Rainbow Cotton was first released for the Dreamcast in 2000 but sadly never made it out of Japan. Now the shooter, which falls neatly into the cute ’em-up sub-genre, has had a full HD remaster. The remaster duties were taken care of by developer Kritzelkratz 3000 with publishing from ININ. It’s out on 9th May 2024 for Switch, Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam which we’ve reviewed here.
The game is the fifth instalment of the series and the first fully 3D one. All the other games before were side-scrolling. This does follow The new features in this HD remaster consist of revamped snap-back and lock-on controls, new widescreen graphics and full localization, including the anime cutscenes that play between levels.
The story is in line with previous entries in the series which all involve Cotton the Witch and her quest to find more magical candies called Willows. The plot involves an evil demon called Tweed, whose legion of followers steals a legendary Willow candy from York Country. In response, the queen of Fairy Country calls upon Silk, who drafts Cotton to retrieve the stolen candy.
Rainbow Cotton plays like a traditional on-rails shooter where you continually fly forward into the screen. You can move in all directions and have a site target that moves in and out depending on what is targeted. You start the game with a simple blaster but upgrade all your weapons throughout the proceedings. The game is broken down into five main stages, with each having a separate boss battle.
Gliding around on your broom feels great with natural sweeping motions that feel responsive. The game moves at quite a slow pace so you can plan where you need to be swooping to next before taking aim and firing away. Ideally, you want to take out everything in your path but mostly you will be avoiding almost as much as attacking enemies.
You start with slow firing and a weak projectile that is shot from your broom. It’s important to collect the blue power-ups that increase your power and rate of fire. These vital supplements are found in barrels that need blasting or appear almost at random when you perform particularly well in any given section of the game. It will be your most used weapon and will be firing for the vast majority of the game.
You also have a secondary bomb weapon that charges by collecting gems. The gems are found by blasting barrels and the more you collect the more powerful your special move becomes. A good tactic is to keep saving up the gems for the end-of-level boss but they can be used to get you out of a tight spot. The other gameplay feature is your health bar, which can be replenished with the odd heart that appears. Lose all your health and you’ll need to restart the level, but only having five lives makes it tough to finish.
The graphics have had a complete overhaul to the original Dreamcast game and each level has a different look to it. The use of bold, sharp colours, mixed in with some great set pieces does make Rainbow Cotton a pretty game. The sound effects and music are fine but don’t stand out as much as the graphics. The real charm is in the hand-drawn animated anime interludes that appear between levels. While these won’t be to everyone’s tastes, they certainly bring the game and its story to life.
Those who may want to sample the original game have the extra Retro Mode included. This is a decent emulated port of the Dreamcast game and allows you to compare the two. There is also a local co-op mode that will add some longevity to proceedings. It would’ve been nice to see an arcade mode that allowed you to play levels completed in the story mode but the main game will take some time to master. while Rainbow Cotton is a little light in the content department, the main game is thoroughly enjoyable.
Fans of shooters, especially cute ’em-ups, will have a blast with Rainbow Cotton. It’s just fun and has just the right level of difficulty. Casual fans may feel it lacks the content needed to secure a purchase but it’s certainly worth taking a look at for something different. The anime cutscenes may put some off if they aren’t into the style, but these can be skipped to get straight to the action. Overall, Rainbow Cotton successfully updates the original for modern systems and allows this once-Japanese exclusive to seek new audiences.
