Some games age gracefully, while others remind us why we fell in love with gaming in the first place. Rainbow Islands belongs firmly in the latter camp. Taito’s colourful arcade classic returns in Rainbow Islands CS, a collection that celebrates the many ways this deceptively clever platformer found its way into our homes. With six console versions to explore, including a previously unreleased Genesis adaptation, this is more than a nostalgic trip back to the eighties. It is a fascinating piece of gaming history, wrapped in rainbows, mischievous enemies and the enduring pleasure of a really good idea.
A Rainbow Worth Chasing
There is something wonderfully distinctive about Rainbow Islands. Released in arcades by Taito in 1987, it followed the success of Bubble Bobble, bringing back Bubby and Bobby after their adventures as bubble dragons. Having rescued their loved ones and returned to their human forms, the brothers find themselves drawn into another adventure, this time travelling through their ancestral Rainbow Islands in search of treasure. Unfortunately, their journey takes a darker turn when their old nemesis, the Boss of Shadow, resumes his evil schemes.
It is a simple premise, but that is entirely appropriate for a game whose appeal rests primarily on its inventive mechanics rather than an elaborate narrative. Rainbow Islands understands that an engaging concept, a colourful world and a series of increasingly demanding challenges can be more than enough to keep players coming back. There is no sprawling dialogue system or cinematic spectacle competing for your attention. Instead, the game gets straight to the business of making you climb, experiment and discover how much potential can be squeezed from a single, wonderfully imaginative ability.
Rainbow Islands CS brings together six home versions of the classic, covering the Family Computer, Nintendo Entertainment System, SEGA Master System, Japanese Mega Drive, Western Mega Drive and Genesis releases, and the PC Engine CD-ROM² adaptation. The collection’s greatest attraction is that it does not simply present one familiar version and call the job done. It offers an opportunity to explore how different platforms interpreted the same game, with their own visual characteristics, audio differences and technical compromises.
For longtime fans, this is a chance to revisit a beloved game in several forms. For younger players, it is an opportunity to discover a piece of platforming history that feels surprisingly fresh despite its age. The appeal is not merely that Rainbow Islands was important in the eighties. It is that its central idea remains enjoyable today, proving that a great mechanic does not need to be complicated to be memorable.
Rainbows Are More Than Decoration
The genius of Rainbow Islands lies in how it transforms something as cheerful as a rainbow into both a weapon and a means of traversal. Playing as Bubby or Bobby, you create rainbows that serve as temporary platforms, allowing you to climb towards the top of each vertically structured stage. Those same rainbows can also be used offensively, helping you defeat enemies that would otherwise obstruct your progress.
It is a deceptively rich system. At first, the obvious approach is simply to create a rainbow, jump onto it and continue climbing. Before long, however, the game encourages you to think more carefully about placement, timing and how your actions affect the enemies around you. A rainbow is not just a convenient step towards the next platform. It can become a trap, a defensive tool or part of a carefully planned route through a crowded section of the level.
This dual purpose gives Rainbow Islands a character all of its own. Many platformers divide movement and combat into separate systems, asking players to jump over hazards before turning around to attack whatever is following them. Here, the two ideas are intertwined. The same action that helps you gain height can also clear a path, and a well-placed rainbow can solve several problems at once. There is a satisfying sense of ingenuity in discovering how much control the game gives you through such a simple mechanic.
The vertically ascending stages also create a different rhythm from the more familiar left-to-right platformers of the era. Your objective is to reach the top, but getting there is rarely just a matter of jumping from one obvious platform to another. Enemies, gaps and the need to position rainbows sensibly all influence your route. You are constantly weighing the safest way forward against the possibility of taking a more efficient path, and that decision-making gives the game a surprising amount of depth.
It is this design that allows Rainbow Islands to transcend its age. The presentation may be unmistakably retro, but the underlying mechanics remain intuitive, flexible and rewarding. You can understand the basic rules within minutes, yet using them effectively requires patience and practice. That balance between accessibility and mastery is one of the reasons the game remains such an important example of classic arcade design.
Six Versions, One Remarkable Legacy
The most interesting aspect of Rainbow Islands CS is the chance to compare the various home conversions. The collection includes the Family Computer and NES versions, the SEGA Master System adaptation, the Japanese Mega Drive version, its Western Mega Drive and Genesis counterparts, and the PC Engine CD-ROM² release. Rather than treating these as interchangeable copies, the compilation offers a snapshot of how developers adapted an arcade experience to the hardware available in people’s homes.
