Well, here we go again, a
slightly obscure classic game that went hand in hand with a very popular game
from the last millenium, Bubble Bobble. Our good friends at Taito have
resurrected the classic game Rainbow Islands; truthfully, I had no idea that
this game had existed previously and it wasn’t until I did a little research
did I even know that there was even a spin off of our buddies Bub and Bob. In
this game, you play as a lucky (or maybe unlucky) dinosaur who has the ability
to make rainbows. But not just any rainbows, the kind that are small and solid
and completely necessary because you need them to help you escape the rising
flood waters.
Does it sound goofy? It is, but we
like goofy normally, as long as it is wrapped around some ingenious plot and
addictive gameplay. Unfortunately this is not the case. Bub and Bob, wearing a
weird hat for some reason and only one of them at any given time, are
attempting to rocket to the top of this weirdo cloud and ground floating
world, hopping on platform via the aforementioned rainbows and using them as
weapons to destroy random critters that become fruit or some other upbeat
inanimate object. Apparently an evil music company is pumping out evil muzak
that turns the good creatures of the world into no-goodniks. What the devil
this has to do with anything Bub and Bob did in the (really) addictive Bubble
Bobble game is beyond me, but hey, they are here, they are barfing up rainbows
and we get to make some sort of semblance of this mess. Ok, they aren’t
barfing rainbows, they are using an organ grinder, but you get my point.
Ever wondered what happens to obscure
video game characters?
Using the rainbows as both a
stepping tool and a weapon is pretty easy; the game has you get to the top of
each stage and then combat some sort of boss creature that is spewing forth
the evil muzak. You use your organ grinder, in "Resonator" mode and the PSP’s
control nub to crank out music that combats the boss character – all the while
dodging the boss’ attacks. The whole experience is somewhat restrained and
disappointing. I know the folks at Taito were trying to jazz things up, but it
simply does not happen. These boss fights are more of a tedious experience as
you crank up your weapon only to have it shot down by the boss. While the idea
of using the nub to power up the resonator is actually an interesting idea,
the execution of the results is really lessened by the design of the battles.
As far as a visual adventure, the
game does bring some happy-looking graphics to the stage and considering that
the game will probably appeal to younger gamers (even though I suspect that
wasn’t the target audience) the game has a certain, cartoon feel to it.
Bright, "popping" graphics with liberal usage of rainbows makes the game
almost look like a child’s game, even though only hardcore gamers will know
the characters and the original. The game does clip along at a steady pace and
making the stepping stones (rainbows) is fast and easy work. Everything seems
to be firing on all cylinders, graphically, but there still is that
"something" that is missing.
"Bub, Bob, Bob, Bub, now that the
introductions are over, when can we get to the gratuitous violence?"
For a game that involves muzak and
music, it is all pretty disappointing. I guess the bad guy music is correct
since it supposedly drove plants and animals so crazy they became vile
creatures, but the good music your resonator is supposed to produce isn’t all
that inspiring or heroic. In fact, this should have been a top development
priority but instead, you feel practically deserted by your trusty weapon –
first by the sound it produces and second because if its ineffectiveness.
I say all of this, and my 7-year
old really likes the game, so maybe there is some hope for the developers
financially if they chose to market this game to younger gamers. I suppose it
is all right for them to play; the game is fairly tame in terms of violence
and certainly using music as a weapon (even though it sounds bad) is a decent
way to engage in combat.
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Gameplay: 6.7
It’s not that difficult and
actually can be handled effectively, but the end result is a mish mash of
possibilities unfullfilled.
Graphics: 7.4
It actually is a nice looking game
with backgrounds and speedy movement.
Sound: 6.0
The bad guy music is bad, so I
can’t really fault that, but the good guy music is not good.
Difficulty: Medium
It can be frustrating dealing with
the boss characters and you can’t help but begin trying to get through stages
with the upgrades that you can do to your organ grinder.
Concept: 5.5
I never played the original, but I
did learn that it is remembered fondly, this update is a plethora of
unnecessary ideas that don’t seem to go anywhere.
Multiplayer: N/A
You can play against each other
ad-hoc, but I didn’t have a second copy so this feature was not tested.
Overall: 6.0
It’s just a really strange, weird
game that probably should have been redone with more care.
