Rayman Origins

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

Part of me wishes RO stayed as a prequel, and another part wishes it turned out to be a better sequel, ahh, so split on my feelings.
I think RO could've done well, had it tried to present its story more clearly, and made the references to previous games more obvious and with more seriousness, I think we've all raved about how lacking the Reveal was, given what it had the potential to be.

I don't know why they changed it to a sequel, from the trailer we were given at E3 2010, it looked like it would have a great story, but when they changed it to a sequel, the potential was gone. Even then, I don't know why they removed that bit of backstory for the Magician in the final game, it just leaves a whole lot of confusion for the people who played the previous games.

[Bionichute]

It's just too bad that this mess still managed to redesign the Magician into a worthless character.

How did The Magician become a worthless character? Arguably he has the most personality and story than any other villain in the Rayman series, and I'm pretty sure his fan base doubled after origins.

He's still a better villain than Andre.

[Henchman1028]

It's just too bad that this mess still managed to redesign the Magician into a worthless character.

How did The Magician become a worthless character? Arguably he has the most personality and story than any other villain in the Rayman series, and I'm pretty sure his fan base doubled after origins.

He's still a better villain than Andre.

Andre was better, at least he talked and doesn't run away like a chicken until the very end of the game. Razorbeard was WAY better.

[sergiomonty]

Andre was better, at least he talked and doesn't run away like a chicken until the very end of the game

EEEENK. Wrong. Andre does fly away from Rayman like a little bitch until Globox swallowed him. Even when the medics managed to pull him off, he escaped again until he found Reflux to work for him. Also, I find Andre's talking like a negative. He had the most annoying dialogues in the game. The Magician, if still flawed, is by miles a better villain than André.

The Magician had big potential to become an amazing villain in Rayman Origins, and his backstory is, well, believable. Too bad he wasn't properly used in Legends and the became just the everyday villain. At the end of Legends, The Bubble Dreamer says "We won't be seeing them (The Dark Teensies) for a very long time". That could mean that Legends marks the end for the Magician's cycle.

Maybe we'll see him again, but after a long time. In my opinion that's a relief. The Magician needs a rest, because his story is way too fucked up. Rayman needs another villain, even if the franchise keeps in 2d for a little longer. A breath of fresh air would be great.

[Master]

Well, there is that one fellow, y'know, been keeping to the shadows, got a mention once or twice, but hasn't been seen for over 15 years, love to see him again.

[Henchman1028]

Andre was better, at least he talked and doesn't run away like a chicken until the very end of the game

EEEENK. Wrong. Andre does fly away from Rayman like a little bitch until Globox swallowed him. Even when the medics managed to pull him off, he escaped again until he found Reflux to work for him. Also, I find Andre's talking like a negative. He had the most annoying dialogues in the game. The Magician, if still flawed, is by miles a better villain than André.

The Magician had big potential to become an amazing villain in Rayman Origins, and his backstory is, well, believable. Too bad he wasn't properly used in Legends and the became just the everyday villain. At the end of Legends, The Bubble Dreamer says "We won't be seeing them (The Dark Teensies) for a very long time". That could mean that Legends marks the end for the Magician's cycle.

Maybe we'll see him again, but after a long time. In my opinion that's a relief. The Magician needs a rest, because his story is way too fucked up. Rayman needs another villain, even if the franchise keeps in 2d for a little longer. A breath of fresh air would be great.

Yeah, it was Reflux that did most of the work, not Andre. Still, Reflux was good. I would have preferred Jano as the villain in this game like he was originally going to be rather than the Magician, though.

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

Well, there is that one fellow, y'know, been keeping to the shadows, got a mention once or twice, but hasn't been seen for over 15 years, love to see him again.

Mr.Sax! Of course!

[Bionichute]

Andre was better, at least he talked and doesn't run away like a chicken until the very end of the game. Razorbeard was WAY better.

But The Magician DID talk, you know, whenever you hopped on his hat, he'd give a tip or a snide remark. At least The Magician tries to attack Rayman at the end, albiet with machines, what did Andre do when he and Rayman confronted? He ran away begging for his life. The Magician was clever, he tricked Rayman into fueling his master plan. I honestly think Reflux was the better villain in R3, because at least he wasn't a coward and had an awesome boss fight.

Also, you guys do realize that Razorbeard did literally nothing until the very end of R2, right? And even when he does do something, it's in a goofy, non-threatening mech that is really easy to beat. When a villain does nothing but command minions for the entire story, he should at least be a threatening villain, but Razorbeard is a short, silly looking robot who can't actually hold his own in a real fight. Well, the same can be said for Andre and The Magician, but still.

Honestly, the only really threatening villain in the Rayman series is Mr. Dark, but even he gets a bit too goofy at the end, when he transforms into those boss mashups.

What I'm saying is that, aside from Mr. Dark, the Rayman series doesn't have the greatest villains.

