Rabite
Rabites (rabi in Japan) are fictional, rabbit-like monsters featured in the video game series Seiken Densetsu developed by Square Enix (originally Squaresoft). Appearing as a common enemy in the series since its beginning, the rabite has become a sort of mascot for the Seiken Densetsu games, much the same way as the chocobo represents Final Fantasy, and is one of its most recognizable icons.
Biology
The rabite resembles a small, bodiless rabbit with no legs, large ears that curve upward and form a point at the tip, and a round, puffy tail. Its English name is a portmanteau of "rabbit" and "bite", a reference to both its appearance and primary means of attack. Movement by the rabites is achieved by hopping along the ground by pushing up with the muscles on its underside, allowing it to move forward while propelling its body through the air. Though many aspects of its physiology remain unrevealed by Square Enix, its body appears to contain little to no bone structure, as evidenced by the extreme pliability of its stomach and mouth, which it is able to open quite widely. This theory is troublesome, however, as in the more recent games, the rabite tends to spew forth several bones from its body upon defeat, often more so than could logically be housed inside its small frame. One possible explanation could be that the bones come from an animal the rabite has recently devoured, or it could simply be a recycled death graphic that should not be taken literally. In the earlier games, the rabite, upon defeat, explodes in a colourful splash.
Despite their docile appearance, rabites can and most often will attack unprovoked, and remain a constant nuisance in whatever game they happen to be in. Their primary means of defense consists of lunging at an opponent, mouth agape, and biting down on them with their single, large tooth. From evidence in Secret of Mana, in the event it becomes too wounded to fight or if it faces a threat too large for it to handle, it will attempt to flee. If it becomes surrounded it will then cover its face in a last bid for mercy. In any game featuring a day-night cycle, rabites can be seen sleeping when it becomes dark rather than moving around screen, which would make them diurnal.
Colors
While the most common rabites are depicted as yellow, several other types exist, each one being different from the other in terms of strength.
Yellow: The most often seen version of rabites that has appeared in every Seiken Densetsu title since the first game, Final Fantasy Adventure. Most often depicted as the weakest form of rabite, the yellow variety usually lacks any sort of special attacks other than its bite and can often be defeated by the player with little difficulty. Regardless, this rabite is the most seen of any of its brethren, and is the form most would associate with rabites as a whole.
White: In Legend of Mana all non-boss monsters in the game can be domesticated by the player. Domesticated monsters have a different color palette than their wild counterparts. The wild rabite in this game is white, while the domesticated rabite is yellow. The white rabite's strength depends on when their habitat becomes available to the player, but the yellow domesticated version's strength depends on how much battle experience the player has exposed them to. Both versions tend to have the same attacks, such as biting and a special attack that makes their opponents fall for the rabite's cuteness, decreasing their special attack power.
Pink: Also known as a "rabilion" in Seiken Densetsu 3, or as a "silktail" in Secret of Mana. Silktails are a stronger version of a rabite enemy. Unlike yellow rabites, the pink rabites rely on their ability to both attack and heal, using their ability to conjure minor restorative magic (the silktails in Secret of Mana also possess a sleep spell). They are much more aggressive than regular rabites, using jumping and leaping attacks and pursuing foes well after dark.
Lilac: Known as "king rabites" in Seiken Densetsu 3, the lilac version remains the strongest normally-found rabite, having much better attack and defensive power than its predecessors. Something of a rarity, these rabites make their home in the fabled Mana Holyland, a sacred place that houses the Mana Tree. They can summon rabites and rabilions to their aid, and they have a potent attack which pummels a foe with many tiny rabites.
Black: The black rabite's elusiveness is matched only by its immense power, and a player would have to go far out of their way to find one. First appearing in Seiken Densetsu 3, the black rabite is an optional boss character that wields powerful magic and has a staggering amount of health. The origin of this beast is unknown, but it has somehow come into possession of powerful mana that allows it to cast nearly every spell in the game, as well as summon equal-level monsters to its aid. The Black Rabite is seen in a hidden path inside the Dragon's Hole in Seiken Densetsu 3, not too far from the entrance.
The black rabite appears again as a result of an easter egg in Sword of Mana by killing 1000 normal rabites, thus allowing the player to "upgrade" any rabites encountered thereafter into their black counterparts. Although much more powerful physically than normal rabites, these black rabites lack the magic abilities of the one found in Seiken Densetsu 3.
Rabite characters in Seiken Densetsu games
While the rabite is most often seen as an enemy character, there are rare instances of using rabites to assist the player in the Seiken Densetsu games. In Legend of Mana, a yellow rabite is one of the possible pets that the player can raise and subsequently use as a battle partner. After hatching from a Monster Egg, the rabite can be used in battle and leveled up just like a normal character, having its power increased in the process. While never really becoming a strong fighter, the rabite had a special ability called "HP Recovery" which increases the natural rate at which a player recovers hit points. This idea is later carried over to Seiken Densetsu: Friends of Mana.
In Dawn of Mana, a rabite named Rabini ("Puck" in the Japanese version) is the pet of the female lead character Ritzia, who took him in after he was abandoned by his family.
In the manga
A rabite also appeared in the Legend of Mana manga by Shiro Amano, as a dangerous and cuddly comic relief character and emergency food ration for the main hero.
Other appearances
- Statues of rabites appear outside of a shrine in the Squaresoft RPG SaGa Frontier.
- Rabites appear in a small cameo quote in the Square Enix computer role-playing game Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, in which it is also stated that they are sometimes referred to as "the lucky rabbit". The quote is included in a summary of the mission "Poachers".
- The webcomic Rabite Season chronicles the lives of several video game rabbits, one of which is a Jewish Rabite named Shem (he is of the pink "Silktail" variety).
- In the Flash webcomic Secret of Mana Theater, the main character, Seth, is deathly afraid of rabites, having had a bad experience with them at the beginning of the comic.
Merchandise
Rabites have appeared prevalently in several pieces of Seiken Densetsu merchandise, including plush dolls, figurines, and keychains. Special rabite wristbands for the Nintendo DS and cellphone jockeys are also available in Japan.