Rabio Lepus

Rabio Lepus^[b] is a 1987 arcade side-scrolling shooter video game developed and published by V-System (now Video System).^[1]

Rabio Lepus
Developer(s)	Video System[a]
Publisher(s)	Arcade JP: Video System NA: Bally Midway Video System (PCE)
Platform(s)	Arcade, PC Engine
Release	Arcade JP: September 1987 NA: February 1988 PC Engine JP: October 19, 1990
Genre(s)	Horizontal-scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

Rabio Lepus is a horizontal-scrolling shooter game.^[2] It follows two colorful robotic rabbits named Rabio and Lepus as they battle waves of enemies including golems, metallic cats, and demonic creatures.^[3]

Development and release

The game was distributed by Bally Midway for its North American arcade release.^[4] An NEC PC Engine port, Rabio Lepus Special, was released in 1990.^[5] The game was released for the PlayStation 2 as part of the Japanese-exclusive Oretachi Gēsen Zoku series in 2006 by Hamster Corporation. It was later re-released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2022 as part of the Arcade Archives series.^[3]

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
ACE	(PCE) 849/1000[6]
Computer and Video Games	(PCE) 79%[7]
Famitsu	(PCE) 26/40[8]
Gekkan PC Engine	(PCE) 82/100[9]
Génération 4	(PCE) 8/10[10]
Joystick	(PCE) 87%[11]
Player One	(PCE) 88%[12]
Raze	(PCE) 64%[13]
Tilt	(PCE) 15/20[14]
Zero	(PCE) 81/100[15]
Game Zone	(PCE) 3/5[16]
Micro News	(PCE) 5/5[17]
Power Play	(PCE) 69%[18]

Award

Publication	Award
Gamest Mook (1998)	(AC) Best Shooting Award 9th, Annual Hit Game 30th[19]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Rabio Lepus on their November 15, 1987 issue as being the fifth most-popular arcade game for the previous two weeks.^[20] Computer and Video Games' Clare Edgeley found the game to be an entertaining and playable shoot 'em up, praising the graphics for the detailed backgrounds, but noted that later stages become more labyrinthine and difficult to overcome.^[21] Gamest regarded it to be a well-crafted game and awarded it several prizes at the second annual "Gamest Awards", taking 9th place in the "Best Shooting Award" and 30th place in the "Annual Hit Game".^[19][22] Hardcore Gaming 101's Kurt Kalata stated that it was a solid entry in the shooter genre but noted that flaws kept it behind competing shooters, citing the cramped stages and surprise ambushes by enemy swarms.^[2] Jun Sasaki of Akiba PC Hotline! deemed it to be a unique game.^[23]

Rabio Lepus Special received generally favorable reviews.^[8][9][24] Japanese publication Micom BASIC Magazine ranked the game thirteenth in popularity in its January 1991 issue, and it received a score of 20.33 out of 30 in a 1993 readers' poll conducted by PC Engine Fan, ranking among PC Engine titles at the number 316 spot.^[25][26]

Notes

1. Ported to PC Engine by Minakuchi Engineering.
2. Japanese: ラビオレプス, Hepburn: Rabio Repusu; known in North America as Rabbit Punch