[Henchman1028]

Andre was better, at least he talked and doesn't run away like a chicken until the very end of the game. Razorbeard was WAY better.

But The Magician DID talk, you know, whenever you hopped on his hat, he'd give a tip or a snide remark. At least The Magician tries to attack Rayman at the end, albiet with machines, what did Andre do when he and Rayman confronted? He ran away begging for his life. The Magician was clever, he tricked Rayman into fueling his master plan. I honestly think Reflux was the better villain in R3, because at least he wasn't a coward and had an awesome boss fight.

Also, you guys do realize that Razorbeard did literally nothing until the very end of R2, right? And even when he does do something, it's in a goofy, non-threatening mech that is really easy to beat. When a villain does nothing but command minions for the entire story, he should at least be a threatening villain, but Razorbeard is a short, silly looking robot who can't actually hold his own in a real fight. Well, the same can be said for Andre and The Magician, but still.

Honestly, the only really threatening villain in the Rayman series is Mr. Dark, but even he gets a bit too goofy at the end, when he transforms into those boss mashups.

What I'm saying is that, aside from Mr. Dark, the Rayman series doesn't have the greatest villains.

The mech is harder in the PS1 version.

[Bionichute]

The mech is harder in the PS1 version.

Yeah, but it's only in that one version. And it's only a tiny bit harder.

[spiraldoor]

I would have preferred Jano as the villain in this game like he was originally going to be rather than the Magician, though.

Jano was never planned to be the villain. He was mentioned as part of Rayman's backstory on the official site and in the manual, that's all.

[sergiomonty]

Jano is not even a villain. He's.... like Satan, he's evil but somehow punishes you if you do something evil.

[Henchman1028]

Andre was better, at least he talked and doesn't run away like a chicken until the very end of the game. Razorbeard was WAY better.

But The Magician DID talk, you know, whenever you hopped on his hat, he'd give a tip or a snide remark. At least The Magician tries to attack Rayman at the end, albiet with machines, what did Andre do when he and Rayman confronted? He ran away begging for his life. The Magician was clever, he tricked Rayman into fueling his master plan. I honestly think Reflux was the better villain in R3, because at least he wasn't a coward and had an awesome boss fight.

Also, you guys do realize that Razorbeard did literally nothing until the very end of R2, right? And even when he does do something, it's in a goofy, non-threatening mech that is really easy to beat. When a villain does nothing but command minions for the entire story, he should at least be a threatening villain, but Razorbeard is a short, silly looking robot who can't actually hold his own in a real fight. Well, the same can be said for Andre and The Magician, but still.

Honestly, the only really threatening villain in the Rayman series is Mr. Dark, but even he gets a bit too goofy at the end, when he transforms into those boss mashups.

What I'm saying is that, aside from Mr. Dark, the Rayman series doesn't have the greatest villains.

Yeah. Villains have always been a downside of the Rayman series. At least Mr. Dark had a cool hat.

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

I would have preferred Jano as the villain in this game like he was originally going to be rather than the Magician, though.

Jano was never planned to be the villain. He was mentioned as part of Rayman's backstory on the official site and in the manual, that's all.

Are you sure? I don't think they would reference a somewhat obscure character in the series without him being in the original story.

[Master]

According to the lore, Jano was the result of the first nightmare of Polokus, to which Rayman was created to fight, ever noticed how Jano and Polokus seem to wear very similar hats?

[Henchman1028]

According to the lore, Jano was the result of the first nightmare of Polokus, to which Rayman was created to fight, ever noticed how Jano and Polokus seem to wear very similar hats?

So Jano is pretty much the original evil in series. The "Bigger Bad", if you will.

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

According to the lore, Jano was the result of the first nightmare of Polokus, to which Rayman was created to fight, ever noticed how Jano and Polokus seem to wear very similar hats?

If Origins was going to be about the first nightmare, wouldn't of Jano still of been the villain? That is if the original story was about the first nightmare.

[Master]

Not necessarily, if they had him as the villain, I'd assume he'd feature more prominently in pre-release material, for all we know, the plot point regarding Jano might not have existed back then.
However, what is true, is that Origins was going to have the origins of another villain, Mr. Dark.

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

Not necessarily, if they had him as the villain, I'd assume he'd feature more prominently in pre-release material, for all we know, the plot point regarding Jano might not have existed back then.
However, what is true, is that Origins was going to have the origins of another villain, Mr. Dark.

It just really doesn't make sense to me why they added Jano into the manual if he wasn't in the original story. It just seems like an odd thing to do, considering that he is somewhat obscure.

[Keane]

I like to think of the naming of the Land of the Livid Dead as a sort of inside joke within the franchise.

Anyone who heard the name "Land of the Livid Dead" before actually seeing it in Rayman 3 would of thought it was a hellish underworld of sorts, using simple logic and association. Globox even lampshades this. Which is why it's a funny surprise in Rayman 3 when you find it to be rather tranquil.

