That was a fantastic video - you have me now setting up a Raspberry PI Amiga to play all the old games again.... thank you Vicky..... and a nice tribute to Mitsuji Fukio-san.
Oh cool! I think I'm likely to go down the Pi route for my 'Amiga' here in Japan, it's looking like it will cost around £250-300 to get it to Japan as I would have to pay import duties and it needs a 100V power supply...So a Pi it will be. I'm glad the tribute was valued.
Would you believe I have never played this? It is a crime, as I have known about it for years and have heard nothing but good stuff about it. Really a nice presentation of the different versions. Wonderful video, Vicky!
I love your channel. I wish you amazing success as I’ve really enjoyed your work so far and I’ve gotten a lot out of the work you’ve done. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
It makes my day to know what I do is valued, UA-cam will never be my primary focus in life but as an outlet for whatever I do so it's wonderful to know that it's valued. Lots more to come :)
I have the PC Engine CD version, as well as the NES version, the Mega Drive version, and the emulated versions on Taito Legends and the Japanese Taito Memories PS2 compilations, and quite honestly the only ones I tend to go back to is the PCE CD version and the Japanese PS2 versions (since those Japanese compilations also has Rainbow Islands Extra), they are just that great.
Yeah I don't have the Japanese versions of the Taito collections, I only had the one released for PAL territories. I mostly just go back to the PC Engine CD version as well.
Thank you Vicky-sama for your new great video :3. The little Dragons are so cute. And Video game History is always welcome :3 ...somwhere over the Rainbow ..... :D
One of the "failures of imagination" of Commodore's Amiga development team was not implementing a 2 or 3 button joystick protocol so that this would become the common denominator instead of the very old single button type which had been around since the Atari 2600. This would have made many games more sensible to play, especially the arcade ports. Overall though, the Amiga team of course did a great forward-looking job in how they designed the system. Zorro 1, 2 and 3 implementation was much better than what the PC had at the time for example.
The Amiga did actually support 2 buttons from the very beginning, it was just Commodore never really pushed a standard for Amiga controllers so all of the peripheral manufacturers cheaped out by basically not creating Amiga 2 button controllers, because then they could be sold as Atari/C64/Amiga compatible and the likes. It's the one thing that still jars with me today playing on the Amiga. Thankfully some games have had 2 button patches making them a bit easier to play.
@@vix_in_japan I do seem to remember later games supporting 2 button controllers, but you're right: Commodore should have made that the standard from the get-go. This was, after all, supposed to be a step up from the run-of-the-mill home computers of the day. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20 as they say.
Because it is such a defining title, I always see Rainbow islands first and foremost as an Amiga game and THEN an Arcade game! Not many ports are THAT GOOD that they make you forget the games origins! The only other ones that come to mind are Super Smash TV on SNES and the PS2 version of Tekken Tag.
I know right? I never knew it was an arcade game until one day in 1993 I went to the cinema in High Wycombe to see Jurassic Park and they had a rainbow islands cabinet and I was like, wow, they have Amiga games here.... :) I really want to play Super Smash TV one day!
@@vix_in_japan That is one thing I would've loved to have seen in the Arcades; Speedball 2 or Sensible Soccer! Just for the novelty more than anything lol.
Awesome!!! Absolutely love this game - such an amazing port on both the ST and Amiga! Its a shame it didn't have the secret islands - it would have been perfect then! I also prefer the PCE version!
Yeah this game has a lot of fans, I have never played the ST version but I know I wouldn't be disappointed if I did. I think there is enough in this game to keep you hooked even without the secret islands!
Woah, great video again! The PC Engine version is really smooth! I loved RBI but never finished it on any system. >.< I got close on the Atari ST. This game was the first time I remember getting angry/upset at the direction a franchise's story took, lol. I couldn't cope with the cute bubble dragons being (slightly creepy) kids.. Once a load of games came out afterwards with them being dragons again I got over it. 😅
Oh thank you so much! Yes I have never completed it either but I am close on the PC Engine version I've just not had the time to sit down since getting to Japan to finish it butI shall soon. Hehe, I didn't mind the transition to human characters as I always found them very cute :) So happy you enjoyed the video :) I'll continue on making them because I know they are valued and I enjoy making them!
That's very interesting I would like to play that version but I think there are two, the Taito one for the Famicom, and there is at least a European derived version for the NES, not sure if that's the one North America got or the repackaged Taito one? I will have to try it some day regardless. I didn't really 'forget' the Famicom/NES version as there are lots of versions I didn't cover in this video e.g. Mega Drive, Spectrum, Game Boy Color etc. etc. but I always try to record from real hardware and with versions of games I have had a personal connection with over some time rather than a fleeting hour or so in an emulator. But I will take up your suggestion of trying the NES/Famicom version(s) - thanks!
@@vix_in_japan The US NES version is slightly different to the Famicom version, mainly the music played is a tad different. The European version, done by Ocean, doesn't even behave properly, normally you drop rainbows on the bad guys, don't hit them directly with it, and you get the gems needed to get the island's bigger gem. Trouble is, that doesn't work in the PAL release at all, and never got down properly what exactly causes the gems to appear, since the normal way doesn't seem to work.
