Rayman Legends

[Harpic fraîcheur]

Thank you for the replies guys.

[Hunchman801]

If I beat Nightmare mode and unlock him, can I get a permanent Barbara rank? :u

One month, apparently it's easy with that cheat.

Yeah, I bought the pack and their names are Rayman (RED), Globox (RED), and Teensy (RED).

Cool, please create the articles whenever you get a chance, Harpic.

[Bradandez]

If I beat Nightmare mode and unlock him, can I get a permanent Barbara rank? :u

One month, apparently it's easy with that cheat.

Yeah, I bought the pack and their names are Rayman (RED), Globox (RED), and Teensy (RED).

Cool, please create the articles whenever you get a chance, Harpic.

I have to beat Nightmare Mode in one month? :0

Also, my mistake. Fiesta Run displays their names as (RAYMAN) RED, (GLOBOX) RED, and (TEENSY) RED. Really weird, maybe they're all name Red?

[Harpic fraîcheur]

Cool, please create the articles whenever you get a chance, Harpic.

Of course, but I need to make the artworks before.

Also, my mistake. Fiesta Run displays their names as (RAYMAN) RED, (GLOBOX) RED, and (TEENSY) RED. Really weird, maybe they're all name Red?

We will call them like that on the Wiki too then.

[Hunchman801]

In capital letters? That looks weird, but whatever.

[sergiomonty]

So... the models for the wiki? anyone? Who can provide them to me so I can build them?... anyone? guys?... friends?

[need my speed]

Yesterday, I finally started playing Rayman Legends, after having played through half of the first level when it just came out. And, yeah... It's Origins 2.0, more rushing, more meh-ness... It isn't Rayman. It really isn't. Recently, I've been describing the wonders of Rayman 1 and 2 to someone, from Rayman 1's world map (the guitar path leading up into the Blue Mountains, exiting Mr Stone's Peak to travel through Picture City, going below, into the caverns, to emerge up in the Candy Chateau - it just fits perfectly!), to the first level of Band Land (on the PC at least - such a nice transition between the Dream Forest and Band Land), to Rayman 2's sanctauries and everything...

Well, this:

Beware, huge post incoming...

DROOLIE'S RAYMAN LEGENDS REVIEW

Here’s a review of Rayman Legends I wrote. It might sound a little harsh to some, but don’t forget: I really like the game. I’m just pointing out the problems with it that prevent it from being better than certain other Rayman games. Keep in mind that it’s entirely my opinion and I’m open to discuss everything that I wrote in it. I might even change my mind (but not likely)!
__________________________________________________________

I’ve been thinking a lot lately – about what makes a game good. With all the work I do for Dreambound, I have to: I do not want to spend ages on a game that is bound to be forgotten. All this thinking made me, I think, able to point out exactly what I like and don’t like about something. For me, it seems this largely depends on feeling.

And Rayman Legends felt good, but not great. Here’s why it could be better:

Let’s get right to the worst part: the story.
In Rayman Legends, it is completely non-existent, and this might be the biggest weakness of the game. Partly because there is no story, the game rarely feels like a real adventure. Sometimes, when the levels flow together and form a place that could exist within the Glade, you finally start to feel start to feel like you’re really exploring that place, and you try to imagine your own story, and maybe the story behind that place as well. And this is really what the Rayman series is all about, isn’t it? It is a shame then that too often, you are reminded that the Glade in Rayman Legends is simply a backdrop for a game that focuses entirely on the gameplay.

Let’s try to imagine this: you’re in Toad Story, battling your way through toad settlements while climbing the beanstalk, until you reach the magically floating ruins of a castle in the clouds. The sun is going down, and you’re nearing the big toad’s hideout. A lot of toads are defending this place. To rescue the Teensies, you enter a door… only to end up in a completely different area. Random things like prickly fish and doors fly at you before you can finally rescue the Teensy that needed your help.
… What just happened?

The magic is gone too when you enter an invaded level: while the destroyed versions of the normal levels provide an interesting opportunity to imagine a story, it’s a missed one, because the player has no time to do anything else than rushing through the level to get the best possible time. As always, gameplay gains the priority over everything.

The gameplay itself is rather neat, but after a while it might start to feel a tiny bit repetitive. As mentioned before by several members, there are a lot of “don’t stop running”-levels. I liked the way you had to figure out the fastest way to get to the goal, but sometimes it stopped me from appreciating what the Rayman series is really about for me.

