Release the brush too early and the entire segment reverts to fluffy clouds as if you’d never written anything at all. To write well you’ll need to briefly flick the stick upwards to load your brush with ink before holding down, and then release it at exactly the right moment to avoid finishing on a blotchy mess. To write you need to do nothing more than hold the right analogue stick down at the beginning of a section and then release it at the end. The aim of each stage is to guide your character into turning the circle of clouds scrolling below their feet into the lyrics of the rap using their brush and the limited supply of ink available to them. You’re here to rap, the game relying on your understanding of the words inked out below Mojibri’s feet exactly as much as PaRappa the Rapper expects you to be able to kick, punch (it’s all in the mind), Um Jammer Lammy expects you to be able to play the guitar, and Vib Ribbon expects you to be able to fulfil the role of a wireframe shape-hopping bunny who can also turn into a worm – which is to say, not at all. The game may be calligraphy themed, but the fact is Capcom’s bark ’em up Okami is more concerned with the quality of your brushwork than Mojib-Ribbon is – this is not a complaint or a design flaw in NaNaOn-Sha’s title, but it is a general misconception that needs dispelling sooner rather than later. This, at least on a mechanical level, is not true. Much has been made of Mojib-Ribbon‘s calligraphy theme in English-speaking circles over the years, with some persistent claims this renders it utterly impenetrable to those who can’t fluently read Japanese.