I know you didn't bring Taito Legends with you, but did you get a chance to play Rainbow Islands on PS2 Taito Legends? If so, do you have any thoughts on that version? I'm currently debating whether to purchase the Megadrive version, Rainbow Islands Extra, or one of the PS1 or PS2 versions...
I'm sure some folks with a keener eye won't agree with me on some technical reason but I'd go for Taito Legends on the PS2, because it contains a whole roster of other games to be enjoyed like Rastan and New Zealand Story amongst others. I have never had a problem with playing that version and enjoyed it very much. I think the MD version is good too but weirdly the first world's background color is black rather than blue but other than that it's good! My favorite home version remains the PC Engine due to it being the full game rather than the unintentionally curtailed Graftgold versions although the Amiga port is fantastic.
@@vix_in_japan awesome... Thanks for your thoughts. I now have Taito Legends on order for my PS2, along with a couple of ASCIIware arcade sticks to get some stick and microswitch kicks XD. Was very tempted by the MD version, but decided to go for the more cost effective option for now :) I'd loooove to get the PCE version, but I understand that's CD only right? Unfortunately I'm restricted to HuCards until I boldly make the move into Duo territory... Would love to one day, then I could get that R-Type complete version as well... 🤗
@@vix_in_japan While Legends is good, I find the Japanese Taito compilations even better. There's 4 of them, Puzzle Bobble 2, Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Rainbow Islands Extra, Bubble Symphony, and Bubble Memories populates the 4 packs (25 games for each pack, totaling 100 games over 4 compilations, lots of games to play). That's most of the classic series, outside the NES sequel, the Game Boy titles, and Parasol Stars, and at least 1 of the 4 original Puzzle Bobble games.
The P.c Engine version has chronically flickering rainbows which really brings the game down IMO. I mean the rainbows are kinda central to the game you don't want to see a screen full of weirdly flickering rainbows.
I still own this on the C64, one of the first games I played as a kid. I could never imagine getting sick of this game.
Same here!
That was a fantastic video - you have me now setting up a Raspberry PI Amiga to play all the old games again.... thank you Vicky..... and a nice tribute to Mitsuji Fukio-san.
Oh cool! I think I'm likely to go down the Pi route for my 'Amiga' here in Japan, it's looking like it will cost around £250-300 to get it to Japan as I would have to pay import duties and it needs a 100V power supply...So a Pi it will be. I'm glad the tribute was valued.
That intro tune! 😃 Thanks for the vid Vic xx
Would you believe I have never played this? It is a crime, as I have known about it for years and have heard nothing but good stuff about it.
Really a nice presentation of the different versions. Wonderful video, Vicky!
That is surprising you have never played it! You're missing out. Glad you enjoyed the presentation style, trying to become more consistent :)
I love your channel. I wish you amazing success as I’ve really enjoyed your work so far and I’ve gotten a lot out of the work you’ve done. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
It makes my day to know what I do is valued, UA-cam will never be my primary focus in life but as an outlet for whatever I do so it's wonderful to know that it's valued. Lots more to come :)
Guess which tune I'm going to be humming the rest of the week. Great video!
Hehehehe thanks Phil!
Nice video - time go get that FPGA, a competition Pro and this game loaded as the first 🥳
Absolutely! Play it any way you can!
Amazing story! Thank you!
Thank you so much Franko glad you enjoyed it!
I have the PC Engine CD version, as well as the NES version, the Mega Drive version, and the emulated versions on Taito Legends and the Japanese Taito Memories PS2 compilations, and quite honestly the only ones I tend to go back to is the PCE CD version and the Japanese PS2 versions (since those Japanese compilations also has Rainbow Islands Extra), they are just that great.
Yeah I don't have the Japanese versions of the Taito collections, I only had the one released for PAL territories. I mostly just go back to the PC Engine CD version as well.
Thank you Vicky-sama for your new great video :3. The little Dragons are so cute. And Video game History is always welcome :3 ...somwhere over the Rainbow ..... :D
Awww bless you, yes the dragons are so cute! I'm glad you found it interesting :)
One of the "failures of imagination" of Commodore's Amiga development team was not implementing a 2 or 3 button joystick protocol so that this would become the common denominator instead of the very old single button type which had been around since the Atari 2600. This would have made many games more sensible to play, especially the arcade ports. Overall though, the Amiga team of course did a great forward-looking job in how they designed the system. Zorro 1, 2 and 3 implementation was much better than what the PC had at the time for example.
The Amiga did actually support 2 buttons from the very beginning, it was just Commodore never really pushed a standard for Amiga controllers so all of the peripheral manufacturers cheaped out by basically not creating Amiga 2 button controllers, because then they could be sold as Atari/C64/Amiga compatible and the likes. It's the one thing that still jars with me today playing on the Amiga. Thankfully some games have had 2 button patches making them a bit easier to play.
