Rayman 2

[dr_st]

Even with all that though, I just prefer the Dreamcast version personally. I like how it stays more true to the original like Hunch says and I personally prefer the linear design instead of all that running around to find the next level etc.

It took me some time and several playthroughs of each version to realize that I feel the same.

Sure, Revolution wins in the content department, because it just has more, but the entire gameplay experience is less fun (you captured it well - "running around to find the next level"), and what really tips the scales against it in my view is the save screen before every single freaking segment, which simply murders the flow.

[Steo]

what really tips the scales against it in my view is the save screen before every single freaking segment

Yeah that too, I actually forgot all about that and it's really annoying. I've managed to accidentally enter levels and then when I try to exit back to the hub, I'd still be prompted to save the game. It should just save automatically like the Dreamcast version does each time it returns to the Isle Of Doors.

The Dreamcast still has Globox Village exclusive to it and the mini games, but I admit that Revolution does have more. I feel like I just prefer the linear design on Dreamcast where you finish a level, it autosaves and then you just immediately start the next level.

[dr_st]

Revolution has many little extras here and there, but I think the only major one (that I would have liked to experience in the original version) is the fight against Grolem 13 for the 4th mask.

[Hunchman801]

Retrospectively, Grolem 13 is a pretty disappointing guardian. You can tell that they haven't put much work into the gameplay of the fight, and the boss itself is just a half-assed, barely modified version of Axel.

[PluMGMK]

Yeah, there's no reason to make the guardian like Axel and Foutch, considering how different Umber is. Well, at least they acknowledged the cop-out somewhat, by putting "Recyclus" in the creature's polynomial name!

[Hunchman801]

I kinda get the impression that they meant for him to be a pirate creation, but the game doesn't elaborate much.

[Steo]

The game doesn't elaborate much on a lot of things now that you mention it, which is part of the problem aside from the framerate and all of the glitches present.

[Hunchman801]

Not that the original Rayman 2 has a particularly rich backstory, but that Grolem thing feels a bit out of the blue.

[Steo]

I find Rayman 2 really interesting though in terms of the story vs the other games. I just feel like it was ahead of its time, if it makes sense to say that. I could play it over and over, while never finding it any less fun.

Revolution though, I might revisit the game again some day, but I just don't feel the same way about it. I had to reset my PS2 at least 20-30 times during the playthrough due to glitches or the game locking up completely. The majority of the bosses are extremely different in general and I just feel like they changed too much.

[PluMGMK]

I kinda get the impression that they meant for him to be a pirate creation, but the game doesn't elaborate much.

Well that would indicate that they had very little understanding of the game's universe overall. I guess it's possible if they were negligent enough to move a "Beneath" to a level that's clearly not beneath anything.

[Hunchman801]

I guess it's not very surprising if there was no communication between the original team and the one in charge of the port. It happens a lot, especially with localisation.

[Steo]

The team did so bad, that I thought my PS2 was broken.

I love the Dreamcast version seriously and I personally struggled through Revolution with all sorts of glitches and problems. I even had the PS2 freeze up completely on The Sanctuary Of Stone And Fire twice and I thought the PS2 was broken when in fact it wasn't (and isn't). I had another glitch on the same level where Rayman ran into the wall constantly (also on The Sanctuary Of Stone And Fire) at the cutscene on part 1 where he was supposed to walk to the next level which caused me to reset the PS2 and start the whole level again.

I'm sorry people, but I don't know how they got away with releasing Revolution in that state and that's my honest opinion.

[Hunchman801]

That's yet another issue, this time just poor development. I don't remember any glitches myself but it's not like I've played it that much.

[Fifo]

I even had the PS2 freeze up completely on The Sanctuary Of Stone And Fire twice

it’s a bug in the game simply resetting the PS2 fixes it

[Steo]

That's yet another issue, this time just poor development. I don't remember any glitches myself but it's not like I've played it that much.

I wouldn't blame you.

I guess it's not all about the glitches, though they really do hinder the performance significantly. I prefer any other version of Rayman 2 over Revolution, well actually, maybe not Rayman DS.

I'm not even saying it's a bad game, but the devs really should have ironed out all of these bugs, and I have no idea what they were smoking when they came up with some of these ideas which are present in the game.

[StelzenBomber]

How do i TAS rayman 2 on N64? i need to test something

[Steo]

OK so I've played through The Fairy Glade on PC and if memory serves, I can tell you that there's at least 3 less Robo-pirates in the level VS the Dreamcast version, along with one less laserbeam as you exit part 3.

Looks like there's going to be a lot more differences than I expected.

Edit: I never had a problem getting through The Marshes Of Awakening, but I never even knew there was actually a button to make Ssssam go faster, despite playing and completing the Dreamcast version more than once, along with other platforms too.

Edit 2: Another difference is the way Rayman walks down slopes. On the Dreamcast, he moves his feet really fast just like someone would in real life. On the PC, he just moves his feet at the same pace as normal.

Another difference on PC vs Dreamcast, is that The Cave Of Bad Dreams doesn't have rotating platforms on the Jano fight and after you get the Elixer Of Life, the level doesn't just automatically end.

[PluMGMK]

Yeah, the Dreamcast version has more enemies strewn about the place. Not sure how I feel about that. Didn't know about the rotating platforms though. Come to think of it I didn't know about the extra enemies until last year. I guess I never bothered to look into the differences between DC and PC because everyone always said they were pretty much the same.

Also I guess it's always the Sega versions that handle the slope visuals better!

[Steo]

Sega love added realism to their slopes.

I don't mind the extra enemies because I'm used to it that way, but I did find it odd to not see a couple of those rotating platforms at Jano, just like the ones where you get the sphere. The fact that the PC version didn't automatically exit the level also had me thinking "well that's different".

I guess that's just me though since most people would be the other way around, wondering why Dreamcast has so many differences. Another one is the render distance for Lums, I can see them from a much further distance on Dreamcast.

The one thing I would like about PC is to get the widescreen to work perfectly with no cutting on the sides. I can't help but wonder if it's possible or not due to the games nature, but then I did only try for a couple of days before giving up. I could get Rayman 3 to work on Xbox so surely there's a way to make Rayman 2 on PC work like that.

[PluMGMK]

The fact that the PC version didn't automatically exit the level also had me thinking "well that's different".

You mean exiting the Marshes of Awakening after finishing the Cave? I always liked having to exit it manually, since it adds to the impression of "waking up" back where you were before, as if nothing has happened. I really felt, "was it all a dream?" – and that's what the names of the levels suggest we should be feeling!

Another one is the render distance for Lums, I can see them from a much further distance on Dreamcast.

Sounds good. The short render distance on PC is a bit jarring.

The one thing I would like about PC is to get the widescreen to work perfectly with no cutting on the sides. I can't help but wonder if it's possible or not due to the games nature, but then I did only try for a couple of days before giving up. I could get Rayman 3 to work on Xbox so surely there's a way to make Rayman 2 on PC work like that.

Yeah, there must be a way to do it. People have already looked at the EXE with disassemblers though, and I'm not sure whether or not that turned up anything promising…