systems on top of systems on top of systems, to the point where it's kind of silly and confusing, but it does give the player more room to tackle difficult sections through optimizing their loadout and what abilities they use, which I do appreciate as a newcomer to the genre.
A poor translation really fucks with what is already a convoluted and ridiculous plot, which is actually too bad because I could absolutely see myself getting attached to these characters. The designs, particularly the pixel art variants, are absolutely gorgeous and adorable. The visuals are what brought me into this in the first place, and they do not disappoint.
As a noob to bullet hells, maybe I shouldn't have played this on normal when easy was suggested for a first playthrough. To be completely honest, I used the assist mode on the last two phases of the final boss. Grinding out the third was rapidly becoming unfun (and I'd have to go back several fights to go buy more stuff) and by the fourth I didn't give a shit. I don't hold it against the game, I just lost patience with it. I think I've had my fill and while the postgame looks to be extensive, I probably won't get to it.
I had a great time with this one :)
To be honest, the metroidvania elements are pretty light. They have the structure, the abilities-as-keys, etc., but the quest markers and general simplicity of the world makes the exploration which defines that genre not all that necessary, though it will reward you with additional items. Being my first time really playing through a bullet hell, I'm not really sure how to comment on that end of it. I can say that it's difficult trying to process the millions of projectiles on screen while also trying to account for the arc of your jump. I imagine that's a large part of the appeal and what makes it stand out against other examples of the genre...it's kind of mind-bending. This game also has systems on top of systems on top of systems, to the point where it's kind of silly and confusing, but it does give the player more room to tackle difficult sections through optimizing their loadout and what abilities they use, which I do appreciate as a newcomer to the genre.
A poor translation really fucks with what is already a convoluted and ridiculous plot, which is actually too bad because I could absolutely see myself getting attached to these characters. The designs, particularly the pixel art variants, are absolutely gorgeous and adorable. The visuals are what brought me into this in the first place, and they do not disappoint.
As a noob to bullet hells, maybe I shouldn't have played this on normal when easy was suggested for a first playthrough. To be completely honest, I used the assist mode on the last two phases of the final boss. Grinding out the third was rapidly becoming unfun (and I'd have to go back several fights to go buy more stuff) and by the fourth I didn't give a shit. I don't hold it against the game, I just lost patience with it. I think I've had my fill and while the postgame looks to be extensive, I probably won't get to it.
I had a great time with this one :)
No sabes el juegazo que es esta obra de arte, el mejor juego jama creadooo, la otra vez mi amigo se bajo un mod que le SACA TODOOO!!! Enmtendes la nenas en bolaaas, buenisimo, suerte
god, forgive me for genuinely liking this game
Cute girls and surprisingly in-depth gameplay. Story's alright but the Adventures of Not-Reisen and Ribbon from Kirby 64 is a fun journey.
The essence of bullet hell is embodied by the flow state, the merging of action and reaction into a cohesive whole. Unburdened by self-consciousness and doubt, the player becomes one with the work, a metatextual intertwining between the self-insert protagonist and the player themselves. Weaving effortlessly between spirals of malignant neon, one brushes against certain death versus overwhelming odds, limited not only by the mechanical functions of the game, but by the stress inherent to seeing a wave of fluorescent fire flung in your direction. Success is found not in fighting the game’s systems, but instead in embracing the chaos and cacophony of bullet hell: Seeing bullets rain down on your self-insert of choice, and cutting a path through the onslaught, with obscene firepower, unbroken grace, or by sheer determination.
Hypothetically, the experience of a shoot 'em up is antithetical to a metroidvania; One encourages complete adherence to the rules, the other constantly pushes you to go beyond the expectations of the game, the former rewards finding surefire paths to a concrete goal, the latter is defined by meandering detours in the service of securing a step forward on a path. It’s a dichotomy that builds an uneven foundation. When paired together, both sides struggle to become the defining “face” of the work, as the focus inevitably wavers between the explorative core of a metroidvania, and the breakneck action of an STG.
It’s a nightmarish endeavor to create something that scratches the itch of two divergent genres, and when I initially started Rabi-Ribi, that ingrained conflict was immediately apparent. For the first handful of hours, my experience was relegated to enjoying a perfectly fine, if mortifyingly shameless, exploration game. Hardline three out of five… you know the type. But after crashing against the initial wave of bosses, delving into the ways of Big Combo, and making a difficult decision to drop the difficulty to normal… Something clicked. It wasn’t until around Aruraune’s boss fight, half way through the game, that Rabi-Ribi's elegance in design finally revealed itself.
