The Iron Mountains

‘The pirates have taken all of my babies’ —Uglette

The Iron Mountains (also known as the Gloomy Island) is a location in Rayman 2: The Great Escape and its remakes. It is where the fourth and final Mask of Polokus is found, though it is not necessarily a sanctuary.

The Iron Mountains

← Tomb of the Ancients	The Prison Ship →
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Original version

In this version, the Iron Mountains level has no hologram in the Hall of Doors. The dark tunnel in the background leads directly to the Buccaneer levels.

This level is set high up in the mountainous regions of the Glade of Dreams, where a number of pirate strongholds are built. Deep in the canyons nearby are mines in which a large number of baby Globoxes are held captive. Many Robo-Pirates patrol the area.

Phase 1 – The Gloomy Island

Rayman is outside a metalworks building with a generator room inside, and he has to shoot two switches to deactivate an electric field and go down the middle of a rotating machine and into a pipe that leads to a grassy area. Going though another tunnel past a swampy lake, there is another pirate stronghold which Rayman has to jump from the top and glide down a rapid river. At the edge is a hot air balloon which Rayman hops in and rides.

Phase 2 – The Reformatory for Disturbing Children

He then lands in a field with yet another stronghold, which is this time guarded by the invincible giant Robot Dinosaur, despatched by the Robo-Pirates to find the fourth Mask before Rayman does. The robot is so heavy, every time it jumps it sends objects bouncing up into the air. Rayman can make use of these objects to infiltrate the stronghold (the Reformatory for Disturbing Children), where a few baby Globoxes are being held captive. Rayman soon finds a walking shell and has to ride about the outside of the Reformatory to collect some Yellow Lums and find two switches (three switches in the PlayStation version) to release the babies.

Phase 3 – The Pirate Mines

Deep in a canyon, Rayman has to cross a polluted pond, and he'll eventually meet Uglette, Globox's wife, who is upset by the fact that more of her babies are missing and held in the mines. The player then takes control of a pirate Warship and has to manoeuver it through the canyons and find the four mines, collecting many baby Globoxes from each one. When all of mines are visited, Rayman has to bring the Warship back to Uglette to reunite her with her babies. One of them withdraws the fourth Mask from its mouth and tells Rayman that he found it in the Mines. He then gives the Mask to Rayman, who is transported to Polokus.

Trivia

During the shell ride, a glitch allows Rayman to jump outside the Reformatory for Disturbing Children without activating the switches and saving the babies.

The Iron Mountains

← Tomb of the Ancients	The Prison Ship →
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Dreamcast version

This level is nearly identical to the original version, with the following differences:

At the neat end of Phase 1, before the hot air balloon, a Glob Crystal is found – this is the last of the six to collect.
Piranhas added: 2 in the bridge in the beginning of the level and one in the swampy area where the 2 pirates are fought.
Graphical changes in the generator room with the two swiches, some structures changed, the pool of polluted water and celing is replaced with a floor and caged celing with a slow, circular, ominous red laser, same thing is given with the middle stalactite-like structure. The outside of the building is also foggier and the polluted water is changed to plain green.

Gloomy Island

← Tomb of the Ancients		The Prison Ship →
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PlayStation version

A Ninja pirate attacking Rayman

In this version, the level is called The Gloomy Island, and only the area in which Rayman has to flick the switches onboard the walking shell to free the baby Globoxes is used. In the beginning Rayman sees Uglette, and she tells him that her babyies were taken to the pirate stronghold. Rayman has to locate it and rescue them.

Phase 1 of the level is used in part, but is heavily edited in some areas. As said above, Uglette informs Rayman of the children's capture at the very start of the level, not towards the end. This gives Rayman more purpose to being here in this version, rather than seemingly wandering randomly as in other versions.

There is a bizarre inconsistancy here not present in other versions due to the Uglette cutscene occuring at the very start of the level. When the player enters the level from the Hall of Doors, the game will load, then jump straight into the cutscene with Uglette, which shows Rayman already in the level, comforting Uglette. However, after the cutscene, Rayman emerges from the Spiral Door as usual, and lands next to a weeping Uglette.

The Iron Mountains

← Tomb of the Ancients	The Prison Ship →
Rainbow Creek

PlayStation 2 version

This level remains the same, but with the following exceptions:

The phase in which Rayman commandeers a Warship to rescue the baby Globoxes has been omitted from this level, and is used as its own level called The Pirate Mines. Instead of the fourth Mask, a baby rewards Rayman with the Rain Mask instead.
Because of this, there is a new guardian called Grolem 13, who guards the fourth Mask. He is fought in a new phase added to the end of the Iron Mountains, which takes the place of the Pirate Mines phase.
An extra minigame known as the Schplong is featured in this level. To access it, the player must press every button on the controller whilst on the hot air balloon.