Reviews

Quite simply a dazzling conversion of the Taito coin op, this is a stunningly playable jump em up with masses of levels and a multicolour palette that overcomes the challenges that the Spectrum throws at it.
Its a labour of love from the Graftgold team that wanted to leave nobody feeling short changed.
Very impressive and enjoyable.

It's the sequel to Bubble Bobble...and it's brilliant! Very colourful and playable, complete with Over The Rainbow playing in the background. Perfect!

1990 Ocean Software (UK)
by David O'Connor and John Cumming

I only discovered 'Rainbow Islands' in the last few years. If I had played it as a kid It would certainly be on top of my favorite games.
It's simply one of the best games created for the Spectrum. And possibly the best conversion yet.
Incredible work by the Graftgold folks. Beautifully designed, full of colour, and highly playable.

One of the best platformers ever, full of color and action . An incredible conversion . Highly playable and suitable for all publics . A must-have .

This is pretty much a perfect port of Taito's classic coin op. Rainbow Islands looks fantastic with each level overflowing with colour. The game plays as well as it looks and that's a big compliment. The music (a jaunty version of Somewhere over the Rainbow) is excellent but may well drive you mad!
Rainbow Island's is one of the best platform games ever and Craftgold did an amazing job porting it to the spectrum.

Amazing conversion. Character based movement doesnt feel jerky. Screen layout is a nearly perfect replica from the coin-op. So are music and sound translation to AY chip.

Graftgold again reached a 10 over 10.

In arcade form I much prefer Bubble Bobble compared to this. While this was still a pretty game I never saw the charm in it as much as Bubble Bobble, whose gameplay was much more simplistic and enjoyable. But on the Spectrum there is a significant shift in that I was mildly disappointed with Bubble Bobble over how it looked and sounded, whereas this was a work of art. It looks absolutely incredible with gorgeous colourful graphics and the gameplay I found to be much more fluid and enjoyable than the arcade version. This is proof that Bubble Bobble could and and should have looked better than it did, because this is magnificent. As far as arcade conversions go, some have been good, some have been bad, few have been awful and very few have been perfect, Rainbow Islands is perfect.

As far as Spectrum arcade conversions, few can hold a candle to Rainbow Islands. Every single reviewer on this game has given it a 5 and it's pretty much impossible for me not to follow suit. This is one of the most outstanding ZX Spectrum games let alone conversions.