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 :)

Reviewed on Aug 16, 2021


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