Rabbids GBA = the original Rayman 4?

[dingodile555]

This just occurred to me today. I was reading about the original "Rayman 4" and suddenly it hit me. I really do think the GBA version of Rayman Raving Rabbids was made before the original idea was scrapped turned into a party game and that is why it has so many elements the original R4 would have had.

Lums are back.
Ly, Murfy, Globox and the Teensies are in it. Ly doesn't appear to be Rayman's girlfriend but I don't know how they would have established that in the GBA game, and even if they had put it in they probably removed it from the script because it was too important to only be in a GBA version of the game.
The costumes that would give him special powers to do certain tasks like the cans in Rayman 3 are there too. The punk, granny, disco (and perhaps others I forgot) suits that were in the trailer are in the game. I know some are in the main version of RRR but they are only worn in some minigames for comedy effect I think.
It is said that the Rabbids had been planning the invasion for a long time in secrecy like the story of the original Rayman 4.
In the intro there is a still image showing that invasion/battlefield scene from the Rayman 4 trailer, and that big Rabbid robot is the final boss of the game even though I don't think it was in any other version.
In some levels Rayman rides the Rabbids' flying machine that was in an original Rayman 4 screenshot.

Perhaps Andre was in the game before but they removed him and his parts, and that's why the game seems to short and empty. There's a random stone arch with rabbit ears in the level select area between the Sweet and Dark worlds (how unimaginative, but that's their names in the manual) that was probably a removed world. Heck, there's even space for a vortex in the middle. I was pissed off when I beat the game 100% and got nothing, I was expecting it to open up.

So yeah, that's what I think. Obviously it would have been modified quite a bit to fit with the other versions but there are too many similarities with this GBA version and the original Rayman 4 concept. So I'm glad that we have Rayman 4 in some form.

I need to take a break, phew. Seriously.

[Droolie]

You're right, but it isn't the original Rayman 4. Instead, it is a GBA game SIMILAR to the original Rayman 4, just like Rayman 3 on GBA is a GBA game similar to the original Rayman 2 and Rayman 3.

[Joshua822]

Well, i never looked at it that way, but you're right ! It is indeed based on the concept of crazy rabbids taking over Rayman's world.

[dingodile555]

You're right, but it isn't the original Rayman 4. Instead, it is a GBA game SIMILAR to the original Rayman 4, just like Rayman 3 on GBA is a GBA game similar to the original Rayman 2 and Rayman 3.

I think the deal with Rayman 3 on GBA is that it was originally made to be a GBA version of Rayman 2, but they held it back to release it alongside the upcoming Rayman 3. So that would explain why the only Rayman 3 elements in the actual game are the Hoodlums in some levels and Andre being shoved into the story (without a name, just a dark lum).

[spiraldoor]

Yeah, the black lums you meet in the game seem a little out of place.
And I think that Rocky was probably Foutch at one stage.
And there's the countless similarities that I will not go into (backgrounds, tiles, music)
And Jano.
And riding Ssssam.

Pity they didn't release any of the 3D versions of RRR1 a few months earlier.

[Lijik]

I think elements are like Rayman 4, but the game itself to me seems like it takes many cues from Rayman 1. Theres an interview somewhere where Ancel says Rayman 4 (back when it was a platformer) was going to have realistic environments that would occasionally take fantastical cues (like the forest from early screenshots). The enviroments in RRRGBA are clearly anything but realistic. Ancel also talked about gameplay aspects like taking control of a rabbid's mind and using him to explore rabbid burrows that aren't anywhere in the GBA version at all (as opposed to R3 GBA that put in many of the different aspects from R2). You also don't ride any animals in the GBA version, and the little pigs are MIA.

I think it is the closest we'll get to the original Rayman 4, but its far from what the console versions were going to be like.

[Hunchman801]

I think it is the closest we'll get to the original Rayman 4, but its far from what the console versions were going to be like.

