Rappy

The Rappy (Japanese: ラッピー) is a large, fluffy bird-like creature present in the Phantasy Star video games. In recent times, it has taken on the role as the mascot for the Online franchise frequently appearing on merchandise and advertising representative of the series as a whole.

Although there are different varieties of rappy in existence, the Rag Rappy and its rappy cousins found in Phantasy Star Universe being some of the more realistic in design, the cute, super deformed "chibi" styled birds with giant eyes and large bellies tend to be the more rare, sought after incarnation in the recent games.

Characteristics[]

Toyo chirper — Artwork of Chirper from *PSIII* character designer Toyo Ozaki's artbook.

Appearance[]

Although the style changes from game to game, the same basic design is apparent in all of rappy's appearances. Its main form is usually depicted as being a short, yellow bird with two large antennae protruding from the top of its head, the tips having a tendency to be pink or reddish in color. On its face are two eyes surrounded by a large patch of white feathers and a dark colored beak. On its arms are small wings, sometimes having sharp claws on its hands to swipe at foes.

Personality[]

Pso ep3 avert — Two rappy attempting to evade a hunter.

Rappies are famous for being cowards. When they sense that they may be in trouble, whether losing from a battle or being startled by a sniper's bullet, they have a tendency to play dead and then sprint away from its attacker when it detects a possible chance of escape. Although they are capable of attacking, rappies only do so when they believe their territory is being wrongfully invaded. Their attacks are a combination of pecks and sometimes slashing with their claws.

The birds tend to form packs and, when gathered together in a safe area, sing songs with one another. The less hostile, yet more vulnerable "chibi" styled rappies do not fear hunters and will willingly walk toward one in an effort to bond by singing, usually ending with the bird getting knocked out and mugged for its items.

In most games, rappies are shown to be in the holiday spirit by dressing in costumes to celebrate seasonal events. Whether they understand the holiday or they are being forced into their habits by humans is a mystery, however they do seem content as they will remain in their festive attire until the holiday period ends. To celebrate the occasion, they will sometimes drop special holiday-themed items upon defeat.

Habitat[]

Rappy pack1 — A pack of Rag Rappy chirping in the forest.

Rappies tend to live in forest or forest-like areas, such as the forest area of Naverius in Phantasy Star Online 2, and the Habirao Forbidden District of Neudaiz in Phantasy Star Universe.

Although some versions appear to not be native to any known area and instead appear in every area, such as the rappies that resemble rag rappies in Phantasy Star Universe and the "chibi" rappies in Phantasy Star Online 2, as well as the respective holiday variants in these two games.

Rappies are said to transcend time and space, possibly explaining how they can appear on multiple planets.

Origins[]

The first rappy-like creature to be introduced into the franchise was a tiny, fluffy bird with small antennae that was known as Chirper in the English version of Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom. It came in three variations, Chirper (yellow), Warbler (purple) and Squaker (white). Although a generally weak encounter in their normal form, their Gra spell notwithstanding, Chirper and its variants had a more formidable robot duplicate named Chirpbot (pink), Warblbot (light blue) and Squakbot (light green) and could cast the fire spell Foi on their opponents.

PSIV king rappy — The original King Rappy.

It was not until its next appearance in Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium that the creature would famously be renamed Rappy in the West and would acquire its unique quirk for being a coward when it appears to be in a losing battle. There were three types of rappy in this game, including the aforementioned Rappy, Blue Rappy living up to its namesake, and King Rappy.

Phantasy Star Online[]

230px-Love-rappy-2 — Love Rappy as it appears in *Phantasy Star Online*.

Main article: Rag Rappy

After nearly a decade, the Phantasy Star series received a massive overhaul from a single player RPG into an online, worldwide action RPG known as Phantasy Star Online. Although the game distanced itself from its classic predecessors in many ways, it retained similar elements such as technique names, items, weapons and familiar-looking enemies. Among them was the game's own incarnation of rappy named Rag Rappy. This creature retains its famous pink antennae atop its head and yellow coloration, as well as its tendency to run away whenever it becomes overwhelmed by the player. Further hearkening back to the series' classic roots is the game's inclusion of Al Rappy, the rare blue form of Rag Rappy reminiscent of Phantasy Star IV's Blue Rappy.

