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| Games,
Richard Young,
20 January 1999 |
Rating: F3
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When it comes to popular entertainment, and video games in particular, I think we are all familiar with the Japanese penchant for the unusual, the wacky, and the downright doolally. Jumping Flash, the robotic bunny who leaps around the kind of landscapes previously only seen in "The Yellow Submarine", and Parappa the Rapper, the cute two-dimensional doggie who sings his way out of all sorts of trouble are just two fine examples of the kooky ingenuity of the Far East. The latest psychadelic superstar of the Orient is Vibri, a line drawing of a walking rabbit.
This has to be somewhat of a first for the Playstation; no funky polygons, no gourad shading, and yup, practically no colour. In fact, I am sure the game could easily be ported to Sinclair Spectrum, should you be able to fit a CD-rom drive to it. But that’s not really the point. The point is that this is a highly innovative and original game, developed by the creator of Parappa, Masaya Mastuura. The idea is, you control Vibri’s actions (of which there are four - yes, four) as he happily heads off along a musical "ribbon" that is landscaped with various obstacles; namely blocks, loops, pits and zig-zags, that appear in time with the music track that is being played. Basically, the more complex the music, the harder Vibri has to work in order to navigate the undulating landscape ahead. If your fingers are nimble enough, you can cause Vibri to evolve into an angel (of course) and begin to float skywards. Miss enough cues, however and the wiry one becomes all shaky and blurry and eventual turns in to a worm (naturally).
The real longevity of the game comes from the ability to use your own music CD’s and thus dictate the level of gameplay yourself. Pop in some Prodigy for a frenetic and challenging obstacle course, or alternatively play John Cages 3’44" for a veritable walk in the park. Further challenges come from the combinations of obstacles, like a loop combined with a block, or a zig-zaggy pit. Personally I found I became a little twitchy in the patience department playing such an incredibly linear title, but if you loved Parappa and enjoy Japanese game/music crossovers, then chances are you will get a kick from Vib Ribbon.
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