Late last month, Sega released their Yoko Taro helmed gacha game 404 Game Re:Set, me and many other players have been having a fun time with the game but there is a constant question we are asked but new players “What is this Ribbon Run thing you keep talking about” Well, dear readers, it turns out that Sega hid a secret minigame within their new popular gacha game. This secret minigame was discovered very soon after release but the method of unlocking it is cryptic enough that it needs to be explained to any new players. Which is why I’m here today!
There are very few English sites covering 404 Game Re:Set now that the game has released and I would prefer any tutorials like this be searchable on Google as opposed to being stuck on Discord or a soon to obscure Reddit comment. You may call this lazy writing or accuse me of only talking about this game for content, but I am passionate about it and want info on as many sites as possible so we never lose this info. With my reason for doing this explained, let’s talk about unlocking this minigame!
Whenever you log into 404 Game Re:Set you will be greeted with up to three Casts sitting around your apartment. By default the game picks three Casts at random to hang out with you but there is an option to set which ones appear. This way you can always have your favorites hanging around the apartment.
However if you were to set no Casts to appear, then roaming your apartment very slowly will be the game’s mascot character Ribbon (in her roomba form.) Tapping on this roomba will cause Ribbon to appear in her Cast form like any of the other girls. Like every other character, tapping her in this state will cause her to say a few lines of dialouge and allow you to move your camera around her. Because Ribbon is only playable in the tutorial before leaving you party, there is no ordinary way to make her appear in your apartment. So this secret method of having her appear alone is a neat feature.
Making Ribbon appear is only the beginning of the minigame unlocking process though. Ribbon only has a few lines of dialouge and thus there is no reason to tap her more than two or three times. Players who do keep tapping on her though will begin to notice the screen begin to distort slightly, as if something has gone wrong with their phone’s screen. This is the key to unlocking the minigame
Repeatedly tapping Ribbon will unlock the minigame, but it is unclear how many times she must be tapped. While writing this article, we performed two tests to see how many times she must be tapped to unlock the minigame. The first test required only 26 taps before the minigame appeared, while the second test required 40 taps before the minigame appeared. It is unclear what caused this disparity in the tests. Perhaps it is completely random or maybe it has to do with how much you let Ribbon’s voice lines play out (The first test had her finish her dialouge more often.) Regardless of how it works eventually your screen will go black and you’ll be transported to the title screen of Ribbon Run.
As Ribbon Run is just a minigame hidden away in a mobile gacha game, it’s far from complex. When beginning the minigame, a 2D sprite of Ribbon will begin to run forward along a track. Tapping your screen will cause her to jump in order to avoid obstacles and collect coins. Anyone who has tried to Google something while not connected to the internet will recognize instantly what this minigame is a pastiche of.
Ribbon Run may not be a complex minigame but it’s a fun little distraction to occupy yourself with whilst you wait for your stamina to recharge so you can play the main game. The secrecy of the minigame and telling your friends about it also enhances it a lot in my mind. This is the type of fun decision I expect from both Sega and Yoko Taro. I hope in the future 404 Game Re:Set continues to surprise us with content we can talk about for days.
ABOUT 404 GAME RE:SET
404 Game Re:Set was initially announced on February 10th of 2023. The game’s premise involves Sega taking over the world via the power of Casts, personified versions of classic arcade games. The game sees players taking control of the good personification of arcade games (known as Anodes) as well as the evil personification of arcade games (known as Cathodes)
The game officially launched on April 25th of 2023, with the first five chapters being immediately available.
On April 27th, 2023, Sega announced that the game’s first event, focused on Virtua Fighter, would begin on April 28th
On May 8th, 2023, Sega publicly announced that the game received over 1.5 million downloads.
REFERENCES
404 Game Re:Set official website
OTHER LINKS
(Guide) 404 Game Re:Set Menu Translations
(Guide) 404 Game Re:Set three star Guide translations
404 Game Re:Set Twitter
404 Game Re:Set on Google Play
