Rayman (video game)
| Rayman | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Ubisoft Montpellier |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Designer(s) | Michel Ancel (lead designer), Alexandra Steible (characters), Vincent Gréco (lead programmer) |
| Platform(s) | Atari Jaguar, PC, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Gizmondo |
| Release | September 1995 (Jaguar) November 1995 (Saturn, PS) |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Rayman is a video game designed and published by Ubisoft. It was originally released in September 1995 for the Atari Jaguar and MS-DOS, and in November 1995 for Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn. A port of this game was to be released for the Sega 32X, but when the system died off due to low popularity, the port was canceled. Rayman is a traditional side-scrolling platform game which revolves around the titular character's quest to save his world from the evil Mr. Dark.
Storyline
From the intro cut-scene:
In Rayman's world, nature and people live together in peace. The Great Protoon provides and maintains the harmony and balance in the world. One fateful day, the evil Mister Dark steals the Great Protoon and defeats Betilla the Fairy as she tries to protect it. The electoons who used to gravitate all around it lose their natural stability and scatter all over the world. In the now unbalanced world, strange phenomena begin to occur: freaks and hostile characters appear, capturing every electoon they can find.
Rayman to the rescue! As the guardian of this world, he must free the electoons, recapture the Great Protoon from its mysterious kidnapper and reassemble them all to restore the world's harmony.
But will the bad guys let him do it?
This is an early story during the game's development, sent to some magazines promoting the Atari Jaguar version:
Join Jimmy, a 10-year-old who escapes reality by entering Hereitscool, a fantasy kingdom he has created within the realms of his computer. When an evil power takes over Hereitscool, Jimmy becomes Rayman, a super hero who must save his friends before it's too late!
However, this idea was obviously scrapped, and Rayman is his own being in his own world in the final version.
Characters
Rayman
Voiced by David Gasman, Rayman is the main (and reluctant) protagonist of the story, defined by his off-beat flair and limbless appearance. His main weapon is throwing his clenched fist at his enemies, but as his quest toughens, Betilla the Fairy will bestow him with additional powers.
Rayman's friends
- Betilla the Fairy: Betilla the Fairy once acted as the protector of the Great Protoon, before it was stolen from her by Mister Dark. Her main function in the game is to aid Rayman by granting him additional powers as his quest unfolds.
- The Magician: This quirky man is often hidden away in the scenery. With his help, Rayman can enter into secret worlds. In these bonus stages, the player's skill and rapidity will allow Rayman to earn an extra life, but a fee of 10 Tings is required for entry, as the Magician bargains at a price.
- The Photographer: The Photographer is here to immortalize Rayman's feats. When he loses a life, Rayman starts again where his picture was last taken. In other words, the Photographer acts as a checkpoint.
- Tarayzan: This madcap roams the jungles of the Dream Forest. Tarayzan is the first friend Rayman will come across, and helps by providing him with magic seed.
- The Musician: High in the mountains of Rayman's world is where the Musician lives his life of peace and music. When Rayman frees his guitar from a giant boulder, he gets a magic potion in return, allowing him to stay afloat indefinitely.
- Joe: Joe, the sad extraterrestrial, lives near the coast of the Crystal Caves and owns a snack shop. Rayman helps him restore power to his neon sign and defeats Mister Skop while he's at it.
Rayman's foes
- Moskito: This giant mosquito rules the Dream Forest. He is the first of Mister Dark's minions Rayman will meet. As Rayman watches out for falling fruit, he punches Moskito until he gives up and reforms for good. On Rayman 2: Revolution, he goes by the name "Bzitz".
- Mister Sax: The deafening Mister Sax dwells high in the clouds of Band Land. He blurts out more than a few false notes, but Rayman can use it to his advantage and fire the explosive notes back at Sax, defeating him.
- Mister Stone: A stone-faced madman with a temper to match, Mister Stone is immediately out to crush Rayman the minute he enters the Blue Mountains, but the technique backfires and Rayman crushes Stone instead.
- Space Mama: This denizen of Picture City descends straight out of a science fiction film. Space Mama is a tough cookie with a deadly rolling pin. Rayman dodges the pin, and punches Mama out.
- Mister Skops: This menacing creature sleeps deep beneath the Caves of the Skops. His armour is impenetrable but his own tail proves to be his undoing, as Rayman deflects the tail-beams back at the tail and defeats Skops.
