Rabi-Ribi Reviews
If the story is nonsensical, the fighting and platforming are great fun.
Rabi-Ribi is a fantastic Metroidvania that injects a whole heap of originality into a genre that's arguably a bit overdone at this point. The bullet-hell boss battles are thrilling, the soundtrack is absolutely superb, and the RPG mechanics are really useful without being overwhelming. On the negative side, the storyline fails to excite, and we would have liked a bit more variety with the character design, but overall this is a great, 'feel good' game that deserves to be played if you're after a different flavour of Metroidvania.
Rabi-Ribi is a brilliant blend of metroidvania and bullet hell with nice visuals and a catchy story and a great difficulty curve.
Rabi-Ribi is a fun game and I had a great time exploring the levels, collecting abilities, and developing my character. I had an even greater time putting my thumbs to the test with the addictive and unforgiving boss battles. Unfortunately, for a game to be truly great, the full package needs to shine, and that is not the case with Rabi-Ribi. While gameplay and is engaging and well-designed, the visuals, story, and audio are all lacking, and no amount of bullets can ever make me turn my head to those flaws.
I was happy to find that Rabi-Ribi was, on the whole, a totally unexpected and delightful discovery for me on PS4. While I wasn't enthused by what I initially saw in trailers and such, I found myself happily proven wrong by the actual content.
Although the bullet hell action can be too intense at times, those that persevere and see Erina's adventure to the end will be rewarded with one of the best titles in the genre.
If you like the idea of battling a host of girls wearing bunny or cat ears with a variety of magical attacks and a huge hammer, then Rabi-Ribi is for you. This platforming and bullet hell fusion is worth a look – just make sure you close the curtains before booting it up on your new 50-inch 4K screen.
Rabi-Ribi is fun in a lot of ways, it just focuses on being too "cute" and it disconnects the player from any actual storyline. Unless you're a fan of anime and bunny rabbits I'd probably wait for this one to go on sale.
There are cute bunnies and lovely fairies, but Rabi-Ribi remains a serious metroidvania, hard to master and challenging to complete.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Rabi-Ribi's magic really lies in being relevant right now, as an innovative, deep and well-crafted 2D platformer complete with cutesy retro/Anime artstyle. It's incredibly good fun to play, engaging and witty, easy to pick up and almost impossible to put down.
Rabi-Ribi is a fantastic love letter to Touhoumania fans, but at its core, it's an exceptional platformer that's so well designed it'd make Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya blush. Rabi-Ribi manages to blend multiple concepts together and distil them into something entirely unique, which is a rare sight these days. The difficulty is firm but fair, and the optional help solidifies that. Its Touhou-inspired cast may be too much for some players, but if you can stomach through its aesthetic, you'll experience one of the best indie titles of 2016, bar none. You'd be doing yourself a massive disservice by not giving Rabi-Ribi a shot.
Although Rabi-Ribi presents itself as a light-hearted adventure about chibi animals, it's actually a frantic, bullet-hell RPG under the hood. It might be the best modern Metroidvania title we've seen in years.
With a generic premise and presentation, but inspired gameplay and exploration, Rabi-Ribi marks an interesting addition to the metroidvania genre on PlayStation consoles.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Rabi Ribi has so much more going on under its hood than mere screenshots can contain.
Almost every aspect of Rabi-Ribi is unbelievably polished. The developers are still working hard adding new content with updates even a year after its original release. While it is a shame that both the PS4 and Vita versions are little more than ports, the games are priced at an affordable £24.99 and £15.99 respectively. Rabi-Ribi is a refreshing gem in today's market and is a must buy for all owners of these systems.
Rabi-Ribi is a pretty epic Metroidvania... Much more expansive and challenging than its cutesy veneer would lead itself on to be. Some people may get put off by some of the insane action that comes with the many boss fights, but those who persevere will find this to be a profoundly rewarding experience. Even if the story is overly longwinded, the action holds the fun up on its own. This is an action game that comes highly recommended and proves that a game can't always be judged by its cover.
The good? A big world to explore, a vast arsenal of skills, perfect controls, and numerous, adrenalin-pumping bullet hell-esque boss fights. The bad? First, compared to its rivals, the platforming "puzzles" are pretty simplistic, instead of thought-provoking, and, second, the otherwise fantastic boss encounters feel very similar challenge-wise, instead of each one twisting the knife deeper and deeper. Flaws aside, Rabi-Ribi is a cute time sink that will surely please Metroidvania fans - as long as they can stomach the big pile of rabbit manure that this has for a plot.
Don't let its strange premise fool you; if you're a fan of Metroidvania games then Rabi-Ribi is a must-play game.
Rabi-Ribi may suffer from a convoluted storyline, but this can be overlooked due to its lively energy and exciting gameplay. I’m a strong believer in the whole ‘bang for your buck’ mentality, Rabi-Ribi is $29.99 and easily comes packed with more content than some AAA titles costing twice as much. It simply has tons of content, lots of replay value, and it’s super addictive – even at full price, it’s a steal. I can’t recommend this title enough, and with the amount of content and gameplay, it’s a must for not only Metroidvania addicts but anyone who owns a Switch, PS4, PS Vita or PC. This certainly is a ‘must-try and buy’ Switch title.