The world – both what it is and what we imagine it could be. The Glade of Dreams has always been an incredible, mysteriously beautiful place. Especially in Rayman 2, and also in Rayman 3. Who didn’t imagine what secrets could be hidden behind the corner in one of the Sanctuaries, or what could be hidden in the tunnels in the Desert of the Knaaren? The unique, curly, surreal, beautiful art style and mysterious, atmospheric music that could be found in both Rayman 2 and Rayman 3 (yes, even Rayman 3 had all of that, in all worlds except for Clearleaf Forest, Hoodlum Headquarters and the Tower of the Leptys) certainly made it easy for our imagination to run wild!

But, you might say, the world in Rayman 1 was actually not so different from the world in Rayman Origins and Legends. So why is it that Rayman 1 is still considered a better game?
I think it’s because Rayman 1 was quite slow and allowed you to take your time in everything. A slow pace allows the player to stop and appreciate the nice backgrounds and the beautiful music, which isn’t forced to be as upbeat as it constantly is in Rayman Origins and Legends.

Yes, it seems slower is better. Not only does it allow the player to fully appreciate everything, but it also allows for some nicer music. Probably the most beautiful track in Rayman Legends, Lost in the Clouds/Under the Suns’ Warmth, was too slow for the game, and because of that, didn’t even make it into the game. Sadness.
And don’t people play games in their free time, to relax? Because I don’t think Rayman Origins and Legends let people relax a lot, while Rayman 1, 2 and 3 had a lot of moments when you could just stand still and admire the beautiful vistas and the music. Rayman Legends has those moments too (the beginning of Ray and the Beanstalk for one) but they are much fewer.

This all sums up exactly why I think Rayman 1, 2 and 3 (and perhaps Rayman M) still rank higher than Rayman Legends in my opinion. As you can see I thought about it a lot and let no nostalgia have a part in my judgment.
__________________________________________________________

Now, for the actual game.

• The gameplay is great, the game is challenging too! Especially that Dark Rayman invasion in 20 000 Lums Under the Sea.
• The music is great, but there are no slow tracks, which is sad.
• The graphics are great, but even though they tried to replicate the curliness, it still misses atmosphere in a lot of levels.
• The bosses are great, but the bosses in the original trilogy were more frightening.
• Too much Lums, too much Teensies. A lot of replay value was added by doing this, sure, but let me quote spiral for great justice:

When a game tries to achieve replay value through a large number of tasks or tokens, it ties its value to the idea of completion. When a game like this is maxed out, it loses its appeal. None of that stuff matters unless the underlying mechanisms and atmosphere of the game are so interesting that you keep playing it and thinking about it even when you've strictly done everything that's there for you to do.

And Back to Origins, well…

The inclusion of Back to Origins ruined the experience a little for me. Playing through it again was a chore, just like it was when I played through it for the first time. In my opinion, Rayman Origins was not a good game at all: even though it was Rayman’s first appearance in a while, he had changed a lot. I remember Michel Ancel saying that Rayman is supposed to be “crazy” and that they had forgotten that a little in Rayman 2. Don’t ask me how he and the team came to that idea, but somehow they did, and they built the rest of the game on it. Every of the aspect of the game was influenced by this madness: the music, the worlds, the characters, the enemies and even the collectibles (why did the Lums look like they came straight from the Rabbids series?). Thanks to the craziness, there was no inch of feeling or atmosphere left in the game.
Being a Rayman fan, I finished the game, but I didn't think I'd ever replay it. Well, I just had to in order to complete Legends. And don't even get me started on the "differences". Only the cages have been moved, lums have been replaced and that's about it. :/
Because of the difference in atmosphere between Rayman Origins and Legends, it feels to me like Rayman Origins was better than Back to Origins, not only because the bright backgrounds are distracting now that Rayman blends in more, but also because the Teensies and all that just don’t fit with the overly crazy Origins worlds.

And one last thing: Rayman Legends is not 3D, which makes the world infinitely less interesting than it could have been.
__________________________________________________________

All in all, I really, really, really enjoyed Rayman Legends. My review might sound very bad, but I only mentioned the little problems I could find. Everything else was good. Which means overall the game was good too - but (I might be nitpicking) it could have been a lot better.

[Sabertooth]

Great review, Speed! I do think Legends and Origins are great games, but they lack the magic of the first three for sure. Maybe someday we'll return to that enchanting world we used to know.

