Rabi-Ribi beginner guide: early upgrades, amulet and backtracking
Practical controls for a first NORMAL playthrough, SP and MP, amulet timing and town shopping. Reduce unnecessary hits and detours, and connect movement abilities to further exploration.
Edition: Rabi-Ribi PC Steam base game, Story Mode, mainly a first NORMAL playthrough. Includes Post Game. DLC, SPECIAL, Boss Rush, 0% and clipping routes are treated separately.
Verification scope: Official store, official updates and guide sources checked on 2026-10-04. Gameplay and the installed build number have not been tested. English names accompany places and abilities with differing Japanese translations.
Sources checked: 2026-10-04
9 / 9 rows
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First arrange controls for comfortable simultaneous inputs
Hammer and magic do not work by selecting only one playable character at a time. You move Erina while also using Ribbon's attacks, so arrange comfortable access to both.
- Check hammer, magic, jump and amulet-shortcut positions in the control options.
- In safety, try a short jump and a higher held jump.
- Use slow movement and check the small hitbox displayed on Erina.
- After finding an ability, read its pause-menu instructions and try it once there.
Keys and buttons vary by device and settings, so articles use action names.
Watch attack resources SP and MP as well as HP
Repeated hammer swings can exhaust SP, and larger magic attacks require MP. Time when you cannot keep attacking is not a failure; avoid danger while preparing the next attack.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Display / method | Role | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| SP | Related to Erina's attacks | Land brief hammer attacks and move away when the resource is low |
| MP | Related to charged magic and boosts | Check the remaining gauge before repeated large attacks |
| Ribbon's normal shots | Basic means of attacking distant opponents | Shoot reachable targets while avoiding ground-level projectiles |
| Boost | Area attacks or effects differing by magic | Check the area affected after activation rather than choosing by color alone |
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You do not need to complete a long melee combo every time. First learn when to stop before the boss begins the next action.
Practice not jumping at every projectile
Trying to avoid attacks with all of the ears and hair creates excessive movement. Watch the displayed hitbox and projectiles approaching it closely.
- Before the boss starts firing, leave room to move either left or right.
- For shots aimed at your position, move a short distance sideways after seeing them fire.
- For attacks traveling along the floor or horizontally, watch the source and landing point before jumping.
- Do not reverse direction immediately after dodging; check for another shot from the same direction.
This is practice for reading projectile patterns. Specific attack answers are in the major-boss guide. Distinguish terrain collision from the hitbox used for projectiles.
Use the Bunny Amulet as an emergency escape before being hit
The town amulet uses a gauge for a screen-wide attack with brief invulnerability. Use it when an escape route is closing, not only when HP is nearly gone.
- Choose one danger cue and practice passing that attack with the amulet.
- Move toward safety afterward. Do not remain in the same pattern when invulnerability ends.
- Check the remaining gauge to judge whether another similar escape is available.
- From Chapter 2 onward, check shop amulet upgrades and prepare to use emergency escapes more than once.
Sources disagree on precise SP recovery after use, so no value is asserted here.
Choose early purchases according to your problem
Before spending all EN on one item, compare healing replenishment with upgrades for the next expedition. These are choices for a first NORMAL run, not a strongest-item ranking.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Problem | Product to check | Decision guide |
|---|---|---|
| You die quickly | Health Up / Rumi Cake | Secure room to withstand hits and a large HP recovery |
| Resources besides HP also run low | Rumi Donut | Use it to support attack resources and the amulet as well as HP |
| Fights last too long | Attack Up | Review basic attack strength as well as weapon upgrades |
| The badges you want do not fit | Badge Up | Increase PP when you need a particular combination |
| You cannot see regular enemies' remaining HP | Soul Heart | Use the enemy HP display to decide whether to finish them or move away |
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Products and upgrades vary by chapter and collected items. Confirm final prices, carrying limits and effects on the current shop screen.
Heal during a safe opening; check green magic's requirements too
Healing items include time when movement is unavailable. Using one between boss attacks is more reliable than looking only at HP and healing amid projectiles.
- Distinguish Rumi Cake from Rumi Donut and select the needed item in the menu.
- If you have Healing Staff, check that Erina is within Ribbon's green-boost area and that MP remains.
- Even when healing after passing danger with the amulet, do not assume invulnerability covers the whole item-use duration.
- If healing is interrupted, check the remaining count and HP before deciding again.
At 1 HP, green-boost healing is restricted. This is another reason to keep healing items.
Answer 7 (spoilers)
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Early action example and ability locations
An example following normal paths and collecting abilities. It does not fix one boss order.
- Get Piko Hammer and Carrot Bomb in Starting Forest, then meet Ribbon in Spectral Cave.
- Travel through Rabi Rabi Beach to town. Meet Rumi and unlock shop access.
- Look for Rabi Slippers around Rabi Rabi Park to extend jumping reach.
- Treat Cicini in Spectral Cave and Rita in the snow area as initial recruit candidates. Cicini leads to later laboratory exploration.
- Aim for Sliding Powder through the laboratory request from Chapter 2, and Air Jump in the system interior from Chapter 3.
If a destination is not open, check the chapter and requests as well as abilities. Laboratory steps continue in the walkthrough.
Check these before retrying the same boss
After a defeat, review preparation and controls once. Equipment you thought you changed may return to its previous state after loading.
- Narrow defeat to one cause: contact, projectiles, healing or low SP.
- Check HP, amulet, healing items and badges match your intentions.
- After changing badges, if safe to return, leave and re-enter an area once to update the autosave.
- Keep a separate manual save in town or during exploration in case an autosave traps you in a boss fight.
Not relying only on autosaves also helps in later consecutive encounters.
Frequently asked questions
Are there difficulty settings?
Yes. Choices include CASUAL, NOVICE and NORMAL. This guide mainly uses NORMAL, but a lower difficulty is an option when prioritizing familiarity with projectile patterns. An early NPC discusses difficulty changes, but becomes unavailable with progress; do not assume changes remain possible at any time.
If collecting items raises boss strength, should I avoid them?
On a first run, movement and healing benefits are substantial, so normal collection is reasonable. Low-percentage adjustments require a dedicated route and techniques and are not assumed for beginners.
What should I do while not attacking?
Secure somewhere to dodge first. Then use normal shots that safely reach, or check gauges and the next cue. Do not approach danger just to maintain a combo.