LogFAQs > #911001791

Funny you should mention that Raka...

#9: Ribby and Croaks
Difficulty: 4/10
Design: 8/10
Fun Factor: 7/10

Ribby and Croaks is the fight where the game went from good to great for me, because it happens to be the first fight in the game that really shows off Cuphead at its best. This is still a lot easier than a lot of the fights left to come, but it shows off hints of the challenge to come. The biggest thing is the fight is just fun, and each of the three phases presents some unique attacks and has you pulling off completely different movements to get through them.

A lot of this comes from the third phase, which is really clever (even if it makes no damn sense). You actually need to spin the slot machine to start the attack, and you'll end up getting one of three different attacks depending on your luck. There is a nice variety between the attacks as well, each of which has some pretty fun dodging strategies to implement. The entire fight just has a lot of good movement to it, from allowing the fan form to blow you back to hoping between increasingly fast moving spiked platforms. The first phase is a little basic, but even that has some things you need to take advantage of if you're going for the A+ rank.

The design is great, and I love how you're technically fighting two foes at once, even though they both share the same health pool. It is a really interesting setup, particularly in the second phase, where you can theoretically attack either enemy depending on what your strategy is. It is a fairly unique fight in the game, in that it is the only one where you're facing off against two opponents at one time. There are plenty of fights with groups of people, but those usually are one after the other and the combination here not only just looks cool, but there is a function to it as well as each has specific attacks. I also really like the design of the two frogs, even by themselves. They have this long, spindly arms and legs which gives them a really fluid feeling to their movements, including their idle "bobbing up and down" animation.

This also has to be my favorite background in the entire game. I love all the flies in the background, either cheering on the fight or ignoring it and looking at each other across a table. When I complained about some backgrounds feeling static, this is specifically the level that makes me feel that way. When you see everything going on in the background, it just feels alive and a lot of the other levels in the game are kind of lacking that same atmosphere.

There are a couple of issues with the fight. Like Raka so RUDELY SPOILED for everyone (jeez, so rude), the transition to the third phase is just kind of weird. I overlook the whole "becoming a fan" thing because it sort of fits with the cartoony natures of the game and I've seen similarly things in older cartoons. It at least makes sense that he's moving his arms fast enough that he morphs into a fan. I have no idea where frog + frog = slot machine comes from though, unless this is some reference I'm missing.

That really isn't my main concern though, and the thing holding the fight back is it is just overall too easy. Sure, it is a first island fight so that is to be expected, but I can't really grade on a curve here in terms of which fights I found more enjoyable to play through. I do love the design of the third phase, but the first two can feel a bit barebones in terms of strategy after you have things figured out. The expert fight is much better in this regard and with both frogs attacking simultaneously in phase one it feels like a much more well balanced fight. Still, while it is a really good fight there just happen to be a lot of better ones since they have more going on.
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Moops?
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