The hyperfocus… The loss of anxiety… The full acceptance of the game’s mechanics… At the halfway point, Rabi-Ribi re-attunes itself, subtly shifting from a smart metroidvania to an ingenious STG. As if fully accepting this genre shift, the final fights of the game embrace the concept of flow state, celebrating it as the final, ultimate end-goal of the genre, beyond victory, beyond aesthetic value, beyond even being “good” at the game. Your reward isn’t a high-score, breathtaking GCs, or even further mastery of the game, as much as those are all parts to find joy in. Your reward is the sense of perfect alignment with the game: Of full focus, complete immersion, and functioning at your peak doing something you love, regardless of winning or losing. It’s the soul of bullet hell condensed to a beautiful ending fight.
Rabi-Ribi is a game I struggle to recommend with a straight face: the main character might as well be the protagonist of the Daicon IV Opening Animation, But With AGunFairy; that, and the very-subtle-and-not-at-all-on-the-nose Nekopara allusions, do wonders in souring public perception toward the game. It's deeply, deeply upsetting that the most beloved representative of two of my favorite genres is going to be a game I’ll be mocked to the ends of the Earth for loving… But I adore this game. It’s flawed, for sure, and your tolerance for Anime™ has to be decently high to not be rightfully filtered for the abundance of otaku-bait character designs, but looking past that, on a pure mechanical level, Rabi-Ribi represents what I love in two genres that exist at odds with each other.
Hypothetically, the experience of a shoot 'em up is antithetical to a metroidvania; One encourages complete adherence to the rules, the other constantly pushes you to go beyond the expectations of the game, the former rewards finding surefire paths to a concrete goal, the latter is defined by meandering detours in the service of securing a step forward on a path. It’s a dichotomy that builds an uneven foundation. When paired together, both sides struggle to become the defining “face” of the work, as the focus inevitably wavers between the explorative core of a metroidvania, and the breakneck action of an STG.
It’s a nightmarish endeavor to create something that scratches the itch of two divergent genres, and when I initially started Rabi-Ribi, that ingrained conflict was immediately apparent. For the first handful of hours, my experience was relegated to enjoying a perfectly fine, if mortifyingly shameless, exploration game. Hardline three out of five… you know the type. But after crashing against the initial wave of bosses, delving into the ways of Big Combo, and making a difficult decision to drop the difficulty to normal… Something clicked. It wasn’t until around Aruraune’s boss fight, half way through the game, that Rabi-Ribi's elegance in design finally revealed itself.
The hyperfocus… The loss of anxiety… The full acceptance of the game’s mechanics… At the halfway point, Rabi-Ribi re-attunes itself, subtly shifting from a smart metroidvania to an ingenious STG. As if fully accepting this genre shift, the final fights of the game embrace the concept of flow state, celebrating it as the final, ultimate end-goal of the genre, beyond victory, beyond aesthetic value, beyond even being “good” at the game. Your reward isn’t a high-score, breathtaking GCs, or even further mastery of the game, as much as those are all parts to find joy in. Your reward is the sense of perfect alignment with the game: Of full focus, complete immersion, and functioning at your peak doing something you love, regardless of winning or losing. It’s the soul of bullet hell condensed to a beautiful ending fight.
Rabi-Ribi is a game I struggle to recommend with a straight face: the main character might as well be the protagonist of the Daicon IV Opening Animation, But With A
This was recommended to me by a friend on hearing that I was interested in dipping my toes into the waters of Metroidvanias - a genre that always seemed like something I would enjoy but I never got around to trying.
First things first: like many people, the character designs nearly put me off trying the game entirely. If I'm being charitable, I could say that the game is trying to poke fun at stereotypical anime girl designs as well as people who go crazy for them (you even spend an entire section of the game beating up weebs who are trying to take pictures of you), but it doesn't lean into the satire heavily enough to be convincing. Another thing that nearly filtered me was its clunky translation and clumsy storytelling, which caused both the mystery elements of the story as well as the potentially heartwarming plot elements to fall flat.
