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After 24 years, an infamous cute-em-up finally makes its English debut, but it has the devs struggling to define the difference between a remake and remaster
Rainbow Cotton, a forgotten 3D offshoot of the cute-em-up classic, is being remade after 24 years, but the developers' explanation of the differences between emulation, remakes, and remasters may be flawed, as fans point out that the previously released Cotton Reboot did in fact change the core gameplay.
Rainbow Cotton, a poorly remembered 3D offshoot of one of the definitive entries in the cutesy shooter canon, is somehow making a comeback in English 24 years after its original launch, and the devs have provided a helpful explainer on the differences between emulation, remakes, and remasters. The catch is that they might've gotten it wrong.
The Cotton series typically puts you aboard the broomstick of a young witch named Cotton, shooting down hordes of enemies in the style of a classic scrolling shoot-em-up like R-Type or Gradius. Its cutesy visuals put it squarely in the "cute-em-up" subgenre shared with games like Fantasy Zone and Parodius. Cotton's early entries are well-regarded, though rare localizations meant that the series was largely always considered an import curiosity.
Less well-regarded is Rainbow Cotton, a fully 3D take on the series that launched exclusively in Japan for the Dreamcast back in 2000. It was so poorly regarded that one of its original developers apparently apologized for it. But hey, I believe that the quality of a game should never be an impediment to its preservation, which is why I still think that it's very neat Rainbow Cotton is getting a proper remake in just a few days on May 9.
Global publisher Inin Games is very confident in its definition of this new Rainbow Cotton release as a "remake," to the point where it advertised the release with an explainer of the difference between emulation, remasters, and remakes. "Rainbow Cotton is a remake because it has been rebuilt from the ground up," the devs explain in that video. "Remakes are a completely new version of an old game with updated graphics, sound, improved game mechanics, and even new features."
A remaster, then, "involves enhancing visuals, audio, or both, without changing the core gameplay component." The devs use the 2021 release of Cotton Reboot, an updated version of the original game, as an example of a remaster. But, uh… take one glance at the comments on that video and you'll find a bunch of hardcore Cotton fans noting that Reboot does, in fact, change the core gameplay component quite substantially.
"We've just decided to remaster the concept of a reboot when remaking this game," Inin argues back in those comments. "Simple as that." Well, hey, I guess I never really expected one video from a boutique game publisher to end the remake versus remaster debate anyway.