This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Eric Dayday.

Another arcade classic - Rainbow Islands - makes its way over to the Nintendo DS with a makeover both visually and technically. It features all 40 of the old levels with some new graphical flair, but it plays a bit differently than what you may remember as inputs have been changed to take full advantage of the DS’ unique touch controls.

Though Rainbow Islands Revolution is technically a remake, there are plenty of changes made to the core gameplay that make it feel like a new game. The obvious change is from a joystick to touch screen controls. Where once the character traversed the land on two legs and jumped to create small rainbows to ward off enemies and create bridges is now replaced by dragging a boy in a bubble and an arcing stylus to now create those rainbows. It sounds like a drastic change, but the main goal remains the same – reach the top of the stage while avoiding enemies and traps.

Sadly, other than that, there’s really not much more that define this as different. Instead, it falls back on the fact that it’s a remake, though there are some things that make you question whether “remake” is a fair label. There is the graphical makeover, but compared to the DS’s standards, it’s sub-par. And it really doesn’t take advantage of the dual screen setup. While the upper screen does help by showing you more of the stage, that’s all it does, and even then, it isn’t very helpful. It would have been nice had something more interesting had been included, but hey, we can’t quite have everything, now can we.

The inclusion of all 40 levels sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t, especially with how games are today. A determined soul can easily tackle and conquer all 40 levels over the course of a day or so. It does gain some replay value in trying to find all of the crystals to unlock the best ending. It’s not much, but a nice little incentive for the completionists out there.

Other than the core game are two other modes – score attack and multiplayer, both of which unfortunately play almost identical. The goal in score attack is to score as high as possible in any 10 different levels. Multiplayer is the exact same thing except you’re playing against up to three other friends instead of yourself and the AI’s set high score. It’s a decent addition, though I have to question why every player needs to have a copy of the game inserted in their DS for such a simple mode.

I also found it odd that an untouched port of the original game wasn’t included. Some fans of the original may be turned off by the new changes. It stands out even more because the same developers managed to squeeze the original Bubble Bobble in its remake.

Rainbow Islands Revolution will only appeal to fans of the original game who are accepting of the new changes. Other than that, it really doesn’t offer anything new when it comes to touch-focused games because other games, like Kirby: Canvas Curse, does it better and with more polish.

Interesting new twist – making old joystick controls touch-screen exclusive - on an old classic

Sub-par by DS’ standards.

The bloops and bleeps and classic soundtrack still work surprisingly.

A fun title for you old-school arcade fans out there.

Crystal searching for the best ending is all you’ve got. Sad considering it’s relatively short.