Nintendo's new hero (?): Captain Rainbow

by Randy Nelson { Jul 10th 2008 at 1:00AM }

Color us ... ~~baffled~~ amused. It's hard to be anything but after watching the first trailer (courtesy of WiiFolder.com) for Nintendo's newly revealed Wii title, Captain Rainbow. As you can see in the last two-thirds of the utterly bonkers video, the titular character of the game finds himself on an island populated by Nintendo characters. The gameplay looks to be a mix of action and exploration, with decidedly manga-esque visual stylings.

1UP has more on the game, specifying that it takes place in the isle of Mimin, which is home to Birdo (the purple ... thing in the video, from Super Mario Bros. 2 [US]) and other second-tier Nintendo characters, such as the golfer from NES Golf. Players control a geek named Nick who plays Captain Rainbow – a super hero who finishes off enemies with a yo-yo attack – on television. Gameplay reportedly switches off between the Captain and his meek alter ego over the course of a quest to make the dreams of the islands inhabitants' come true. Will Nintendo make its most rabid fanboys' dreams come true and announce a US release for the game at E3? Color us skeptical.

[Via NeoGAF]

Tags: captain-rainbow, nintendo

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

harvsorrow @ Jul 10th 2008 1:08AM

WTF?

pwkalt1 @ Jul 10th 2008 1:39AM

New and exciting!

harvsorrow @ Jul 10th 2008 1:49AM

Define "exciting" for me....

Chase @ Jul 10th 2008 2:38AM

I said that so loud in my mind that my neighbors thought I was commenting on their public furry sex.

hvnlysoldr @ Jul 10th 2008 2:42AM

Chase has the coolest neighbors.

bigsofty @ Jul 10th 2008 6:52AM

More for the 'kiddie' nintendo audience Im afraid...

samfish @ Jul 10th 2008 1:10AM

It reminds me too much of Viewtiful Joe not to be interested.

Plus, the collective WTF jaw dropping over this game has me highly amused.
YAY for new hardcore Nintendo IPs!

Noshino @ Jul 10th 2008 1:27AM

lol, I told the exact same thing to Nando...

Its looks too much alike to the point that I ended up comparing them, and of course, Captain Rainbow will never be able to match the hero-ness of Viewtiful Joe

Noshino @ Jul 10th 2008 1:28AM

Noshino @ Jul 10th 2008 1:30AM

holy shit...uh..yah, that's how awesome Viewtiful Joe is!

HighFiveJesus @ Jul 10th 2008 1:32AM

echo joe joe joe joe

Levi @ Jul 10th 2008 3:14AM

They are only similar because both characters are clearly modeled after Super Sentai TV shows (AKA, Power Rangers, Beetleborgs, VR Troopers). This doesn't look like there's as much action as Viewtiful Joe, and it probably won't kick as much ass as it either.

However, if this manages to get out of Japan and NOA finally admits Birdo is a guy and gives him a male voice, I'm totally getting this. Fight transvestite dinosaur repression!

harvsorrow @ Jul 10th 2008 1:10AM

WTF?

harvsorrow @ Jul 10th 2008 1:13AM

Damn this comment system!

I mean it's a new Nintendo IP which in itself is fantastical, but seriously...

WTF?

Couldn't it be Captain Anythingelse?

And no the trailer didn't remind me of Viewtiful Joe at all. It did remind me of Strawberry Shortcake though. Wait, scratch that last one...

WiiFTW @ Jul 10th 2008 12:47PM

Don't worry, this new IP is worth a double WTF post.

DBuck_Eye @ Jul 10th 2008 12:52PM

I saw "Captain" in the title and stopped short, thinking that our dreams had finally come true: new F-Zero.

superbagman @ Jul 10th 2008 1:10AM

That Birdo totally sounds like a Japanese C-3p0...

BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jul 10th 2008 1:43AM

I don't think it was even Japanese. I think it was just gibberish (like in Chibi-Robo; both of which are developed by Skip).

mackid105 @ Jul 10th 2008 2:41AM

i find it odd that Birdo, a woman whatever that creature is, had a male japanese voice.

iofthestorm @ Jul 10th 2008 2:51AM

@Mackid: I think birdo is actually male.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdo#Birdo

cjshrader @ Jul 10th 2008 7:25AM

To elaborate a little more on Birdo, in America Birdo is referred to as a she, except in Mario Bros 2. In Japan, Birdo has always been a male. So the male voice is appropriate, but us Americans apparently can't handle a transsexual in our games or we'll flip out.

Shadow El @ Jul 10th 2008 12:18PM

Like Raiden or Tingle?

WhatIsThatThing @ Jul 10th 2008 2:48PM

Hmmm. Her...um...its Brawl trophy refers to it as having "indeterminate gender."

Awmg @ Jul 10th 2008 1:11AM

Fabulous!

Geist @ Jul 10th 2008 4:06AM

More like Faaaaaaabulous!

GearSecond!! (a.k.a AwesomeStuff) @ Jul 10th 2008 5:55PM

More like Faabuloooussss~!!

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Jul 10th 2008 1:11AM

.....

This is probably something that should stay in Japan.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Jul 10th 2008 1:11AM

Because honestly, I have no idea how the hell they're going to market a hero named Captain Rainbow anywhere else.

Moofree @ Jul 10th 2008 1:45AM

Captain Spectrum?

Backslash @ Jul 10th 2008 1:49AM

They change his name.

GoldenS1104 @ Jul 10th 2008 1:54AM

Captain Roy G. Biv?

I apologize for that joke... that's something my 8th grade science teacher would have said... I am ashamed.

harvsorrow @ Jul 10th 2008 2:13AM

Ha! You're 8th grade science teacher is hilarious!

harvsorrow @ Jul 10th 2008 2:14AM

*your

xGeneral DEATHx @ Jul 10th 2008 9:08AM

Agreed, Vegeta...Capt. Rainbow? Going to be a lot of "confusion" surrounding that one.

aristokrat @ Jul 10th 2008 1:33PM

I think you mean Roy GBV, as science has officially eliminated the color Indigo! Excelsior!

Fernando Rocker @ Jul 10th 2008 1:11AM

Looks very Viewtiful Joe...

It's a very weird game, but looks great.

harvsorrow @ Jul 10th 2008 1:18AM

Okay, after watching it a second time after the shock has worn off (a little), the Viewtiful Joe parallels are there but very superficial.

I mean it's Nintendo whom I have a lot of trust in but I'm very skeptical at this point.

Ordeith @ Jul 10th 2008 1:15AM

Proof Wii is teh gay?

FOXHOUND @ Jul 10th 2008 7:02AM

Or at least curious... x_x" Ditch the effort on this and just coerce Capcom to make another VIEWTIFUL JOE game.

acefondu @ Jul 10th 2008 8:47AM

Proof that it can spawn 'the gay.' But wow, yeah, didn't see this coming, not even in my worst nightmares.

JerJerBinks @ Jul 10th 2008 9:13AM

It's at least proof that the Wii is in the closet. Who better to be an icon for your console for a closet homosexual with the alter ego of Captain Rainbow?

Next, rainbow colored Wiis with pink triangles!

Lijik @ Jul 10th 2008 11:49AM

I know you guys have never played the Tingle DS game so you have no way of knowing that this is far from the gayest thing Nintendo has ever done. This isn't even remotely close, this is a japanese game. Those guys practically piss rainbows. If americans made this game it'd be "Captain Sepia" and his sidekick would be "Bloom Boy", since thats how things look over here apparently. Now, the bridge builder in Tingle DS? Thats pretty gay.