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 9th, 1999 and September 1st,
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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