Underneath all of that, though, is a package with enough fun to keep me playing all the way through to the end of the postgame. I had mixed feelings on the exploration elements; it was quite fun unlocking new areas and discovering hidden items, but some of the level designs tend to loop within themselves, 'rewarding' exploration with lots of backtracking. In addition, many of the differences between locations are purely cosmetic, leading to a bit of 'sameyness' and making exploration feel like a chore at times. The character progression is stronger though, with the steady drip-drip-drip of finding new abilities and powering up existing ones not only being a great source of dopamine but being a great way to gradually expand the player's moveset without overwhelming them with too much information at the beginning.
One only need to look at some of my other reviews to know that I can sometimes bounce off difficult games, but the boss fights are the strongest part of this game for me; they are examples of difficulty done very right. The waves upon waves of projectiles that you face are absolutely brutal, but they're mitigated by the tools you have at your disposal: crisp and responsive controls, a versatile moveset, a very small hitbox, as well as other anti-frustration features like autosaves and the ability to change the difficulty whenever you want. (I started on the easiest difficulty, turned it up once I got a bit more used to the mechanics, and I'm not ashamed to admit I dialled it all the way down to 'casual' for the postgame final boss who kicked my tail more times than I can count)
I started on this game thinking it would be the first of many Metroidvanias - but I had enough fun that it might also be a gateway into the world of shmups for me. In the end, it earns a high score because it takes a special kind of game to absolutely slaughter me, but have my thought at the end be "yeah, I'll definitely come back to this again later!" I'll definitely revisit this, perhaps on a higher difficulty level, but in the meantime I'm off to play more Metroidvanias and shmups. Hopefully those will be less awkward to play in front of my wife.
First things first: like many people, the character designs nearly put me off trying the game entirely. If I'm being charitable, I could say that the game is trying to poke fun at stereotypical anime girl designs as well as people who go crazy for them (you even spend an entire section of the game beating up weebs who are trying to take pictures of you), but it doesn't lean into the satire heavily enough to be convincing. Another thing that nearly filtered me was its clunky translation and clumsy storytelling, which caused both the mystery elements of the story as well as the potentially heartwarming plot elements to fall flat.
Underneath all of that, though, is a package with enough fun to keep me playing all the way through to the end of the postgame. I had mixed feelings on the exploration elements; it was quite fun unlocking new areas and discovering hidden items, but some of the level designs tend to loop within themselves, 'rewarding' exploration with lots of backtracking. In addition, many of the differences between locations are purely cosmetic, leading to a bit of 'sameyness' and making exploration feel like a chore at times. The character progression is stronger though, with the steady drip-drip-drip of finding new abilities and powering up existing ones not only being a great source of dopamine but being a great way to gradually expand the player's moveset without overwhelming them with too much information at the beginning.
One only need to look at some of my other reviews to know that I can sometimes bounce off difficult games, but the boss fights are the strongest part of this game for me; they are examples of difficulty done very right. The waves upon waves of projectiles that you face are absolutely brutal, but they're mitigated by the tools you have at your disposal: crisp and responsive controls, a versatile moveset, a very small hitbox, as well as other anti-frustration features like autosaves and the ability to change the difficulty whenever you want. (I started on the easiest difficulty, turned it up once I got a bit more used to the mechanics, and I'm not ashamed to admit I dialled it all the way down to 'casual' for the postgame final boss who kicked my tail more times than I can count)
I started on this game thinking it would be the first of many Metroidvanias - but I had enough fun that it might also be a gateway into the world of shmups for me. In the end, it earns a high score because it takes a special kind of game to absolutely slaughter me, but have my thought at the end be "yeah, I'll definitely come back to this again later!" I'll definitely revisit this, perhaps on a higher difficulty level, but in the meantime I'm off to play more Metroidvanias and shmups. Hopefully those will be less awkward to play in front of my wife.
I get the impression that most people scoff at this game because all the characters are cute moeblobs drawn by artists who appreciate the anatomy of the female body a liiiiittle too much, and the writing is so pumped full of tropes that it would probably make some puritans gag. I kinda threw my dignity in the trash half a decade ago though, and I'm here to tell you that this game is completely worth it.