@@vix_in_japan I do seem to remember later games supporting 2 button controllers, but you're right: Commodore should have made that the standard from the get-go. This was, after all, supposed to be a step up from the run-of-the-mill home computers of the day. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20 as they say.
Because it is such a defining title, I always see Rainbow islands first and foremost as an Amiga game and THEN an Arcade game!
Not many ports are THAT GOOD that they make you forget the games origins! The only other ones that come to mind are Super Smash TV on SNES and the PS2 version of Tekken Tag.
I know right? I never knew it was an arcade game until one day in 1993 I went to the cinema in High Wycombe to see Jurassic Park and they had a rainbow islands cabinet and I was like, wow, they have Amiga games here.... :) I really want to play Super Smash TV one day!
@@vix_in_japan That is one thing I would've loved to have seen in the Arcades; Speedball 2 or Sensible Soccer!
Just for the novelty more than anything lol.
@@vix_in_japan That's where I went to see JP too :)
I absolutely loved the Spectrum version. An amazing port and (with Chase HQ) one of the best on the system.
Absolutely agreed the Rainbow Islands port to the Spectrum is really quite something!
i need to get the PC engine version rainbow islands.
Awesome!!! Absolutely love this game - such an amazing port on both the ST and Amiga! Its a shame it didn't have the secret islands - it would have been perfect then! I also prefer the PCE version!
Yeah this game has a lot of fans, I have never played the ST version but I know I wouldn't be disappointed if I did. I think there is enough in this game to keep you hooked even without the secret islands!
Woah, great video again! The PC Engine version is really smooth! I loved RBI but never finished it on any system. >.< I got close on the Atari ST.
This game was the first time I remember getting angry/upset at the direction a franchise's story took, lol. I couldn't cope with the cute bubble dragons being (slightly creepy) kids.. Once a load of games came out afterwards with them being dragons again I got over it. 😅
Oh thank you so much! Yes I have never completed it either but I am close on the PC Engine version I've just not had the time to sit down since getting to Japan to finish it butI shall soon. Hehe, I didn't mind the transition to human characters as I always found them very cute :) So happy you enjoyed the video :) I'll continue on making them because I know they are valued and I enjoy making them!
You forgot the best version of rainbow islands, story of bubble bobble 2 for famicom/nes
That's very interesting I would like to play that version but I think there are two, the Taito one for the Famicom, and there is at least a European derived version for the NES, not sure if that's the one North America got or the repackaged Taito one? I will have to try it some day regardless.
I didn't really 'forget' the Famicom/NES version as there are lots of versions I didn't cover in this video e.g. Mega Drive, Spectrum, Game Boy Color etc. etc. but I always try to record from real hardware and with versions of games I have had a personal connection with over some time rather than a fleeting hour or so in an emulator. But I will take up your suggestion of trying the NES/Famicom version(s) - thanks!
@@vix_in_japan The US NES version is slightly different to the Famicom version, mainly the music played is a tad different. The European version, done by Ocean, doesn't even behave properly, normally you drop rainbows on the bad guys, don't hit them directly with it, and you get the gems needed to get the island's bigger gem. Trouble is, that doesn't work in the PAL release at all, and never got down properly what exactly causes the gems to appear, since the normal way doesn't seem to work.
I know you didn't bring Taito Legends with you, but did you get a chance to play Rainbow Islands on PS2 Taito Legends? If so, do you have any thoughts on that version?
I'm currently debating whether to purchase the Megadrive version, Rainbow Islands Extra, or one of the PS1 or PS2 versions...
I'm sure some folks with a keener eye won't agree with me on some technical reason but I'd go for Taito Legends on the PS2, because it contains a whole roster of other games to be enjoyed like Rastan and New Zealand Story amongst others. I have never had a problem with playing that version and enjoyed it very much. I think the MD version is good too but weirdly the first world's background color is black rather than blue but other than that it's good! My favorite home version remains the PC Engine due to it being the full game rather than the unintentionally curtailed Graftgold versions although the Amiga port is fantastic.
@@vix_in_japan awesome... Thanks for your thoughts. I now have Taito Legends on order for my PS2, along with a couple of ASCIIware arcade sticks to get some stick and microswitch kicks XD.
Was very tempted by the MD version, but decided to go for the more cost effective option for now :)
I'd loooove to get the PCE version, but I understand that's CD only right? Unfortunately I'm restricted to HuCards until I boldly make the move into Duo territory... Would love to one day, then I could get that R-Type complete version as well... 🤗
@@vix_in_japan While Legends is good, I find the Japanese Taito compilations even better. There's 4 of them, Puzzle Bobble 2, Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Rainbow Islands Extra, Bubble Symphony, and Bubble Memories populates the 4 packs (25 games for each pack, totaling 100 games over 4 compilations, lots of games to play). That's most of the classic series, outside the NES sequel, the Game Boy titles, and Parasol Stars, and at least 1 of the 4 original Puzzle Bobble games.
The P.c Engine version has chronically flickering rainbows which really brings the game down IMO. I mean the rainbows are kinda central to the game you don't want to see a screen full of weirdly flickering rainbows.