Anyone who grew up with eighties and early nineties gaming will recognise how much personality can be shaped by a console’s technical limitations. Differences in colour palettes, sprite presentation, sound reproduction and scrolling can make two versions of the same game feel subtly different. Developers had to decide what to preserve, what to simplify, and how best to capture the arcade original’s appeal within the constraints of a home system. Rainbow Islands CS gives players a chance to appreciate those decisions directly.
The NES and Family Computer versions offer an entry point to the more modest end of the collection’s technical spectrum, while the SEGA Master System version provides another interpretation of the same colourful adventure. The Mega Drive and Genesis editions introduce their own flavour, and the Japanese version adds another historical variation for enthusiasts to investigate. These differences are not necessarily about one version being universally superior to another. They are about understanding how the same creative idea can survive translation across very different pieces of hardware.
The PC Engine CD-ROM² version is particularly noteworthy for its musical arrangements. Its main theme uses an arrangement based on the NES version, adapted for FM sound by Yukiharu Urita, while Norihiro Furukawa composed the ending theme. Both musicians were associated with Zuntata, Taito’s celebrated sound team. For anyone interested in the relationship between game music and the hardware it was created for, this version offers an additional reason to spend time with the collection.
Of course, not every player will want to examine six historical conversions in detail. Some will simply choose their preferred version and start climbing. That is perfectly understandable, and Rainbow Islands CS does not need to turn every owner into a hardware historian to justify its existence. The value lies in providing both experiences: a straightforward way to enjoy the game and an opportunity to appreciate the history surrounding it.
The Lost Genesis Version Finally Gets Its Moment
Perhaps the collection’s most intriguing inclusion is the North American Genesis version, which was never released on cartridge. The chance to experience a previously unavailable version of a recognised classic gives Rainbow Islands CS archival significance beyond the usual retro re-release. Rather than simply recycling familiar material, it brings into a modern collection something missing from the historical record of the game’s commercial releases.
For preservation-minded players, that is a meaningful addition. Unreleased or hard-to-access versions can reveal something about the development process, the differences between regional releases and the ways a game evolved as it moved between platforms. Even when the underlying experience remains recognisable, seeing another adaptation can deepen our appreciation of the work involved in bringing arcade games into the home.
There is a particular fascination in considering the version players never got to buy in the usual way. The history of gaming is full of projects that were abandoned, altered or quietly left behind, and those missing pieces can be just as interesting as the releases that achieved widespread success. Including this Genesis adaptation gives Rainbow Islands CS a reason to attract collectors and preservation enthusiasts who might already own several versions of the game.
It also helps the compilation feel like a considered collection rather than a bare-bones port. Its purpose is not simply to make Rainbow Islands available again, but to bring together different strands of its history in one accessible package. That sense of preservation is one of the release’s strongest qualities, particularly at a time when older games can become difficult to experience legally and conveniently on modern systems.
The Little Extras That Make a Difference
Retro collections live or die by the thoughtfulness of their features. Preserving the original game is important, but players also appreciate tools that make older design conventions more manageable without stripping away the challenge. Rainbow Islands CS includes 24 quick save and load slots for each version, allowing players to record their progress and return to a particular point without necessarily repeating everything that came before.
For modern audiences, this is a particularly useful addition. Arcade games were often designed around short sessions and the expectation that players would gradually learn through repeated attempts. That structure could be exhilarating, but it could also be unforgiving when a mistake meant losing significant progress. Save states allow players to enjoy the original challenge while giving them more control over how they approach it. They can practise difficult sections, revisit favourite moments, or simply stop playing when real life demands their attention.
The diamond location display is another welcome inclusion. Discovering the position of diamonds can be an important part of understanding the game’s scoring and progression systems, but searching for them can also become frustrating when you are unsure where to look. By making their locations visible, the collection offers a useful aid for players who want to explore the game more thoroughly without getting stuck on a particular secret.
There is also an option to start the game in a powered-up state, providing another way to tailor the experience. For newcomers, this can make the early stages more approachable, while experienced players may prefer to begin from the traditional starting point and earn their progress through skill. The important thing is that these features offer choice rather than forcing everyone into a single approach.