With Phantasy Star Online's introduction of a plethora of colorful rappies to the franchise, it would begin the series' tradition of dressing the rappies in special outfits to celebrate certain holidays. Although not a holiday rappy, Love Rappies, introduced in Episode 2 as a rare encounter in the VR Temple, would later become a holiday variant in games such as Phantasy Star Universe and Phantasy Star Online 2.

Phantasy Star Universe[]

With the introduction of Phantasy Star Universe began a tradition to make certain yellow-feathered rappies unique and somewhat rare.

In this game, the common forms of the bird, named Rappy Polec, were white colored monsters that could shoot a light-based attack reminiscent of the classic Chirper's Gra spell. In contrast, the rare form known simply as Rappy could only attack by swiping its claws.

Also present within the game is Rappy Gugg, a giant Rappy that, due to its weight, has trouble flying and occasionally falls on unsuspecting hunters. It is supposedly mutated by the high photon levels of the Habirao Forbidden District.

There is also a rare version of Rappy Gugg which is only encountered in missions where Rappy Gugg would otherwise appear called Rappy Igg. It is most likely a rarer mutation caused by the aforementioned high photon levels.

Phantasy Star Zero[]

Rappies pszss — Rappies surrounding the player in *Phantasy Star 0*.

Main article: Rappy (Phantasy Star Zero)

Phantasy Star Zero is the first game in the franchise to develop a chibi-styled rappy that remains one of the consistent staples of the Online series. They are rare creatures in Zero, making appearances in the first three areas, and a rodeo style theme will play upon encountering them. Rappies are quite timid and cowardly, but will respond with pecks if approached. As one would expect from this iconic species, they will play dead upon defeat and will attempt to flee after some time. If one is hit while it is running away, it may drop an item.

The cute and iconic design of Phantasy Star Zero's rappy has allowed it to become the official mascot of the online RPG entries in the franchise in recent times.

Phantasy Star Portable 2[]

Rappies did not make a full appearance as a creature in Phantasy Star Portable 2, but it instead had various subspecies such as Rappy Polec, Sand Rappy, Rappy Gugg and Rappy Igg. There is also a Dual Saber resembling two rappies called Rappy Tippies, in exchange for 5 Blood Moon Spellstones, as well as for a saber called Rappy Tip and a slicer called Rappy Fan in the secret pub trade mission. Additionally, there is a rappy costume that is unlockable at the secret pub for 9 Irisista Spellstones. Lastly, there is an armor called Rabol Rappy which can be acquired in exchange for 13 Blood Moon Spellstones in the secret pub.

Phantasy Star Online 2[]

In Phantasy Star Online 2, Nav Rappys are near-identical to rag rappys in both appearance and behavior, and likewise only appear in planet Naverius' forest area. They are also considered to be natives of the area as opposed to a type of rappy in client orders. In spite of this however, they still drop weapons with the "Rappy Soul" ability.^[1]^[2]

Emperappyroll — An empe-rappy rolling around as seen in a trailer for Episode 4.

Episode 4 introduces the empe-rappy subspecies, which is only found in bonus quests unlocked by gaining and using gold keys from featured quests. ^[3]^[4]

King rappy es — A king rappy with a nab rappy for comparison

Phantasy Star Online 2 es[]

Introduced into Phantasy Star Online 2 es, the mobile version of Phantasy Star Online 2, is the giant rainbow-colored king rappys, a rare enemy that randomly appears during encounters in emergency quests. Although it does not attack, it does have hit points equal to a boss monster and occasionally strafes in an effort to dodge the player's attacks.

When a king rappy is summoned, the music changes to a happy, rodeo-styled tune similar to the one in Phantasy Star Zero. Preferring to travel in a group, the regal giant is typically surrounded by a random assortment of rappy and nab rappy, the latter of which are the only enemies capable of hurting the player during the encounter. Upon defeating it, a king rappy will drop the slightly rare Singing Rappy chip. During seasonal events, king rappies will be replaced with the pink colored queen rappies.

