Rainbow Cotton is ranked in the 19th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
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TheSixthAxis
Top Critic
Jun 7, 2024
Rainbow Cotton is an interesting peak into the history of Dreamcast gaming, but it lacks the gameplay upgrades and presentation flourishes to make it a genuinely enjoyable game outside of that context.
Forbes
Top Critic
May 13, 2024
Overall, Rainbow Cotton is a very faithful HD remaster of the original Dreamcast game. That means it suffers from the same functional shortcomings that game did. So unless you are a diehard fan of the Cotton series, you can give this one a miss.
Gaming Nexus
Top Critic
May 20, 2024
Rainbow Cotton is a fun arcade-style shooter, but it has a couple of flaws. While the game plays pretty well and I did enjoy my time with it, the lack of any information on even the basics of the game's mechanics as well as it sometimes being hard to see what Cotton's shooting at can make the game a bit more difficult than it should be, even on the easiest of difficulty settings. It's still an enjoyable game,but a few additions could have made it even better.
May 8, 2024
Although there's room for improvement in ININ's presentation, and it would have been nice to get a few more bonus unlockables, this is still the best version of Rainbow Cotton around thanks to its silky smooth frame rate, lovely upscaling, widescreen formatting, and all-important gameplay enhancements. It's a fun, at times spectacular, novelty adventure in the Cotton universe, that can occasionally feel confusing and cluttered. Stick with it, though, and an enjoyable and genuinely charming rail shooter bubbles to the surface.
The Outerhaven Productions
Top Critic
May 9, 2024
Rainbow Cotton has a colorful and cutesy theme that will appeal to some fans of anime. But outside of the HD visual upgrade, there are multiple problems with the gameplay that can become frustrating. Co-op and Retro mode are interesting inclusions, but the meager amount of extra features leave almost no reason to come back later.
Pure Nintendo
Top Critic
May 23, 2024
Rainbow Cotton is a lot of fun. It's one of those games you can grab quickly and not have to drop hours on. The cutscenes between levels will make the kids giggle at the antics of Cotton and her friend as they journey to get candy.
Video Chums
Top Critic
May 9, 2024
Rainbow Cotton is the kind of game that series fans will happily add to their collection but it surely won't entice many folks outside of that player base with its dated gameplay that unfortunately hasn't held up all that well. 🌈
Entertainium
May 22, 2024
The first game in the series to make the leap to polygons, Rainbow Cotton is a previously exclusive Japanese Dreamcast game that now makes its way to the rest of the gaming world.
GameBlast
May 14, 2024
Finally having Rainbow Cotton with us gives us a panorama (unintended pun) of the candy-hungry witch's virtual evolution. However, even though the game by itself is fine, it deserved more than a graphic upgrade, gameplay refinements and extra resources to make it totally modern instead of a mere revamped port.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
NookGaming
May 16, 2024
Rainbow Cotton is fortunately a much better product than Panorama Cotton, the closest title I can compare it to. Sadly, beyond that little accolade and the fantastic soundtrack, it just feels rather limp when compared to the more traditional Cotton titles on offer for similar or even lower price points.I’ll never say no to more Cotton. If you are a fan of the franchise, then the HD graphics, English translation for the cutscenes, and lock-on feature make this an ideal way to play the game. But, if you are new to the franchise and want to know why there is seemingly a re-release every 6 months I would suggest looking at Cotton Reboot and considering picking this curio up on sale down the line.
Nintendo Blast
May 8, 2024
Rainbow Cotton is a game with a weak base that doesn't sustain itself with only small adjustments and a visual revamp. Though the series' charismatic universe still has its charm, this is a title only worth it as a portrait of a moment of the franchise and nothing more.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Gaming Age
May 8, 2024
Rainbow Cotton is a very good HD re-release of a classic game that not many people got a chance to play.
Nindie Spotlight
May 10, 2024
33bits
May 8, 2024
Rainbow Cotton is the last title in the Cotton franchise that we had yet to receive in the West. Originally released on Dreamcast in 2000, Rainbow Cotton offered us an on-rails shooter in the style of Panorama Cotton but in real 3D. With this remastering we will enjoy an improved technical and visual section, as well as the local cooperative multiplayer option and the opportunity to play the original Rainbow Cotton. Unfortunately, the remastering has brought with it some playable problems from the Dreamcast version that could well have been solved, even so, with Rainbow Cotton we complete the collection, and that is one of its great attractions.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
WayTooManyGames
May 7, 2024
Maybe it was too difficult to incorporate, maybe it made the game too easy, I couldn’t tell you. What I can say is Rainbow Cotton is the magical girl wrapped version of a Cybertruck. Quirky and odd, the novelty wears off when you can’t control it and it ultimately crashes and burns, killing you with design flaws that the creators were well aware of.
LadiesGamers.com
May 7, 2024
Rainbow Cotton is okay but not great. The developers have had a valiant crack at bringing the game to Nintendo Switch and adding a few modern touches. Unfortunately, some core problems with the game still persist. Like many games that started strong in 2D, the transition to 3D hasn’t worked great for Cotton. Shooting doesn’t feel that satisfying; movement is sluggish, and difficulty is very unbalanced in places. The game does shine with its presentation and graphics.Overall, I settled on liking the game myself. But I would say this is really only for the retro and die-hard Cotton fans. If you’re starting your Cotton adventure, I would suggest trying Cotton Reboot and circling back to this if the series clicks with you.
VGChartz
Top Critic
May 7, 2024
Thanks to HD visuals, co-op support, and some quality-of-life fixes, this new version is somewhat better than the Dreamcast game. Unfortunately, too much of that game's DNA is preserved here, leading to a middling experience.
Final Weapon
May 6, 2024
Rainbow Cotton is ultimately a unique title with lots of charm. However, the experience is filled with bugs, camera issues, and decisions that left me scratching my head. With so many great ideas, it is a shame the controls and bugs plague what is otherwise a charming and colorful experience.