Some purists may prefer to experience Rainbow Islands exactly as it was originally designed, complete with all its old-school demands. Others will appreciate the flexibility to experiment without constantly worrying about losing progress. Neither approach is inherently better. The collection is at its strongest when it allows players to decide how much assistance they want, preserving the spirit of the original while acknowledging that modern gaming habits have changed.
Colour, Sound and Old School Charm
Rainbow Islands has a visual identity that remains instantly recognisable. Its colourful environments and cheerful presentation lend the adventure an inviting personality, even as enemies and level layouts grow increasingly demanding. There is a pleasing contrast between the game’s bright, playful appearance and the concentration required to navigate its hazards. The world looks friendly, yet it still expects you to pay attention.
The different console versions make the presentation particularly interesting, as they show how the same visual ideas could be interpreted across different hardware. The limitations of older systems are part of the experience, but they also help explain why each conversion has its own character. Rather than judging everything by modern graphical standards, the collection invites players to appreciate the creativity involved in working within those boundaries.
The audio deserves similar consideration. Rainbow Islands is associated with an instantly memorable musical identity, and the different arrangements demonstrate how sound can change the personality of a home conversion. The PC Engine CD-ROM² version is especially interesting because of the involvement of Urita and Furukawa, whose connections to Zuntata make its music a significant part of the collection’s appeal. Even if players have a favourite version, comparing the audio gives them another reason to revisit the others.
The broader atmosphere is one of cheerful adventure rather than dramatic storytelling. Rainbow Islands does not need lengthy cutscenes or complicated character development to make its world appealing. Its charm comes from the immediacy of its mechanics, the colours on screen and the little moments of triumph that follow a difficult climb. That uncomplicated personality is precisely what makes it such a strong fit for a retro collection.
Is Rainbow Islands Still Worth Climbing?
The biggest challenge for any retro compilation is proving that nostalgia alone is not its sole selling point. Familiar characters and vintage presentation can be comforting, but players still need a reason to return beyond the pleasure of remembering a childhood game. Rainbow Islands CS has a strong answer, as the original design remains fundamentally engaging and the collection offers several ways to explore it.
The rainbow mechanic is still clever, the vertical stages remain distinctive, and the balance between platforming and enemy management continues to reward careful play. The additional versions also make the compilation more than a simple re-release, offering meaningful comparisons for players who enjoy seeing how games were adapted across different consoles. For collectors, the previously unreleased Genesis port adds particular value.
There are limitations, naturally. This is still a game from 1987, and its design reflects the conventions of its era. Players accustomed to generous checkpoints, extensive tutorials and modern accessibility options may find parts of the experience demanding or unfamiliar. The core adventure also remains largely the same across the different versions, so anyone expecting six completely different games will need to adjust their expectations.
The quick save system, diamond display and powered-up starting option help soften some of those concerns, but they cannot transform Rainbow Islands into a modern platformer. Nor should they. The point is to preserve and celebrate a classic, not to rebuild it into something unrecognisable. By allowing players to choose their preferred version and level of assistance, the collection makes a strong case for experiencing the original design on its own terms.
Final Verdict
Rainbow Islands CS is a thoughtful celebration of one of Taito’s most enduring arcade creations. Its greatest strength is the game itself, whose use of rainbows as both platforms and weapons remains an inspired design choice. The combination of vertical climbing, enemy management and careful positioning creates a platforming experience that is easy to understand yet satisfying to master, and its colourful presentation has retained much of its original charm.
The collection’s six home versions add depth, particularly for retro enthusiasts interested in the differences between the NES, Master System, Mega Drive, Genesis and PC Engine adaptations. The inclusion of the previously unreleased Genesis version is a highlight, while the PC Engine CD-ROM² music arrangements add another interesting dimension to the package. These are meaningful archival features, not merely decorative extras.
The modern conveniences are equally welcome. Twenty-four quick save and load slots for each version, the diamond location display and the option to begin in a powered-up state make the collection more accommodating without diminishing the original game’s appeal. Players can enjoy the challenge in a traditional fashion or use the available tools to explore at their own pace. That flexibility helps Rainbow Islands CS serve both dedicated enthusiasts and curious newcomers.
Its age and repeated mechanical foundations will not appeal to everyone, and the collection is best suited to players who appreciate classic platforming rather than those seeking a contemporary reinvention. Nevertheless, Rainbow Islands CS succeeds because it understands what deserves to be preserved. It brings a clever, cheerful and historically important game back into easy reach, while offering enough variety and context to make revisiting it worthwhile.
