Rabites are rabbit-like monsters that appear in nearly every game of the Mana series, since their debut in Final Fantasy Adventure. Rabites are very common enemies, although they have appeared as pets, and are among the weakest ones encountered. They are a mascot of the Mana series and therefore have appeared in every single installment.
Rabites have appeared prevalently in several pieces of Mana merchandise, including plush dolls, cushions, lighters, mousepads, straps, telephone cards, and T-shirts.
They are always depicted as round, yellow furballs sporting round eyes along with a bucktooth smile. They also have long floppy rabbit ears and a pink tail protuding from their backside. Rabites have a squishy body that allows them to leap high into the air. In most games they attack by biting their opponent or by jumping.
The leporine monster is generally seen wandering in open fields, grassy meadows and forest, although they have proven to be extremely adaptable as they can be also spotted in various other settings. They are typically one of the first enemies to be found at the beginning of every installments.
They are generally neither strong or weak against a particular element, although some installments have made them weak to Luna or Aura magic.
Screenshot of the Heroine fighting yellow rabites in Sword of Mana.
While the most common rabites are depicted as yellow, several other types exist, each one being different from the other in terms of strength.
Silktails are a pink and stronger variant 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.
King Rabites, which only appear in Trials of Mana, have a lilac color, and are hardier and more aggressive than their relatives. Somewhat of a rarity, King Rabites make their home in the fabled Mana Holyland, a sacred place that houses the Mana Tree. They can summon Rabites and Silktails to their aid, and they have a potent attack which pummels a foe with many tiny rabites.
Great Rabites are even more powerful than king rabites, and first appear in Trials of Mana. Aside from inheriting nearly all of their lesser cousins' attacks, these green members of the species can stomp their foes flat by enlarging themselves to perform a Jumbonk attack.
Black Rabites are an elusive variant who are matched only by their immense power. First appearing in Trials of Mana, 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 Trials of Mana, 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 Trials of Mana.
Grim Rabites are not in themselves a rabite species in Dawn of Mana, but rather a severe corruption of any rabite species by the Echoes of Mavolia, inheriting various dark powers from the spirits that take hold.
Also in Dawn of Mana, a rabite named Buju is a pet belonging to Ritzia, who took him in after he was abandoned by his family.
The Rabite is an early game enemy found around the Steppe, the Eastern Cave and Wendel during Glaive’s invasion. They slowly make big leaps, occasionally stopping to rest and can only damage Sumo by collision. Its great attack power is mitigated by its abysmal defense power. They can be considered mere nuisance as they don’t even drop any item nor yield good experience or money.
In Adventures of Mana, the Rabite pauses less in-between jumps and they make farther jumps.
Rabites appear around Potos Village and in lowland areas between Potos and Pandora. They can also appear as the result of the spell Change Form or as a transformation of the Shape Shifter enemy.
Rabites are commonly seen in beginning areas of the game, such as the eponymous forest, Cascade Cavern and the Golden Road. Their behavior does not change much from the previous game, and they can be spawn from their evolvedspecies as backup during battle. They are generally only seen bouncing around during daytime and rest at nighttime instead, allowing players to sneak through them or strike while they sleep.
The leporine creature seems to have an expanded biome in the HD remake, as it can be found in many other locations compared to its original entry.
Players can once again procure the Rabite Cap for Charlotte in Jadd. In the 3D remake, the Rabite Adornment is an accessory obtainable for DLC that boosts EXP gain by 10% in battle for the wearer until reaching level 10.
In Legend of Mana, the rabites encountered in the wild are instead white, as it is possible for the Hero or Heroine to raise a pet rabite, who retains its usual yellow color. Both types of rabites have the same attacks, such as biting, and Glare, which is an attack that decreases its target's attack power.
Wild rabites are encountered at Luon Highway, Fieg Snowfields, and The White Forest. Their strength is different in each location, depending on when it can be accessed by the Hero or Heroine.
Like other domesticated pet monsters, a rabite hatches from a Monster Egg. Monster Eggs with a rabite can be found at Lake Kilma and The White Forest. Unlike wild rabites, a domesticated rabite's strength depends on how many experience points it has. Domesticated rabites are not strong fighters, but they have a special ability named HP Recovery that increases the the Hero or Heroine's hit point recovery rate.
Rabites are once again encountered in early areas, such around Topple. They are of the Fauna type and their prime sense is smell. The creature is not very aggressive and can be easily defeated with a few weapon swings. Like any other regular enemies in the game, slaying 1,000 of them will replace them with the much more powerful dark version, and can be subsequently defeated to gain experience faster.
Rabites are fought mainly during the Prologue in Sunbeam Forest and Chapter 1 inside the Great Tree. They can easily be frazzled and knocked back by surrounding objects.
Buju is Ritzia's pet rabite and appears in several cutscenes during the adventure.
“An animal with a round body with a big bucktooth. It's a hard worker that can carry its weight.”
—In-game description
Rabites are gatherer units in Heroes of Mana. They are the first summonable unit and are introduced in chapter 1. They are extremely weak as their fighting prowess are next to none and thus can easily be wiped out by enemy units.
In Final Fantasy X-2 there is an accessory called the Rabite's Foot (despite Rabites not having any feet), which increases the Luck statistic by 100 points. Its name is a play on "rabbit's foot" and also references how rabbit feet are considered by some to be a good-luck charm.
In SaGa Frontier, statues of rabites appear outside of a shrine. In the hidden ending, when all scenarios are completed, the player can defeat a rabite in combat.
In Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, rabites are mentioned in a summary of the Poachers mission, and are said to sometimes be named "the lucky rabbit."
In Racing_Lagoon, Square racing-RPG game, rabite features on one of decals for the cars.