Rabi-Ribi's a game about Metroidvania exploration broken up by absolutely raw bullet hell boss fights. You'll find a variety of items hidden about the overworld, including new powerups and moves, and badges that modify your abilities in various ways. While you can collect more moves, the game also has a decent amount of hidden tech that's useful for combat and exploration. You can sequence break the hell out of this game if you understand its mechanics. And on the topic of combat, the bosses in this game are fucking insane. Every single one of them has their own unique bullet patterns to dodge, usually matching the boss's own appearance and demeanor.
Rabi-Ribi looks excellent. Regardless of what you think about its art, the quality of it is really good. The pixel art that surrounds the game is great as well. The soundtrack is all memorable, even having some more atmospheric tracks for exploring certain areas. Music during boss fights is upbeat, electronic, and frantic, perfectly matching the image of dodging absolutely insane bullet patterns.
The writing is definitely going to be a deal-breaker for some people. If you're looking for a logical story, look elsewhere. The game plays most of its tropes up for laughs, and most of it got genuine laughter out of me. Not all of it though. Even I have my cringe limits.
Listen, it's really easy to judge a book by its cover, and this cover is...particularly horny. But I promise you, there's an extremely good game for bullet hell and metroidvania fans alike in here. If you skipped this game solely due to the character art, I implore you to give it an honest shot.
Rabi-Ribi's a game about Metroidvania exploration broken up by absolutely raw bullet hell boss fights. You'll find a variety of items hidden about the overworld, including new powerups and moves, and badges that modify your abilities in various ways. While you can collect more moves, the game also has a decent amount of hidden tech that's useful for combat and exploration. You can sequence break the hell out of this game if you understand its mechanics. And on the topic of combat, the bosses in this game are fucking insane. Every single one of them has their own unique bullet patterns to dodge, usually matching the boss's own appearance and demeanor.
Rabi-Ribi looks excellent. Regardless of what you think about its art, the quality of it is really good. The pixel art that surrounds the game is great as well. The soundtrack is all memorable, even having some more atmospheric tracks for exploring certain areas. Music during boss fights is upbeat, electronic, and frantic, perfectly matching the image of dodging absolutely insane bullet patterns.
The writing is definitely going to be a deal-breaker for some people. If you're looking for a logical story, look elsewhere. The game plays most of its tropes up for laughs, and most of it got genuine laughter out of me. Not all of it though. Even I have my cringe limits.
Listen, it's really easy to judge a book by its cover, and this cover is...particularly horny. But I promise you, there's an extremely good game for bullet hell and metroidvania fans alike in here. If you skipped this game solely due to the character art, I implore you to give it an honest shot.
This is actually a really solid metroidvania game. Pretty good map design, with some great combat and excellent music. The boss fights are also really cool and well made, especially for being bullet hell fights. I thoroughly enjoyed the gameplay. I think some of the areas were a little bit too annoying to traverse, and I had to do that multiple times, but it wasn't too bad overall. The pixel art was pretty great as well.
However, the high-res art in this game was very clearly uh... full of stuff to feed some peoples' fetishes, which I didn't really appreciate too much. It's not 18+ or anything, and it's all well drawn, but it's still something to keep in mind if you wanna play the game. The writing is also not all that great either, but I just kinda ignored it because the gameplay was good.
I have a hard time recommending this game, but it's a solid metroidvania game if you're okay with the things mentioned earlier.
However, the high-res art in this game was very clearly uh... full of stuff to feed some peoples' fetishes, which I didn't really appreciate too much. It's not 18+ or anything, and it's all well drawn, but it's still something to keep in mind if you wanna play the game. The writing is also not all that great either, but I just kinda ignored it because the gameplay was good.
I have a hard time recommending this game, but it's a solid metroidvania game if you're okay with the things mentioned earlier.
Honestly, this game kind of took me by surprise. I wasn't sure just what I was expecting but this is an incredibly fun and lighthearted metroidvania style game. The big barrier to entry for some is probably going to be the bullet hell mechanics as each boss unloads waves and waves of magical bullets at you, sometimes to the point that they seem impossible to dodge.
But honestly, if you stick with it, you start to see how simple it is to just, dance around the bullets without taking a single hit. Not to say there weren't some moments you won't struggle with, but the game allows you some flexibility with the difficulty options and you never really feel overwhelmed by just how intense the battles can get.
