"The Failed Revolution"

The classic sequel to Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands. Ingenious with the fact that it carried the story further, but drastically changed game feel with awesome success. I've always been a fan of the old retro games, and Taito's arcade productions will always reign as some of the best.

When I found Rainbow Islands Revolution in the used game area for only nine bucks, I nearly creamed myself recalling the addictive gameplay of the original before it. I had bought Taito Legends and was first introduced to Rainbow Islands when I was four through a very old arcade machine. Excitement bolted through my nerves as I anxiously awaited to shove that little card into my DS. What did they add? New Power-Ups? New Bosses? New Levels?

I've never been truly disappointed in any game I've ever purchased. When I found E.T. at Goodwill, I knew what was coming. When I went to my friend's house and dug up Pac Man 2 for the SNES, I laughed wildly to see how horrible it really was. But with Rainbow Islands Revolution, my feelings became a sudden wave of mixed frustration and sadness I haven't felt since my cat died.

I sat confused with my stylus in hand.

How could Taito allow such blasphemy to one the games that made them great!?

I was in denial. I knew deep down inside, Rainbow Islands was a great game, but with the stylus format of Revolution, I thought twice.

The biggest problem I found with Revolution was that, Bubby and Bobby were both floating in some damn bubbles... I thought they took care of that whole bubble problem in the first game. They can run, jump, and play like real boys now! I literally sat tapping at Bubby, and messing around with the control settings to see if I could pop that stupid bubble. I turned off my DS, went to the computer, and looked up Revolution on the net for any answers to my bubble popping query.

I came back to my DS, giving the game another shot.

Control of the main characters finally got the best of me and I got tired of slashing my stylus at the countless foes, realizing that Bubble Boy started floating towards the spikes on his own, dragging him back in the corner so I can deal with the baddies, and then realizing that Bubble Boy just sat there watching me do all the work, I became annoyed and angry at that vacant stare Bubby shot to the distance. I can see why the two boys gained some weight over the years. If they could just get off their lazy--

I bowed my head in silence, then sighed heavily.

After an hour, I came back to my DS to give the game another shot. This time I knew some good techniques and got through the first two worlds pretty quickly. It had that “old-school” feel of an arcade game, but it still lacked any of the charm the original had. And constantly dragging the little Bubble Boy felt like work more than play.

I came back the next day, still in denial, only to be disappointed for the last time. This time I stuck my DS to the charger and went to my computer to play the original version on Legends, wondering where the receipt for Revolution was.

Overall, Rainbow Islands Revolution, like many revolutions in history ended in a bloody mess with some crappy dictator at the top and pure chaos... Gameplay was sloppy, Control was horrid, and it lacked the fun the original had. It's definitely not the worst remake I've seen, but definitely the most disappointing. Taito... how could you let Codemasters manhandle one of your children like that? I'm truly disappointed in you...

Bad Taito...

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 09/04/07

Game Release: Rainbow Islands Revolution (US, 10/03/06)