Dreamcast shoot ’em up Rainbow Cotton finally makes western debut on May 9

30 years ago, Success’s shoot ’em up series Cotton made the leap from 2D side-scroller to Space Harrier-style rail shooter in Panorama Cotton. 24 years ago, Rainbow Cotton expanded upon that 3D flight of fancy on Dreamcast, and now it’s finally making its way to the West. 

While Rainbow Cotton launched in Japan only on Dreamcast back in 2000, ININ Games recently announced plans to bring a remake to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Those spring 2024 plans were just narrowed down to a specific launch date of May 9, and ININ put together something special for the accompanying trailer. Rather than simply showing off Rainbow Cotton in all its updated glory, the new trailer serves up a brief guide to how the team brings retro games to modern audiences. 

There tends to be a lot of discussion about where the line is between remaster and remake, and the video above does a good job of succinctly summing it up, at least in terms of how ININ Games handles it. They get into where emulation and ports fall in the mix of the Cotton re-releases, and why Rainbow Cotton deserves the distinction of a full remake.

The remake features upgraded graphics in full HD, updates to the user interface, lock-on targeting, a two-player mode. and other bells and whistles. Those who just want to play the original as it appeared on Dreamcast can do that, as well. ININ calls it “as authentic as it can possibly be,” so you’ll just have to imagine you have your VMU plugged into your modern platform of choice.