Captain Rainbow

Captain Rainbow is a game for the Wii that was released exclusively in Japan and Taiwan on August 28th, 2008. It was developed by skip Ltd. and published by Nintendo. The main protagonist is Nick, who has an alter-ego named Captain Rainbow. Characters from several other Nintendo games make an appearance.

The game was only released in Japan and Taiwan. The UK-based Official Nintendo Magazine mentioned a possible release of Captain Rainbow in Europe in summer 2009, but this never occurred.

Story
Nick comes from Mameruca, "The Land of the Free". His alter-ego Captain Rainbow is a yo-yo-wielding superhero who stars in his own TV show. However, the show is no longer popular because another superhero attracts the interest of the audience. In order to restore his lost popularity, Nick decides to venture to Mimin Island, an island where wishes are said to come true.

In a dark night, Nick ventures to the island by raft. During his journey, he notices a bunny-like creature desperately paddling in the water. In order to save this being, Nick transforms into Captain Rainbow and jumps into the water. However, his try fails and he sinks. The superhero loses his belt, which is needed for the transformation, and so Captain Rainbow turns back to the ordinary Nick.

When Nick regains consciousness, he has been washed up at the beach of Mimin Island. After a short moment of confusion, Nick spots that his belt is missing. Then he sees the belt being carried away by bunny-like creatures who have obtained it. Since this special item is essential for him, Nick starts exploring the island. It doesn't take much time to get the belt back. On Mimin Island, Nick meets various Nintendo characters who also came there because of their own dreams and wishes. During their conversations, he learns that no one's wish has actually been granted so far. Only with the help of a chosen hero, Nick, or rather Captain Rainbow in this case, the wishes can be granted. Nick decides to help the islanders. The hero gets support from bunny-like beings called Mimin, the dominant species of Mimin Island.

Gameplay
The player's task is to control Nick or Captain Rainbow in order to enjoy the island life with the other islanders and to help them. They all have their individual requests, which can lead to minigames such as boxing or golf. Nick can also do activities like fishing and bug catching. There are no strict presettings for what to do on the island.

By helping the islanders, Nick gets Kirarin (literally "Sparklies"). If 20 Kirarin are collected, a star will fall from the sky, which can grant a wish. It has to be carried to an altar on the top of the island. While doing this, mysterious black creatures named Shadows challenge Nick in order to get the star for themselves. If Nick successfully brings the star to the altar, the player is presented with two choices. Nick can either let the star grant his own wish to become popular again, or the wish of an islander. By taking the latter choice, the wish of the islander comes true and Nick has to collect new Kirarin to make another star appear.

List of characters
The Nintendo characters appearing in the game are all characters who didn't make it to stardom. Furthermore, they all originate from past games released in the 1980s and 1990s, except for the characters from games developed by skip. The following play important roles in the game:

Besides these, some generic enemies from the Mario franchise also appear:
 * Birdo (Catherine) from Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic/Super Mario Bros. 2
 * Hikari from Shin Onigashima
 * Ossan from Golf
 * Little Mac from Punch-Out!! (originally Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!)
 * Mappo from GiFTPiA
 * Takamaru from Nazo no Murasamejō
 * Tracy from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
 * Famicom Soldiers from Famicom Wars
 * Tao from GiFTPiA
 * Devil from Devil World
 * Lip from Panel de Pon
 * Drake Redcrest (Gitchoman) from Chibi-Robo!
 * Piranha Plant (Packun Flower) from Super Mario Bros.
 * Cheep Cheeps (Pukupuku) from Super Mario Bros.
 * Bloopers (Gessō) from Super Mario Bros.

Sales
Captain Rainbow sold an estimated 6,361 copies in its first week. By the end of 2008, around 22,682 copies had been sold.