Developer - Taito   Catalogue No. - G70000017A

Type - Platform Action

A true classic is what Rainbow Islands is and Mega Drive owners have the lucky option of being able to own the only version of Rainbow Islands Extra to be released on a home console.  The difference between the normal version and extra version is purely cosmetic.  In the extra version you start the game on the the same level as the normal game but instead of being populated with cute enemies the area is populated with enemies from Darius.  Not only that but the music is also taken from Darius.  Luckily you are given the choice of playing the normal or extra mode.  Another main point about the Mega Drive version is that it contains the original "Somewhere over the rainbow" music from the arcade version.  This track was replaced with an un-named track in other versions of the game due to copyright problems.  Even the recently released Taito classics doesn't feature the song as it should be since the main chorus has been lowered to be less noticeable.

Over all Rainbow Islands Extra is a fantastic classic game that should be part of any Mega Drive fan's collection.  It's just a shame it can be a little expensive.