Although it was first released five years before Sonic Wings, the horizontally-scrolling shmup Rabio Lepus set the stage for the Sonic Wings series with its style of gameplay in addition to its cast of characters and bizarre enemies. In the year 6809, an alien force powerful in both science and witchcraft[1] kidnaps the princess of Bunnyland, Komomo Kitashirakawa, along with her sister Kotomi Kitashirakawa and their grandfather the king, Taro Kitashirakawa. Two robotic rabbits built for combat, Rabio and Lepus, rescue the royal family by fighting enemies on a spaceship, an asteroid, and the enemy's planet.
Rabio and Lepus would later appear as secret playable characters in Sonic Wings and in various cameos throughout the Sonic Wings series and other Video System games. Komomo and Kotomi also appeared in a few later games, and the king returned in the guise of Lord River-n-White in nearly all of the series and many other Video System titles. Finally, the enemies Tenukie Chaudo and the Kame-Chargers served as a final boss in some Sonic Wings games, and the boss Fire Master is a minor enemy in Sonic Wings 3 and a boss in two other Video System games.
In 1990, an altered version of Rabio Lepus was released for the PC-Engine console as Rabio Lepus Special. The original game was re-released for Playstation 2 as part of the Oretachi Geasen Zoku Sono series.
Soundtracks[]
- Oretachi Geasen Zoku Sono 14: Rabio Lepus Soundtrack
- Rabio Lepus & Turbo Force - Video System Arcade Sound Digital Collection Vol. 2
Secrets[]
None known at this time.
Characters[]
Playable[]
Non-Playable[]
Bosses[]
- Black Dragon
- Dotama
- Fire Master
- Ghost Golem
- Golem Head
- Metal Panther
- Metal Soldier
- Moving Core
- Skip Elephant
- Tenukie Chaudo
- Tetsūshi
- Yohmaoh (true final boss)
Game Versions[]
Arcade[]
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Title screen for Rabbit Punch.
Rabio Lepus was first released for the arcade in Japan, then later released in US arcades as Rabbit Punch. A major alteration was made in the US version: Kotomi and Komomo were completely removed from the game. No image of the kidnapped royal family is shown at the beginning, and while the king is rescued from the asteroid (and even though he mentions the princess there), no one is rescued from the spaceship and planet. Komomo's voice is heard saying, "Arigatou, Usagi-chan," at the end of the game, but she is not shown.
Playstation 2[]
Oretachi Geasen Zoku Sono 14: Rabio Lepus game
The Oretachi Geasen Zoku Sono series featured many classic arcade games rereleased for the Playstation 2, along with soundtracks and other extras. Rabio Lepus was the fourteenth game to be released in the series, which had earlier released Sonic Wings.
The Oretachi game included case, game disc, manual, "Rabio Lepus Official Guidebook Special Edition," replica of the arcade instruction flyer, trading card, soundtrack CD, and a DVD including a promo video, remix from the soundtrack, and partial playthrough of the game with Rabio.
Media Gallery[]
