is a 1987

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

side-scrolling

shooter video game Shooter video games, or shooters, are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is on the defeat of the character's enemies using ranged weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range weapons, an ...

developed and published by V-System (now Video System).

Gameplay

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

Development and release

The game was distributed by

Bally Midway Midway Games Inc. (formerly Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known simply as Midway) was an American video game company that existed from 1958 to 2010. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (franchise), Ra ...

for its North American arcade release. An

NEC PC Engine The TurboGrafx-16, known in Japan as the , is a home video game console A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play v ...

port, ''Rabio Lepus Special'', was released in 1990. The game was released for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

as part of the Japanese-exclusive ''

Oretachi Gēsen Zoku is a series of 19 emulated arcade video games developed and published by Hamster Corporation for the PlayStation 2. They were only available in Japan. Of the 19 games, the last two – '' Thunder Cross'' (1988) and '' Trio The Punch – Ne ...

'' series in 2006 by

Hamster Corporation is a Japanese video game publisher, with office located in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The game division of Toshiba-EMI Limited spun off Hamster Corporation in November 1999. On the Japanese PlayStation Store, more than 360 titles are distribut ...

. It was later re-released for the

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

and

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

in 2022 as part of the ''

Arcade Archives is a series of emulated arcade games from the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s developed and published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called focuses on re-releasing Neo Geo titles in their original arcade format, unlike many s ...

'' series.

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. ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') is a British-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot web ...

'' 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. ''

Gamest was a Japanese video game magazine that specialized in covering arcade games. ''Gamest'' originated from the bi-monthly fanzine ''VG2 Newsletter'' from the early 1980s. Following the bankruptcy of publisher Shinseisha, many editors would move to A ...

'' 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". ''

Hardcore Gaming 101 ''Hardcore Gaming 101'' is an online video game magazine founded by Kurt Kalata in 2004. Kalata established the site after graduating college, when he noticed the overabundance of game strategy guides, and felt that someone should create more boo ...

''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. Jun Sasaki of ''Akiba PC Hotline!'' deemed it to be a unique game. ''Rabio Lepus Special'' received generally favorable reviews. 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 PC Engine Fan was a Japanese magazine dedicated to the TurboGrafx-16, PC Engine, published by Tokuma Shoten. It ran from 1988 to 1996. History The first issue of ''PC Engine Fan'' was published in late 1988. The magazine originated as a section in ...

'', ranking among PC Engine titles at the number 316 spot.

Notes

References

{{reflist 1987 video games category:Arcade games category:Cute 'em ups category:Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games category:TurboGrafx-16 games Video games about rabbits and hares