Rainbow Island (NES) Playthrough

I decided to upload another playthrough of one of my favorite NES games.

This time, I decided to play the sequel to Bubble Bobble (despite an actual Bubble Bobble II being made for the NES/Famicom). While Rainbow Islands is almost completely different in every aspect, it still manages to encapsulate the fun of its predecessor.

Instead of Bubbles, you use Rainbows as your main means of attacking. Depending on how you attack enemies with the Rainbow, they will spit out different types of items, some of which you'll need in order to complete the game. These important items are diamonds, and you have to collect seven of them in each level to not only unlock level 8, but to get the best ending as well. Thankfully, Taito was smart enough to design the game so the seven different diamonds don't appear at complete random. They designed the game so certain diamonds appear on certain parts of the stage; red diamonds will always appear on the far left side of the screen, the dark green diamond will only appear in the direct middle of the screen, the purple diamond will appear on the far right, etc. Basically put, take the width of the screen, divide it by seven equal halves, and you've got the specific placements for each color diamond. This makes it much easier to collect diamonds, and to get them as fast as you want to (but then again, enemies have to land in the diamonds specific area to obtain said color diamond, and that alone can sometimes be a hassle).

Now, for you arcade fans out there, you'll notice that this game is largely different than what you are familiar with. If you were looking for the arcade game that you know and love, you'll have to play the European release. For Japan and North America, however, we got something considerably different... and to tell you the truth, I am fine with this. No insult to arcade fans, but I never did care for the Arcade version. I have played it multiple times on multiple systems (the arcade version has been ported to death...), but for me, it never matched what the NES/Famicom game gave us. As such, I've always found the NES version to be quite superior. I'm sure most will disagree with me, but this is just my little ol' opinion.

If you ever get a chance to play this game, I suggest you do. It's really fun, and it is a blast to play... But don't let the colorful graphics fool you. This game is difficult, and a good reminder as to why the term "NES Hard" came about. My skills at the game makes it look easy... but don't let that fool you. I've been playing this game for over fifteen years, so I know a thing or two about this game. It's one of those games that reminds people just exactly why the term "NES Hard" was made.

If I had to give the game a score, I'd probably give it an 8/10. I have to deduct some points for some cheap moves that the game throws at you, as well as some other things... But it's a great game, with great music, colorful graphics, and some nice controls.

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• Rainbow
• Islands
• Bubble
• Bobble
• NES
• Nintendo
• Entertainment
• System
• Taito

[SpazzyMcGee235]

Oh, and you have amazing skills, just saying. Which level/island/world is your favorite? I hear a lot of people choose the Arkanoid reference (5).

[freezingicekirby]

@SpazzyMcGee235 *Replying to both comments here*

No problem! Glad to see other fans of the game, and to see that I'm not the only one who grew up playing this game. If only the NES version would get more recognition (since it was so different from the Arcade and it's multiple ports).

As for favorite stage... I'd probably say the final level. Despite the music screwing up, that stage is just so crazy and wild, that it's just so much fun (in my opinion). Level six would be a close second.

[KingCreezy51]

I played this game ssooooo much as a kid. Great vid!

[freezingicekirby]

@KingCreezy51 Same here. It's always been a childhood favorite of mine... and I'm glad to see the same with others.

And thanks for the compliment! I appreciate it.

[DraxDhampir]

im really sure i played another version of this on the NES about 10 if not 15 years ago, which was not called the adventures of bubble bobble 2.........but just rainbow islands........ great game whatsoever though

[SpazzyMcGee235]

This is my absolute favorite game! Oh, my childhood!! It's so nice to see someone that has the US version, since that is what I have. Love this. Thank you for sharing!!!