On top of that, the music is incredible and the visuals, while perhaps not the best part of the game, are fun, bright and adorable to look at. Probably the weakest aspect is the story, but even that is fun in just how simple and lighthearted it is.
If you're looking for something to scratch your metroidvania itch, give this a try!
But honestly, if you stick with it, you start to see how simple it is to just, dance around the bullets without taking a single hit. Not to say there weren't some moments you won't struggle with, but the game allows you some flexibility with the difficulty options and you never really feel overwhelmed by just how intense the battles can get.
On top of that, the music is incredible and the visuals, while perhaps not the best part of the game, are fun, bright and adorable to look at. Probably the weakest aspect is the story, but even that is fun in just how simple and lighthearted it is.
If you're looking for something to scratch your metroidvania itch, give this a try!
this is secretly the best metroidvania
One of the best metroidvanias ever. The disgustingly weeb-pandering aesthetic only makes it all the funnier.
ugly, awful characters, terrible story - but really fun actually.
is it worth constantly peeking over my shoulder hoping no one sees this? is it worth the 'loli' esque character designs? worth the dreadful writing? yeah but i get it if it isnt
is it worth constantly peeking over my shoulder hoping no one sees this? is it worth the 'loli' esque character designs? worth the dreadful writing? yeah but i get it if it isnt
Finally, an aesthetic that panders to ME.
I am going to be real with you. Rabi-Ribi is honestly the most fun I have had in metroidvania, bar none. Yes, that includes Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night. I’m not quite sure what it is about it, but it’s just so much fun.
The game’s main objective consists of recruiting cute girls to help you power a magic device in your town. To this end, you explore the big wide world of Rabi-Ribi Island to find (and fight) these characters. And holy FUCK was it fun. From the moment the prologue ends, the game’s world completely opens up. While the game points you in the direction of a few girls at a time, you can practically get most of them in any order. It was great, wandering around to see what new areas I could find and searching every nook and cranny for upgrades and items. Getting stronger and seeing my moveset and attacks slowly expand was so satisfying as well.
The game’s got a pretty cute art style and a nice and happy atmosphere and the music is real nice, but my favorite part of the game were the bosses. I was a bit skeptical at first when I heard that the game had heavy bullet hell elements, but I quickly realized I had nothing to worry about. The bosses felt like a combination of Mega Man Zero/Gunvolt fights and Touhou or CAVE patterns, all four of which I am quite fond of. Learning and dodging the patterns and using your various skills to pump as much damage as you can on the boss was fun as fuck.
I don’t know what I expected with this game, but it definitely far exceeded anything I could have had in mind. I still have 100% completion to finish up, and lots of optional superbosses to fight, and this will be the first metroidvania where I actually feel compelled to do everything in it. Besides all the achievements, theres like, over 200 of those. I love the game, but I don’t love it THAT much.
I am going to be real with you. Rabi-Ribi is honestly the most fun I have had in metroidvania, bar none. Yes, that includes Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night. I’m not quite sure what it is about it, but it’s just so much fun.
The game’s main objective consists of recruiting cute girls to help you power a magic device in your town. To this end, you explore the big wide world of Rabi-Ribi Island to find (and fight) these characters. And holy FUCK was it fun. From the moment the prologue ends, the game’s world completely opens up. While the game points you in the direction of a few girls at a time, you can practically get most of them in any order. It was great, wandering around to see what new areas I could find and searching every nook and cranny for upgrades and items. Getting stronger and seeing my moveset and attacks slowly expand was so satisfying as well.
The game’s got a pretty cute art style and a nice and happy atmosphere and the music is real nice, but my favorite part of the game were the bosses. I was a bit skeptical at first when I heard that the game had heavy bullet hell elements, but I quickly realized I had nothing to worry about. The bosses felt like a combination of Mega Man Zero/Gunvolt fights and Touhou or CAVE patterns, all four of which I am quite fond of. Learning and dodging the patterns and using your various skills to pump as much damage as you can on the boss was fun as fuck.
I don’t know what I expected with this game, but it definitely far exceeded anything I could have had in mind. I still have 100% completion to finish up, and lots of optional superbosses to fight, and this will be the first metroidvania where I actually feel compelled to do everything in it. Besides all the achievements, theres like, over 200 of those. I love the game, but I don’t love it THAT much.
