ININ Games has been on a roll when it comes to revisiting the long-lost Cotton franchise. From earlier games in the series to forgotten favorites like Panorama Cotton, the publisher has done a swell job making the tea time-loving witch a household name again. That said…Rainbow Cotton reminds us that not everything is a smooth ride.
The game has fantastic 3D visuals, introducing a polygonal world for the first time, as well as a neat little soundtrack. However, the gameplay is unnecessarily frustrating, with barely any improvements over the original game. In fact, only the true die-hard fans will likely see it through to the end, just because it gets so frustratingly difficult.
There are some modes that add weight to the package, but without the operational controls to back it up, Rainbow Cotton feels like a hex on everything we’ve come to expect from the heroine.
What’s With the Gameplay?
As we stated, Rainbow Cotton shifts the action to 3D, like Panorama Cotton did, as you must fly around the screen to shoot enemies, occasionally letting loose a fairy buddy to unleash additional damage.
It sounds good, but the game’s controls have some serious problems. First off, the aiming is horrendously jumpy. That’s because every time you let up on the controller, the aiming automatically goes back to the center of the screen. As a result, you have to keep fighting against the system as you dodge bullets and aim at tougher foes.
If that’s not enough, the firing system seems a bit off. There’s no auto-fire option – well, I take it back, there is, but it’s way too slow – and the spells don’t seem as effective as I would have hoped. As a result, you’ll frustratingly miss opponents that are right in front of you at times, while you take unfair damage.
The game does have innovative designs with its bosses, with special attacks that light up the screen. And the extra modes – including a fun little local co-op multiplayer jaunt – have their moments. But the core gameplay just feels imperfect here, struggling to stay in one piece when you’ve already got the world against you.
Maybe a patch or new options can fix this up. But as it stands, Cotton is one tough witch to handle. Even Tea Time is a chore for some reason.
A Be-Witch-ing Presentation
While the controls come up short, Rainbow Cotton does look pretty good. The game moves at a fluid 60 frames per second (for the most part), with wonderfully built worlds to fly through and some neat enemy designs. That said, it can get a little odd when Cotton gets in the way of your targeting reticule, further adding to your gameplay woes. I did like the in-game cinemas, though. They reminded me of the classic Turbo-Grafx days.
At least the sound is excellent, with a lot of delightful tunes straight out of the Cotton lexicon. Not to mention the Japanese dialogue is cute, and the sound effects are spot on. That part of the game remains stable, and ideal for a gaming headset.
Swept Away With the Broom
It hurts me that I have to give Rainbow Cotton a lower-than-great review score. It does most of its presentation right with its colorful graphics and delightful sound. But then the gameplay enters the picture and just doesn’t hold up well at all. The auto-adjusting aiming, low number of credits and difficult challenge just kept us from enjoying everything this witch had to offer.
This one’s for the die-hard fans only. For everyone else, don’t worry – ININ has more than enough Cotton goodness to go around.
GAMERHUB RATING: 2.5 (out of 5) JOYSTICKS
(Thanks to ININ Games for the review code!)
