Lore thread

[Jewish Candy]

Another thing: what the hell is the ‘second summer solstice’?! I think it must have something to do with the two suns. Since Rayman’s planet is orbiting a binary star-system, then I suppose it must experience two simultaneous ‘years’. The day during which the large sun is visible for the longest period of time is the ‘first summer solstice’, and the day during which the second sun is visible for the longest period of time is the ‘second summer solstice’, Rayman’s birthday.

The binary system idea was a HUGE mistake on Ubi's part. No planet could have lucious flora and fauna in such a star system, it just isn't scientifically possible Tatooine is a more accurate picture of what Rayman's world would look like. Perhaps there's some kind of mystical shield... which ISN'T present in those lands where the Leptys has influence... hmmm.
I wouldn't have guessed that the 'second summer solstice' had anything to do with the actual suns; I thought it was the developers poking fun at the whole 'mystic-schmistic' side of Rayman's world. Spiral's probably right, though...

EDIT: Regarding Rayman being a creation of the Leptys... that's plausible, but due to the fact that he's supposedly been chosen by 'all the gods of all the worlds' - implying that they either ALL had a hand in his creation or no influence at all, and since Polukus had no say in Rayman's existence I'm guessing it's the latter - I think he may come from something beyond the deities' influence. Notice how Polukus is the 'Spirit of the World', not of anything bigger than that; if Rayman was formed from moonbeams, maybe that suggests his nature is celestial rather than terrestrial.

[Spanex]

Ha, celestial arms and legs...No wonder!

[PluMGMK]

Or maybe they mean the second summer solstice ever, ie. year number 2 after the world was formed.

Spiral's theory is better though.

[spiraldoor]

The binary system idea was a HUGE mistake on Ubi's part. No planet could have lucious flora and fauna in such a star system, it just isn't scientifically possible Tatooine is a more accurate picture of what Rayman's world would look like. Perhaps there's some kind of mystical shield... which ISN'T present in those lands where the Leptys has influence... hmmm.

I guess the Heart of the World may protect the planet from sun-related dangers. It provides energy, harmony, balance, things like that. Should get the job done.

Here's another lore-related nugget from the official Rayman 3 website that some of you might not be aware of:

Only descendant of the Shoedsackovskaïa family, Count Razoff settled a long time ago in the swamps in order to perpetuate the familial tradition. In fact, each member must come back once adult with an extraordinary prey. Unfortunately, Razoff has never found a prey matching up to those of his ancestors: the legendary Abominable Geranium of the Seas of Cockatoo or the Space Mama of Picture City.

Unlike the 'Polokus is the father of the Teensies' thing, this has actually been proven as being official, and is a welcome link between Rayman 1 and Rayman 3.

[Jewish Candy]

Here's another lore-related nugget from the official Rayman 3 website that some of you might not be aware of:

Only descendant of the Shoedsackovskaïa family, Count Razoff settled a long time ago in the swamps in order to perpetuate the familial tradition. In fact, each member must come back once adult with an extraordinary prey. Unfortunately, Razoff has never found a prey matching up to those of his ancestors: the legendary Abominable Geranium of the Seas of Cockatoo or the Space Mama of Picture City.

Unlike the 'Polokus is the father of the Teensies' thing, this has actually been proven as being official, and is a welcome link between Rayman 1 and Rayman 3.

Ah, interesting. It annoys me how much Ubi use the letter ï: Polopoloï, Shoedsackovskaïa... but I digress. Razoff has always annoyed me. If he's the only descendant, who is he trying to prove himself to? What is he anyway? I figured he was one of Grub's lot, but they have different anatomy (albeit only slightly)... Maybe he's a yellow Ssssssssam who grew legs. Ugh. I hate this guy, I HATE him I HATE him I HATE him...

Meh, it's a good link though. Also implies that any potential 'limbless' species is, indeed, viewed as monstrous by some parts of the world.

[Spanex]

I only see Razzof as a tall grub. >_>

[ParadoxJuice]

Might I take a moment to go off the current topic?

Jano and Polokus seem really similar to me.



They're both Kirby-shaped (kirbyoid? kirboid?) with long, bony arms. And they have the same hat. They also both have GIGANTIC mouths, but Polokus seems to keep his closed while Jano keeps it open to reveal his pointy teeth.

Differences include Jano being a cyclops, Jano having green skin, and Jano lacking feet.

Are there any relations between these two? Is Jano a god? That would make three known gods.

[Henchman1028]

Can you please get his scary mug off the topic?

[Holy Crap]

Jano doesn't look so much like Polokus as he does the creatures in the Cave of Bad Dreams. That is to say he is identical to them, except larger and with a Polkus hat.
One of my theories on the matter is that after Polokus created the Cave of Bad Dreams to contain his nightmare-spawned creations, he found that some of them were finding ways to escape and had to keep sending them back. So, he cut a deal with one of the more intelligent and/or powerful nightmare creatures ie Jano; he would be allowed to dwell outside the Cave on the condition that he would prevent the others from doing so. The hat he wears signifies his rank and his link to Polokus.

[Spanex]

I'm 100% with HC's theory.

[Jewish Candy]

I'm with Paradox. I think the hat makes all the difference, because the similarities between their bodies actually imply that Jano is a creation of Polukus. I like to think of him as some kind of fallen god of the underworld, working for Polukus to pay back his debts... All that money. And the fire-crabs he resembles are his own sentinels, if ye catch my drift.
The term 'god' is used in the sense of 'powerful spirit' in Rayman's world, methinks.



OH - in case anyone cares, Leptys definitely is a god. He is described by Toots as such; "due to the extreme sensitivity of the God..." etc.

