Rainbow Island is The Story of Bubble Bobble 2, is a sequel to Bubble Bobble starring Bubby and Bobby, the human forms of the first game’s protagonists, Bub and Bob.
Rainbow Island is a beloved classic video game developed and published by Taito Corporation. It was released in arcades in 1986 and subsequently ported to various home consoles, including the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The game follows the adventures of a young boy named Bubble Bobble as he travels through an enchanted rainbow-colored island in search of his lost companion, Rainbow.
The story begins when Bubble Bobble discovers that his best friend Rainbow has been kidnapped by an evil creature known only as the Evil Wizard. In order to rescue her, Bubble Bobble must traverse seven levels of the Rainbow Island and defeat a variety of monsters on his way. Along the way, he will also encounter power-ups that will increase his strength and give him special abilities such as the ability to shoot bubbles at enemies. Once all seven levels are completed, Bubble Bobble is reunited with Rainbow and they head off into the sunset together.
In terms of gameplay, Rainbow Island is a classic side-scrolling platformer in which players control Bubble Bobble as he runs, jumps, dodges obstacles and defeats enemies. Players must collect coins along their journey which can be used to purchase power-ups such as invincibility stars or extra lives. The game includes a variety of creative boss battles featuring unique enemies with their own abilities such as creating miniature versions of themselves or shooting fireballs at Bubble Bobble. As players progress through each level they will face increasingly difficult challenges until they eventually reach the final battle against the Evil Wizard himself.
The game was developed by Taito Corporation and published in Japan by Enix. It was then released worldwide two years later by Ocean Software for several home console systems such as NES and Commodore 64/128 computers. The game was well received for its colorful visuals and enjoyable soundtrack but often criticized for its difficulty level which some found too hard for newcomers to quickly grasp. However, this challenge is part of what makes it so memorable even today — proving that challenging yet rewarding games like Rainbow Island still have much to offer gamers across generations.