Developer: Success Publisher: Success Released: January 20, 2000 Genre: Shooter
Ah Cotton, one of the most infamous series of shooters that most have never heard of. Developers Success released hit after hit in the series and inadvertently created one of the most sought after Turbo Grafx-16 CD games in the original. They continued the success on the Genesis, SNES, and Saturn with subsequent entries that are among the top shooters on each platform. But there is one title in the series that no one speaks of and that is Rainbow Cotton. What should have been an easy hit is instead a complete mess of a game that is beautiful to watch but dreadful to play.
Let’s get it out of the way now; Rainbow Cotton is a gorgeous game. The series has always had fantastic art direction in its 2d installments and the developers have continued that in 3d. The many villages, undersea palaces, and windswept valleys are bursting with life and color that is still impressive today. It truly is astounding how closely the art matches the 2d games but with polygons. Performance is flawless at 30 fps and the soundtrack is fantastic. I cannot say enough good things about the game’s presentation. I looked forward to this one for years and did not come away disappointed.
Rainbow Cotton is more or less a direct sequel to Panorama Cotton in terms of gameplay. Both use the same third person perspective and fairy support system. Like previous titles you can power up Cotton’s default shot multiple times, this time by collecting colored orbs found in crates. Genie statues appear frequently throughout each level and hitting them enough times drops a color crystal that grants a magic spell. Cotton can hold four spells in reserve and each is powerful in theory. Trying to hit anything with them or in general is an exercise in frustration.
Almost immediately you can see the flaws in Rainbow Cotton. Cotton herself is far too large obscures a good portion of your view. Dodging attacks, aiming, and collecting items is harder than it should be because of this. I am honestly shocked that no one on the development team though to change this as it affects the entire game. But it does not stop there. The controls in general are awful. You control both Cotton and the targeting cursor at the same time and it simply does not work. The game constantly tries to reorient the character to the center of the screen. You have to fight the game to move around the screen and it is frustrating.
But it gets even worse. The cross-hairs are useless at helping you hit enemies. Even when you do the non-existent sound effects and death animation are so weak you will not realize they are dead. That is on top of Cotton blocking the screen. Even something as simple as collecting items is harder than it should be and you need them to power-up. Because the game is constantly trying to auto center keeping a steady rate of fire on an enemy is near possible. This makes the boss battles an absolute nightmare. With no lock-on feature you are forced to deal with the game’s issues to enjoy its content. Good luck with that.
The sad thing is you can see the makings of a good game underneath all of the flaws. Even though the pace is slower than Panorama Cotton there is no less action. Each level is bustling with activity, from indigenous life milling about to its measured enemy waves. The game uses its camera to great effect to dart and weave around the environment in ways that its predecessor could not. Despite consisting of only five levels each is long with multiple branching paths for replay value. In the rare times when Rainbow Cotton is not getting in its own way it can be genuinely fun. Something as simple as a lock-on button would have done wonders to alleviate some of the frustrations with the gameplay. But in its absence you are left to wonder what could have been. The game feels like someone’s first attempt at 3d and it shows.
In Closing
The disappointment with Rainbow Cotton runs deep as it is not good. Panorama Cotton was a phenomenal game and it should have been easy to do the same in 3d. But somewhere along the way the creators made every wrong decision and released a dud of a game. It is a shame; the beautiful art direction is wasted on a game that is a chore to play. It says a lot that even though it has issues I still want to like it. But I cannot in good faith recommend Rainbow Cotton to anyone.
