Introduction
Rainbow Skies is a Strategy RPG for the Nintendo Switch. The game released on 8/11/2023. Sidequest Studios developed Rainbow Skies. The game was published by Eastasiasoft. On behalf of the Handheld Gaming Community, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for the review code. It is available on the Nintendo Switch eShop for $17.99 until 9/1/2023, and then $19.99.
Overview
Rainbow Skies originally released on PS Vita, PS4 and PS3. Rainbow Moon was the first game in the series. These series are all very similar in play style. The game presents an isometric view of the landscape, and both are vibrant. In my experience the biggest difference is that Rainbow Skies has a much more developed story when compared to Rainbow Moon. Rainbow Moon has no release date on Nintendo Switch.
Gameplay
In this game you play as Damion, or whatever you choose to name him. Today is a special day, today you will take your monster tamer exam. That is a big deal in his town. It is during this exam that the game takes off. Once you get past the first few minutes of play you will be thrust into battle. This is where the Strategy in Strategy RPG comes into play. You are presented with an isometric battlefield, and your character takes turns along with the monsters to move around the battlefield. You can see the turn order in the upper lefthand corner of the screen. There is only one complaint I have about the battle system. That is the controls. Since the view point is isometric, your character won’t necessarily go up if you press the d-pad up. You will adjust to it, but it is worth noting.
Your character has a set of skills and physical attacks that you can use against monsters. Speaking of monsters, there are no mandatory random encounters. There are, however, monsters on the map that you can engage. Once you get close you will see how many enemies you will be dealing with. Remember how I said there are no mandatory random encounters? There are random encounters, but you can choose to engage with them or just keep on travelling.
Rainbow Skies has typical RPG components. The player can buy items, armor, and weapons that will increase your stats. Your character will level up after getting enough experience points. Your can also increase your stats by collecting skill stones of different colors. Blue skill stones will help improve your hit points, strength, and speed. Red skill stones will help you with your luck, and magic stats. There are also booksellers in the towns where you can buy new skills for characters in your party.
One unique thing that I don’t often see in RPGs is a day night cycle. As the day gets on in time, the screen will become very dim and hard to see what is around you. You can remedy this by using a torch. You will also use torches inside caves and dungeons.
Graphics/ Performance
Rainbow Skies is a beautiful vibrant game. I am playing it on a Nintendo Switch OLED, and the colors just pop off the screen. The graphics look very detailed. When you change weapons or armor, your characters appearance also changes.
Story
This game has a decent story thus far. The story is a lot better than Rainbow Moon. It all starts when your main character Damion (or whatever you named him) is due to start training for his Monster Tamer exam. Damion drank way too much the night before. The prospect of taking this test does make him uneasy. However, something goes wrong during the test and your character and Layne, your mentor start their quest to fix what went wrong, and that is where things really pick up.
Sound
The sound in Rainbow Skies is good overall. The background music is very good. It has a mix of orchestral music and even some rock guitar sounds. The problem is the noises that the monsters and your character make are not good. This is noticeable since your character and the monsters will be making those sounds a lot.
Value
You can buy Rainbow Skies on the Nintendo eShop for $17.99 until 9/1/2023, and then $19.99. Rainbow Skies will give you a lot of game for your $20. I have spent about 10 hours on the game, and I have only completed around 10 percent of the game.
Conclusion
Rainbow Skies is a very fun game. The graphics are bright and detailed. The background sound keeps you engaged. The sound effects are . . . did I mention the great background sound? If you love turn based RPGs, especially ones that encourage lots of grinding, then you can’t go wrong with Rainbow Skies. I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for the review code. You can buy Rainbow Skies on the Nintendo Switch eShop for $17.99 until 9/1/2023, and then $19.99.
