Rainbow Cotton – Nintendo Switch Review

Overview – originally developed by Success Corp and ported by KRINKLEKATZ 3000, with publishing handled by ININ Games, Rainbow Cotton is the last of the original series to come to modern consoles. Take on a new adventure with the Willow loving witch accompanied by the fairy Silk, as they set out to challenge a new threat and save the fairy kingdom from destruction. This title is available on all platforms, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank PR Hound for providing the copy of Rainbow Cotton that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story for Rainbow Cotton. I have previously covered many of the other releases in this series on the site, which you can find linked (HERE), so if you enjoy this review please check out my other coverage of the series.

Story – in the fairy kingdom of Filament, the four towns are holding the Willow Festival, where they celebrate their sweet creations and the Legendary Willow that is in Lasha Castle. However, the kingdom has been occupied by the Demon Tweed, who seeks to take the power of the Legendary willow for himself. In order to save the kingdom, Queen Velvet gathers the fairies, which reminds Silk of Cotton and she successfully recruits her to help save the kingdom.

Gameplay – Rainbow Cotton is an on rails shooter reminiscent of Panzer Dragoon and Space Harrier, acting as a sequel to Panorama Cotton (which I have previously reviewed). In this entry, the player flies into the screen, dodging enemies and blasting them away with magic as they travel through the five regions of the kingdom. The action for this release takes place across the vibrant and colorful stages, with Cotton front and center throughout the experience.

This title takes the traditional shooter systems and flips them on their head, with the player not controlling Cotton, but the aiming reticle itself which Cotton follows. As the player moves through the stage, they have access to two standard attacks, a standard shot and a fairy attack. The standard shot can be fired as quickly as the player can hit the button, with a moderate rapid fire if the button is held down. As the button is held the Fairy attack will charge.

While the special Fairy attack is charging, enemies can be targeted up to the number of fairies that are accompanying Cotton. When Cotton sets her fairy companions onto a target, they will attack multiple times and often defeat them. To gain more fairies as part of Cotton’s entourage, they can be rescued from golden jars by shooting them repeatedly. The total number of fairies that can assist the player is capped at 5, but they can fall lower than that.

Cotton not only has access to the standard shot and homing fairies, but also special magical attacks that are separated into three types based on color. The red magic is fire, the blue is lightning and the green is wind. These attacks can be further enhanced by activating them while charging a fairy attack, creating an even stronger attack. However, when this attack is used, one of the extra fairies that is accompanying Cotton may end up being sacrificed.

The player starts each stage with a minimum of three magic attacks, chosen randomly by the game. In order to obtain additional magic attacks, the player must shoot the golden jar enemies that can be seen carrying fairies. When they have taken enough damage, they will drop yellow gems granting Cotton experience, which increases her power level when enough has been collected. The gems can also be shot to change their color and give more magic attacks up to a maximum of 5.

There are also star items that can be picked up throughout the different areas, these will also contribute not only to the player score but their overall level. If the player takes damage on the normal or hard difficulty, they will lose power and their level will be reduced, but this doesn’t happen on the easy setting. This title uses a health bar for Cotton, which is reduced when taking damage from enemy fire and can be refilled by collecting hearts from shooting golden jar enemies.

While traversing the stages, the player can interact with the environment to select an alternate path. These paths will lead the player to one of two mid-boss battles in most stages, which can make each run different extending the replay value of the game further. The paths are determined by interacting with the environment, sometimes shooting signs and others by going in a set direction. The different paths can be more challenging, with some paths being tougher than others.

At the end of each stage, the player will engage in battle with the main boss. The player will take on challenging foes in tense battles, with multiple phases of attack that can overwhelm the player quickly if they are not careful. When the boss is defeated, Tea Time will begin and the player will have the chance to collect as many Teacups as possible. Bonus points depending on the number and type of cup that has been grabbed by Cotton during this time.

As this is a remastered release, there have been many changes and quality of life improvements made to the game. These modifications include an official English translation, providing subtitles for all of the dialogue during the anime scenes that occur during play. The cutscenes that occur have been cleaned up, improving the quality of video and making it clean and vibrant. There is also the inclusion of a special 2 player co-op mode, which was absent from the original release.

Last to mention is the inclusion of Retro mode, which provides an experience that attempts to emulate the original dreamcast release of the game. This is done by maintaining the original 4:3 aspect ratio for all aspects of the game, alongside a filter that is added to give the illusion that the game is being played on a CRT television. All of the modifications that have been made to the game aside from the translation are also reverted, providing an entirely different experience for players.

Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.

Controls – the controls for this title are relatively simple, with only two commands to use during play which are fire and magic. Movement is possible only through the thumbstick, which can make the game feel a little floaty and in Retro mode it can feel like the player is fighting against the controls. Aside from the minor issues of movement, the game is very comfortable to play and there are some controllers that have the ability to map the movements to a D-pad.

Difficulty – this is a very tough game given the on-rails style of play, constant barrage of enemy attacks and lack of checkpoints. This is made slightly more difficult by the positioning of Cotton herself, which can obscure attacks from the enemies and cause damage that feels unfair. There are four difficulty options to select ranging from Easy to Very Hard, which affect the number and aggression of enemies, but not the limited number of continues available to players.

Presentation – as a remaster, all of the visuals have been polished and cleaned up, including the anime scenes which have been remastered with improved resolution. This gives the game a clean and fresh feel, while also maintaining the soul of the original. The Retro mode is a decent emulation of a CRT display, but it is only on the surface. The sound for the game is fantastic, with the signature theme and upbeat music that is enhanced by the fully voiced dialogue for anime scenes.

Final Thoughts – I have been playing the original Japanese version Rainbow Cotton for Dreamcast off and on for a very long time, as the Cotton series has a special place in my heart. However, there are a few elements of the game that made it a struggle to truly enjoy at times. Thankfully, this modernized remaster improves on a lot of the flaws, but unfortunately some of them cannot be fixed, like the vision difficulty with Cotton blocking enemy attacks.

That being said, this release is still so much fun to play, with the alternate paths that can be explored and the challenge that it presents. There is a lot of care and attention that was put into this release, with the restoration of the original animation and audio, as well as the retro options, they even added cheats to it for players to find. I have no issue at all recommending this release, especially to fans of the Cotton series. It may not be the best in the series, but it is still a very good game.

In the end, I give Rainbow Cotton a final score of 4/5. This is an excellent remaster of a very challenging rail shooter, with modifications and enhancements to the experience, including an official translation that make it approachable by newer players, with restored audio and visuals making it the best possible version to play. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.

Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)

Link to PlayStation version (HERE)

Link to Xbox version (HERE)

Link to Steam version (HERE)