This article or section contains spoilers about content or story from Chapters 5–7.

I have a promise I must fulfill. And so, I wish to explore. —Kabbu

Kabbu is one of the three protagonists in Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling. He is the initial member of Team Snakemouth.

Appearance

As he is the only rainbow scarab beetle to appear in the game, it is unknown how many similarities he has to the rest of his species. He is primarily emerald green with a grey torso and large dark green wings that he uses mainly as a cape. On his shoulders are a pair of white pincers, paired alongside a capelet of a differing shade from his wings that stop at his waist and covers both his arms. Atop his head is a large green horn. Although he has two eyes, one is always covered by a shadow when facing left or right.

In the non-canonical Version 0.4.1 demo, Kabbu appears to be physically average with a muscular physique. Having been redesigned as a human, Kabbu shows big, brown eyes with a slightly tan body. His shirt is beige with his undershirt appearing to be green with two teeth as the necklace. His hair remains green, combed down with the exception of a large spike that points up to his head, referencing Kabbu's horn.

History

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Background

Prior to the events of the game, Kabbu traveled to Bugaria from the Northern Lands along with his friend Bit and their master, the former of whom he met while training.^[1] While they were traveling through the Wild Swamplands (in order to avoid the Wasp Kingdom), they were attacked by The Beast, and Bit and his master sacrificed their lives so that Kabbu could escape. Kabbu moved to Bugaria one moon prior to the events of the game. Before meeting Vi at the Explorers' Association at the start of the game, Kabbu had a brief stay in Defiant Root, where he met Mayor Emmet and Professor Neolith.

Personality

Kabbu is level-headed, chivalrous and brave while also acting as a selfless friend. As a "Veteran of the North", he is knowledgeable in combat and survival skills, which helped him in his travel to Bugaria before meeting Vi. He is also shown to be extremely loyal to those he cares about, as he traveled all the way to Bugaria to fulfill a promise he made to someone. Despite his good heart and intentions, he is quite talkative to the point where Vi has to ask him to stop from time to time. Regardless, he is respected by his teammates and is proud of his position as the leader of Team Snakemouth.

He is also a big fan of the Bug Rangers, and is shown to be very sensitive if the doll is given to an NPC in a side-quest or brought into a compromising situation. An example of this is when it is given as an offering for Venus, where Kabbu blames his teammates for throwing the rare doll to Venus (a Bug Rangers fan herself). Eventually in the post-game, however, Kabbu decides to let the franchise go, stating that "[he] doesn't need them anymore" as a result of overcoming his trauma, and decides to do the charitable act of giving it to a struggling termite.

In truth, what appears to be a brave and loyal beetle willing to help people at no cost, lies within a broken soul, hiding a heavy burden that weighs on his shoulders. This can be hinted with a feeling of sadness when he is the only one in the team to be in an awkward situation, or a feeling of distress when one of his friends is put in critical danger. But overall, Kabbu remains one of the most courageous and kind-hearted members of the team with a strong will to help other people in his surroundings, even if it's only for the good cause.

Kabbu dislikes fate being predetermined, and thusly has a disdain towards fortune tellers. He also has a passion for crocheting.^[2]

Abilities

In the field, Kabbu is able to use his horn to hit switches, cut bushes and attack enemies. It was revealed in the v0.6 Quick Update video that he would eventually learn the ability to dig underground to bypass obstacles.

In battle, Kabbu acts as the party's brute force fighter, having the highest base HP of any character. He is able to pierce enemy defenses to a certain degree and flip certain enemies to lower their defense, but is unable to hit flying enemies or enemies at the back with basic attacks. He can taunt foes to target him while an ally recovers or charges up, hit enemies from underground and ram through them for great AoE damages.

Skills

• Taunt (starting skill)
• Pep Talk (Obtained in Chapter 2)
• Dash Through (Obtained in Chapter 3)
• Under Strike (Obtained in Chapter 4)
• Heavy Strike (Obtained at Rank 3)
• Frozen Drill (Obtained at Rank 17)

• Pebble Toss (requires Mighty Pebble Medal)
• Boulder Toss (requires Mightier Pebble Medal)

Trivia

• Prior to v0.5, Kabbu's name was Beetle.
• Kabbu was created by Genow.^[3]
• Initially, Kabbu's species was simply "Beetle". Eventually, it was changed to rainbow scarab beetle when similarities between him and the insect became more apparent.^[4]
• In the demo version, Dash Through is named Horn Dash and is learned at Rank 3.
• According to Mar, the programmer and animator for the game, Kabbu is in his early twenties.^[5]
• According to Tristan, the composer for the game, Kabbu was supposed to have his own theme with its own sad remix, similarly to Leif. The theme was described as starting off as "goofy", before building up to be a heroic, and adventurous theme.^[6] The developers couldn't agree on what it was supposed to feel like, so they ended up putting it on hold until later, and then outright cutting it due to its low priority.^[7]
• According to Genow, one of the main creators and lead writer for the game, Kabbu's birthday would be February 14th, which is Valentine's day. ^[8]
• Kabbu's name was based on the Kabutomushi, also referred to as the Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle. ^[9]
• Kabbu's Beetle Horn appears as an item in the Abomi Nation crossover with Bug Fables.
• According to Genow, Kabbu changed the least in terms of story throughout development.^[10]
• According to Mar, Kabbu was originally going to have a boss fight in Chapter 5, due to his PTSD with the Wild Swamplands and thus reluctance to go forward. This battle would then be repurposed for his fight under Kali's influence.^[11]

Gallery

Kabbu's sprite sheet

Kabbu's sprites (v0.1)

Kabbu's sprite in the Version 0.4.1 April Fools demo

Makeship Plush

References