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Rainbow Islands is a 1987 arcade game from Taito. It is the sequel to Bubble Bobble, and the prelude to Parasol Stars. Image File history File links Rainbow Islands, arcade game screenshot taken via MAME. Second stage. ...
A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ...
Taitos current logo The Taito Corporation (ã‚¿ã‚¤ãƒˆãƒ¼æ ªå¼ä¼šç¤¾, taitÅ kabushikigaisha) TYO: 9646 is a Japanese developer of video game software and arcade hardware. ...
Video game publishers are companies that publish video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer. ...
Taitos current logo The Taito Corporation (ã‚¿ã‚¤ãƒˆãƒ¼æ ªå¼ä¼šç¤¾, taitÅ kabushikigaisha) TYO: 9646 is a Japanese developer of video game software and arcade hardware. ...
A game designer is a person who designs games. ...
1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
This is a listing of computer and video games genres with brief descriptions and examples from each genre. ...
This is a listing of computer and video games genres with brief descriptions and examples from each genre. ...
This arcade cabinet, containing Centipede, is an upright. ...
An arcade system board is a standardized printed circuit board or group of printed circuit boards that are used as the basis for multiple arcade games with very similar hardware requirements. ...
Intel 80486DX2 microprocessor in a ceramic PGA package A central processing unit (CPU), or sometimes simply processor, is the component in a digital computer that interprets and executes instructions and data contained in software. ...
A sound chip is an integrated circuit (i. ...
Look up Video in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Video is the technology of capturing, recording, processing, transmitting, and reconstructing moving pictures, typically using celluloid film, electronic signals, or digital media. ...
Image resolution describes the detail an image holds. ...
Nineteen inch (48 cm) CRT computer monitor A computer display, monitor or screen is a computer peripheral device capable of showing characters and/or still or moving images generated by a computer and processed by a graphics card. ...
Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ...
For other uses, see Joystick (disambiguation). ...
In computer science, porting is the adaptation of a piece of software so that it will function in a different computing environment to that for which it was originally written. ...
1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ...
Taitos current logo The Taito Corporation (ã‚¿ã‚¤ãƒˆãƒ¼æ ªå¼ä¼šç¤¾, taitÅ kabushikigaisha) TYO: 9646 is a Japanese developer of video game software and arcade hardware. ...
Bubble Bobble is an arcade game by Taito, first released in 1986. ...
Parasol Stars is a video game by Taito released in 1991. ...
Premise
The game is set on a chain of ten islands, each one with a different theme. Each island provides four rounds of gameplay, and once these are complete the player moves to the next island in the chain. The islands get progressively more difficult, with enemies moving much faster on the later ones.
In order of play, the islands are:
The three secret islands are: Classes & Orders Subclass: Apterygota Orders Archaeognatha (Bristletails) Thysanura (Silverfish) Monura - extinct Subclass: Pterygota Infraclass: Paleoptera (paraphyletic) Orders Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Protodonata - extinct Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Infraclass: Neoptera Orders Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Protorthoptera - extinct Orthoptera (grasshoppers...
Combat, or fighting, is purposeful conflict between one or more persons, often involving violence and intended to establish dominance over the opposition. ...
Monster is a term for any number of legendary creatures that frequently appear in mythology, legend, and horror fiction. ...
A display of Roman toys, including several that would be familiar to children today: a doll, dice, rattles, and toy dishes for playing house. ...
Arkanoid is a simple yet addictive arcade game developed by Taito in 1986. ...
A humanoid robot playing a trumpet In practical usage, a robot is a mechanical device which can perform complex tasks either according to direct human control, partial control with human supervision, or autonomously (that is, fully under computer control). ...
Saint George versus the dragon, Gustave Moreau, c. ...
These are depicted on a map screen before the start of each island. The three secret islands are not visible before fulfilling certain conditions; see the Diamonds section for more info. Most versions of the game however completely lack the secret islands. This includes even the much criticized 1996 PC port by Acclaim, which means that most versions of the game are somehow incoherent with the story. Magic: The Gathering. ...
