Rabi-Ribi

fun "anime cuphead" metroidvania with a most uncompromising "pixel 2010s anime" aesthetic; in fact, said aesthetic is likely the primary reason this was rejected from gdq events by the MIDDLEBROW soyboy revivalist-darwikians that run gdq for such a long time. it's like if la mulana (previous review) spec-ed in hard arcade-style boss battles rather than arcane esoterica logic. or cuphead but anime

Near the end of 2016, I saw an upvoted post on the r/Games board of Reddit that claimed Rabi-Ribi is the best game of 2016. I took one look at the game's Steam store page and let out a burst of laughter. This? THIS MOE CRAP? Thankfully I was in the mood to try something off-the-beaten path and kept an open-mind. What I found is the deepest, most complex and challenging Metroidvania released yet.

Let's get the bad out of the way: the story and character design sucks. Luckily, you can skip almost all of it at the press of a button, so it's not that much of a burden. After all, it's not like Super Metroid or Symphony of the Night are beloved for their stories. Although the poorly translated absurd plot doesn't do much for the game, it at least has heart and isn't the perverted mess I expected. But, who cares, because there is one hell of an excellent game to focus on!

There are so many systems and mechanics in Rabi-Ribi that it's hard to know where to begin. At its core, the game is an open action-RPG heavily inspired by the Wonder Boy in Monster Land [ワンダーボーイモンスターランド] series except you will often have multiple quests (many optional). The further you go into the game, the more it opens up and surprises with its enormous world. Sometimes you'll stumble into an optional boss fight or accidentally stumble into a secret area that can take hours to explore as it leads into another new area -- almost all of which are visually distinct and well-designed.

Exploration in a Metroidvania never felt this good, as you collect significant upgrades, stat boosts and gold you can spend at the town store. The exploration is complemented by a combat system that gets better as you progress. The combos you do with your hammer are fun at the start but once you unlock projectiles (of which there are several), dodges, cancels, supers and many other features, the game becomes deep and rewarding. There is so much customization you can do with the collectible badges that you can only equip a limited amount of at a time. These badges can further pad your stats, enable new abilities or perks like getting more gold from enemies. Looking at other playthroughs and speedruns on YouTube, there are so many different ways to approach and even exploit the game (there's a built-in speedrun mode).

The highlight of Rabi-Ribi are the intense, difficult bosses inspired by bullet hell shooters. These bosses have some of the trickiest bullet patterns I've seen outside a CAVE game. You know the game is serious when a boss starts by showing your tiny hitbox that you will have to navigate through small openings between a hail of bullets. Playing on hard was one of the biggest challenges I ever experienced in a game and the end-game was no joke either, even after knocking it down to normal difficulty. One of the most impressive aspects to these fights is that the boss will always match your skill level. The boss's level will be increased to match your stats, but it will also change its attack patterns and further buff its stats if you perform very well in the fight. So, as you get better at a boss fight, so does the boss. This game will push your skills to the limit, but it also makes exploration more rewarding since you really want some of those upgrades. While the difficulty may intimate casual players, the game is kind enough to offer additional player buffs after dying several times on normal.

The amount of content in Rabi-Ribi is an abundance of riches. Even after credits roll, you may have hours of optional missions you missed alongside post-game chapters that last hours as well. Although the graphics aren't the best pixel art, they are pleasant enough that you'll want to continue to explore. The music is great throughout, full of quirky energetic tracks during boss fights and gorgeous atmospheric music in different worlds. Outside the story and character design, it's an overall pleasant aesthetic experience that is both welcoming and challenging.

Rabi-Ribi is the full package and sets a new standard for Metroidvanias in many ways. It's incredible to consider it's done by such a small team, and incredibly sad that it flew under the radar gaining only two reviews on Metacritic and a small fanbase on Steam. It may be made by weebs for weebs, but these weebs know how to make a damn good game; one that shouldn't be dismissed due to early impressions.