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The sequel to the classic Bubble Bobble coin-op turned Bob and Bub from bubble-blowing dinosaurs back to human form. Graftgold's C64 conversion omitted the coin-op's simultaneous two-player mode but was superb in every other respect.

Each of six rainbow islands has a theme, such as toys or vampires, and comprises three vertically scrolling levels plus a superbaddy confrontation. Bub must beat a rising water level and climb to the top by jumping onto platforms or firing several magic rainbows to make a staircase. These can also be used to kill baddies and to collect bonus fruit and objects, by firing a rainbow over them and jumping on it. Special objects offer double/triple rainbows, running shoes for extra speed. There are also gem stones - collect all seven colours for a special bonus.

The Zzap review in Issue 53 arrived several months before the game - Firebird were originally to have released it, but a clause in the licensing agreement resulted in the same Graftgold conversion eventually appearing on the Ocean label. By then we reckoned it was probably worth a Gold Medal, rather than the original Sizzler.

It was an incredible technical achievement, as Randy explained: "Graftgold have had to write a full conversion of a 2Mb arcade machine for a 64K home computer. And it works. Well. Gameplay is furiously addictive... everything moves so quickly, too, considering the number of objects on screen at one time." It also earned the ultimate accolade from Phil: "It looks good. It smells good. By golly, it tastes good too!"

If you somehow missed Rainbow Islands first time around, and the numerous compilations on which it's appeared, go and buy it now! You won't be disappointed.