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There's this baddy, you see, and his name is Von Blubba. Boo. Hiss. In the early days, before the creation of the Rainbow Islands, Von Blubba was but an amateur nasty-piece-of-work, who relied on a few mad cronies and a spell or two to carry him through life.

Anyway, these two blokes, Bub and Bob I believe their names were, took on Von Blubba and won, when he abducted their totty and transformed the lads into bubble-blowing dinosaurs (for more detailed background information please refer to Bubble Bobble arcade machine and computer game).

Girlies back in their arms, Bub and Bob (now in human form again) went off and built the Rainbow Islands. And what a lovely place it was too. Always sunny, always colourful, and always packed with tourists.

This particular summer, however, a less than friendly party of sightseers descended on the islands and their inhabitants. Fresh from his Nastiness Refresher Course, Von Blubba and his motley crew have hunted out the islands, captured their patrons and have begun work on demolishing the whole setup. Two people managed to escape from the clutches of their captors, though, and there are no prizes for guessing just who the pair are!

As Bub (and Bob - in two-player mode) it's your job to release Rainbow Islands' POBs (Prisoners of Blubba) from a fate too terrifying to contemplate. Beginning at the bottom of the vertically-scrolling play area, you must battle and bounce your way, using platforms, to the top of the island to free the captives.

Sounds easy, doesn't it? It isn't. 'Coz there are a whole army of seemingly harmless, yet totally mmmeeeaaaannnn, beasties littering the skies, positively itching to do away with you. This is no one-sided scrap, mind you, for luckily you have a trick up your psychedelic sleeve. A devastating Rainbow Blasta spell which, as well as being a useful bridging device when stuck for a place to stand, disposes of baddies when they're hit by it.

Every time an enemy is killed, an object is left in its place. These objects can be one of a number of items, the type of which is dependent on your style of attack. Hit the meanie with the top curve of the rainbow and he'll change into a bonus-giving piece of fruit. Catch him with the underside of the weapon and a star appears where the nasty once stood. Collecting each of the differently coloured stars results in a very big bonus score.

A special item appears upon the demise of every third baddy. What kind of item you receive is, again, decided by the computer, which keeps a running total of in-game statistics (number of kills, etc). The list of handy gadgets is considerable, and includes running spikes (for a nippier getaway) two-hoop Rainbows (for a double dose of destruction) and three-hoop Rainbows (for a triple taste of terror!). At the end of each stage, an enormous (but sickeningly lovely) monster awaits you, its thoughts tuned only on the abolition of its enemy (i.e. you). So be prepared to do battle with a big, chunky snail with huge, little-boy-lost eyes, a big, chunky spider with huge, little-boy-lost eyes, a big... etc.

Once you have scoured all of the islands, freed the hostages and done away with the creepies, the game is over. But be careful! There are two ways to complete Rainbow Islands, and only one of them is correct! And guess what you've gotta do if you don't finish it properly? You've got it, bud - back to the beginning to try again!

Someone is going to get sick and tired of these cute coin-op conversions sooner or later. Until then, play Rainbow Islands to death, as it's easily the best of the bunch.

And although the Amiga version is a fine programming achievement, bearing little difference to the arcade original, it's the C64 game which impresses me the most. Graftgold have had to write a full conversion of a 2Mb arcade machine for a 64K home computer. And it works.

Well, gameplay on both machines is furiously addictive, the multi-load not denting the player's enjoyment of the product one iota. Graphically, the Amiga Rainbow Islands is, unsurprisingly, identical to the coin-op, with the C64's display being an admirable representation of the original's on-screen action.

Everything moves so quickly too, considering the number of objects on screen at one time. Music and FX on both versions are similarly excellent, adding atmosphere and 'bounce' to the proceedings.

Rainbow Islands is a remarkably accurate conversion in both look and feel, with the C64 game deserving that bit more of a rave on technical merit.

I can't lie. I adore the Rainbow Islands coin-op. I don't know why, it's just that those cutesy Japanese games intrigue me. These conversions intrigue me as well. I'm intrigued to now just how Graftgold managed to cram so much of the original's features into a couple of home computers, and still retain the enormous feeling of pleasure which you get when tackling the coin-op.

Some clever little routines have been utilised in the production of this game: the special items tally (the computer can automatically make your game simpler if you are continually being killed!) and the way the rainbow bullets arc their way onto the screen (the programmer told us that it took him ages to get that right!).

It looks as though Rainbow Islands has put Graftgold back on the right tracks. Pity it's driving me off the rails!!!

Jolly little Japanese games are all the rage at the moment and this latest one from Taito and Firebird/Graftgold really hits the mark. Both versions have been lovingly slaved over by the programmers, and it shows in the final product.

Whereas Bubble Bobble was a close conversion of the original, it lacked any real complexity in the gameplay. Rainbow Islands, on the other hand, is a good-looking piece of software, and it's got a lot of behind-the-scenes work going on, such as the statistics tables which the computer keeps, to determine which special object you're to receive. It looks good. It smells good (Chomp chew). By golly, it tastes good too!

Rainbow Islands is a must for fans of the coin-op, lovers of platform games, and everyone else.

Presentation 76%
Average attract screen, and two (yes, two!) end of game stills.

Graphics 82%
As good as they could be. Slightly blocky but colourful, rather like the coin-op.

Sound 84%
Some chirpy in-game effects add lots of atmosphere, and the title tune is a faithful representation of the original music.

Hookability 93%
The first couple of stages are pretty easy to complete, and give you a taster of the fun to follow.

Lastability 93%
Islands-a-plenty, and each one is a joy to complete.

Overall 92%
Possibly the best game of its genre on the C64 at present.

Presentation 90%
With a look and feel highly reminiscent of the arcade original, it's hard to find fault.

Graphics 92%
Apart from the odd minor colour change, sprites and backdrops are arcade perfect, albeit a tad slower-running.

Sound 86%
A jolly ditty plays throughout, with suitable effects adding that bit extra bounce.

Hookability 92%
Fun from the word go, the pace and difficulty level are set just right to instill confidence in the player's abilities.

Lastability 92%
There are a couple of animated end-screens to see, and you can't give up until you've seen 'em now, can you?

Overall 92%
Colourful, loud and fun, it's like having the coin-op in your own bedroom!