My point exactly. I haven't played the whole game (just a few parts to get screenshots for RayWiki), but I remember noticing a lot of similarities with Rayman 1, such as piranhas (that's even the same animation), livingstones, Picture City, etc. Of course, the game contains early development elements from the original Rayman 4, but it's actually closer to Rayman 1.

[dingodile555]

Yep, there's a level called Dream Forest in that area. There are hunters there that are different creatures but they shoot those same hammer bullets.

Also there are the Rayman trophies and another two of the areas are like Picture City and Candy Chateau. The candy area even has clown enemies, so it can't be a coincidence.

[spiraldoor]

I like the way they gave cameos to R2 characters near the beginning of the game.

I actually wish the main games would do that more often.

[dingodile555]

I wonder why they revisited Dream Forest, Candy Chateau and what seems to be Picture City. Was Mr Dark going to return or was it just a homage to Rayman 1?
I'm guessing either the original boss characters were replaced, because fighting the same identical bunnies in every land (except the giant Anti-Toon at the start and the Rabbid tank from the R4 trailer at the end) isn't very interesting.

[syntheticgerbil]

This is actually a really cool thread, and I think the original poster is on to something. It seems like handheld work was started early for Raving Rabbids and the game wasn't completely scrapped to become a party game. It's like they had made some levels and mechanics following along with the original Ancel concept and later found out that maybe their funding or direction was cut short as the game changed.

It was certainly way too short. And it seems like the game had way more budget and characters in the beginning of the game than the end, especially the last boss was pretty half assed.

I get the feeling Ubisoft corporate told the handheld division to just wrap this game up so they can ship it out and someone will buy it, so as not to lose money on working on another elaborate handheld like Rayman 3 GBA. It's too bad though, I still like RRR GBA despite its shortcomings.

Now what about the DS version of RRR, why was that a completely different game (besides different studios)?

[Joshua822]

Or they kept the original handheld version because the party version wasn't any good in gameplay on the GBA.

[Zay-el]

The Rabbids GBA wasn't too bad of a game, and though it might have similarities to the original-in-thought, I doubt it's really meant to follow it. I admit, one of my greatest 'grrr' moment was probably when I caught sight of how Ly is depicted in this game. I think they rather just threw her in it without care, to perhaps further appeal to those who played R3 GBA. Seriously, I hate this version of her....though still better than what was planned for R3...that still gives me nightmares. XD

The amount of Lums was promptly stupid I think, since they were just needlessly packed together, even where there's no direct need for it. Counting how short it is, they could have easily gone with half as much. The worlds are good, especially the Candy world appealed to me by giving a glimpse that this region might still exist, though overall, I'd say it's a so-so game. It shouldn't be taken TOO seriously, and I don't think it's trying to be, either.

[Cairnie]

I can remember the game deleting my save file for no reason when I got to the third world. Whether that was because I turned the game off too quickly while saving or not I dunno, but I caught up quite quickly since it's hell easy. It had potential, but I thought it wasn't much more than just another GBA filler game with collision issues. Not to mention, that any lives you get don't save when you exit a game file. Seems that a number of games on all consoles do this.

I didn't mind Ly's "new look" so much, I was just happy to see her. Why they just suddenly swap the tail for a huge ponytail though I don't know, they did this since Rayman 3.

[stan423321]

Theory seems to make sense. Who knows, maybe or. R4 was going to have elements from previous games? (Lums and Ly - from R2; suits - rearranged cans from R3; some worlds - from R1... Imagine dark Rayman in 3D.)

[spiraldoor]

... Imagine dark Rayman in 3D.

Rayman Arena for the Xbox has Dark Rayman in 3D.

[stan423321]

But it wasn't Jonesing you, was him?

[spiraldoor]

But it wasn't Jonesing you, was him?

*edges slowly towards the door*

[stan423321]

I mean, he wasn't repeating your moves.

[spiraldoor]

Indeed, he wasn't.