Picture City is on the edge of taking the cake, but I think Band Land is just a tad bit more atmospheric and magical. I feel like it really brings you into its own little world, and manages to be something different in nearly every section. I love transition from the Dream Forest into Band Land, the thunderstorm section, the sunset near the end, etc. Every level feels completely individual to me.
Rayman 2 - The Sanctuary of Stone and Fire
I think this was one of the key areas in making Rayman 2's depiction of the Glade feel a lot more defined by history, magic, that sort of thing. The other games feel more like Rayman's taking you on a tour through a trippy environment, whereas R2 felt more like a genuine adventure through a world with its own logic and nature.
Rayman 3 - The Land of The Livid Dead
In all honesty I think the Desert of The Knaaren might be better in terms of what I mostly look for, but this world has great combat, music, platforming, and I just really love the look of it. The build up to the boss in the final stretch was also a great addition.
Rayman Origins - Desert of Didgeridoos
Gourmand Land and Mystical Pique are pretty much on par with it, but I guess I'll pick this one because the platforming is really tight, and the soundtrack was really neat. I also felt like RO sometimes drags things on a little too long, but this area was perfectly long enough to where it never gets boring.
Rayman Legends - Olympus Maximus
It just looks gorgeous.
I never looked at the Dram Forest that way, but that's pretty on point. Pretty much every game since seems to have had its own take on this type of environment, even the handheld spin-offs.Rayfist wrote:Rayman 1 - Dream Forest
Such a great opening level, so magical and it's the level for me that REALLY represents the Rayman franchise as a whole, you can tell a lot of the levels from R2 and R3 took the magical Dream Forest and took some of that beauty and put applied it to few levels. Clearleaf Forest to me is kind of like that poor bootleg of the Dream Forest. While a nice level, it lacks a lot of the shining beauty the fairy council had. The music always gets me in the groove of things too.
I also think the Dream Forest is a great balance between the surrealism and natural aspects of the Glade. The visuals and sound play around a lot with being more lighthearted or mysterious.
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