When did Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2 release?

Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2 was first released on December 31, 1987.

Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2

Dec 31, 1987PlatformPuzzleArcadeArcadeCommodore C64/128/MAXZX SpectrumAtari ST/STEPC (Microsoft Windows)

Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2 — frequently asked questions

What platforms is Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2 on?: Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2 was released on Arcade, Commodore C64/128/MAX, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST/STE, PC (Microsoft Windows), TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine, Amiga, Turbografx-16/PC Engine CD, Amstrad CPC, Sega Master System/Mark III, Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, FM Towns, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, WonderSwan, Game Boy Color.
When did Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2 release?: Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2 was first released on December 31, 1987.

About Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2

Rainbow Islands is a 1987 arcade game developed and published by Taito. The arcade version was licensed to Romstar for North American manufacturing and distribution. The game is subtitled "The Story of Bubble Bobble 2" and is the sequel to Taito's hit game Bubble Bobble from the previous year. It is the second of four arcade games in the Bubble Bobble series. The game was ported for numerous home computers and game consoles.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

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

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

77/100

from 34 ratings

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Period reviews	Fake risk
Sega Master System	1993	$15	$44	$136	WARREN 92%	Low (look-alike)

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

Collector value & authenticity

Sega Master System · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-28

Loose

$15

Complete

$44

Sealed

$136

few sales

How often it sells

Loose: about once a month
Complete: about once a month
Sealed: about once 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 2026-10-28.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $17.50 in Oct 2011, $13.83 five years ago, and $14.74 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2012	$37	—
Jan 2013	$15.50	—
Jan 2014	$50	—
Jan 2015	$40	$40
Jan 2016	$31	$40
Jan 2017	$75	$40
Jan 2018	$19.83	$32
Jan 2019	$18.10	$28
Jan 2020	$14.52	$29
Jan 2021	$22	$31
Jan 2022	$18.24	$34
Jan 2023	$19.94	$40
Jan 2024	$12.68	$44
Jan 2025	$16.24	$36
Jan 2026	$14.39	$34
Oct 2026	$14.74	$44

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

Release record

Territory	Date	Product number
Europe / PAL	1993	7117

Source: Product numbers: MAME's Master System software list and the No-Intro serial records in the libretro database, published only where both agree on the same cartridge dump; Japanese numbers also checked against Sega Japan's software list. Board and ROM numbers: MAME's software list

Region: EU
Released: 1993
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases, such as Sega Ages and Virtual Console, are not tracked hereLow look-alike risk

Sega Master System prices, all games & how to spot a fake

Taito's rainbow-climbing platformer on the Master System, a European-only cart priced a little above the median.

Rainbow Islands is Taito's 1987 platform game, the sequel to Bubble Bobble. The Master System version was developed by I.T.L and released by Sega in Europe in 1993. Mean Machines Sega gave it a full-page preview in its sixth issue.

What the press said at the time

Sega Force Issue 16

April 1993

WARREN 92%

“It’s a great MS game, speedy, smooth and highly playable. If you liked New Zealand Story, you’ll love this. Buy it!”
— Sega Force, April 1993

“to it and try for a hlgh score. In fact, Rainbow Islands is one of the best high score challenge games ever. This certainiy makes a change for a console game, where getting to the end is usually the oniy goal, and brings back that old arcade feeling.”
— Sega Pro, May 1993

“They take time to master but then gameplay bites in this appropriately colourful game. Already a hit on home computers. Rainbow Islands is a blast on the Master System”
— Sega Master Force, November 1993

In the sales charts

In 3 sales charts, July 1993 to August 1993; highest position #5.

Show all 3 placings

#9 in the Virgin Master System chart — Sega Pro, Issue 21, July 1993
#5 in the HMV Master System chart — Sega Pro, Issue 21, July 1993
#5 in the HMV Master System chart — Sega Pro, Issue 22, August 1993

Sales charts as printed in the magazines of the time.

How the Sega Master System version differs

This version is a direct port of the NES version.

As a port of the NES version, it carries that version's replacement main theme, which was changed because of its similarity to "Over the Rainbow".

Also on other platforms

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

Commodore 64	Graftgold
Amiga	Graftgold
Sega Saturn	Graftgold

NES. The European NES port 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.
WonderSwan. A WonderSwan version was released in 2000 by Bandai.

Before you buy

The European cart is the one to buy. Loose, it sits a little above the median for European-only carts, and the look-alike risk is low. Check the manual is there on a complete copy.