[need my speed]

No no no, that's Drolpiraat's review! I accidentally stumbled upon it and agreed with it, so in lieu of writing my own review, I thought to post his.

I mean... In Rayman 1, we see yellow and red-white mushrooms jumping on top of each other. We see white-yellow flowers waving (at us, with some imagination) in the wind. We see Electoons walking up to us with hearts above their head. We hear musical notes when we collect Tings. We hear the magical 'tu-tung' (pi-ping? How does one even write this sound out? ) sound and backtrack to see what has changed. We have levels such as part of Anguish Lagoon or The Hard Rocks, where one can take wildly different paths. The Dream Forest sets the stage so perfectly. I mean, think back to every world... You enter Band Land, you make your way up into the sky, gliding and jumping and hovering while accompanied by beautiful music. You enter The Blue Mountains, you hear the awesome howling music, it is, again, beautiful. The running on pencils and bouncing on Yin Yang balls over a sea of oil, set to a beautiful background of clouds, with heart-caressing music. Then there is the music of Crystal Palace, the three unique levels of darkness, of repairing Joe's machinery, and of sailing past sharks. There's a pattern, by the way; 'real' worlds (jungle, mountain, cave) are alternated by 'fantasy' worlds (music/air, art/theatre, candy). There's so much to explore, abd going back to levels to unlock new cages is never a chore, levels are actually difficult... It's... Childish, in a very positive way - despite the difficulty. Magical. The vibrant colours, the little details, the beautiful music (seriously!)... No platformer has achieved this ever since.

Rayman 2 moves away from the 'childish' (again, positive!) magic to the magic of wonder, of journey and exploration, of making up your own story of places (this is also true for Rayman 1, mind; the transition from The Dream Forest to Band Land is something you realise yourself). Robot pirates - machines - are invading. After the Woods of Light - and this, by the way, much like Pink Plant Woods and Dream Forest, is a good name; 'light', 'pink plant', 'dream'... Good word choices to start a game with - we see The Fairy Glade being polluted, we rescue Ly from one of the machines, we fly past oily waterfalls... The Bayou, somehow, really is an excellent level, and I can't quite put my finger on why it is. The 'Meanwhile, in the Pirate Prison Ship' cutscenes (and music!) are excellent. And then... We arrive on the Lost Island (never acknowledged as such in most Rayman 2 versions), we solve an ancient riddle, and gain entrance into... Wow... The music... The environment... A black nothingness, a night sky full of stars all around us, mysterious carvings on magical blue, sliding, entering an icy pathway to... A Guardian! Polokus! Even more mystery and magic! And you could dedicate whole books to the utter glory of the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire! You dive into the bowels of the Glade (well... It isn't Earth, is it? ), you find yourself against machines of the robot pirates, lava streaming everywhere... But if you take a wholly different route than intended, you already see the mystery. You see that the pirates haven't fully explored this area. That it's still a bit of an unexplored maze, hiding something magical. And as you travel farther and farther... Mysterious carvings, a Jano-esque monster, punching your way throw ancient walls as you ride on plums, eventually ending up in an area much like the Sanctuary of Water and Ice, with a black nothingness surrounding you, tossing a gold and a blue sphere... Yeah, you've breached the Sanctuary, you've gone past the pirates and you're moving on to something far more magical. Umber. A mask (do others think that Ninjaws appearing here, on some versions of Rayman 2, is a bit... Well, you know, he shouldn't be here, the pirates don't know of this area - it's a bit of immersion breaking, if you think about it?).

I could go on and on; the story writes itself. Where Rayman 1 has difficulty, beauty, and childish magic, Rayman 2 has mystery, exploration, and a more 'wonderful' kind of magic. I could talk about the Menhir Hills, about the Precipice, about the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava...

Rayman 3 has The Land of the Livid Dead and the Summit Beyond the Clouds. Utterly beautiful. The music, the sense of wonder, the journey... Perfect. Better than Rayman 2! But the rest of Rayman 3 is worse. If only all of Rayman 3 was like this.

And none of this - literally none of this - is present in Rayman Origins or Rayman Legends. Rayman isn't about rushing through levels, Rayman isn't about collecting items before they disappear (luckily, Legends improved this over Origins, and yes, this is why I mildly dislike Rayman 3 - the combos - and why I would probably rank Rayman M / Arena above it). Rayman is about Rayman 1 and Rayman 2. And Rayman 3, to an extent.