PSO2es also introduced several new enemy types: "enemy+" are larger versions of standard enemies that hit harder have more hit points; "enemy S" are extremely tiny forms of standard enemies with similar power and hit points as "enemy+;" and "enemy Ex," their low levels of which belie their true power. Nav Rappy+ and Nav Rappy S enemies tend to spawn in groups, similar to their normal counterparts, although there are occasions in which a single nav rappy+ will spawn with other enemies as the area boss. Nav Rappy Ex, however, only appear in extreme stages.

Idola: Phantasy Star Saga[]

Various species of rappy manifest as enemies.

The common variety may appear during non-final waves of any mission. When downed, they have a chance to drop Rappy Feathers, which can be exchanged for goods at the in-game Shop.

Other species known as IdoRappies typically appear during special events and are recognized by their larger build as well as white plumage and sun hats. When defeated, IdoRappies may drop increased event rewards and other rare loot.

Rappies also appear on various Symbol cards and as limited playable units of the Earth element.

Phantasy Star Nova[]

Rappies are somewhat rare natives to the planet Machia. They come in two varieties: the Rove Rappy, and the Alma Rappy. They also possess monochrome-colored rare counterparts.

Rove Rappy is a small bird like creature identical in appearance to the more common Nav Rappy found on Planet Naverius. However, unlike the Nav Rappy, the Rove Rappy possesses a miniature, rocket-powered jet pack that it can use to enable flight. The jet packs that Rove Rappies wear are typically used to boost into their enemies to inflict damage.

The Alma Rappy is a Machia-based counterpart to the more common Rappy species seen in Phantasy Star Online 2. Like the Rove Rappies' relation to the Nav Rappies, the Alma Rappy is identical in appearance to a regular Rappy. The Alma Rappy, in contrast to regular Rappies, wears a large, blue backpack suitable for hiking, topped with a red rolled sleeping bag. They behave similarly to their more common cousins, but will immediately flee when defeated.

Cameos & Other Appearances[]

Billy hatcher rappy2 — Rappy summoned from its egg in Billy Hatcher's game

Rappy has made several appearances in other media, often as a small cameo or a helper that assists the main hero.

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg[]

The rappy in Billy Hatcher borrows many of its in-game models from its incarnation in Phantasy Star Online. Although it shares a similar appearance to Rag Rappy, it is simply referred to as Rappy. The cowardly bird can be found hidden within a Sonic Team egg in Blizzard Castle Mission 2 after obtaining a certain amount of chicken coins. Upon being summoned, Billy can order it to charge directly forward into any enemies lining its path, the attack of which has the power to defeat most in a single attack.

Rappy's in-game description reads, "So cute, yet so fast!"

Rappy runners — Rappy as he appears in *Sonic Runners*

Sonic Runners[]

Rappy makes an appearance in Sonic Runners as an unlockable rare Buddy, a helpful companion that can be taken by Sonic or one of his pals into a stage. Obtaining rare buddies is a game of chance, since the premium or special roulette had to have landed on the segment with a picture of a rare egg.

Buddies help the player by using their powers in order to trigger beneficial effects during a stage; in the case of rappy, his stats are as follows:

Name	Type	Effect
Rappy	Speed	Boosts score
When you defeat an enemy, there’s a fixed chance for Golden Rappies to appear.

Rappy, alongside Mag and Quna, was only obtainable during the Sonic Runners x Phantasy Star Online 2 collaboration period.

Rappy Bird[]

Rappy Bird is a flash game created by Sega as an April Fools video game announcement on their official American blog. It stars King Rappy from Phantasy Star IV as its main character attempting to fly through Emerald Hill Zone from the Sonic series.

The game is a parody of the modern mobile phone phenomenon, Flappy Bird. The objective is simple, the player clicks the screen in order to make rappy flap its wings. Along the path will be obstacles which must be dodged, otherwise rappy will crash into them and the game will end. For each obstacle avoided, the score tallied in the top right corner of the screen will increase.

Although the game was formerly hosted on the official Sega blog, it is unfortunately no longer available as the site is no longer online.

Shining Force Cross Exlesia Zenith[]

In 2014, Shining Force Cross Exlesia Zenith collaborated with Phantasy Star Online 2. As part of the agreement, both games borrowed costumes from each other, one of which is a rappy costume appearing in the Shining Force game.

