30 years ago, Success’s shoot ’em up seriesCottonmade the leap from 2D side-scroller toSpace Harrier-style rail shooter inPanorama Cotton. 24 years ago,Rainbow Cottonexpanded upon that 3D flight of fancy on Dreamcast, and now it’s finally making its way to the West.
WhileRainbow Cottonlaunched in Japan only on Dreamcast back in 2000, ININ Games recently announced plans to bring a remake to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Those spring 2024 plans were just narrowed down to a specific launch date of May 9, and ININ put together something special for the accompanying trailer. Rather than simply showing offRainbow Cottonin all its updated glory, the new trailer serves up a brief guide to how the team brings retro games to modern audiences.
There tends to be a lot of discussion aboutwhere the line isbetween remaster and remake, and the video above does a good job of succinctly summing it up, at least in terms of how ININ Games handles it. They get into where emulation and ports fall in the mix of theCottonre-releases, and whyRainbow Cottondeserves the distinction of a full remake.
The remake features upgraded graphics in full HD, updates to the user interface, lock-on targeting, a two-player mode. and other bells and whistles. Those who just want to play the original as it appeared on Dreamcast can do that, as well. ININ calls it “as authentic as it can possibly be,” so you’ll just have to imagine you have your VMU plugged into your modern platform of choice.