Incredibly unique game being a mix of a bullet hell and metroidvania.
Great level design with lots of variety that's just super fun to explore. The bosses are very difficult like any Touhou styled bullet hell would be, but they're still a lot of fun to fight and they're quite creative too. There's a lot of dialogue, a bit too much and it can get annoying at times for a game like this, but it also has great moments where it can be pretty entertaining with some solid comedy and unexpected 4th wall breaks too. The character designs certainly aren't going to be for everyone, but they fit the style of the game so it doesn't bother me much honestly. Lots of little pop culture, anime and visual novel references in the game to enjoy too.
Great level design with lots of variety that's just super fun to explore. The bosses are very difficult like any Touhou styled bullet hell would be, but they're still a lot of fun to fight and they're quite creative too. There's a lot of dialogue, a bit too much and it can get annoying at times for a game like this, but it also has great moments where it can be pretty entertaining with some solid comedy and unexpected 4th wall breaks too. The character designs certainly aren't going to be for everyone, but they fit the style of the game so it doesn't bother me much honestly. Lots of little pop culture, anime and visual novel references in the game to enjoy too.
A true masterpiece. The more you play it, the more you explore the world, the more you realize just how exquisitely crafted every aspect of this game is. A contender for the greatest video game of all time, and I say that without hyperbole.
wait you guys actually like children
i thought it was a joke
i thought it was a joke
El gameplay está muy bueno pero la baja muchísimo que tenga nenitas de anime
Playing this is more likely to get me arrested than murdering my ex-wife and her husband.
why does one of my favorite metroidvanias i've played recently have to be the horny bunny girl game
EDIT: Now that I've played the free and paid DLCs, I'm bumping this to five stars.
My original gripe with sequence breaking and not being able to progress in the non-Volcano area was my fault because there actually are ways around those "roadblocks", to the extent that there's actually a 0% Item/Ability run you can do that you can get achievements for in both the main game and postgame. You can actually play the entire game without your weapon and still beat it in a non-pacifist manner. In fact, the game was designed with so many different ways to approach it that the devs added in achievements for each scenario that you could pull off and encouraged you to break the game as much as possible, while still making it manageable for anyone who wants that challenge.
The volcano thing is still weird because you needed to have a particular conversation and then have a couple cutscenes to progress that exploration because of story, and this happens with a few other postgame sections, including a post-postgame (yes, there is one).
I'd say that my only real standing gripe is the buttons being listed as numbers in the movelists because yes, I do enjoy experimenting with controls, but sometimes I would rather just look and see a familiar button list to know how to do things. Everything else is essentially golden, with some very excellent boss fights on top of that exploration and sequence breaking that the game unabashedly showcases.
Original review follows.
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If you like Metroivanias with non-linear exploration and bosses that are fun bullet hells, this game is made for you and you need to play it.
I have only a couple gripes.
1) Although the UI itself is absolutely lovely, text instructions for abilities that show up in them are unintuitive because it doesn't account for the names of controller buttons, so explanations of moves will be things like, "Press (down arrow) + BUTTON 4." Sometimes when I'd learn a new ability/move, I'd just mess around with all buttons and directions until I figured it out. Not a big deal, just a small thing that makes you burn a few extra seconds to figure stuff out.
2) The non-linearity of this game is mostly excellent, and it's the "mostly" that's come back to haunt me a couple times in one form or another. There's an area I found early on that I couldn't proceed through because the game wants you to clear the first chapter before you're allowed to go do it.
At another point, I used hidden moves to get myself really deep into the volcano area and found myself eventually at a long shaft that seems to repeat infinitely with a save point in the middle of it. I was looking for hidden ledges to drop onto while falling infinitely because the map overlay on the save screen shows a separate-colored room at the bottom.
After spending about fifteen minutes wandering slamming into walls with my face or hammer or magic (and the brief opening that has some spikes on the ground in one section), I checked a walkthrough, only to find out that this area was inaccessible until MUCH later in the game and I had to use my hidden-tech skills to work my way all the way back out of the volcano to the teleporter (which was much more difficult to get back to than it was getting in from). This one was a little more frustrating because the non-linearity encourages exploration, but I was also penalized very thoroughly for exploring in this instance, to the point that I had to check a walkthrough to see I was wasting my time.
