Vib-Ribbon

Vib-Ribbon (stylized vib-ribbon) is a 1999 rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and released by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. The game came out in Japan on 9 December 1999 and in Europe on 30 August 2000, but was never released for the PlayStation in North America; it was re-released on the PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Network in October 2014, which finally brought the game to North America in addition to Japan and Europe. NanaOn-Sha had previously developed the PaRappa the Rapper series of games for Sony. The game was initially commissioned as an advertisement for the Mercedes-Benz A-Class car. After design issues surfaced with the car and the ad plan was dropped, development continued as a stand-alone game. Masaya Matsuura returned to lead Vib-Ribbon. The game's software loads into the console's RAM, allowing the player to remove the game disc and insert music CDs to play custom levels; the game can generate a unique level from any track on a standard audio CD. The graphics for Vib-Ribbon are simple, consisting of straight, white vector lines forming crude, angular drawings of the level and the player character, named Vibri. Vib-Ribbon has received generally positive reviews from critics, praising its minimalist visuals and innovative concept, and has garnered a cult following; though the game has also received criticism for its simplistic gameplay and design. It spawned two Japan-only follow-ups: Mojib-Ribbon (2003) and Vib-Ripple (2004).