Darius (pronounced Da-RYE-us) is a horizontally scrolling shoot em up computer game produced by Taito and released in arcades in 1986. ...
Bubble Bobble is an arcade game by Taito, first released in 1986. ...
A map of the world by Johannes Kepler A map is a simplified depiction of a space, a navigational aid which highlights relations between objects within that space. ...
1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...
The tower of a personal computer. ...
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. ...
The main characters are Bub and Bob, the protagonists of Bubble Bobble. However, in this game they appear in human forms, as opposed to the dinosaurs of the first game. In single-player mode, only Bub is present. [[{{{diversity_link}}}|Diversity]] {{{diversity}}} Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Trinomial name {{{trinomial}}} Type Species {{{type_species}}} Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens [[Image:{{{range_map}}}|{{{range_map_width}}}|]] Synonyms {{{synonyms}}} Homo (genus). ...
Orders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Dinosaurs are giant reptiles that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for most of their 165-million year existence. ...
In computer and video games, single player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ...
Game structure
Level format Every round has essentially the same format. The player begins at the bottom of a long, vertical level, and must reach the 'Goal' at the top. In computer and video games, a level (sometimes called a stage, course, episode, round, world, map, wave, board, phase, or landscape) is a separate area in a games virtual world, in modern games typically representing a specific location such as a building or a city. ...
Levels are filled with structures and platforms that can be used to ascend. On the way up, various enemies will attempt to thwart your efforts. A collision with an enemy results in the player's death. In addition, some enemies possess projectile weapons which will also kill the player.
If the player spends too long on a level, the message "Hurry!" appears on screen, accompanied by an urgent klaxon. Subsequently, the music speeds up, and a few seconds later, water begins to fill up the screen from the bottom. Immersion in the water results in death (it is possible to "wade" in it, up to about neck-deep), and thus the player must hasten his efforts to reach the Goal. Klaxon is a trademark for an electromechanical horn or alerting device. ...
If the Goal is reached, a victory jingle is played and the message "GOAL IN!" appears on screen. As a reward for the player, a large chest full of bonus food items drops in and scatters its contents over the Goal platform, leaving the player to collect these to obtain more points before the round ends.
Bosses At the top of the last round of every island, there is a large boss enemy, which is in most cases an enlarged version of one of the regular enemies on that island. Bosses are significantly tougher and better armed than their smaller counterparts. If the boss is defeated, a chest drops in and scatters its contents, in the manner of regular Goals. Flag Ship from the video game Gorf In video games, a boss (sometimes called a guardian) is a particularly large or difficult computer-controlled character that must be defeated at the end of a segment of a game, whether it be for a level, an episode, or the very end...
Rainbows The player's singular special ability is the power to create rainbows. These manifest as arcing trails left by a bouncing star. Unlike their physical counterparts, these rainbows are solid and can be walked upon by the player, or by enemies. They remain fixed in space until they eventually disappear, either after a number of seconds, or if a large number of rainbows have been created since (there can be only a finite number of rainbows on screen; approximately eight). A rainbow arches over Florida. ...
Offensive uses - Direct projection - A rainbow can be fired directly at an enemy, killing it.
- Collapsing - A rainbow can be jumped upon, which collapses it. Any enemies beneath the collapsing rainbow are killed. This is the more powerful use of rainbows and is particularly effective against bosses.
Collapsing a rainbow before it is fully built (i.e. by firing a rainbow then immediately jumping on it) will result in the whole rainbow being immediately built and collapsing. This can provide a very effective way of rapidly collapsing rainbows; if firing a triple rainbow, you can jump on the first rainbow and it will immediately build and collapse all three, saving potentially vital seconds.
A collapsing rainbow will also collapse other rainbows in close proximity, allowing the player to cause large cascades of collapsing rainbows.
Additionally, collapsing rainbows will collect any items they collapse through. Direct projection can also be used, but the arc shape means that it can easily miss.
Defensive uses - Trapping - Because of the arc shape of a rainbow, enemies can be trapped underneath them. It is then a simple matter to collapse the rainbow on top of them. Trapped enemies always become angry.
