![]() ![]() Later boss fights are at least made a little more interesting by progressively more varied Resonator attacks that can hit or stun enemies on either the same or other planes as you, but they have to be toggled between with the L and R buttons. A powered-up version will come when you call it faster, but again, bosses are so prone to hitting them that it becomes more of a tedious grind to out-crank a boss before it hits you. As a result, the boss fights are reduced to a frustrating dance of powering up the Resonator while trying to dodge incoming shots, a feat that's made more difficult by the fact that you usually have to "call" the Resonator over by spinning. If the Resonator is hit, it loses its powered-up status, and if used too often it can overheat. The Resonator, like the characters, can level up (the latter is done by finding instruments in the levels), but only if you successfully charge up an attack and hit an enemy with the shot. ![]() ![]() Those tussles with musically themed end-level baddies (and to a lesser extent, their appearances in the normal stages) revolves around dodging their incoming shots as they hop in and out of the different layers while returning your own shots with a "Resonator" a semi-sentient set of speakers that responds to your cranking of the hurdy gurdy (read: spinning the analog nub like crazy). ![]() You're also limited to a handful of rainbows out at any time, be they for traversing all the floating platforms or hitting enemies (the power of the rainbows turns them back to normal, y'see), and though you can shatter a rainbow and any linked cousins by either holding down on the d-pad while jumping on one or hitting it twice, the makeshift platforms can be a little cumbersome - particularly in boss fights. For starters, the levels are actually three levels deep, with the other layers in the background accessible only by slowly moving elevators that can only be hopped onto when a light shifts briefly to green. By creating stairs, you can climb to the top of the level and move onto the next, but there are a number of catches. Tapping square lets you kick out a smallish arch that can then be scaled before releasing another. The "evolution" of the classic game comes in the form of a handful of rather radical changes to how the rainbows are actually used. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Taito were poking fun at their own game, but somehow I don't quite think that's what they had in mind. The net product, then ends up being far, far too bland and frankly monotonous despite sporting an abundance of color and an inexplicable "update" to Bub and Bob (sorry, Bubby and Bobby) that has them wearing sombreros while cranking a hurdy gurdy to create rainbows, all to fight off an evil record company whose soulless, generic music has turned plant and animal alike into hideous mutants. The "if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it" adage has rarely been so apt here everywhere Taito has tried to mess with what was a deceptively simple platformer has pulled the game farther and farther into ruin. I'm probably not the first person to suggest that the classic games of yesteryear were so good mainly because they were simple concepts unfettered by needless fluff (and I almost certainly won't be the last) but it bears repeating, particularly where Rainbow Island Evolution is concerned. ![]()
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