Developer: Video System Co. Publisher: Video System Co. Release: 10/19/90 Genre: Shooter
It has been interesting exploring the PC Engine shooter library. While the Star Soldier games received the lion’s share of attention its lineup is far more varied than that. Surprisingly it might have the best cute em up library of shooters. Rabio Lepus Special is an underrated gem that differs from the arcade version in some significant ways. Some are better and some are worse but overall this is a quality title that deserves better than to languish in obscurity.
In the year 6809 an invading race of aliens skilled in both science and witchcraft kidnap the princess, her sister, and the king of Bunnyland. Two robotic bunnies built for combat, Rabio and Lepus are the only hope of saving the royal family. Despite the title alluding to two robots Rabio Lepus Special is single player only unfortunately. That is not the only way it differs from its arcade brethren.
Mechanically Rabio Lepus Special is simple and reminds me of Pop n’ Twinbee. Your weapons are a primary shot, a limited supply of homing missiles, and a punch when in close to enemies and items. Punching enemies is stronger than bullets but that comes with the risk of taking damage. The risk reward of this system is heavy. Picking up a ribbon boosts missiles; they double in strength and number and can pass through enemies. Unlike most shooters you have a life bar but that does not make this any easier. In fact far from it.
The reason the game is called Rabio Lepus Special is because this is more of a remix than a straight port of the coin op. There are significant changes all throughout. The arcade game had twelve levels. It sounds like a lot but in reality they were brief and only a minute long. The home version condenses the four spaceship levels in to one long battle. They remove some of the boss battles in the process too. Similarly the asteroid base comprised stages 5-8 and is now one. The rest of the game proceeds as normal although the levels are longer. The pace of the game is slower, probably owing to the fact that the resolution is lower and you are a bigger target. That is also probably why there is no coop either which sucks no matter how you slice it.
Rabio Lepus in the arcade densely packed its short levels with money bags and carrots to boost scoring. At full health any extra carrots award extra points. With its generous health this was easy in the arcade, especially with the carrot shower after every boss. That has been removed and staying at full health is tougher in the home port. Because the levels are longer there is more dead air which is noticeable with the slower pace. It is not too bad but they could have handled the transition better. That goes for the presentation as well. There is less detail in the environments and no parallax scrolling. The upside however is the soundtrack is much better than the forgettable arcade music. The system is capable of better however.
In the arcade Rabio Lepus was a difficult game. Your character is a large target making bullet dodging difficult. Enemy spawns are cheap and the number of enemies that can only be destroyed with fists means you risk damage at every turn. The home port changes a number of elements and makes an arduous game that much more frustrating. You no longer take partial damage; every hit takes a full bar of health. Death sends you back to a checkpoint which is brutal. Rabio Lepus has no extra lives and limited continues. The learning curve is steep even though the game is technically shorter than the arcade. Once you learn the ins and outs of wave spawns, when and where to deploy missiles, and when to punch it becomes fun. But the journey would have been less daunting if a few of these changes were reverted.
In Closing
I like Rabio Lepus Special a lot. In terms of production values and mechanics it lands in the middle of the pack among the PC Engine shooter library. But it is an enjoyable game nonetheless and one that puts up quite a fight. Rabio Lepus Special is not the first shooter I would go for on the system but it is a good second or third choice after exhausting the large list of classics available.