- Mr. Dark: This diabolical character is Rayman's arch-nemesis, with wizardry to match Betilla's and more than a few tricks up his sleeve. He hides in the sugar-coated world of Candy Chateau. After Rayman defeats everything Dark throws at him, Dark flees. As of right now, his whereabouts are unknown.
Another villain, Mr. Clay (a parody of Batman's Clayface), was designed to appear in the game, but the idea was dropped and Mr. Clay was not involved.
- Soldiers:Other creatures that work for these villains,including poachers and men with muskets.
Gameplay
Rayman is a traditional side-scrolling 2D platform game. The object of the game is to free all the electoons and defeat Mister Dark's minions across five worlds. Only when every electoon is freed will Rayman be able to enter into Mister Dark's hideout Candy Chateau. Overwise, the player must traverse the levels and reach the goal (a signpost with an arrow on it) at the end. But usually, since all of the levels in the game are divided into several parts, said goal post usually acts as a transition to another part of the level.
Scattered around each level are little blue spheres called Tings. If Rayman picks up a hundred of them, he gains an extra life, but they can also be used to pay the Magician, and enter a bonus stage. When Rayman dies, he loses all of the Tings he collected.
As well as Tings Rayman will come across a variety of other power-ups and bonuses, among which a golden punching fist, a faster punching fist, power to restore Rayman's lost life energy and flying blue elves that will shrink Rayman down in size.
Rayman's powers
Rayman obtains a number of different powers during the game. Some are given to him permanently by Betilla the Fairy, while others are obtained temporarily for certain levels.
- Grimace: This so called 'power' is an ability that you start the game with, mapped to the 'run' button. However, when this 'power' is activated, it merely causes Rayman to grab both sides of his mouth, open it wide, and stick his tougue out, making a strange sound and in a way 'taunting' enemies. It can only be activated when Rayman is standing still. It does not affect gameplay in any way and only acts as a means of humor and as a temporary substitute for running ability, the latter of which permanently replaces 'Grimace' when acquired. He gets it back in Rayman 3 after defeating Refulx in The Desert of the Knaren. The Explorers (tall) will flee in terror if you use grimace while near them.
- Fist: Allows Rayman to punch with his fist.
- Hang: Allows Rayman to hang onto platform edges.
- Grappling: Allows Rayman to grab onto the pink and red rings with his fist, as well as grab trophies (lives) from a distance.
- Helicopter: Allows Rayman to use his hair as a helicopter. At certain points in the game, it can even be used to cut thick pieces of rope.
- Running: Allows Rayman to run faster. Also permanently replaces 'Taunt' when acquired.
- Magic Seed: Allows Rayman to make plants grow out of the grounds, which he can stand on. This is a temporary power given to Rayman by Tarayzan in the Swamps of Forgetfulness. However, one plant cannot be planted on another.
- Super Helicopter: A more powerful version of the helicopter power, which allows Rayman to fly around the level without the use of platforms. This power can only be obtained temporarily in Mr. Stone's Peaks and in Pencil Pentathlon.
- Metal Fist: Allows Rayman to smash walls, break objects, and allows him to defeat enemies in one blow. But slows Rayman down and depleats the Helicopter move.
- Speed Fist: Allows Rayman's fists to fly faster and further.
Stages
In the different worlds of the game described here, Rayman will meet the "bosses" more than once. The player must be on the lookout for the Antitoons, Mr. Dark's foot soldiers. Each world is divided into three or four levels, and each level consists of several scenes.
The Dream Forest
Rayman has to proceed through the jungle without ever falling into the swamp waters. He will come across hunters and explorers. This is where he meets Angus and Tarayzan, his first friends. Help Tarayzan get dressed and see what happens.
There are four levels to finish in The Dream Forest: Pink Plant Woods, Anguish Lagoon, The Swamps of Forgetfulness and Moskito's Nest. Once Rayman has cleared Anguish Lagoon, he can proceed to Band Land. In Pink Plant Woods, the first power Betilla gives to Rayman is the ability to punch with his fist, and later on, in Anguish Lagoon, the power to hang from a nearby ledge.
There are two mosquitoes-bosses in this world- Ang (or Angus) and harder Moskito. Ang lives in Anguish Lagoon and has 6 life points. Adult Moskito, who live in Moskito's Nest, chases Rayman with a large berry. Rayman must evade Moskito until he has a chance to attack. Adult Moskito has 12 hit points. After Moskito is defeated, Betilla the fairy will give Rayman the power to grab things with his fist.
