Rainbow Cotton
Developer(s)Success
Publisher(s)Success
Producer(s)Takato Yoshinari
Designer(s)Mizuho Sasa
Programmer(s)Hiroki Honda
Hiromi Yoshizawa
Mizuho Sasa
Artist(s)Hironobu Terakado
Manabu Kenmochi
Yusuke Nemoto
Composer(s)Kenichi Hirata
SeriesCotton
Platform(s)Dreamcast
Release
  • JP: January 20, 2000
Genre(s)Rail shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Rainbow Cotton[lower-alpha 1] is a 2000 rail shooter video game developed and published by Success exclusively for the Dreamcast. The fifth installment in the Cotton franchise, it is a follow-up to Panorama Cotton (1994) and the first 3D entry in the series. In the game, players assume the role of the titular young witch who, alongside her fairy companion Silk, sets out on her broomstick on a quest to defeat the evil demon Tweed and retrieve a stolen Willow candy from York Country. Its gameplay is similar to Panorama Cotton, consisting of shooting mixed with role-playing game elements while flying through 3D environments on a predetermined track.

The staff of Rainbow Cotton mostly consisted of new members at Success, with development headed by Takato Yoshinari. The game was met with mixed to negative reception from critics, most of which reviewed it as a import title; reviewers unanimously praised the colorful 3D visual presentation, but drew comparison with both Space Harrier and Panzer Dragoon due to its gameplay, which was heavily criticized by many for the frustrating controls. The title never been officially released outside Japan, although a fan translation existed. That was until it was announced that it will finally be releasing overseas in 2024 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Steam.[1]

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot.

Rainbow Cotton is a 3D rail shooter game reminiscent of Space Harrier and Panzer Dragoon where players assume the role of young witch Cotton alongside her fairy companion Silk.[2][3] The plot involves an evil demon called Tweed, whose legion of followers steals a legendary Willow candy from York Country.[4][5] In response, the queen of Fairy Country calls upon Silk, who drafts Cotton with retrieving the stolen candy.[4][5][6] The game features gameplay similar to Panorama Cotton; the player flies through each stage, destroying constantly-moving formations of enemies and avoiding their projectiles and stage obstacles.[7] There are five stages total, which become progressively more difficult as the player progresses. Stages include towns and castles that take place across different environments.[2][3][4] Each stage also has a massive boss that must be defeated in order to advance further.[5][6]

During gameplay, players must blast various monsters and avoid being shot while collecting crystal power-ups to enhance Cotton's firepower and unleash powerful magic spells on enemies, in addition of bombs capable of obliterating enemies and hearts to restore energy.[3][4][5] Rainbow Cotton also incorporates some role playing game elements as with previous Cotton entries, as players are able to level up their attack multiple times by collecting crystals dropped by enemies.[3][5] There are also chests, doors and other bonus locations for additional items.[8] Players can rescue captured fairies from enemies, acting as "options" after being freed.[4] Players also have a full, 360-degree field of view and can look left, right, forward, and behind Cotton.[7] A new addition is a branching level system, in which stages change depending on the path taken by players.[2][9] The game also introduces two energy gauges, one for Cotton and one for her broom; players can fly when the broom has energy but if it runs out, Cotton travels on-foot while Silk will carry her during stages set in the sky.[2] The game is over once Cotton's energy runs out but players can keep playing by using a limited number of continues.

Development and release

Rainbow Cotton was mostly created by members at Success who were new to video game development at the time although with a few members, like composer Kenichi Hirata, that were already familiar with the Cotton series.[10][11] Production was headed by Takato Yoshinari, the founder of Success.[10][11] Mizuho Sasa, main programmer behind Cotton 100%, returned as planner and acted as co-programmer alongside Hiroki Honda and Hiromi Yoshizawa.[10][11] Visual scenes were illustrated by Manabu Kenmochi, while Hironobu Terakado and Yusuke Nemoto served as co-designers.[10][11] Other people also collaborated in its creation process, such as sound designer Tetsuro "WASi303" Sato.[10][11] During development, the game was made as a follow-up to Panorama Cotton and as such, was tentatively referred to as Panorama Cotton 2.[11][12]