Those are minor issues, though -- the walk back from the first area I mentioned wasn't that bad (even if I did it twice) and if you're reading this and haven't played it yet, you're now aware that you shouldn't go too deep into the volcano using hidden tech abilities once you figure out how they work. It's essentially an extra 30 minutes I tacked onto the game for walking back from places and if nothing else, the volcano situation was good practice for honing those skills, even if it was frustrating.
I used all of this review to talk about these things because frankly, I don't want to lay out all the good things this game has going for it because they're innumerable. It's beautiful, non-linear, mostly encourages exploration, lets you progress story at your leisure for the most part, and the soundtrack is nice. There's a postgame and I haven't started it yet, but I will soon. There's also a free DLC that is suggested to be played in postgame and two other DLCs that add more areas/content and I intend to check those out eventually, as well.
Easily in the Top 20 and possibly Top 10 best Metroidvanias just for content alone.
My original gripe with sequence breaking and not being able to progress in the non-Volcano area was my fault because there actually are ways around those "roadblocks", to the extent that there's actually a 0% Item/Ability run you can do that you can get achievements for in both the main game and postgame. You can actually play the entire game without your weapon and still beat it in a non-pacifist manner. In fact, the game was designed with so many different ways to approach it that the devs added in achievements for each scenario that you could pull off and encouraged you to break the game as much as possible, while still making it manageable for anyone who wants that challenge.
The volcano thing is still weird because you needed to have a particular conversation and then have a couple cutscenes to progress that exploration because of story, and this happens with a few other postgame sections, including a post-postgame (yes, there is one).
I'd say that my only real standing gripe is the buttons being listed as numbers in the movelists because yes, I do enjoy experimenting with controls, but sometimes I would rather just look and see a familiar button list to know how to do things. Everything else is essentially golden, with some very excellent boss fights on top of that exploration and sequence breaking that the game unabashedly showcases.
Original review follows.
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If you like Metroivanias with non-linear exploration and bosses that are fun bullet hells, this game is made for you and you need to play it.
I have only a couple gripes.
1) Although the UI itself is absolutely lovely, text instructions for abilities that show up in them are unintuitive because it doesn't account for the names of controller buttons, so explanations of moves will be things like, "Press (down arrow) + BUTTON 4." Sometimes when I'd learn a new ability/move, I'd just mess around with all buttons and directions until I figured it out. Not a big deal, just a small thing that makes you burn a few extra seconds to figure stuff out.
2) The non-linearity of this game is mostly excellent, and it's the "mostly" that's come back to haunt me a couple times in one form or another. There's an area I found early on that I couldn't proceed through because the game wants you to clear the first chapter before you're allowed to go do it.
At another point, I used hidden moves to get myself really deep into the volcano area and found myself eventually at a long shaft that seems to repeat infinitely with a save point in the middle of it. I was looking for hidden ledges to drop onto while falling infinitely because the map overlay on the save screen shows a separate-colored room at the bottom.
After spending about fifteen minutes wandering slamming into walls with my face or hammer or magic (and the brief opening that has some spikes on the ground in one section), I checked a walkthrough, only to find out that this area was inaccessible until MUCH later in the game and I had to use my hidden-tech skills to work my way all the way back out of the volcano to the teleporter (which was much more difficult to get back to than it was getting in from). This one was a little more frustrating because the non-linearity encourages exploration, but I was also penalized very thoroughly for exploring in this instance, to the point that I had to check a walkthrough to see I was wasting my time.
Those are minor issues, though -- the walk back from the first area I mentioned wasn't that bad (even if I did it twice) and if you're reading this and haven't played it yet, you're now aware that you shouldn't go too deep into the volcano using hidden tech abilities once you figure out how they work. It's essentially an extra 30 minutes I tacked onto the game for walking back from places and if nothing else, the volcano situation was good practice for honing those skills, even if it was frustrating.
I used all of this review to talk about these things because frankly, I don't want to lay out all the good things this game has going for it because they're innumerable. It's beautiful, non-linear, mostly encourages exploration, lets you progress story at your leisure for the most part, and the soundtrack is nice. There's a postgame and I haven't started it yet, but I will soon. There's also a free DLC that is suggested to be played in postgame and two other DLCs that add more areas/content and I intend to check those out eventually, as well.
