Vibri is the main protagonist of Vib-Ribbon and its sequel, Vib-Ripple. Though she’s something of a conceptual marvel, very little is actually known about this cheery yet mysterious shape-shifting rabbit. With the exception of her torso and eyes, Vibri’s body is mostly wire-frame-style 2D, in the same vein as Mr. Game & Watch from the Game & Watch series. Even in sequel Vib-Ripple, where Vibri walks on a 3D plane during gameplay, she is still a mostly 2D entity.
Origins
The creator of Vibri, Masaya Matsuura, said in a Q&A that Vibri somehow popped out from a “digital dimension” and into ours. He states that human beings can decode data by using programs to show them as sound or images, but Vibri on the other hand, decodes and recognises the data in different ways. Therefore, particular changes or variations in the music would, for example, translate into obstacles for Vibri while taking a walk.
Vibri is based on a picture called “The Tartan Ribbon”, which explains the name “Vib-Ribbon”. As Vib-Ribbon was initially commissioned as an advertisement for the Mercedes-Benz A-Class car, there was a point in development where the player character was a car. Of course, it is unlikely that the car was referred to as or acted like Vibri, and the vector graphic art style was not in the games. The decision to make Vibri a rabbit was influenced by the success of PaRappa The Rapper, another game by Matsuura, which had an animal protagonist.
In early interviews with Masaya Matsuura when Vib-Ribbon was being localised in the EU, Matsuura didn’t mention any pronouns when referring to Vibri. Vibri’s gender also isn’t explicitly stated in the game. This has likely caused some journalists and game reviewers to mistakenly refer to Vibri as “he”, including Sony’s Official UK PlayStation Magazine and documents within the Vib-Ribbon EU press kit. Vibri would be referred to as “she” in the EU manual of Vib-Ribbon, and in a 2010 Retro Gamer interview, Matsuura also referred to Vibri as a “she”.
Story: Transform and Roll Out
Vibri’s backstory is largely unknown, and she does not appear in third ‘Ribbon’ game Mojib-Ribbon. Vibri’s ambitions and motivations are also unknown. She is presumably a wanderer, as she appears in the Music World in her first game and an unknown location in her next. She can speak, but only in Japanese.
Vibri is characterised as cheerful, energetic, and perky. Her hobbies include taking walks and singing. If she takes too many hits, she devolves into her frog form which then devolves into her snake form. She has the ability to evolve into Queen Vibri (or Super Vibri) form which boosts her resilience and allows the player to gain more points.
Here comes Vibri, the coolest bunny on the block. A mean little mover, Vibri loves to skip and jump to music as she meanders along the Vib-ribbon. This line stretches into infinity but it’s no straight and easy road. Your floppy-eared friend will come across lots of obstacles. As the music tempo shifts, so does the rate at which the obstacles appear and Vibri the rabbit may soon devolve into Vibri the frog. Can your bunny bounce to the beat and become a beautiful winged princess?”
-Vibri’s Official Bio-
Legacy
Vib-Ribbon was released in Japan on December 9th, 1999, and in PAL regions on August 30th, 2000. The North American release was skipped as Sony Computer Entertainment America were reportedly unimpressed with the game’s simplistic graphics, causing fans to campaign for an American release, which Matsuura supported. In December 2000, Sony Magazine released a promotional picture book in Japan titled Vibri-hon: Vibri and Fun Vibri Dictionary. Vibri has rarely featured outside her own games and related promotional materials.
At E3 2014, Vib-Ribbon was referenced by Shawn Layden, the then-newly appointed CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America. Layden was not aware the game had not been released in America at the time, which resulted in people on the internet interpreting the mention of the game as a hint of a North American release despite the company having no plans to do so. Vibri and Vib-Ribbon’s popularity elsewhere would later influence a re-release.
A group of Twitter users became displeased when there was no further mention of the game during the press conference. When Layden realised his mistake, he asked his team to work on perfecting a North American port released digitally for PlayStation 3. It was released on October 7th, 2014, in North America with Layden writing an apology for the confusion. It was re-released in Japan the following day and in Europe on October 15th, introducing Vibri to a new generation of gamers.