- Blocking - Projectile weapons can be blocked by rainbows. The rainbow is always destroyed in the process.
- Escaping - A rainbow can provide a quick exit away from danger if necessary; it is possible to form an ascending path of rainbows without jumping. The player can easily walk on rainbows to cross from one side of the screen to the other, even through walls.
ARC may be: ARC (former name of Hanson Quarry Products Europe) Action Régionaliste Corse Adaptive Replacement Cache Advance Reader Copy Advanced RISC Computing Advanced Recon Commando Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists Affinity, Reality and Communication, the Scientology concept of understanding; see ARC (Scientology) Aging Research Centre Agricultural Research Council...
Rainbow upgrades - Red pot - The red pot, a frequently appearing bonus item, increases the number of rainbows fired in a single shot. Collecting it once gives the player double rainbows; collecting it again gives triple rainbows, the full extent of this bonus.
- Yellow pot - The yellow pot gives the player fast rainbows - ones that are generated with increased speed.
A rare special item, the rainbow cross, will provide fast quadruple rainbows for the remainder of the level.
Enemies Every island has its own set of enemies; on Insect Island the player is confronted by ladybirds, spiders, and so on, while Combat Island features tanks and helicopters. However, many different enemies on different islands exhibit the same base behaviour. Subfamilies Chilocorinae Coccidulinae Coccinellinae Epilachninae Scymininae Sticholotidinae etc. ...
Suborders Araneomorphae Mesothelae Mygalomorphae See the taxonomy section for families Spiders are invertebrate animal(s) that produce silk, have eight legs and no wings. ...
The Bell 206 of Canadian Helicopters Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors (propellers). ...
Enemy deaths When an enemy is killed, it turns blue and harmlessly spins through the air in a parabolic manner. When or if it lands on a platform, it turns into a bonus item. A parabola The parabola (from the Greek: παÏαβολή) is a conic section generated by the intersection of a a right circular conical surface and a plane parallel to a generating straight line of that surface. ...
Anger As in Bubble Bobble, enemies can become angry. When this happens, they turn red and become faster and more aggressive. Enemies can be made angry in three different ways: - Trapping an enemy underneath a rainbow.
- Spending too long in the presence of an enemy without killing it.
- Spending too long on a level such that it begins to flood with water. When this happens, all enemies on the level immediately become angry.
Special elements of gameplay
Bonus items There are hundreds of bonus items that can be obtained in Rainbow Islands. Many of these are food items that simply give points, but there are also a number of special bonus items that give the player enhanced abilities or endow him with temporary special powers.
Common special bonus items Special bonus items appear as every third item produced by killing enemies; the other two will either be a food item or a diamond, depending on the method of killing. Stars are often situated in the levels themselves. The Pleiades star cluster A star is a massive body of plasma in outer space that is currently producing or has produced energy through nuclear fusion. ...
- Shoe - Makes the player run faster.
- Red pot - Gives the player double and subsequently triple rainbows.
- Yellow pot - Gives the player fast rainbows.
- Yellow star - similar to a bomb; creates an upward expanding burst of yellow stars that kill any enemy in their path.
- Red star - similar to the yellow star, but more powerful; creates a fully circular burst of red stars which are equally lethal.
Womens shoes on display in a shop window, July 2005 A shoe is an item of footwear. ...
Diamonds The diamonds are very special bonus items. Diamonds can be obtained by collapsing a rainbow onto an enemy, or by killing it in a 'special' way (for instance, with a star, or with special powers granted by a bonus item). A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ...
There are seven different colours of diamond: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The colour of a diamond depends upon its vertical location on the screen when it appears. A diamond formed in the leftmost seventh of the screen will be red; in the second seventh it will be orange; and so on in the colour order listed above. Color is an important part of the visual arts. ...
Red is a color at the lowest frequencies of light discernible by the human eye. ...
See also Orange (disambiguation) for other meanings of the word. ...
Yellow is a color with a wavelength 565-590 nanometers. ...