Band Land
In a scene filled with clouds and slippery sheet music bars, Rayman must advance among instruments (drums, maracas, cymbals,...) and avoid wrong notes. Once he escapes from the trumpets, he will find himself face to face with the deafening Mister Sax.
There are four levels in Band Land: Bongo Hills, Allegro Presto, Gong Heights and Mr. Sax's Hullabaloo. Bongo Hills is divided into six scenes, making it one of the longest levels in the whole game, and many also consider it the hardest in the game as well. Allegro Presto is the stage Rayman receives the power to use his hair as a helicopter. Once Allegro Presto is finished, Rayman may proceed to the Blue Mountains.
Mr. Sax's Hullabaloo is where Rayman faces the boss of Band Land, Mr. Sax (but his first appearance is in Allegro Presto). He has 12 hit points and takes damage when Rayman punches the false notes back at him.
Blue Mountains
Rayman has to move forward, avoiding rock avalanches and stone creatures. In these mountains, Rayman meets the Musician and helps him recover his lost guitar. The big boss to defeat is Mister Stone, a creature made of rock.
The Blue Mountains has only three stages for Rayman to complete, but all of them need to be finished in order to proceed to Picture City. The three stages are: Twilight Gulch, The Hard Rocks and Mr. Stone's Peaks
Mr. Stone's Peaks is where Rayman faces the boss of the Blue Mountains. On this level, The Musician gives Rayman the super helicopter power as a reward for returning his guitar. Mr. Stone himself has 8 hit points, and takes damage when Rayman punches the head of the totem pole in the center of the arena into Mr. Stone. Upon his defeat, Rayman will be able to access Picture City, and Betilla the Fairy will grant him the power to run faster.
Picture City
This is the world of images, as well as a world of mirages. Once he walks across the stage of a small theater, Rayman meets with beings straight from a movie.
Just as the Blue Mountains, Picture City consists of only three levels: Eraser Plains, Pencil Pentathlon and Space Mama's Crater. Each level offers plenty of opportunity for Rayman to test his new powers, his running skill especially.
Space Mama's Crater is the boss level of Picture City. Space Mama has 12 hit points and a Washing Machine which she uses to defend herself, and takes damage by being punched in the head. Defeat Space Mama to get to the next world. After she is defeated, Betilla the fairy gets kidnapped by Mr. Dark!
The Caves of Skops
This is a troubling underground world. Enter it through Joe the Extraterrestrial's snack shop. First, Rayman has to plug in his friend's shop sign while avoiding the spiders. Then he must work his way around the stalactites in the cave to find the lair of Skops the Scorpion.
The three levels in the Caves of the Skops are: Crystal Palace, Eat at Joe's, and Mr. Skops Stalactites. Eat at Joe's is unique in that it takes place in darkness; Joe gives Rayman a firefly to help light the way, but it unfortunately only lights up a small area around Rayman. This is mitigated by the fact that the light is around Rayman's fist, therefore what lies ahead may be revealed by punching in that direction. This may demand one to stop still and punch in order to light the way ahead; not being able to see the character can prove fatal to those who lack control.
Mr. Skops's Stalactites is the boss level for The Cave of Skops. First, Rayman must avoid Mr. Skops's claw as the platforms fall into the lava below. Next, he will walk back and forth, forcing Rayman to hang on the edge of the platform. Then, there are 3 crystal platforms that Mr. Skops will send into the lava with his sting, followed by a chase to the end of the level and into the battle arena with Mr. Skops. Punch Mr. Skops when he sends Rayman a sting from his tail to send it back to him. Mr. Skops has 8 hit points. Once he is defeated, Rayman can enter the final levels.
Candy Chateau
This is the level of desserts where Mister Dark is hidden, guarded by clowns performing amazing stunts. Candy Chateau is only accessible when the player has collected all of the cages of electoons.
