Retro Review: Rayman
by Serideth on Jun.19, 2009 at 11:15 pm, under Editorials, Gaming, Retro Review | Thread ID: 4296
Name: Rayman
Year Released: 1995
System: Atari Jaguar, MS DOS, Sega Saturn, Playstation 1 (PS1)
As a gamer I assume it's safe to say the majority of people have one genre they really can't get into. For some it's dungeon grinding RPGs, for others: fast paced FPSs, for me it's platformers. I very rarely play the genre due to a number of reasons, with the main three being they're often boring, the music is repetitive and (more so nowadays) a lot of them just feel like they're poorly made. Super Mario and Sonic the Sellout Hedgehog are two great examples of classic platformers but, as most of us have played them, I wanted to go for a game that was a little less popular: Rayman.
Rayman was released in September 1995 for the Atari Jaguar and MS DOS. It was then released a month later on the Playstation and Sega Saturn. The game was developed and published by Ubisoft and is a fairly traditional 2D platformer with a few twists.
Plot:
The story in Rayman isn't its strongest point, but as a 2D platformer I didn't expect much. The antagonist of the game is a mysterious sorcerer who goes by the alias of "Mr. Dark" (whoever named the characters for this game should have been shot) who has captured a number of Electoons (creatures that live in the Rayman world) and it's Rayman's job to free them. During the adventure you meet a cast of interesting friends and foes that keep the game light hearted and entertaining.
Gameplay:
I tend to find most platformers a pain in the ass to play. Even Sonic annoyed me as he didn't understand the concept of how to jump properly but Rayman's controls were as solid as a rock and really responsive unlike a lot of platformers (especially Croc). I do, however, have one legitimate complaint and it's the lack of enemy variety in the game. Throughout the whole game it seems to be the same guys over and over again or similar enemies with a few changes. One of my favorite gameplay elements in Rayman are fighting the bosses as most of them are unique and have certain tricks to beating them (one example being punching back enemy attacks in order to hurt them). The game's levels are more than just jumping over gaps like the majority of platformers: some levels have you sliding down slippery hills on a frying pan while others have you trying to cut ropes dragging the roof down on top of you. It's fun, quirky events like these that keep the game feeling fresh. Another thing that really bugged me was a packaging error made on a number of the European copies which stated the game was one or two player. Back then I couldn't shell out on a new game everyday (in fact, I still can't) and had to share the playstation with my brother, so we tried to purchase multiplayer games whenever possible. This error caused a hell of a lot of arguments in my house as we were both convinced we knew how to unlock two player and would spend hours trying even though it didn't exist. The game's biggest flaw however is: it's too easy.
Graphics:
One thing I do like about the platformer genre (more so for retro games) are the graphics as they're usually bright and colourful, with Rayman being no exception to this. Every world in this gem of a game is beautifully put together and each is very different than the last. My favorite world was "Band Land" as it was made up of musical instruments and it just had a genuine feel-good factor to it. Other themes included are: candy land, a swamp land, and am underground cave world.
Sound:
I always like to criticize at least one section of a game and, more often than not, that section is sound. Unfortunately for me, Rayman had an excellent sound track so I'll have to find something else to attack. I mentioned before that most platformers - in my experience - seemed to have boring, repetitive music but this is not the case with Rayman as the music captured the levels perfectly. This is especially true for the Band Land music as it was so upbeat and happy, it almost made me forget I had no friends. With most games we tend to look back and see everything with rose tinted glasses but before I wrote this review I downloaded the original soundtrack to the game and I was not disappointed. In fact, it has been fourteen years since its release and I'd still happily listen to that in today's games. I can't really find a flaw with the sound effects either, other than that they were a little bit cheesy - but that's what the game was all about: cheesy fun. What do you expect when the boss of Band Land is a giant saxophone called Mr. Sax?
Conclusion:
Rayman is a fantastic platformer, and it's really a nice breath of fresh air from Mario and Sonic, I'd recommend it to anyone. As I mentioned in the review it ticks all the right boxes for its genre, which is more than can be said for the majority of its kind. Sadly Ubisoft did what they do best and ruined the Rayman name by making a bunch of sub-par sequels and tried to milk it for as much as they could. the games is available on the PSN so buy it, now!
Score 8/10
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June 20th, 2009 at 5:54 am
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June 20th, 2009 at 6:30 am
Nice piece Serideth. I'll have to check this one out, didn't realize the original was entirely 2D. I played the sequel awhile back and it didn't impress a great deal, felt more like a shoddy Mario 64 clone, which falls in line with what you said. The original looks completely different though.
June 20th, 2009 at 6:50 am
Yeah the original was so much better than the new ones, it's a really good pick up and play type game. I remember buy Rayman 2 on the N64 and I was really excited, and as soon I it loaded up I knew it was going to be a let down.
June 20th, 2009 at 7:13 am
Very nice review, right on the spot with everything. I agree, Rayman was an awesome game, even today. I think I'm gonna relive the good old days and heed your advice by buying it on PSN.
June 20th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Looks like I have another game to check out. Thanks.
June 20th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Great article Serideth, i'm really enjoying your retro reviews :)
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:47 am
I love this game. I have had it on my psp way back when the psp started to play ps1 games it's a great little game one of the best for the ps1 in my opinion
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:05 am
I'm surprised so many people enjoyed this game as I always felt it was underrated.
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I loved Rayman. I used to play it when I first got my GBA. Great game but quite frustrating at times.
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I like rayman though at times it was very frustrating. It is a good platformer, its a shame that nowadays you only here the words Rayman in ravaging rabbits or whatever its called :(.
I don't know why theres hasn't been a next gen Rayman game yet, maybe there is just to much competition to get a good profit.
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:55 pm
One of my favourites for PS1, very good game. You did it justice with that review mate :D
The best worlds IMO were band land and the arty one with all the ink and stuff.
One bit that really pissed me off that looking back on it is incredibly easy is where you're on that ascending level and it's raining and you have to avoid drowning.
It's all flooding back to me :cry:
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:26 pm
The best worlds IMO were band land and the arty one with all the ink and stuff.
One bit that really pissed me off that looking back on it is incredibly easy is where you're on that ascending level and it's raining and you have to avoid drowning.
It's all flooding back to me :cry:
I completely forgot about the arty levels, like it even took me a few seconds to remember them after reading your post.
July 19th, 2009 at 10:49 am
I'm playing through it again, It's such a good game.