Look up green in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
For other uses, see Blue (disambiguation) Blue is one of the three primary additive colors; blue light has the shortest wavelength range (about 420–490 nanometers) of the three additive primary colors. ...
This page may meet Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...
Violet (named after the flower violet) refers to any of a group of reddish blue or bluish purple colors. ...
When a diamond is collected, an icon appears at the bottom of the screen signifying that diamond, if it has not already been collected on this island.
Collecting all seven colours of diamond before the end of the island gives the player a huge bonus. Also, if the boss at the end of the island is defeated, a large diamond is given from the bonus chest. Collecting this gives a huge point bonus, and the fact that you have collected it is denoted on the map screen.
Collecting all seven colours of diamond in the rainbow order (ie. red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) gives the same bonus, but also opens a special door on the boss screen. This door allows the boss battle to be bypassed completely, although the player may still fight the boss and collect the contents of the bonus chest before entering the door if desired.
The door leads to a special room. Inside the room is a large diamond, the same as is dispensed from the bonus chest when all seven diamonds are collected.
More importantly, there is also a super special bonus item which in many cases grants you permanent use of a power, such as the shoe speedup, or fast rainbows.
Additionally, there is an obfuscated lettered code written at the top of the level. This is a cheat code. The means of entering this code differ between the different computer versions of Rainbow Islands. In communications, a code is a rule for converting a piece of information (for example, a letter, word, or phrase) into another form or representation, not necessarily of the same sort. ...
Cheat codes are codes that can be entered into a video game to change the games behavior. ...
In some versions, if a large diamond has been collected on all regular islands, three secret islands become visible. Collecting a small diamond of each color on these islands gives a different-colored mirror for each island. It is necessary to collect all of these to see the true and happy ending after beating the last island.
References to other Taito games Rainbow Islands is packed with secrets of various nature, as well as many references and homages to other Taito games.
One such reference is the fifth island, Doh Island, a homage to the game Arkanoid, also by Taito. This level plays as any other, but the enemies are the same as encountered in Arkanoid, and the platforms are designed from coloured blocks. Also, the music is absent and the player's jumping sound resembles the sound of the ball hitting the bat in Arkanoid. Losing the final life in this island also results in the Game Over music from Arkanoid instead of the usual Rainbow Islands music. Arkanoid is a simple yet addictive arcade game developed by Taito in 1986. ...
The boss on Doh Island is Doh himself, the boss of Arkanoid.
Similar homages and references can be found on all three secret islands:
- Magical Island (the eighth one) is a homage to Taito's Fairyland Story, and the graphics, music and enemies are the same ones found in that game.
- Darius Island (the ninth one) is a homage to Taito's Darius, and the graphics, music and enemies are the same ones found in that game.
- Bubble Island (the tenth one) is of course a homage to Taito's great hit, Bubble Bobble, and the music and enemies are of course modelled after the original game.
Another tribute to Bubble Bobble can be found in the death animations of enemies: if a crystal ball has been collected, the animation frames of defeated enemies will turn to the death frames (blue) of a random Bubble Bobble enemy, instead of a Rainbow Islands one, for the remainder of the level. The Fairyland Story is a classical arcade platform video game released by Taito in 1985 in its arcade form. ...
Darius (pronounced Da-RYE-us) is a horizontally scrolling shoot em up computer game produced by Taito and released in arcades in 1986. ...
Ports Rainbow Islands has been converted to the following home computer and video game console platforms: Commodore 64
(1989, Graftgold/Ocean) Image File history File links C64_Rainbow_Islands. ...
Commodore 64 (1982) The Commodore 64 (C64, CBM 64/CBM64, C=64) is a home computer with 64 kilobytes of RAM that was popular in the 1980s. ...
Graftgold was an independent computer game developer that came to prominence in the 1980s, producing numerous computer games on a variety of 8-bit and 16-bit platforms. ...
The familiar Ocean logotype had an often prominent placement on the box art and is recognized by many people. ...
| Atari ST
(1990, Graftgold/Ocean) Image File history File links screenshot Atari ST Rainbow_Islands, made myself. ...