Dreamcast development kits were difficult to obtain at the start of production, due to the number of units available and the cost of them at the time, so the team was unable to get a development kit for a while.[11] Because of that, Windows CE was used to get a head start on development, however, it was developed using typical Dreamcast development software in the end.[11] The game was made using development methods of "yesteryear", such as lunch breaks in the middle of the night and staff having to live at the office for months at a time.[11] The Silk fairy options having full conversations to each other was a feature of the game the team was proud of, and they also made lines for them as development went on.[11] They also had special programming that made sure that their conversations flowed correctly, and that they did not talk over each other.[11] However, Sasa retrospectively regrets making the game as difficult as it was, due to the severe bullet hit projectories of the game, and also wanted to add more to the game.[11]

The game was first announced as Panorama Cotton 2 but its final title, Rainbow Cotton, was revealed by Success in the October 1999 issue of the Japanese Dreamcast Magazine.[7][12] It was first slated for launch on December 23, 1999, with early previews showcasing a different HUD compared to the final version.[2][5][9][13] However, the game was later delayed by a month, with the final release date being January 20, 2000, which it did release on.[14] Although the title was not officially released outside Japan, an English fan translation was released in 2021.[15][16] On September 13, 2023, a remaster with an official English localisation and refinements will be releasing on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC in 2024.[16][17]

Reception

Rainbow Cotton was met with mixed to negative reception from critics,[19][24] most of which reviewed it as an import title.[25][21][22] Fan reception was negative; Readers of the Japanese Dreamcast Magazine voted to give the game a 3.6716 out of 10 score, ranking at the number 418 spot, indicating a low following.[28] Possibly in response to this, designer Yusuke Nemoto retrospectively apologized for the game.[11]

Consoles +' Maxime Roure criticized the compressed presentation of anime cutscenes and automatic centering of Cotton herself, but praised the colorful and animated visuals, audio and double gauge mechanic, regarding it to be "A nice and beautiful game, which suffers from its passage to 3D because of a limited playability."[18] Likewise, GameSpot's Peter Bartholow commended the audiovisual presentation but heavily criticized the controls for being unrefined and frustrating, the automatic centering of Cotton and large size of her in-game model that limits the playfield, as well as poor animation and pacing of story cutscenes, stating that "Rainbow Cotton's core gameplay is so flawed that it leaves the overall experience unsalvageable. Even the most devoted Cotton fans will have a hard time embracing this most recent incarnation."[20]

In a similar manner as Roure and Bartholow, IGN's Anoop Gantayat criticized the controls for being frustrating and automatic centering system, issues with collision detection, overall length of each stage and obstruction of view due to the size of foreground elements but praised the cartoon-style presentation and sound.[4] Video Games' Christian Daxer commended the detailed visuals, level design and Japanese-style music but criticized issues with the camera and clipping.[23]

Dreamzone's Alexandre Faure also commended the colorful pastel-esque visuals for being reminiscent of Cotton Boomerang on Sega Saturn, speed and anime-style audio design. However, Faure felt mixed in regards to the playability and criticized issues with collision detection and repetitive action.[26] Gamers' Republic's Michael Hobbs criticized the gameplay for being tepid due to the size of Cotton herself for limiting the playfield and lack of autofire mechanism but, like Faure, praised the colorful graphics and boss fights.[27] Hardcore Gaming 101's Kurt Kalata regarded Rainbow Cotton as a "spectacular failure".[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: レインボーコットン, Hepburn: Reinbō Kotton

