Rainbow Skies Reviews
A stuffy follow-up to Rainbow Moon that doesn't improve on its predecessor.
A disappointing sequel that fails to recapture the magic of its predecessor.
It's clear how much of a labour of love Rainbow Skies was. The game is packed to the brim with mechanics and ideas that call back to a dozen different classic RPGs and strategy games. For all the love that went into the game though, there's a frustratingly low amount of polish and quality design, especially when it comes to the visuals and writing. Rainbow Skies is a love letter to classic RPGs hastily written in crayon on notebook paper.
There's nothing wrong with the aesthetic of the game or its reliance on tired clichés to tell a story. It's truly done a decent job, but that's the crux of the problem – it's just okay. It's a fun title to whittle away some time with, and you may even find yourself warming up to your party members' impenetrable plastic hearts. However, it lacks a compelling narrative, balance, and combat variety necessary to make it as engaging as it should be. Rainbow Skies feels like a blast from the past, before we had mainstream exposure to the tactical titles that it's clearly drawn inspiration from. Nostalgia's all well and good if you're pining for a better time, but it feels like a return to an era that we've intentionally left behind.
Rainbow Skies has a few good ideas, but those aren't enough to move past its bland narrative and repetitive gameplay.
Ultimately, Rainbow Skies is a fascinating exercise in time.
Rainbow Skies is an epic adventure with a much improved narrative when compared to its predecessor. Its addictive gameplay makes it an absolute joy to explore every inch of the world, and with a huge amount of customisation options and an abundance of side quests, this superior sequel is sure to keep you enthralled for many, many hours.
Rainbow Skies is an indie old school SRPG hiding a wealth of content behind its charming exterior. Improving upon the Rainbow Moon formula, the game doesn't skimp out on quality or quantity, featuring extensive party management, in-depth combat, a vast world to explore, and a myriad of foes to conquer. Unfortunately, the hundreds of hours of gameplay are not free from tedium and suffer from a lack of variety.
Great spiritual successor to Rainbow Moon. It's a solid, indie tactical RPG, which offers pure fun whether you have couple of minutes or hours.
Review in Polish | Read full review
After a week's worth of time spent in Rainbow Skies I have to say that even as someone who is not typically a tactical, turn-based RPG player, I appreciate how much has gone into Rainbow Skies. It definitely scratches that particular itch with great progression mechanics, an intriguing world and story, and some great tactical combat. However, the game's unbalanced pacing in story delivery coupled with some serious "what do I do now" moments hamper this otherwise fun tactical, turn-based RPG.
For what it's worth, Rainbow Skies provides a good challenge and a fun levelling system. Though dense and repetitive at length, there are moments that are memorable.
Rainbow Skies tries hard to be an epic turn-based RPG, but it thoroughly disappoints in every possible way.
A light and fresh title that's a good enough reason for you to dust off your PS Vita and tackle it at your ease.
Rainbow Skies is a vibrant and cartoony-style isometric RPG that feels like it is trying to be the next Final Fantasy Tactics but doesn't pull it off with repetitive gameplay and a story that you don't feel a part of.
Done before and done better, Rainbow Skies is a game that has taken a fairly bland concept to begin with and proceeded to not change a thing about it. If you're looking for an epic tale of heroes and rogues, you'd be better off looking elsewhere.
Rainbow Skies is very much a mixed bag.
Rainbow Skies has plenty of content, an enjoyable combat system that opens up the more it's played, and some memorable music. Unfortunately, there are countless other RPGs that also fulfil those criteria, plus much more. Couple this with the staggering amount of tedious combat animations, and it's hard to recommend this to anyone other than hardcore RPG fans. It's a (mostly) fundamentally decent game, but not much more.
Rainbow Skies is not only uninspired, it feels almost like a cheap nostalgia cash-in for JRPG enthusiasts. The characters are generally annoying and mostly one-dimensional, and the writing is quite poor and riddled with syntax issues. The explorative nature of the game is something that players might be drawn to, but that's not enough to carry the significantly weaker portions of the game. The combat system is sort of cute in its simplicity, but it's not unique enough to keep players invested throughout all the annoying little quirks that fill up the majority of Rainbow Skies
It's apologetically grindy, and a time sink for the sake of being a time sink. Most of the time, it's the kind of thing I simply wouldn't enjoy, and yet, somehow for both it and its predecessor, it all comes together to be something I do really enjoy. The purity and simplicity of what drives this game is appealing, and even refreshing, and the perfect thing for a lazy Sunday afternoon, when you just need to clear your head.
Five years is a long time to wait for a game, and it has the effect of raising expectations considerably. In that sense, the game fell a bit flat for me in some areas because of the long wind up before the story actually kicks off. But once I got over that, Rainbow Skies gave me all the fun I needed from a tactical RPG, and is definitely a game that any fan of the genre should pick up. SideQuest Studios have created another indie gem that will have you sinking dozens of hours into it, and hopefully it won't take another 5 years for a sequel!