Vib-Ribbon
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| Developer(s) | NanaOn-Sha |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Designer(s) | Masaya Matsuura |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release date | 09 December 1999 |
| Genre(s) | Music games |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media | CD-ROM |
Vib-Ribbon is a game for Sony PlayStation. Developed by Masaya Matsuura (the former leader of the Japanese "Hyper Pop Unit" PSY S) and his NanaOn-Sha company, and released in 1999, the game was sold in Japan and Europe. Vib-Ribbon is a rhythm video game in the style of PaRappa the Rapper and Amplitude. The game was unique in that the software loaded into RAM, letting the player use any music CD to play against -- the game could generate a unique level from any track. The graphics for Vib-Ribbon are simple, consisting of straight, white vector lines forming crude, angular drawings of the level and the character, a female rabbit named Vibri.
The object of the game is to guide Vibri along a ribbon filled with obstacles corresponding to the song being played. Pressing the correct buttons at the right time will let Vibri pass unscathed. Failing to do so will make Vibri degenerate from a rabbit into a frog, then a worm, and finally perishing for good. If enough obstacles are navigated successfully, Vibri's form is "promoted" to that of fairy princess. The game's score is represented by a series of symbols that accumulate as the game level progresses. A numerical score is generated at the end of the song. Depending on the score obtained, Vibri will sing a congratulatory song that gets longer with higher scores.
As with many CD-based games, most of the in-game music is included on the game CD as standard Red Book audio format tracks, including six songs by Japanese group Laugh And Peace (commonly incorrectly called Laugh And Beats or Love And Peace).
There was a semi-sequel titled Mojib-Ribbon which followed a similar concept but using text files to create kanji based rhythm gameplay.
Furthermore, there was also another sequel titled Vib-Ripple which was more similar to Vib-Ribbon but instead used digital images loaded into the game for the character to bounce from.
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[edit] Obstacles
These are the possible obstacles (shown between parentheses are the buttons which one must press simultaneously in order to pass the obstacle correctly).
- Basic obstacles
- Rectangle/Block (L1)
- Ring/Loop (R1)
- Sawtooth/Wave (X)
- V-shape/Pit : (Down)
- Combinations of obstacles
- Ring over a rectangle (L1 + R1)
- Ring with sawtooth : (R1 + X)
- V-shape with sawtooth : (Down + X)
- V-shape over a rectangle : (Down + L1)
- Ring and V-shape : (Down + R1)
- Rectangle with sawtooth : (L1 + X)
[edit] Playstation 3 remake
Game creator Masaya Matsuura has stated that a Vib Ribbon remake may become available for the Playstation 3 via the Playstation Network. When asked about the possibility of a port, Matsuura stated that, "We are discussing the possibility of making a downloadable version of Vib Ribbon for Sony, but, I don't know yet - Sony only recently launched their downloadable service in Japan, so maybe we need to wait a while before releasing a title with that kind of appeal." [1]
Copies of the original Vib Ribbon for PS1 do not work on PS3. The game loads to a point, and will then freeze shortly after beginning the tutorial.
[edit] Development team
- Production : Masaya Matsuura
- Programming :John Belmonte, Anthony Carrico
- Conception : Kiri Matsuura
- Graphics : Takeru Nakabayashi, Tomohiko Murakami
- Sound production : Masato Ohmori, Hideto Ohnishi, Yusuke Shibuya
- Voice synthesis : NTT Communications
- Music : Laugh and Peace, Toshiyuki Kageyama, Koichi Hirota, Yoko Fujita, Masaya Matsuura
- Artistic director : Masatoshi Kikuchi, Nami Sawabe
