There’s a sense of satire in Rainbow Moon‘s dialogue, from the moment you step out of that mysterious portal into an unknown land all through your grand adventures and never-ending side quests. Many of the characters along the way are self-aware that they’re just aiding some greater cause and lament their basic everyday life. More often than not, dialogue will consist of small tongue-in-cheek comments while usually directing you where to go in a fairly direct fashion.
Rainbow Moon‘s graphics are most certainly above par for what I’ve come to expect from a smaller development studio. There’s a weird amalgamation of hand-drawn character portraits and computer generated 3D models that give Rainbow Moon an unusual, mismatched design. Much of the in-game models and background assets have a feel reminiscent of the Super Mario RPG and Donkey Kong Country, where developers were first experimenting with the use of these 3D models in gaming. These lower budget graphics impart more of that indie style into Rainbow Moon in more positive ways than bad.
The Vita screen feels perfectly suited for Rainbow Moon in a stylistic level. There’s a nice level of color that I hadn’t noticed in the PS3 release that might just be the AMOLED witchcraft at work. Either way, I can easily state that the presentation is handled quite nicely on the portable platform. Outdoor scenarios are brimming with color and a proper sense of nature whereas indoor maps are confined and condensed down without feeling too limiting. Menus and battles are also formatted nicely to take advantage of the Vita’s wide screen format without leaving the screen cluttered in areas or empty in others.
Among the graphic enhancements, Rainbow Moon for the Vita also features a slew of other enhancements and fixes that weren’t present in the original release. Menu controls with the left analog stick are improved, so moving around in combat and targeting are much easier than in the PS3 version. There is also an added cross-save feature, allowing one to transfer progress between the PS3 and Vita versions of the game. One downside is that while Rainbow Moon is cross-save compatible, it is not cross-buy. There is a sale going on for PS+ and early adopters, but don’t expect to get the Vita version complimentary.
While largely felt like a mildly-enhanced port a year after its original release, Rainbow Moon still exists as an enjoyable indie RPG for the Vita. The smaller-sized strategic battles are just the right size for a handheld game and the Vita’s screen definitely makes the game look more impressive than the original PS3 release. If you’ve already beaten the original, the new enhancements might not be enough to make you jump back in, but for a first timer, Rainbow Moon certainly is a welcome addition to the Vita family.
[Editor’s Note: Rainbow Moon was reviewed on the Playstation Vita platform. Review code was provided to us by the publisher.]