Taito's Rainbow Islands sequel on NES. Bubble Bobble in a new adventure with umbrellas. Colorful, addictive, charming. Overlooked but truly excellent. A high-quality arcade platformer.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer2 players3+
Co-op
Description
Rainbow Islands sequel featuring Bubby adventuring in colorful worlds with an umbrella. Published by Taito, released in Europe in 1992. Bubby in side-scrolling view with his umbrella to float and attack, creative bosses and colorful worlds. Taito Rainbow Islands sequel on NES.
Parasol Stars - Rainbow Islands II review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
The two heroes wield a parasol drawn large enough to stay readable, and the object serves in turn as weapon, shield and parachute, each use receiving its own animation. The fixed screens work through vividly coloured worlds, sweets, clouds, ocean, with round enemies and a plain background leaving all the room to the action.
The themes are of a simple, embraced cheerfulness, melodies in a major key carried by light bass, with a main refrain returning from world to world in different dress. The writing stays deliberately spare to let through the bubble and ricochet sounds, very numerous on screen.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
The little dragons take human form again and arm themselves with an umbrella to trap and fling enemies: this inventive mechanic nicely refreshes the formula. The colourful levels brim with bonuses and little discoveries to find. With two players, co-op becomes shared joy. Tender, clever and brimming with charm, an adorable, generous platformer.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Collector interest
The European PAL NES edition of Taito's Bubble Bobble sequel, PAL-exclusive on NES and never released in the US. The Scandinavian print was particularly short, and PAL CIB in the original cardboard box is one of the most expensive NES PAL CIBs in the world, regularly clearing several hundred euros. Physical scarcity is extreme, and the Bub & Bob trilogy aura makes it a mythic piece pursued internationally.
Better with friends
An adorable platformer in the bubble lineage, where two players clear levels with parasols, batting enemies and bonuses back and forth in infectious good cheer. Cooperation dominates, punctuated by little score races that spice the teamwork. Charming and unpredictable, it favors immediate fun and happily restarts two-player to chain stages in joyful disorder.
Is Parasol Stars - Rainbow Islands II still worth playing in 2026?
Parasol Stars - Rainbow Islands II is the sequel to Rainbow Islands on NES by Taito. Bub and Bob, now transformed and armed with magic umbrellas, travel ten colourful worlds collecting bonuses and catching enemies in their parasols. Colourful, addictive, charming, the title keeps all the magic of the Bubble Bobble line. Overlooked but truly excellent. A strongly recommendable detour today, especially in two-player.
