Warning!!! 
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You will ruin your enjoyment of the game if you read this file before playing. 
For maximum enjoyment, please read this file after you have played the game a bit, let's say around level 15-16. 
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RAINBOW ISLANDSSPECIAL HINTS+TIPS 
(written directly from ZZAP!64 issue 63) 

THE 'ART OF THE RAINBOW' 
The rainbow can be used in lots of different ways, both for killing meanies (that's the technical term, honest!) and for climbing. When meanies are killed by the rainbow star you get a piece of fruit - very tasty but not very useful. A better way is to use 'Rainbow Crash' which means you fire a rainbow above a meanie and, when it's under a rainbow, jump on the rainbow to 'crash' it. By doing this you can always get a gem. There is a special sequence of items that are generated by killing meanies. The first two items will be either fruit or gems (as just explained) but the third can be a 'special'. These specials are in a sequenc that goes something like: red shoes, red pot, yellow pot, red pot, yellow star, crystal ball, red star, 'special bonus' (see below). There is another way but that would be telling! 

There are 3 types of moving upwards: 
1. Jumping - Accurate but slow 
2. Rainbow 'Stepping' - Throw a rainbow, walk onto it, throw a rainbow, walk onto it etc. 
3. Rainbow 'Jumping' - similar to 1), but throw rainbows as you jump (either diagonally or vertically). 

Climbing can be accomplished very quickly by firing and jumping in rapid succession but this is very dangerous and should only be used in emergencies. Going slowly is the key; meanies can (and do) come out of nowhere. Learn the levels and where the meanies come from, then you can start climbing a bit faster and avoid the inevitable water. You can bounce on a rainbow by pushing up on the joystick when falling (onto a rainbow, that is). 

GEMS 
The gems are very mysterious. Besides getting an extra life for collecting all of them they have other uses. They may appear to come out randomly, but remember nothing is random in this game, there is a pattern to everything. Sometimes you just can't get that last gem and it's so frustrating. Well here' show to do it. 
Imagine the screen as seven vertical chunks. If the gem lands in the left hand chunk then it's Red. If it lands in the next, then it's Orange etc... until the right hand chunk where it's Purple/ Violet. Simple, but just because you know, doesn't mean it's easy! For those of you who mitched off Science lessons in school the Rainbow order is Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue (Light Blue (Cyan) in the game), Indigo (Dark Purple (Blue in the game) and Violet (Light Purple). If you get all the gems in sequence (first Red, then Orange etc.) you will get a special item at the boss stage, and you will have it permanently (until it's game over, of course) 

BONUSES 
There are many, many bonuses in Rainbow Islands. It is possible to force many of them out by collecting the right objects (eg the Holy Cup for 15 jars). But some are just plain abstract (eg the Guardian Angel for six Hurry messages - weird!!). Try collecting large quantities of just one type of object, here's a taster of what you might find. 
8 Shoes - Wings 
3 Shoes - Ruby Ring (1000 points for jumping (16 times)) 
2 Rings - Cross of Thunder (Thunder & Lightning) 
10 Yellow Stars - Yellow Lamp (turns all hidden fruit to money bags) 
20 Red Stars - Red Lamp (5 100.000 point money bags drop down the screen) 
3 Red Pots - Crystal Ring (gives 10 points for every step) 
Kill 30 meanies with the Rainbow Star - red tiara (Red stars when you jump) 
Die 10 times - Cape of Invincibility (Not worth going for!) 
Red Potion - Add an extra Rainbow to Rainbows thrown at a time 
Yellow Potion - Speed up Rainbow Throwing power 
Yellow Stars - Throws out 7 stars in an upward arc 
Red Stars - Throws out 16 stars in a circular pattern 
Red Plaque Pendant/Coke Can - Gives invulnerability with highscore tune for sonic accompaniment. Lasts until end of round  (Best used on levels 4,8,12 etc) 
Bible - Character sprouts wings to assist upward climb 
Necklace - Stars flutter down the screen, killing anything in their path 
Cane/Goblet - Smart bomb 
Red Teapot - Five money bags drop down the top of the screen (each is worth 100.000 points if collected) 
Green Teapot - Collect this and you get points for merely walking or jumping 

Here are some of the more obscure bonuses: 
Drug of Rainbow - Psychedelic!!! 
Blue Tiara - Glowing stars come down from the top of the screen, killing all meanies they hit 

And here's one for real addicts, the more games you play, the more likely you are to get better bonuses, as the statistics are not cleared between games. There are specials that only appear on the 33rd game and after a total of 77 rounds etc. 

Completing the game will clear out the statistics, as you won't be able to return to the game without reloading.