The Atari 520ST Atari 1040STF with SC1224 color monitor The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. ...
| NES
(1991) Image File history File links screenshot NES Rainbow Islands by me This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ...
The Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES, is an 8-bit video game console released by Nintendo in North America, Brazil, Europe, Asia, and Australia. ...
| Sega Master System
(1993) Image File history File links SMS_Rainbow_Islands. ...
The Sega Master System (SMS for short), is an 8-bit cartridge-based gaming console that was manufactured by Sega. ...
| Game Boy Color
(2001) Image File history File links screenshot Game Boy Color Rainbow Islands by me This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ...
The Game Boy Color came in a myriad different colors, as did earlier incarnations of the Game Boy. ...
| Amiga
(1990, Graftgold/Ocean) Image File history File links Amiga_Rainbow_Islands. ...
The Amiga is a family of home/personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation as an advanced game console. ...
| - ZX Spectrum (1989, Graftgold/Ocean)
- Amstrad CPC (1989, Graftgold/Ocean)
- Sega Megadrive/Genesis (1990) (released as Rainbow Islands Extra)
- PC Engine/TurboGrafx 16 (1993, NEC Interchannel)
- PC (1996, Graftgold/Acclaim) (released as Bubble Bobble featuring Rainbow Islands, optionally plays with improved graphics)
- Sega Saturn (1996) (released as Bubble Bobble featuring Rainbow Islands, optionally plays with improved graphics)
- PlayStation (1996, Graftgold/Acclaim) (released as Bubble Bobble featuring Rainbow Islands, optionally plays with improved graphics)
- WonderSwan (2000, Bandai) (released as Rainbow Islands: Putty's Party)
- PC (2005, Empire Interactive/Sega) (released as part of Taito Legends)
- PlayStation 2 (2005, Empire Interactive/Sega) (released as part of Taito Legends)
- Xbox (2005, Empire Interactive/Sega) (released as part of Taito Legends)
- Mobile (2005, Taito) (released as mobile version for various handsets)
The Sinclair ZX Spectrum was a home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research. ...
Amstrad CPC 464, with CTM644 colour monitor The Amstrad CPC was an 8-bit home computer produced by Amstrad in the 1980s. ...
Sega MegaDrive 2 European version with joypad, game cart + box Sega Mega Drive (Japanese: メガドライブ Mega Doraibu) was a 16-bit video game console released by Sega. ...
The PC Engine was a video game console released by NEC, a Japanese company, in 1987. ...
For information on the Japanese version of this console, see PC Engine The TurboGrafx-16 was a video game console released by NEC in 1989, for the North American market. ...
One of the first PCs from IBM - the IBM PC model 5150. ...
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. ...
The Sega Saturn (Japanese: セガサターン, Sega Saturn), is a video game console of the 32-bit era. ...
The PlayStation (Japanese: プレイステーション) is a video game console of the 32-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid 1990s. ...
A WonderSwan playing Gunpey. ...
The tower of a personal computer. ...
Taito Legends is a compilation of 29 arcade games released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC in October 2005. ...
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ...
The Microsoft Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console first released on November 15, 2001 in North America, then released on February 22, 2002 in Japan, and on March 14, 2002 in Europe. ...
Mobile has several different meanings. ...
Notes Rainbow Islands is the first, and one of only two, games to appear at the #1 spot of the British computer magazine Amiga Power 's annual "All Time Top 100" list. It held the spot for a couple of years until finally losing it to Sensible Soccer, which then held the #1 spot all the way to the end of the magazine's run. Computer magazines are about computers and related subjects, such as networking and the Internet. ...
Amiga Power (or AP for short) was a monthly magazine about Amiga computer games. ...
Mega CD cover Sensible Soccer, often referred by fans as Sensi is a football video game series that was highly popular in the early 90s and still has a cult following, despite the last title being released in 1999. ...
External links - Rainbow Islands @ Bubble Bobble HQ
- Rainbow Islands at the Hall of Light
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