PlayStation Basement #54 - Vib-Ribbon

This review was originally published on the Console Purist Facebook group on September 7th, 2019.

Hello, and welcome to PlayStation Basement! PlayStation Basement is a weekly review of an odd or obscure game for the original PlayStation. Games are rated Good, Bad, or Neutral. Now, let’s go!

This month is the first anniversary of PlayStation Basement. It’s been fun doing these reviews weekly for a year. PlayStation Basement has encouraged me to really explore the PlayStation library more and more. Some of these games were childhood favorites while others were games that I only found about in the last few months. If you’ve been following along, I hope that you’ve been able to discover something neat and expand your own field of knowledge and fun. I have most of 2020 mapped out for PlayStation Basement, so be sure to stick around for more!

I have a special game this week - Vib-Ribbon. I first saw this game in a Game Informer issue talking about weird games, and I wanted to get the game after that. At the time, I did not have any way of playing import games, though, so it would have to wait. Vib-Ribbon was only released in Japan and Europe on December 9^th, 1999 and September 1^st, 2000 respectively. Supposedly the North American version never happened due to the sales of Parappa the Rapper and Um Jammer Lammy not reaching the heights hoped for by publisher Sony. All three of these games were developed by NanaOn-Sha, headed by musician Masaya Matsuura. Like the others mentioned, Vib-Ribbon is a rhythm game with a unique style.

The cover art shows that style pretty well. The Japanese and European versions both show the main character, Vibri, a sometimes rabbit humanoid. Japan has her flying, and Europe has her lounging about. Oddly, the Japanese version of the game is packaged backwards in the case, hence the hole in the center of the image. Both pictures are black and white only with a slight psychedelic flair. The in-game graphics follow along.

Vib-Ribbon utilizes this minimalist art style to great effect. The game is only in black and white with designs that simulate vector graphics. While things are simple in a way, the animation is so smooth, replicating the rubber hose animation of the 1920s. The various stages take a profile view of Vibri and her blocky world of weird shapes. Vibri herself morphs depending on how the player is doing, taking on other forms including a snake, a frog, and a member of royalty. Rotating effects, chaotically moving lines, and some short animations enhance the great graphical style greatly. The clean animation is wonderful to see and works very well considering the rhythmic nature of Vib-Ribbon.

The sound design is excellent as you would expect. The game includes seven original tracks, all experimental and psychedelic electronic dance tracks with sections of speeding up and slowing down. I enjoyed these tracks, and the accompanying sound effects, quite a bit. Vibri makes many cute chirps and bleeps. Now, most importantly, the game also allows the player to use CDs to create new levels from their own musick. I can’t speak to your own tastes and such, but I’m sure that you will own something that you like to listen to.

Vib-Ribbon is a simple game. Vibri walks along a path and encounters various obstacles represented by different shapes. Each shape has a different button (L1, R1, down, or X) required to pass it unharmed. Since this is a rhythm game, you must press the button as Vibri comes right up to the object, nearly touching it. Passing an obstacle starts to fill a meter that eventually evolves Vibri into her next form. Failing to press the button at the right time causes Vibri to lose her meter and her shape, eventually devolving her into a lower form. The six stages range from sparse areas to congested messes of moving obstacles. Some of the later areas feature double obstacles that require two buttons to pass. It’s not particularly complicated, but it requires quick thinking during gameplay. As mentioned, inserting a CD allows one to pick a track and tackle a level constructed from it. In my experience, these tracks are way harder than the included stages. Even slower albums such as Prince Far I’s dub reggae Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter 1 created some tough levels. It’s fun to pop various CDs into the PlayStation and see what comes up. There is a ton of replay value here.

There was more to come for Vib-Ribbon. It had two sequels, Mojib-Ribbon and Vib-Ripple, both on PS2.  The original game was later released in North America on the PlayStation Store, and was included in the Museum of Modern Art’s video game collection. We may one day see another release in this series, as Masaya Matsuura has expressed interest in creating another sequel. I hope that it happens one day.

Vib-Ribbon receives a Good.

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