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Rainbow Islands Revolution (DS) Status: Finished playing I started playing this game on Thursday 12 April, 2007 // I stopped playing this game on: Thursday 19 April, 2007
Current opinion of this game
It's pure potential. There is decent integration of the stylus, but the execution is pretty poor and uninspired. Once you've played the first level, you've played them all. Really.
April 19, 2007 09:21:38 PM
So I finished it. Nothing special really. All those questions I had when I wrote my last entry still stand which goes to show how weird I feel about this whole game. You should have to figure that kind of stuff, right? Well, now that I think about it, it isn't so surprising because the design of this game is so formulaic and repetitive (except for the boss fights). I literally felt like I was playing the same level over and over again. If it wasn't for the difference in graphics, you couldn't tell. There are basically 4 or 5 different "enemy" types. I can almost imagine the design doc with a chapter called "Enemies" and 5 listings. Spikes, bouncy guy, flying guy, walking guy, etc. The bosses (one at the end of the 4th level of each world) were more interesting. For each you had to figure out the way to defeat them. Some required you "write" on them with the stylus, another involved deflecting shots (via rainbows) so that they'd bounce back on the boss, etc. As a final though, I guess what has surprised me the most about this game is that I haven't been able to find any information at all about it! The wikipedia page is virtually empty, gamefaqs had nothing, etc. I couldn't find any documentation! Surely someone else has played this game, right?
April 16, 2007 09:37:09 PM
I can't believe how far I've made it in this game without really knowing what to do. This is game is consists of a series of worlds where each one has 4 levels. I think that there are eight and I've just started the 7th. Or something like that. The goals for each level are quite simple: use the stylus to maneuver a little guy inside a bubble to the end of the level. (usually the top) Avoid nasty stuff. I was able to get all the way to the boss at the end of the 4th level by simply dodging. At this point, I hadn't actually realized that you could do anything else! Then, in a moment of inspiration, I dragged the stylus somewhere else and PRESTO! a rainbow appeared! (if you're a fan of the series you're probably groaning and rolling your eyes) Wow! You can draw stuff...and if you draw it on top of an enemy..it dies! And then if you draw on top of something the enemy leaves behind (like a fruit), you collect it! A-ha! Since then I've perfected the strategy of: (1) Park the dude in the bubble somewhere safe (not that easy, as you'll often run into invisible air streams that push the bubble into danger) (2) Kill everything (3) Collect everything (4) Move the dude in the bubble somewhere safe that's a little bit closer. In all, it's not that interesting. However, I am VERY intrigued because supposedly (according to Mobygames) there are some special powers you can use by holding down L or R and drawing a shape (circle, triangle, star). I can't get them to work...and I don't understand why. In fact, there's a lot I still don't understand: (1) There's a little "energy bar" that goes up when you pick up stuff enemies leave behind. I have no idea what it's for...and when I try to activate a special power...the bar depletes and you can't draw rainbows. (2) You have a rainbow power bar. It starts in the middle and when you draw it gets depleted. (and then goes back up if you wait). Usually, by the end of a level, the bar is at least 3/4 full. I have no idea how I did that. (3) There are some slots at the top of the screen where you can collect colored gems. Sometimes I've collected all of them. I have no idea how, or what for. Even when I had them all I didn't notice anything special. (4) Sometimes you get these funky powers...don't know how or why. So, it seems that I'll finish this game and still not know what the heck is going on. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find anything online that will help me answer my questions. Maybe this is my chance to write my own FAQ and submit it to Gamefaqs? Heh!

Rainbow Islands Revolution (DS)