Topic: The Official Rayman Thread

Since there's TECHNICALLY no general Rayman thread on this site...aside from a scattered few about Rayman Origins & Legends...I thought making a thread for general discussions about would be great. So...let's keep the love for Rayman since he's been getting a bit of attention recently in the wake of Rayman Legends Retold. Sooooo...whether you grew up on playing Rayman Sega, Nintendo, Sony, PC, or Xbox or any other platforms or just played the recent ones...or just wanna share the love of the series created by Michel Ancel. Go hi-ho Moskito with gusto. PS: This is my first thread I made here...

I love the Rayman series, actually currently playing 2. So far 2 is easily the worst of the mainline games, though far from bad, but I'm surprised all the hype I've heard over the years lead to a game that doesn't play remotely as good as Mario or Banjo. Even Glover has parts of it that play better than it tbh. But at the same time, I also played Tonic Trouble a little while ago, which is miles worse than Rayman 2, so I'm also willing to be kind to it after that.

But otherwise, Rayman Redemption and Legends are two of the best games I've played, and Origins and 3 are also great, which is a pretty great track record which sadly does not reflect the current state of the company that owns the IP. I also have a lot of fondness for the far more flawed official versions of 1 I grew up with on GBC and GBA. I also have the original Raving Rabbids, which I kinda wanna play someday, but I'm not sure how well a Wii launch title minigame collection will hold up, even one made by Michel Ancel.

@kkslider5552000 Well, I do know there's the Rayman Raving Rabbids Party Collection on the Wii. Never really bought that particular relase as I've already played the 3 stand alone releases back then. By that time, I didn't play any of those 3 again...even when I had the wiiu.

But Rayman 1, Origins, & Rayman Raving Rabbids are by fare my favs. Though I consider Rayman 1 to be it's own game since it's drastically different from the ones that follow it. Rayman Redemption changes way too much imo but that's just me though.

Still waiting for that Rayman collection to go on sale. Can't justify paying full price when the PS1's OST has been swapped out for that lousier new one. Still, nothing beats RM on disc for PS1, paired with a 27" CRT. It still has the strongest art direction, controls, Soundtrack, and challenge of any 2D Rayman game.

Not looking forward to Legends Retold either. I've beaten Origins, it was like a 4-5/10 for me. Never cared for it's sloppier floaty rythmatic platforming, and it's art direction(Which goes for Legends as well)looked both ugly yet beautiful depending on the stage. It wasn't as toony' and organic as the original was, and the music strays too far from what made the PS1 orginal so brilliant, whimsy and atmospheric.

Retold visually speaking looks a lot better than Legends and Orgiins, but at it's core it's still Legends.

I don't know if I would call myself a Rayman fan, but I have enjoyed what I played for the most part. I have played and finished Rayman 3 and Rayman Legends. Rayman 3 was really good, though when I first played on PS2, I never got past the Desert of the Knaaren as for whatever reason, they just seemed very scary to me I guess. When the HD re-release came out on XBLA, I managed to get through the desert and finish the game.

Rayman Legends is a pretty good experience although I didn't find the "Return to Origins" levels as interesting. I will say getting all achievements/trophies is a miserable experience so unless you are willing to log in every day for a few months, don't do it.

for Rayman 2, I played the 3DS edition and I think I got one of the four masks, but I barely remember the game otherwise. I might try again though as I have been on a bit of a 3D Platformer kick recently as have finsihed DK64, Banjo Kazooie, and currently playing Banjo Tooie.

@MS7000 I mean...the Back to Origins levels are okay but they're don't feel nearly the same compared the originals in Origins. But I suppose it was a way to add more content to pad out Legends. The fact that Legends Retold is including Origins Enchanced Edition pretty much tells us that the Back to Origins levels are taken out for new ones, I suppose.

I remember finishing Rayman 3. Desert of The Knaaren was the worst level imo...especially the Zombie Chickens...Ugh. Never again will I play that game...

I fundementally disagree. Redemption feels almost like the ideal of improving a game without changing what made it unique. It feels like if the original devs worked hard for at least a year or two to make the best possible version of Rayman 1 after its initial release, Yooka Replayee style (and Rayman 1 is way better than Yooka Laylee tbh)

@DanijoEX
yeah mentioned it in one of the article comment sections but there was a "vibe" which playing the levels in origins had which wasnt quite there in their legends versions, i forgot if much was changed but it feels like a lot of it was more context, playing through them as they show up in origins has this sense of "adventure" which unlocking them in legends didnt quite give IMO.

on the subject of Rayman, as much as its been ported i wouldnt actually mind a Rayman 2 "collection" if it stuff like emulation/porting was good, i always liked it when retro collections had these different versions since it was always interesting to see the differences and in the case of something like the psone version there were some big changes to levels and the final boss fight was changed, then the ps2 version had the hub world and some stage changes.

So I got Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition today & I actually do love it. I only grew up playing the GBA version but the Atari Jaguar version is actually good. In fact, that version has the better music...but the reimagined soundtrack isn't bad by any means...I think folks were blowing it out of poportions honestly. But it would be nice still to inlcude the OG soundtrack. I swear...these music rights issues need to be sorta out honestly. If a composer passes on...their music should still be used without any problems...but then I'm not an expert on that stuff...so what do I know...

I don't like how they had to replace Rayman 1's music, but I also think Rayman 1's music had room for improvement anyway tbh. There's some great music but the majority of it is either overly atmospheric (to the point of literally not being songs sometimes) or feel like they're missing something. I feel like DKC went for something similar for atmospheric platformer music but just did a better job with it.

@kkslider5552000 Plus they don't loop very well...except the Jaguar, GBA, & GB. The PS1, Saturn, & Ms-DOS lack proper loops.

Also...it's funny how the Jaguar's new OST sounds...I dunno...more CD-like compared to the Jaguar's sound chip...

Part of me wishes that, if I was a good programmer & modder, I would combine both OSTs and have them loop properly and for the right sections of each level. At least for the PS1 & MS-DOS versions. Yet...once again...fans have to go out their way to do it & not Ubisoft.