INTERVIEW: This Legendary Anime Writer Turned Peter Rabbit into a Mech Game
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Gen Urobuchi has had a long and storied career. You might know him for his work as the writer of Madoka Magica, a delightful anime that offered an incredible twist on the magical girl genre, or the 2012 cyberpunk psychological thriller Psycho-Pass. You might even know him for his work on the tokusatsu show Kamen Rider Gaim, or the deeply weird puppet series Thunderbolt Fantasy. Most recently, though, Urobuchi-san has been hard at work on Rusty Rabbit, a curious new metroidvania game inspired by a surprising source.
Rusty Rabbit takes place in the far future, long after humans have become extinct. Rabbits have become the dominant species on Earth, and have built up cities and societies on top of the ruins of the old planet. Like humans, the rabbits have their own culture and religion, and that religion is built on a classic series of books: Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit.
A painting from Rusty Rabbit parodying The Creation of Adam, with Peter Rabbit in place of Adam.
A painting from Rusty Rabbit parodying The Creation of Adam, with Peter Rabbit in place of Adam.
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Peter Rabbit himself is presented as a Jesus-like figure, with his countless fables documenting his frequent victories over the evil Mr. McGregor, a farmer in Potter's books but akin to the devil in Rusty Rabbit. It's a clever analog, presented well in-game, and it makes sense, too — of course rabbits would look to classic literature, seemingly left behind by unknown forces, to find their place in the world.
Urobuchi-san says that it was an obvious inspiration for Rusty Rabbit, largely in part due to how ubiquitous Peter Rabbit is around the world.
"I chose [Peter Rabbit] because I believe it's arguably the most globally resonant rabbit tale ever told," Urobuchi-san tells us. "I honestly think there's a real possibility this picture book could be excavated from the ruins of a post-apocalyptic world."
A large, ornate puppet from the Thunderbolt Fantasy project of a man holding a fan in traditional garb, adorned with Gen Urobuchi's signature glasses.
A large, ornate puppet from the Thunderbolt Fantasy project of a man holding a fan in traditional garb, adorned with Gen Urobuchi's signature glasses.
Photo provided by Gen Urobuchi
It's not just rabbits and carrots on display in Rusty Rabbit, as its main character, Stamp, rides around in a mechsuit, smashing his way through old ruins with drill hands and rocket thrusters. The story goes that Urobuchi-san was inspired one day when scrolling through Twitter, where he stumbled upon a photo of a Sylvanian Families figure in a toy mech. We weren't able to confirm that story when talking to him, but I don't see any reason to doubt it, and that inspiration is on clear display in-game. Just about every character in Rusty Rabbit looks like they were plucked off the shelves of a Sylvanian Families display, and they're delightfully adorable.
That cutesy appearance is offset by Stamp's character — he's a washed-up, middle-aged scavenger whose best days are long behind him. He's kind, and helps those younger than him when they're in a pinch, but he has no patience for youthful nonsense. He's been at the scavenger game for a long time, so he knows a thing or two, and he doesn't mind passing on a few tips here and there if anyone's around to listen.
It's a stark difference from most of Urobuchi-san's main characters, who skew young and inexperienced. Because of this, Urobuchi-san had to take an entirely new approach when writing Stamp.
"This project took a completely new approach, so it was a creative breakthrough for me as well," he says. "Younger characters tend to observe things from a grounded, eye-level perspective and serve as drivers of the story, while older characters often take a bird's-eye view and act as guides. That's the key difference in their narrative roles."
Stamp in his mechsuit cutting through vines in Rusty Rabbit.
Stamp in his mechsuit cutting through vines in Rusty Rabbit.
Nitro Plus
That new approach extended beyond just writing Stamp's character, too, since writing a game is very different from writing an anime or TV series. Urobuchi-san has dabbled in games before, but has primarily focused on visual novels up until now. Rusty Rabbit sees the player in a much more active role, exploring and writing their own story alongside Urobuchi-san's.
"Stories in animation unfold automatically on screen, so the audience bears no responsibility for how events play out," Urobuchi-san explains. "But in games, the player is the one moving the story forward. That makes them a kind of accomplice with the creators. That's why I try to avoid endings that are overly tragic or absurd."
Urobuchi-san is a busy man, balancing his duties on Rusty Rabbit, the creation of new episodes of Thunderbolt Fantasy, and the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima: Legends anime, for which he's composing music, but he's still managed to avoid his various projects overlapping too much. He even finds time to play games between it all, which he says is his favorite form of entertainment — depending on his mood, he'll play just about anything, including racing, action, and puzzle games.
His love for games is evident in Rusty Rabbit, which I've sunk more than a few hours into. It's a very good metroidvania with some fantastic storytelling, satisfying exploration, and some genuinely fresh and inventive gameplay ideas that I've not seen in the genre. There are some places where it's a bit rough around the edges – combat can be a bit hit and miss – but it's well worth playing for fans of cute little rabbits, Urobuchi-san's writing, and metroidvanias.
"I was pleasantly surprised by how powerful the combination of character design and music turned out to be — it exceeded my expectations," Urobuchi says about the final product, before imploring players to explore every nook and cranny of the game.
"This is a story-rich game, not just in the dungeon but scattered throughout the world. I hope players take the time to dig into the lives of the villagers in Brass Village and enjoy every corner of the setting."
Rusty Rabbit is available now on Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PC.
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