When did Rainbow Islands Extra release?

Rainbow Islands Extra was first released on December 31, 1988.

Rainbow Islands Extra

Dec 31, 1988PlatformPuzzleArcadeArcadeSega Mega Drive/GenesisFM TownsNintendo Entertainment SystemZX Spectrum

Rainbow Islands Extra — frequently asked questions

What platforms is Rainbow Islands Extra on?: Rainbow Islands Extra was released on Arcade, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, FM Towns, Nintendo Entertainment System, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, Atari ST/STE, Amstrad CPC, Commodore C64/128/MAX, Sega Master System/Mark III, Turbografx-16/PC Engine CD, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, WonderSwan, Game Boy Color.
When did Rainbow Islands Extra release?: Rainbow Islands Extra was first released on December 31, 1988.

About Rainbow Islands Extra

Rainbow Islands Extra is a strange update to Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2, released by Taito for arcades in 1988. Although it offers a port of the original Rainbow Islands, the default option is the "extra" mode, in which all the cute and colourful enemies found in the original game are replaced with enemies found in Taito's shoot-'em-up series, Darius. The story for both modes is the same: Bubby's friends have been captured and turned into Bubble Dragons by Super Skull Monsta, and Bubby needs to save them by destroying the Super Skull Monsta's minions with rainbows and collecting Little Diamonds to get Magical Mirrors needed to break the spell.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Platforms: Arcade, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, FM Towns, Nintendo Entertainment System, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, Atari ST/STE, Amstrad CPC, Commodore C64/128/MAX, Sega Master System/Mark III, Turbografx-16/PC Engine CD, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, WonderSwan, Game Boy Color
Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Action, Fantasy
Series: Bubble Bobble

Details via IGDB.

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Period reviews	Fake risk
Sega Genesis	1990	$60	$147	—	92%	Medium

Also released on: Arcade · Sega Mega Drive/Genesis · FM Towns · Nintendo Entertainment System · ZX Spectrum · Amiga · Atari ST/STE · Amstrad CPC · Commodore C64/128/MAX · Sega Master System/Mark III · Turbografx-16/PC Engine CD · Sega Saturn · PlayStation · WonderSwan · Game Boy Color. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

Sega Genesis · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-29

Loose

$60

Complete

$147

few sales

Sealed

—

How often it sells

Loose: about 3 times a year
Complete: about once a year
Sealed: rarely — fewer than one recorded sale a year

Prices marked “few sales” rest on about one recorded sale a year, so treat them as a rough guide: the next copy could sell well above or below. Expect to wait for one to come up.

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-29.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $37 in Oct 2019, $88 five years ago, and $60 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2020	$65	$68
Jan 2021	$60	$103
Jan 2022	$81	$99
Jan 2023	$104	$104
Jan 2024	$57	$186
Jan 2025	$60	$200
Jan 2026	$60	$232
Oct 2026	$60	$147

Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.

Release record

Territory	Date	Product number
Japan	5 October 1990	T-11073

Source: Product numbers: MAME's Mega Drive software list and the No-Intro serial records in the libretro database, published where both agree on the same cartridge dump, or from the libretro records alone where MAME lists no number for that dump. Board and ROM numbers: MAME's software list

Region: JP
Released: 1990
Authenticity: Med

Modern re-releases, such as Sega Ages, the Genesis Mini and Nintendo Switch Online, are not tracked hereMedium counterfeit risk

Sega Genesis prices, all games & how to spot a fake

Taito's Mega Drive take on the Bubble Bobble sequel, sold only in Japan and priced above most Japanese carts.

Rainbow Islands Extra was developed by Aisystem Tokyo and published by Taito for the Mega Drive, and it came out only in Japan, on 5 October 1990. Rainbow Islands is the 1987 Taito arcade platformer that followed Bubble Bobble.

What the press said at the time

Sega Pro Issue 37

October 1994

92%

“With two games in one - an aceurate coin-op conversion and a super-charged toughie for pros this is one platform game you’ll be playing for ages. Cute graphics and sound plus very addic¬ tive gameplay.”
— Sega Pro, October 1994

Also on other platforms

Arcade · NES · ZX Spectrum · Amiga · Atari ST · Amstrad CPC · Commodore 64 · FM Towns · Master System · PC Engine CD-ROM² · Sega Saturn · PlayStation · WonderSwan · Game Boy Color

Arcade	Taito
Commodore 64	Graftgold
Amiga	Graftgold
ZX Spectrum	Graftgold

NES. The NES port replaced the main theme with an original track because of its similarity to Over the Rainbow, and swapped Magical Island for an island based on KiKi Kaikai.
NES. The European NES version was localized by Ocean to be more faithful to the arcade game, while the Japanese and North American versions have original level designs and story intermissions.

Before you buy

This is a Japanese cartridge, so its shape differs from a Western cart and it fits a Western console only with an adapter or after removing two plastic tabs in its slot. Among Japan-only carts it sits above the middle, so ask for a clear photo of the board before paying.