The Strange Retro Fantasy Video Game That Was Actually An Ad For Skittles

There are some pretty strange food commercials out there, many of which are now are buried deep in the recesses of the internet, either forgotten by time or purposely removed. We could never forget the iconic 2007 Starburst commercial with the "Little Lad Who Loves Berries And Cream," or the slew of wacky commercials with Macho Man Randy Savage promoting Slim Jims – but how many food brands can say that their crazy commercials inspired an entire video game? Believe it or not, the Skittles "Taste the Rainbow" commercials that aired on television in the late 90s and early 2000s inspired Simon & Schuster Senior Producer Elizabeth Braswell to create a dark fantasy video game.

Out there in the catalog of vintage video games, you'll find a semi-popular, third-person action/adventure game named "Darkened Skye," a fantasy story that served as a long-winded advertisement for Skittles candy. Mars, Inc., the parent company that owns Skittles, gave Simon & Schuster licensing rights not only to use M&M's candy as characters, but also to build an entire video game around Skittles. Skittles were on the decline in terms of popularity with demographics over 20 years old (though we at The Takeout would agree that Skittles make the cut for one of the best vending machine snacks), so Mars worked with Simon & Schuster to make an adult video game popular with the style of the time.

"Darkened Skye" follows a female character named Skye (with a tragic backstory, of course) and her witty gargoyle sidekick, Draak, as she learns to use magic and defeat the evil warlord, Necroth. You might be wondering how Skittles are involved in this plot, and the answer is both silly and creative. In this video game world, Skittles are essentially carriers of magic that fall from rainbows — a "level up" item, if you will. They also allow characters to perform spells and magical attacks. Ordinarily, the Skittles-filled rainbows bring joy and magic to all of the realm, but that nasty Necroth character has stolen the rainbows, and thus drained the land of magic. Our heroine picks up various Skittles along her journey (thankfully this game preceded French's mustard Skittles), as she works to defeat the big, bad, scary guy.

Though dark fantasy action games were popular when "Darkened Skye" was released in 2002, inspiration for the game stems from Skittles' bizarre series of "Taste the Rainbow" fantasy commercials. Some of those commercials included a dark wizard summoning Skittles from the sky, an elven woman on horseback at Stonehenge also summoning Skittles from the sky, a gargoyle summoning Skittles from a river, and many other odd, fantasy-inspired scenarios. The game was decently well-received by serious gamers and casual gamers alike, earning praise for its self-aware humor. In the end, "Darkened Skye" proved that even a video game can double as a surprisingly entertaining advertisement.