Rainbow Moon is an interesting departure from what until now had been the norm for developer SideQuest Studios. The only previous games from the company consisted of 2007’s Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer and its 2010 follow-up Söldner-X 2: Final Prototype, both of which were titles that fell firmly in the horizontally scrolling Shoot ‘em up genre. Rainbow Moon, by comparison, is an open world RPG that makes the unusual choice of employing a tactical RPG style (ala Final Fantasy Tactics) for its combat system. Heartening as it is to see a developer so brazenly step outside their comfort zone, the question remains: is this download only, PSN-exclusive title a journey worth taking or would players be better off looking somewhere other than over the rainbow for their RPG fix?

Those who play RPGs for their story elements first and foremost will find little in Rainbow Moon to appeal to them in this regard. The basics of said story centers around nominal lead character Baldren, a warrior from your typical ill-defined generic fantasy setting, who finds himself banished to the titular Rainbow Moon by a rival. The same dimensional gate that was used to send him to this locale also causes armies of monsters to flood the formerly peaceful satellite. Now Baldren must team up with a growing number of stock fantasy archetypes in his quest to both rid the moon of this dangerous infestation and eventually return back home. If such a description does not sound like the most original or compelling plot to ever grace an RPG, the reason for that would be because it is not; this is the definition of a game whose plot is going through the motions.

Nor do the other elements that make up Rainbow Moon’s story feature any greater depth or originality. Character development and world building are practically non-existent in RM. Villages may dot the land and NPCs to interact with might tend to pop up everywhere (and I mean everywhere, it is amusing at times to try and think about, for example, the logistics of why so many dungeons, caves, and the like seem to have merchants of various stripe setting up shop inside of them), but they all tend to blend together with one another. Even theoretically more important locales and individuals rarely evince much in the way of personality or memorable characteristics. There are even numerous odd translation moments throughout the game, mostly of minor in nature, but still clearly not of the deliberate variety. It is just one more way that RM recalls the classic RPGs of yore like the original Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy. In short, the story in Rainbow Moon comes across as a rote and token affair which, for good or ill, also adds to the overall throwback feel of the game.

Overwhelming numbers of opponents are often the order of the day.

If it was not already apparent, Rainbow Moon is game far more concerned with its gameplay than its story and fortunately this is one area where the game succeeds. No bones about it, Rainbow Moon is very much a grind-fest in the mold of the early 8-bit and 16-bit examples of the genre or even more recent strategy fair such as the Disgaea series. Admittedly RM never reaches the level of complexity or insane amounts of content of that latter series, but it is still no slouch in the gameplay department. Get ready for a main quest of around 30 to 40 hours in length and enough optional content to increase that play time to upwards of a maximum of 120 hours (there is even a trophy for playing the game for more than 100 hours). Rainbow Moon features a truly vast overworld to explore and one that players will have to transverse by both foot and vehicle. Then there are the over 20dungeons, fortresses, caves, etc just waiting to be found and each with their own separate maps to fill in. As if to match the geographical density, the levels for player characters max out at 500, further demonstrating just how much content the game features for those interested in experiencing it.

As for the actual battles in the game, they include a combination of elements taken from more standard turn-based RPGs (battles occur on special closed off fields that are separate from the game’s main explorable locations, turns occur on a character by character basis, players can only bring three party members at a time into battle, player characters all have fairly strict predefined roles that cannot really be adjusted) and tactical RPGs (the fields of battle are isometric grids, movement and character placement in battles are vital elements, some characters are close up mele fighters while others tend to attack only from range). While few of these elements are particularly original in and of themselves, it is in the mixture that Rainbow Moon’s combat really shines. At the very least, RM is not just one of the countless phoned-in and copy-and-paste clones that have cluttered the RPG genre in recent years. It is very clear that SideQuest Studios have put some real care and effort into creating a combat system that feels both familiar and fresh at the same time.

This is only a very small glimpse of a much, much larger world.

