Helicopter bomb

A helicopter bomb flying towards Rayman in the Bayou

A helicopter bomb is a type of bomb encountered in several Rayman games, most notably in Rayman 2: The Great Escape. These bombs fly by means of a mechanical helicopter similar to Rayman's signature helicopter power. They fly directly towards him, and explode upon impact, causing Rayman to lose health. Most of these bombs are manufactured by the Robo-Pirates, though some helicopter bombs which appear in the Game Boy Advance adaptation of Rayman 3 may be the creations of Hoodlums. In the Dreamcast version of Rayman 2, some Henchmen 800 fire helicopter bombs. In all versions, the warships can despatch them.

In most versions of Rayman 2: The Great Escape, a hologram of several helicopter bombs is used to represent the Bayou. These holograms appear whenever Rayman approaches the Bayou's Spiral Door in the Hall of Doors. The holograms float towards Rayman and explode as they draw near to him, but they do no harm. In the PlayStation version, the Hall of Doors has been substantially redesigned; the helicopter bombs are now used as a symbol for the Fairy Glade. This makes them the only object used to symbolise multiple levels.

In most of the Rayman 2: The Great Escape games, the helicopter bombs explode immediately when hit by one of Raymans attacks, and explode with fire. However, the explosion graphics in the Rayman Revolution are different: the bombs explode with smoke instead, just as the homing missiles fired by the Red Henchmen 800 in the same version.

Helicopter bombs also appear in the Game Boy Advance adaptation of Rayman 3, which is a 2D sidescroller like the original game. The helicopter bombs here come in three varieties. First there are the standard, explosive helicopter bombs bearing Robo-Pirate logos; as in Rayman 2, these can be destroyed with a single hit. This game also introduces two new types of metal helicopter bombs: one apparently manufactured by the Hoodlums which are indestructible, and harm Rayman if he touches them, and other that is sent from the Grolgoth and it can be punched in order to rebound.

In Rayman M, the Glue Bomb used in the "Lum Fight" is very similar to the Helicopter Bomb. It is smaller, has a timer that counts down 10 seconds on it, and spins around the player until it blows up or is passed onto another player.

In Rayman 2 Forever, helicopter bombs are extremely common, and can be found in most levels.