References

  1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1t8rp-rAko
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Sakai, Jun (December 1999). "World Republic: Rainbow Cotton - Cotton fans raise a glass! Success' hungry little witch flies again...on the Dreamcast!". Gamers' Republic. No. 19. Millennium Publishing. p. 100.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Kalata, Kurt (December 18, 2016). "Rainbow Cotton". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gantayat, Anoop (January 25, 2000). "Rainbow Cotton (Import) - Flying a broom should be far more enjoyable than this. Panzer Dragoon, where are you!?". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Dreamcast Hot Information: Rainbow Cotton". Dreamcast Magazine (in Japanese). No. 49. SoftBank Creative. December 3, 1999. pp. 112–113.
  6. 1 2 "Rainbow Cotton". Dreamcast Magazine (in Japanese). No. 54. SoftBank Creative. January 21, 2000. p. 100.
  7. 1 2 3 "Dreamcast Hot Information: Rainbow Cotton". Dreamcast Magazine (in Japanese). No. 43. SoftBank Creative. October 1, 1999. p. 118.
  8. ↑ "レインボーコットン". Dreamcast Magazine (in Japanese). No. 55. SoftBank Creative. February 4, 2000. pp. 124–125.
  9. 1 2 "Dreamcast Hot Information: レインボーコットン". Dreamcast Magazine (in Japanese). No. 48. SoftBank Creative. November 19, 1999. p. 123.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Success (January 20, 2000). レインボーコットン (Rainbow Cotton) (Dreamcast) (in Japanese). Success. Level/area: レインボーコットン 製作スタッフ (Rainbow Cotton Production Staff).
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Success (December 19, 2012). "Comment - 平田 健一; Comment - 剣持 学; Comment - 笹 瑞穂; Comment - 根本 裕介; Comment - 寺門 広修; Comment - 吉澤 宏美; Comment - 本田 大樹; Comment - 佐藤 哲郎 (WASi303); Comment - 吉成 隆杜". コットン オリジナルサウンドトラック [Cotton Original Soundtrack] (in Japanese). Wave Master. pp. 3, 6–10. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
  12. 1 2 "Release List". Dream Information (in Japanese). Vol. 8. Sega. August 1999. p. 8.
  13. ↑ "Japon Previews: Rainbow Cotton". Consoles + (in French). No. 95. M.E.R.7. December 1999. pp. 28–29.
  14. ↑ "レインボーコットン | ドリームキャスト". Soft Consumer (in Japanese). Sega. 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-08-05. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  15. ↑ Traynor, Patrick (July 31, 2021). "Rainbow Cotton Fan Translation Released For Dreamcast". SHIRO!. SHIRO Media Group. Archived from the original on 2021-07-31. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  16. 1 2 Yarwood, Jack (September 14, 2023). "Dreamcast Rail Shooter Rainbow Cotton Is Getting Its First Western Release". Time Extension. Hookshot Media. Archived from the original on 2023-09-18. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  17. ↑ Romano, Sal (September 13, 2023). "Rainbow Cotton coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC in spring 2024". Gematsu. Gematsu. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  18. 1 2 Roure, Maxime (March 2000). "Test Dreamcast - Rainbow Cotton". Consoles + (in French). No. 98. M.E.R.7. p. 105.
  19. 1 2 "New Games Cross Review: レインボーコットン". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 580. ASCII Corporation. January 28, 2000. p. 30.
  20. 1 2 Bartholow, Peter (April 28, 2000). "Rainbow Cotton (Import) Review - While the game may sport a spiffy set of tech specs, Rainbow Cotton's core gameplay is so flawed that it leaves the overall experience unsalvageable". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  21. 1 2 Hellot, Grégoire (March 2000). "Zoom: Toutes les sorties japonaises et US - Rainbow Cotton". Joypad (in French). No. 95. Yellow Media. p. 86.
  22. 1 2 "Test Aus Aller Welt: Rainbow Cotton (Import Test)". Mega Fun (in German). No. 91. Computec. April 2000. p. 84.
  23. 1 2 Daxer, Christian (April 2000). "DC Import: Rainbow Cotton - Mit Hexenbesen und Zauberlasen - Krawall im Fantasy-Reich". Video Games (in German). No. 101. Future-Verlag. p. 107.
  24. 1 2 "Weekly Dreamcast Soft Review - レインボーコットン". Dreamcast Magazine (in Japanese). No. 54. SoftBank Creative. January 21, 2000. p. 22.
  25. 1 2 Mathers, Martin (March 23, 2000). "Import Reviews - Rainbow Cotton". Dreamcast Magazine. No. 7. Paragon Publishing. p. 76.
  26. 1 2 Faure, Alexandre (March 2000). "Tests: Rainbow Cotton (Import)". Dreamzone (in French). No. 10. FJM Publications. pp. 100–101.
  27. 1 2 Hobbs, Michael (April 2000). "World Republic: Rainbow Cotton - It's bright, it's cute, it's polygonal Cotton. Pity the gameplay doesn't live up to the look..." Gamers' Republic. No. 23. Millennium Publishing. p. 94.
  28. ↑ "ドリマガ 読者しース (Part2) for ドリームキャスト (期開限定)". Dorimaga (in Japanese). No. 36. SoftBank Creative. 11 October 2002. pp. 30–33.
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