[spiraldoor]

I believe that when Polokus has a nightmare, the nightmare-creatures it produces are born into the Glade of Dreams, just like his normal dream-creatures are, and that it's Jano's job to track down the nightmares and imprison them, perhaps reshaping them all in his own form.

Perhaps Jano uses his influence to ensure that as many nightmares as possible are killed, so that their spirits will be sent to the Cave of Bad Dreams (which is analogous to the underworld/Hell/Hades/etc). Once there, their spirits become the mini-Janos. If this is the case, then Rayman may be indirectly serving Jano by slaying nightmares (which most of his enemies must be) and sending them to the Cave.

[Jewish Candy]

I believe that when Polokus has a nightmare, the nightmare-creatures it produces are born into the Glade of Dreams, just like his normal dream-creatures are, and that it's Jano's job to track down the nightmares and imprison them, perhaps reshaping them all in his own form.

It does say that Polukus himself sealed away all his nightmares in the Cave... though everyone loves a lackey.

Perhaps Jano uses his influence to ensure that as many nightmares as possible are killed, so that their spirits will be sent to the Cave of Bad Dreams (which is analogous to the underworld/Hell/Hades/etc). Once there, their spirits become the mini-Janos. If this is the case, then Rayman may be indirectly serving Jano by slaying nightmares (which most of his enemies must be) and sending them to the Cave.

Of course. The Amazing Hypno-Stick must have its uses beyond "Ye have passed the test, lad"! But I'm dubious about an 'underworld' concept, simply because every living thing (even Rayman, I guess, judging by his death animations) is formed from protoons/lums/both, and don't those things just return to the fabric of the universe? In Roman style mythology, there are spirits which float to Hades etc., but Rayman's too new-age for that.

[ParadoxJuice]

Of course. The Amazing Hypno-Stick must have its uses beyond "Ye have passed the test, lad"! But I'm dubious about an 'underworld' concept, simply because every living thing (even Rayman, I guess, judging by his death animations) is formed from protoons/lums/both, and don't those things just return to the fabric of the universe? In Roman style mythology, there are spirits which float to Hades etc., but Rayman's too new-age for that.

I don't remember anyone saying that everyone was made of lums that return to the fabric of the universe. There are teensie spirits, so I guess that there are spirits in general, not people returning to the fabric of the universe upon death.

On the note of the Hypno-stick, it's possible Rayman never went into the Cave. Perhaps Jano just hypnotized Rayman to test his bravery and good will, and the Cave we see is just what Rayman sees?

[spiraldoor]

I wonder if the Abominable Geranium captured by Nimrod (or whoever) in the Seas of Cockatoo might have been the tentacle-flower from Moskito's Nest?



It's fairly abominable, and it's a flowery kind of thing, so that would make sense. It would also be another Rayman 1 reference in addition to Space Mama being captured by Zaroff (or whoever).

Or maybe the Abominable Geranium was the giant dead tentacle-flower Rayman finds in the PC and GBA versions:



If I am right, then the Seas of Cockatoo must be in the Dream Forest, in which case they're probably the seas visible in this background:

On the note of the Hypno-stick, it's possible Rayman never went into the Cave. Perhaps Jano just hypnotized Rayman to test his bravery and good will, and the Cave we see is just what Rayman sees?

Then where do the Yellow Lums he finds in the Cave come from? Also, in the PS1 version at least it's definitely real, because the scene where Jano hypnotises Rayman is left out, and it's pretty much treated as just another level. Though I do sort of like the idea of Polokus's nightmares existing in a nightmare world... perhaps the Cave of Bad Dreams is in another dimension, or a pocket-universe or something, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it doesn't exist.

In Roman style mythology, there are spirits which float to Hades etc., but Rayman's too new-age for that.

That reminds me: Has everyone here seen this hilarious video?

[Jewish Candy]

YES!!!!! I love that video! The creepy music is awesome!
Thing is, Rayman DOES have pagan imagery in it, that's part of the culture it's trying to put across. So I can understand why some would be worried. Still, as a Christian myself, I don't think it's anything to worry about hugely. Everyone has different beliefs, and Rayman just shows a more new-age worldview. No one has to agree with it if they don't want to...

[ParadoxJuice]

I wonder if the Abominable Geranium captured by Nimrod (or whoever) in the Seas of Cockatoo might have been the tentacle-flower from Moskito's Nest?

Does the name 'tentacle-flower' come from any official source? Because otherwise, it would be called the Abominable Geranium.

Wasn't this one of the creatures spawned when the Protoon was lost? And wouldn't they all disappear when Rayman reclaimed the Protoon?

[spiraldoor]

Does the name 'tentacle-flower' come from any official source?

Yes, it's from Rayman Designer.

Wasn't this one of the creatures spawned when the Protoon was lost? And wouldn't they all disappear when Rayman reclaimed the Protoon?

The 'freaks and hostile characters' began to appear when the Protoon was stolen, but there's no indication that they didn't exist before the theft or disappear after the recovery. Rayman Origins shows that Livingstones have been around since long before Rayman 1. The ending of Rayman Junior shows 'reformed' Antitoons and Hunters. The PS1 version of Rayman 2 includes Antitoons as enemies, and it takes place long after the events of Rayman 1.

[Spanex]

I don't remember anyone saying that everyone was made of lums that return to the fabric of the universe. There are teensie spirits, so I guess that there are spirits in general, not people returning to the fabric of the universe upon death.

It's canon that every living being holds some blue lums during their entire life, releasing them upon death. This means they hold both lums and a spirit during their lifetime.

[EvanEDavies]

Indeed, but I never understood that fact. Blue lums are released spirits and/or lifeforce (whatever)... So why does Rayman use them to breathe underwater (or some alien fluid) It all seems a little bit weird...