This collaboration will be parodied in the anime, Hi-sCoool! SeHa Girls, where the female protagonists are forced to wear Rappy costumes during their trial.

Hi-sCoool! SeHa Girls[]

Seha girls ep13 — Rappy cheering on Dreamcast

Rappy makes several appearances in the Sega Hard Girls anime series. Its first cameo is in episode 11, "Dream Rappy, Saturn Rappy, Mega Rappy, ?? Rappy," in which the Hard Girls visit the world of Shining Force: Cross Exlesia Zenith dressed in the Rappy costumes from Phantasy Star Online 2.

When Dreamcast gets sent flying from a boss' attack, a brave rappy boldly steps in to challenge the beast. After congratulating the bird, Sega Saturn begins to wail on it believing it to be her friend. When she and Mega Drive discover that it is not a costume, it skips around happily before retreating from whence it came. The same rappy returns two episodes later in the finale, "We'll Always Be Connected!," cheering on Dreamcast along with many familiar faces from Sega's colorful history.

It's 16-BITpedia entry from Mega Drive's book reads:

The mascot of Phantasy Star Online, crossing space-time to win hearts with its cute, lovely appearance. Gets beaten up and kicked around a lot just for singing songs. After being beaten to a certain point, it plays dead, then gets up and flees after a set amount of time. Watch out if you see a zipper on its back!!

Pso2 ep4 12 — Aika Suzuki with her pet rappy

Phantasy Star Online 2 The Animation[]

A rappy provides a support role in the Phantasy Star Online 2 anime. Despite there being no rappy summoner pet ingame at the time of the series' airing, this creature is a pet belonging to Aika Suzuki. It has a camouflage ability allowing it to become invisible to most eyes, and can be directed to attack enemies when Aika swings her takt (a baton).

Rappy suits also appear prominently in the ending credits to each episode in a song sequence titled Rare Drop☆KOI☆Koi! One More!. The solo player, SORO, wears a yellow rappy costume and performs a dance number, as shown on the bottom right as a dance choreography guide, accompanied by several other rappy-suited companions, during a server-wide concert, with an exquisite display of rainbow lights in the background.

Merchandise[]

Being the mascot of the Online franchise, rappy has been made into purchasable merchandise. It has appeared on prepaid cards, plush toys, and served as food in several bakeries in Japan.

Quotes[]

Phantasy Star IV[]

"Wow. What a big strange bird! It looks dangerous. I better not get too close!"

— Chaz upon finding a King Rappy in Rappy Cave

"Are you the hunters from the Guild? I'm Sekreas. You've heard that a strange flock of birds has been eating up these fields, right? Well, the fact is, I know the place where the head honcho bird is. What I want to ask you to do is exterminate the head honcho bird. That head honcho bird can be found in a cave northeast of here. I beg of you, get that bird! Protect our fields!"

— Sekreas explaining the mission overview of Man with a Twist. He wants Chaz to exterminate the rappy leader, King Rappy, before the birds eat all of the food.

"OK, OK, let me explain... please forgive me! I've always been an animal lover. Recently, I discovered a new breed of bird. I've been collecting those birds in this cave and rearing them. But eventually, they multiplies and began looking for food. They came to Torinco and started to eat up the fields. That's when the villagers got mad and tried to exterminate the birds. Isn't that cruel? All the birds wanted was to find some food."

— At the end of the quest, Sekreas reveals his true intentions for going to the Hunter's Guild

Phantasy Star Online[]

"Rag Rappies are cowards, but they like to attack straight on. When an (sic) Rag Rappy falls down, it may still be alive. So be careful."
— Red Ring Rico

"'Rag Rappy, native creature, lives on the surface of Ragol. Timid, but aggressive when defending its territory...' Something's been cut off. ...this is weird. 'Don't assume you've killed them when they fall.' They have a tendency to play dead when they're hurt."
— Cal

"It looks like there's a gap in the Rag Rappy data. Oh, here it comes. 'Happiness will come to those who find it.' ??? What does that mean? I've heard that there's a really rare type of Rappy out there. I wonder if that's what they're talking about..."

— Cal talking about Love Rappy