EDIT: Well, look at that, I suppose I did write my own review in a way. Also, it's nice to see that you apparently recognise me - I was thinking about this earlier today; the community here is probably one of the friendliest and longest-lasting ever; Sabertooth, Haruka, Drolpiraat, and so many more, have been active here for ages. Befitting, of Rayman.

[Sabertooth]

Never thought I'd see the day where I'm a "long-lasting" veteran of these forums. There's something fulfilling about it.

Right, I got too enveloped in the review and forgot it was encased within a quotation. Your actual review is even more in-depth I find, and there's a genuine love for the games here. It's great to have people in a fan community who legitimately respect and care about its subject matter.

[sergiomonty]

Saying that Rayman Origins is not a good game... tssssssssssssssk >_o.....well... I guess that goes for Rayman fan standards... because from a technical standpoint it is a masterpiece and a huge example of how intuitive game design should be done. Even better than Rayman 2, which by the way didn't age properly.

Oh well... everything about gaming seems to be just storytelling now.

But as I usually say:

[need my speed]

Never thought I'd see the day where I'm a "long-lasting" veteran of these forums. There's something fulfilling about it.

Right, I got too enveloped in the review and forgot it was encased within a quotation. Your actual review is even more in-depth I find, and there's a genuine love for the games here. It's great to have people in a fan community who legitimately respect and care about its subject matter.

Well, you joined a few months before I joined this forum - but I have gaps of years inbetween my few visits and fewer posts. And, really, seven years is a long time, certainly when it comes to continuous activity on a forum.

But yes... Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends aren't bad games - I did play Origins twice after all, once with my sister and once on my own - but they're different, they're bad >Rayman< games. Or perhaps not even 'bad' but 'disappointing' - but I suppose that is semantics. So, yes, sergiomonty is right, although I'd question why Rayman 2 didn't age properly? I had great fun playing Rayman Revolution a few years ago, and I do intend to play at least Rayman 1 and Rayman 2 in the near-ish-ish future with a certain someone.

And yes, that is certainly a good point; I've always been a massive fan of storytelling, worldbuilding, lore, dialogue, things like that. That's why Fallout New Vegas is far better than Fallout 3, and an equal to Fallout 4 (because I like the looting and crafting and gunplay as well). It's why the Deus Ex series is excellent, and so on. Although I do believe I'd dislike those games that are more like movies, without any gameplay - I've never played them though, so who knows.

Everyone knows I write naught but fact. Luckily, then, that these words are typed, not written.

[Dart]

Personally, I find Origins fits in perfectly with the previous games and surpasses Rayman 2 in everything but narrative. Legends however could be considered a turning point in the franchise, since Ubisoft can't seem to let it's devs just make a freaking game anymore without some kind of problem ensuing.

[sergiomonty]

After playing Rayman 2 for the first time in 2 years.... guys, let's be honest and take the nostalgia glasses off. The game has aged horribly. The story is cute and goofy, but not as deep as you all remember. I actually couldn't take the game seriously when it tried to be dark and serious. It just doesn't work for me... it's freaking Rayman, no arms, no legs, a huge nose, vibrant colors. Reminds me of Sonic's Adventures era, except that, you know, it doesn't suck as much.

And the gameplay is just... a chore. It's like a linear Super Mario 64 where you shoot bullets that you don't even get to aim, they go straight to the objective automatically, yeah, a third person shooter where every bullet is a homing attack, talk about generic button mashers... The other half of the game you're just dragging barrels, jewels and plums with reeeeeeally slow controls. Rayman 3 was better, to be honest.


... But hey, that's the funny thing about opinions. This is mine

[SpyroGuy]

I actually couldn't take the game seriously when it tried to be dark and serious. It just doesn't work for me... it's freaking Rayman, no arms, no legs, a huge nose, vibrant colors. Reminds me of Sonic's Adventures era, except that, you know, it doesn't suck as much.

I never had a problem with taking characters such as Sonic or Rayman seriously. With that mindset we could destroy the suspension of disbelief altogether and eliminate a big chunk of fantasy stories as well. Thankfully this is just an opinion form, not a general creative mindset.