One of the elements of combat in Rainbow Moon that further contributes to this feeling is the game’s tendency to frequently present players with groups of enemies that greatly outnumber the party (said groups often ranging anywhere from 7 all the way up 30 strong and that is not even counting the inclusion of bosses and sub-bosses). Since, as previously mentioned, players can only have three active characters in the party at a time this in turn makes even standard encounters potentially dangerous affairs. Further adding to the need for players to stay on their toes is the fact that every character in the game (be they hero or villain) falls into one of six immutable attack types, with each type being particularly strong and weak against one of the other types respectively. So bringing the right character into the right battle (thankfully the game does allow players to adjust the makeup of the active party at any time outside of combat) can often be the difference between an easy victory and a long drawn out slog or outright defeat. Finally, as the game progresses party members will gain an increasing number of sub-turns that allow for extra actions (with everything from attacks to item use to basic movement all costing a single sub-turn per use; only selecting the defense option automatically ends a turn regardless of how many sub-turns are left) each time their turn comes up. It is this element of gameplay in particular that helps to make the often uneven odds that tend to crop up during battle more manageable.

Rounding out Rainbow Moon’s gameplay are a number of other sub-systems and smaller elements that help add some final extra layers of complexity. These range from a straightforward but well thought out crafting system to the passage of time (the game features both a day and night system and a daily calendar, both of which can impact thing both in and out of battle) to a rather old-school hunger system that requires characters keep their bellies full or risk serious consequences (while players can buy food such items tend to drop from combat or show up in various chests frequently enough to make this rarely necessary; players can even learn an optional spell around five to seven hours into the game that allows them to magically summon fruit outside of combat at any time).

You will often have to travel by more than just land in the course of Rainbow Moon.

Also important is the fact that while all characters get experience from victory in combat, only the character who actually strikes the final blow gains the rainbow coins needed to purchase additional skill point upgrades beyond what come from simply leveling up. Speaking of rainbow coins, the game, in a very iOS-esque move, does allow players to purchase additional quantities of these via PSN in a number of combinations that range from .49 cents to up to two dollars. It is worth noting that this is completely optional and indeed I managed to beat the game on normal difficulty (the game also includes a hard mode that does indeed live up to its name; players looking for a more punishing difficulty akin to older RPG titles take note, this is the setting for you) without ever once needing to spend additional real world money. Oh and FYI, battles are initiated in two ways: by making contact with on-screen enemies (who do not reappear once defeated even upon leaving and returning to an area) or by random encounters. The latter are always optional & it’s up to the player to trigger them upon being prompted. Its a great system that really allows players the control to grind as much or as little as they want/need.

Visually, Rainbow Moon features a crisp and clean graphical presentation that again ultimately calls to mind RPGs from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras. I will say that the art style employed by the game, which struck me as almost something taken from a toy line for toddlers and kindergarteners, felt very at odds with the rest of the game. It was something that personally really rubbed me the wrong way and I could see it being a real point of contention for some people. The isometric view can also lead to some odd control moments, especially if you are trying to rush through a battle, but eventually most players should be able to adapt. Aurally, Rainbow Moon features a good variety of highly listenable tracks; it is nothing to the level of say a Square Enix soundtrack but the game’s music gets the job done with style and charm to spare.

Triggering optional random battles is a painless and simple process.

As a $14.99 downloadable title, Rainbow Moon is a remarkably robust overall package that will really appeal to those looking for a game with that classic RPG feel. If it is something of a niche title, at the very least it will satisfy that niche immensely; certainly far more so than that OTHER PS3 exclusive would-be throwback RPG released this summer (especially considering the latter’s significantly higher $49.99 price tag). Even more casual players prepared to overlook RM’s rather blah narrative will find a game with a lot to offer over the course of its massive campaign. While not necessarily a game that will appeal equally to everyone, Rainbow Moon is still an impressively high quality RPG from a newcomer to the genre that also offers real value for its relatively small buy-in cost.

A review copy of the game was provided by the publisher for PS3 via PSN. The reviewer spent approximately 50 hours playing the game and completed its main campaign.

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Rainbow Moon Review

By Shaun K.

Is this download only, PSN-exclusive title a journey worth taking or would players be better off looking somewhere other than over the rainbow for their RPG fix?