After getting a teaser announcement about a new rhythm game under development by the same minds that created Gitaroo Man, Elite Beat Agents, and Parappa the Rapper, Keiichi Yano and Masaya Matsuura came clean with the launch of their Kickstarter for Project Rap Rabbit.
The new title will take rhythm-styled gameplay into RPG territory, orchestrating combat through dialogue exchanges filtered through rap battles. Inspired by other media like the Epic Rap Battles Of History YouTube series, the hook here is that rap battles are decided in real time through a “dialogue wheel”, which represents one of four specific temperaments.
The wheels will vary, with four types of expression: Coerce, Boast, Laugh, and Joke — each of these rap-trees will have their own strengths and weaknesses, having specific uses against the enemies you’ll encounter in the game. This will force you to ad-lib your flow like a genuine freestyle rapper.
The team behind the game is promising that Project Rap Rabbit will be the most stylish game that either Keiichi Yano or Masaya Matsuura has ever released.
The campaign’s funding goal is about $1.1 million.Stretch goals state that the game was initially pitched as a PS4 console exclusive, but if the campaign reaches $3.1 million, the team will release an Xbox One version of Project Rap Rabbit, and they’ll also bring it to the Nintendo Switch if it hits a whopping $4.9 million.
The project has already raised $95,000 on its first day, but it remains to be seen whether or not the team will be able to secure the money they’re asking for. If you want to find out more about the project, you can find the KickStarter for Project Rap Rabbit here.