After all, Darth Vader is just a lame paralysed angry guy who can't even breath on his own. GLaDOS is a talking vending machine, Superman is an alien in pyjamas, Batman is a hyperactive emo millionaire cosplayer, Garfield is a depressed anti-social cat mutant thing and Samurai Jack is yet another lame loser in pyjamas, but he has a shiny pointy stick that which he uses to cut stuff and it also makes funny whoosh sounds.

Yeah, no.

[sergiomonty]

I actually couldn't take the game seriously when it tried to be dark and serious. It just doesn't work for me... it's freaking Rayman, no arms, no legs, a huge nose, vibrant colors. Reminds me of Sonic's Adventures era, except that, you know, it doesn't suck as much.

The problem I have with Sonic games is that it's set in a world that wants to be taken way too seriously, like, involving the goverment, cops, the death of a child named Maria, guns.

Isn't that the franchise about a blue cartoon hedgehog that looks like Felix the Cat and figths, like, robot ladybugs with goggly eyes?



The problem's made even worse with the indie game inspired by Sonic, Freedom Planet. You see, it's the same concept, cute monsters with goggly eyes fighting some sort of cartoon dragon girls. Oh, and there's decapitation, and death, and skinning people alive.




It's that sort of contrast what makes all of these games bad for me

[Bradandez]

I would respect nfs' opinion, but they just typed a little intro and just quoted Droolie's post (which I disagree with a lot). And yeah, I agree with Sergio. R2 has aged really not so well. Yeesh, it's a fun game, but my god, it feels like I have to force myself to finish it sometimes.

[need my speed]

I typed more in my next post.

Why has Rayman 2 not aged well? And, you know that it's perfectly fine that it feels like a chore to you, not? I mean, that's your personal experience, nothing wrong with that - but how do you go from 'mhm, I don't like playing this' to 'mhm, this game hasn't aged well'? Because the combat aspect, the challenge, that Rayman 3 has, isn't really present in Rayman 2 (I saw a post about simply strafing and spamming fist-bullets in Rayman 2 - that is true, yes)?

[SpyroGuy]

The problem I have with Sonic games is that it's set in a world that wants to be taken way too seriously, like, involving the goverment, cops, the death of a child named Maria, guns.
Isn't that the franchise about a blue cartoon hedgehog that looks like Felix the Cat and figths, like, robot ladybugs with goggly eyes?

It's that sort of contrast what makes all of these games bad for me

And yet Freedom Planet is regarded as the best Sonic game in years mostly because it HAS all this stuff which are called proper universe building, storytelling and emotional investment.
Not to mention that an upcoming sequel is well underway thanks to the massive success of the first one. Just because it's about a cartoon character (or more) it doesn't mean that it HAS to be Teletubbies all the way through.

My best example of this is a tv series called Xiaolin Showdown. It found the perfect balance between cartoony goofyness and hilariousness while it was also dead serious and epic when it had to be. Problem is that Sega can't seem to function in balanced measures, only in extremes hence the existence of ShadowTH and Sonic Lost World.

[sergiomonty]

I typed more in my next post.

Why has Rayman 2 not aged well? And, you know that it's perfectly fine that it feels like a chore to you, not? I mean, that's your personal experience, nothing wrong with that - but how do you go from 'mhm, I don't like playing this' to 'mhm, this game hasn't aged well'? Because the combat aspect, the challenge, that Rayman 3 has, isn't really present in Rayman 2 (I saw a post about simply strafing and spamming fist-bullets in Rayman 2 - that is true, yes)?

Ok, let's be frank here. It's a 3d platformer from a fairly experimental era. Of course it hasn't aged well. Even Super Mario 64, which people call a masterpiece, hasn't aged well. Even Banjo-Kazooie, one of my favorite games of all time, has some elements that aged horribly.

Let's talk about R2.
The camera sometimes get into weird angles, the pace sometimes gets incredibly slow and clunky. Those areas where you have to grab to a wall? totally tedious, slow, and if you make a little mistake, prepare to do it all over again. Carrying barrels is boring. And by far the worst design choice: No matter how much momentum you get by running, it is all entirely killed once you turn on the helicopter. Yeah, no matter how much you run, if you jump and turn on the helicopter, you immediately sink slowly. It's completely insane that in this area...



...It's easier to jump directly into the nenuphars rather than carefully use the helicopter to land safely. Seriously, if you use the helicopter, your jumps won't matter, you'll sink into the water. This is a think that I'm glad they fixed in Rayman 3, and yes, even Rayman Origins has way better momentum.

But hey...


that's just a theory...

a



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