Originally released on Dreamcast, Rainbow Cotton is now easily accessible on all modern platforms thanks to ININ and Success. As a point of reference, Panorama Cotton, Cotton 100%, Cotton Fantasy: Superlative Night Dreams, and Cotton Reboot have all been re-released over the last couple years. Personally, I welcome the revival of this cult franchise. To […]

First released on the Mega Drive in 1994, Panorama Cotton was ported to PS4 and Switch in late 2021 and is now available on Xbox. For more detail, check out my article on the PS4 version as everything basically applies here in this Xbox version. Making a change from the typical side-scrolling gameplay of many […]

Originally a late Super Famicom release, later ported to PS4 and Switch in 2021, Cotton 100% is now available on Xbox thanks to the efforts of Ratalaika, ININ, and Success. For reference, pretty much everything mentioned in my PS4 Cotton 100% article also applies here so I don’t want to repeat myself too much. In […]

Over the last year, ININ Games and SUCCESS have released several Cotton titles on current gen hardware. These fan favorite shmups are causes for excitement as playing these original games on their original hardware is next to impossible thanks to very small print runs. Now, thanks to the magic of digital distribution (with some physical […]

Originally released in 1998 for the Super Famicom, this Japan exclusive was the second title released in the Cotton series. Like games in this niche series, the gameplay is pick-up-and-playable but the lacking quality of life features is disappointing for a 2021 release. Taking a note from Gradius, players can select from a few different […]

Originally released in 1994 on the Sega Mega Drive, Cotton Panorama is an on rails shooter that looks and feels a lot like Sega’s Space Harrier. For the pre-polygon era, the quasi-3D effect probably blew minds back in the day, and doesn’t look bad today, but the novelty is only skin deep as the gameplay […]

Cotton is a classic shooter and an original title to adopt the “cute’em up” visual presentation directly into gameplay when it was first released on the Sharp X68000 and in arcades. Playing as a chibi witch, Cotton gets bribed into helping a fairy restore land from evil monsters by being offered candy. Once all seven […]

Shadow of the Ninja, also known as Blue Shadow in Europe, was a high quality 2D side scrolling action game on the NES released over 30 years ago. It was well regarded for its fun two-player co-op feature. Tengo Project and NatsumeAtari have completely remade this cult classic similar to the recent Ninja Saviors: Return […]

ININ and Taito have re-released Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III on Xbox, Playstation, and Switch, originally released on PC Engine in 1991. This is a worthy sequel to Bubble Bobble right down to the single screen co-op based kill’em-all gameplay. Instead of playing as little bubble-spitting dragons, players take control of the […]

Dead End City is a vertical post-apocalyptic shooter that mixes the overall vibe of Mad Max with the enemy behaviors of Galaga/Galaxian but with some stage design of Gun.Smoke. It is a fun shooter, but the higher difficulty requires plenty of trial, error, and memorization. The gimmick of gameplay comes from the fuel system. This […]