Forgotten Dreamcast Game is Making a Comeback on May 9

Forgotten Dreamcast Game is Making a Comeback on May 9

• Rainbow Cotton, a former Dreamcast exclusive, is coming to modern platforms on May 9, featuring RPG elements and anime cutscenes.
• Despite negative reviews at release, the enhanced version of Rainbow Cotton promises improved graphics and quality-of-life improvements.
• The Dreamcast, Sega’s final console, is remembered for its innovative games, with some exclusive titles still “trapped” on the system.

Rail shooter game Rainbow Cotton, a former Dreamcast exclusive, is releasing on modern platforms come Thursday, May 9. The Dreamcast was the last console ever released by Sega. It failed to sell enough units to keep the company in the console hardware business, causing Sega to pivot to almost exclusively developing software. Even so, the Dreamcast is often pointed to as one of the most underrated consoles ever produced, as it featured a number of important innovations and featured a library of high-quality games.

Some of the highest-rated games of all time were originally released on the Dreamcast, though many of them have since found their way to other platforms as the years have gone by. Unfortunately, some Dreamcast exclusives, both those highly-praised and those critically-panned, remain “trapped” on the system. One such game is Rainbow Cotton, a Dreamcast exclusive that was originally released only in Japan in 2000, but will soon be making its global debut on multiple platforms.

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Rainbow Cotton is a rail shooter mixed with RPG elements, with players able to level up as the game progresses. It stars a witch named cotton who flies around on a broom, blasting spells at enemies in the game’s various brightly-colored stages. Rainbow Cotton earned mostly negative reviews at the time of its release, but fans of the genre and those nostalgic for the Sega Dreamcast may still be interested in checking it out. The new version of the game will launch on May 9 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, and Xbox One.

Rainbow Cotton Release Date

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• Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, and Xbox One
• Release Date: Thursday, May 9

The new version of Rainbow Cotton is said to be “enhanced” with “fully localized anime cutscenes” and “a graphical overhaul” along with “numerous quality-of-life improvements,” though specifics on what the latter entails have not been revealed at the time of this writing. Hopefully, the new version of Rainbow Cotton tackles some of the criticisms levied at the original Dreamcast release. At the time, critics were not happy with its controls and camera.

Regardless of how one feels about Rainbow Cotton, it’s always nice to see a once Japanese-exclusive game get localized for additional markets. Not only that, but it’s great to see another Dreamcast exclusive make its way to other platforms. There are those holding out hope that Sega may one day release a Dreamcast mini console to give fans the chance to relive some of the console’s most memorable games in a convenient location, but since that doesn’t seem to be happening, ports of the console’s games to other platforms may be the best that fans can hope for.

Dreamcast

The Dreamcast was a Sega-based console that was released during the sixth generation of console wars and offered competition to the GameCube, PS2, and Xbox. It was Sega’s final console before the company reshifted its focus.

BrandSegaOriginal Release DateSeptember 9, 1999Hardware VersionsDreamcastOriginal MSRP (USD)$199, 200Weight3.3 lbs.