Easily in the Top 20 and possibly Top 10 best Metroidvanias just for content alone.
Hungry bread and butter hustle
You've been doing it a while, it is only fair
Words should be like station
Words that aren't required for your help
Quit hating on my new perspective
But hurrying along with meal is ever done
You could win a rabbit
You could have a rabbit or
With the fast child is gonna have a dead hand
We can get it strong again
But mine let meats (?) put on good habits
Been working and put on good habits
Sometimes I can't find my good habits
Oh, Spanish babies all the echoes
Heard she's getting better stay out of the train
Let you wipe your feet off
Eat it like it's gonna get away
Your coffee sure is getting colder
Your teeth are getting fewer spaces in the way
You could win a rabbit
You could build a rabbit with a rib
Wabbit or habit, habit or real
Wabbit or habit, habit or real
Rabbit or habit
You've been doing it a while, it is only fair
Words should be like station
Words that aren't required for your help
Quit hating on my new perspective
But hurrying along with meal is ever done
You could win a rabbit
You could have a rabbit or
With the fast child is gonna have a dead hand
We can get it strong again
But mine let meats (?) put on good habits
Been working and put on good habits
Sometimes I can't find my good habits
Oh, Spanish babies all the echoes
Heard she's getting better stay out of the train
Let you wipe your feet off
Eat it like it's gonna get away
Your coffee sure is getting colder
Your teeth are getting fewer spaces in the way
You could win a rabbit
You could build a rabbit with a rib
Wabbit or habit, habit or real
Wabbit or habit, habit or real
Rabbit or habit
It’s a shame that a game with this much potential is this game instead.
Metroidvania + Bullet Hell is an inherently good idea for a game. And even better than that, this is actually great execution on that idea. The map is large, non-linear and full of secrets. The boss battles are challenging but fun and rewarding. The soundtrack is also great.
Unfortunately, in between all the great stuff, the map is littered with uninteresting enemies and worst of all: cutscenes. The writing in this game is truly terrible. The overall plot ranges from nonsensical to purely bad, but the dialogue is consistently atrocious. On top of that, the character design is a a parade of adolescent girls and your reward for beating them in a fight is a full screen drawing of them slightly sexier than normal. Also, the final boss is devastatingly hard to the point where I was no longer having fun.
Overall, I can’t say if this was worth it for me. If the negatives don’t put you off, there is excellent gameplay to experience here.
Metroidvania + Bullet Hell is an inherently good idea for a game. And even better than that, this is actually great execution on that idea. The map is large, non-linear and full of secrets. The boss battles are challenging but fun and rewarding. The soundtrack is also great.
Unfortunately, in between all the great stuff, the map is littered with uninteresting enemies and worst of all: cutscenes. The writing in this game is truly terrible. The overall plot ranges from nonsensical to purely bad, but the dialogue is consistently atrocious. On top of that, the character design is a a parade of adolescent girls and your reward for beating them in a fight is a full screen drawing of them slightly sexier than normal. Also, the final boss is devastatingly hard to the point where I was no longer having fun.
Overall, I can’t say if this was worth it for me. If the negatives don’t put you off, there is excellent gameplay to experience here.
Pretty great metroidvania here! Really fun to explore with some great bosses and good combat/movement. I love all of the characters (they are so cute and have all my love and affection) and how adorable everything is every conversation no matter how cheesy kinda warmed my heart. It's a real shame that the character designs are gonna stop a lot of people from playing, cause there's tons here to love. Logging now because the postgame is absolutely filtering me in terms of difficulty, bosses and some enemies in postgame areas go from moderately difficult to absolutely brutal after the main story. But from the main story, Rabi Ribi was an adorable, fun adventure!
Stupidly in-depth combat mechanics that flows like no other, tons of unique and interesting bosses, incredibly fun movement from beginning to end, rewarding exploration incentivized through useful collectibles galore, near infinite replayability due to the many different viable play styles and routes, some of the most fine-tuned and purposeful difficulty options of all time, glitches and exploits are embraced and encouraged by the game design allowing multifaceted approaches to the game’s systems, extensive optional modes and bonus content, QoL is through the roof with quick loads and item management, boss rush + speedrun modes are awesome, and it even has a solid OST.
Unparalleled. One of the best games ever made.
Unparalleled. One of the best games ever made.