The final world of the game has only one level: Mr. Dark's Dare. In the first scene, Rayman slides in a frying pan down slopes of candy and frosting. In the second scene, Mr. Dark creates Dark Rayman, who does exactly what Rayman does and will die when the level is completed. In the third scene, Mr. Dark reverses Raymans controls, so that left is right and right is left, and at the end of the third scene, he forces Rayman to run constantly, and at the very end, steals his fist. In the final battle, Dark taunts him by pulling a rope that his fist is tied to soo high Rayman cannot reach it. Then Dark tries to use his magic to kill Rayman, and just when a wall of flames is about to convirge on you, some of the Electoons you saved will steal your fist from the rope and give it back to you. Rayman will then meet a mixture of all his previous foes (hench that the five stained glass windows in the background each have an image of the previous foes, in order, Moskito, Mr. Sax, Mr. Stone, Space Mama, and Skops). First, he fights a mixture of Skops and Mr. Stone, Second, Space Mama's lackeys with Moskitos wings, and last, Mr. Sax's body with Moskitos head. At this part, Rayman is shrunk, so he cannot hit Moskitos head unless he is propelled high into the air by one of Moskitosax's powerful stomps. After Rayman defeats the mixed enemies, Mr. Dark sees no choice over then to flee for his life.
Updated Versions
Rayman Gold
Main Article: Rayman Gold
Later, on September 28, 1997, Ubisoft released an updated version of the game for the PC. This bundle had the original Rayman in its entirety, as well as another package, known as Rayman Designer. The package contained 24 original levels, with the same gameplay but a few new concepts: now Rayman has to collect 100 Blue Tings in a level before he can finish it. A few other interesting features were added, like colored tings that trigger special events, additional objects and a timer to show the player how fast they can complete this level. It included a level editor (hence the name Rayman Designer) with which players could make their own levels and share them with others via the Internet; a feature that didn't particularly catch on.
Rayman Forever
Around a year after that, Ubisoft released Rayman Forever. It was the same as Rayman Gold, except it contained a bundle of 50+ new levels, a level editor, and strangely, a fridge magnet.
Rayman Collector
Another level set, similar to Rayman Gold and Rayman Forever, was released by Ubisoft in late 1999. This one featured sixty levels, many of which were considered, by fans, to be very short and dull.
Game Boy Color version
Ubisoft also released Rayman for GBC, which was more of a Rayman 2, since it contained all the Rayman 2 music and worlds, but had the storyline of Rayman.
Rayman Advance
This version for the Game Boy Advance was identical to the original Rayman with a few very minor changes and considerable degradation in graphics and sound quality (due to GBA hardware limitations).
Sequels
Rayman 2: The Great Escape was released for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, Nintendo DS, and PC Systems. The PlayStation 2 version of the game is titled Rayman 2: Revolution. The Nintendo 64, PC and DS versions are identical in terms of gameplay. The PlayStation version has fewer lums and smaller levels.
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc was released for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, N-Gage and PC. All versions are identical in terms of gameplay. In addition to that, a Game Boy Advance game with the same title exists, but it is a 2D platform game, nearly identical in style to the original Rayman and to Rayman Advance. Series creator Michel Ancel dropped out of work on Rayman 3 to work on Beyond Good and Evil.
Several spin-offs have also been released, including Rayman Arena and Rayman Rush. Remakes of Rayman 2 have been rereleased with enhancements or minor changes for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS as Rayman Revolution and Rayman DS respectively.
Rayman Collector's Edition was released around October 10, 2005. It includes: Rayman 3 (with a few extra bonus levels and movies), Rayman 2, and Rayman Arena. Rayman Forever was not included due to the fact it ran on MS-DOS. It was only released for PC.
Rayman Raving Rabbids, the fourth installment in the series, for the Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, and Wii; the Sony PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PSP; the Microsoft Xbox and Xbox 360; Mobile and the PC. It departs from past Rayman games, being driven by mini-games which can be played in both single and multi-player modes. It marks the return of creator Michel Ancel.
Trivia
- Other than Rayman and Dark Rayman, there was a new set of characters for Rayman 2. Dark Rayman was also seen on the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube versions of Rayman Arena.
- Rayman was also released for the Game Boy Color, but had many differences:
- The game's worlds were different from the original version.
- Rayman's fist and hang were default at the beginning of the game.
- Instead of the original's 6 worlds, the worlds were Spellbound Forest (which inspired the fighting stage of the same name from Rayman Arena), Airy Tunes, Rocky Peaks, Ancient Forest, Fiery Depths, and Arcane Forest.
- Running and the taunt were unavailable for the GBC Version. (Because of the lack of necessary buttons)
- Rayman is the best selling PlayStation game of all time in the UK, beating titles like Gran Turismo and Tomb Raider 2.[1]
- Is one of Adam Sessler's favorite games.