Rayman Origins is trying to fool players who already played through Rayman 3 by not showing them what the level looks like before it loads up (the loading screen doesn't exactly show the level's true aesthetics off too much). So before Rayman 3 players see the level as it is in Origins, they may think it's going to be peaceful like it was in Rayman 3, maybe a relaxing level as a reward for collecting the Skull Teeth. Then when the level loads up in Origins, it turns out to be what one would logically assume it to be based on it's name, but because Rayman 3 players already had their logical assumption fail them in that game, they believe the logical thing to assume now would be a throwback level to the peaceful level from Rayman 3. Causing a bit of confusion momentarily.

The joke also works for players who play Origins first, and then Rayman 3. Their logical assumption will prove correct in Origins, leading them to believe it will hold true in Rayman 3, when in fact, it doesn't.

Also, notice how both games inform you of levels existence before you see what it looks like.

If you look at it that way, the naming of the Origins level makes perfect sense. I honestly do believe it was their intention. I thought others may have realised it though.

This would have been pretty clever if they didn't spoil most of the place very early before the game was released. I knew exactly what the place would look like when I first entered it and I was avoiding spoilers. I believe The Land of the Livid Dead's name would probably lead you back to some really old discussions because they weren't trying to hide anything. And honestly I'm glad it isn't Rayman 3's world. Origins is so distant from it that the inclusion would be unfitting and probably get loaded up with the wacky nature of the game.

How did The Magician become a worthless character? Arguably he has the most personality and story than any other villain in the Rayman series, and I'm pretty sure his fan base doubled after origins.

He's still a better villain than Andre.

The new Magician has taken every part of what made him a likable character for me and replaced it with the uninteresting figure he is now. He's just a silly guy that loves Mr. Dark for some unexplained reason (I seriously don't get why. Maybe they wanted to surprise us with a plot twist seeing as nobody expected the Magician to be the villain, but when it did happen I only got confused rather then that I felt I had been fooled or anything. This could have been a great plot twist if they didn't try to make it a humorous scene.) and he does some evil stuff. Why? Why did he want to betray Rayman & Co? Because he admires Mr. Dark? WHY?! Couldn't they have given him any sort of history rather then just going "The Magician is a Teensie also he hates Rayman and will attempt to take over the Glade".

Andre, idiotic as he may be, was at least a well thought out character. He is evil because he has turned into a black lum, and now that he is evil he actually expresses real hatred against Rayman and does quite a bit to make sure he is successful. The Magician is just "Here's some evil thing to fight. Oh you failed? That sucks. Well I'm outta here!"

But The Magician DID talk, you know, whenever you hopped on his hat, he'd give a tip or a snide remark. At least The Magician tries to attack Rayman at the end, albiet with machines, what did Andre do when he and Rayman confronted? He ran away begging for his life. The Magician was clever, he tricked Rayman into fueling his master plan. I honestly think Reflux was the better villain in R3, because at least he wasn't a coward and had an awesome boss fight.

Also, you guys do realize that Razorbeard did literally nothing until the very end of R2, right? And even when he does do something, it's in a goofy, non-threatening mech that is really easy to beat. When a villain does nothing but command minions for the entire story, he should at least be a threatening villain, but Razorbeard is a short, silly looking robot who can't actually hold his own in a real fight. Well, the same can be said for Andre and The Magician, but still.

Yes, they run away, but think of what they get together to try and stop Rayman. The Magician has a bunch of bad guys. Andre is growing an army of hoodlums who build up headquarters and hideouts. While Rayman 3's tone doesn't really get it across too well, it is still about a growing force attempting to take over the Glade. The factory shows them practice their combat and they use all sorts of different weapons to fight him. The headquarters are probably the most intimidating part of the game as you get to see that a force that has only started to exist the same day has already build up a large area where their busy mass producing tools and seem to have a pretty well thought out plan. Andre has all that going on for him, and when he sees it may go different then he had hoped he uses manipulation to win Relfux over. Had Andre succeeded it would be likely the Glade is enslaved and the Knaaren serve him. The Magician however is just vague. He just wants to get rid of Rayman because he just hates him now and that makes him a bad guy. I know very little about the Magician but from what I have seen (no spoiling please) he just sends some bosses for you to fight until the ultimate showdown.

As for Razorbead, he's pretty much the perfect villain. He has similar intentions as Andre but is succeeding much more. When the game starts out we are immediately greeted by dark skies in which floats an airship, which we are then shown is full of imprisoned figures that work as slaves under his command. Despite his silly nature he's quite intimidating and what makes Rayman 2 so good is that the characters and world is being affected by his commands. The Glade is almost completely under control and near the end of the game the number of slaves has grown tons. The Magician is constantly being stopped and has to create a new plan. As much as Rayman may bother Razorbeard he does continue and almost won. When it does become too late, he is willing to find the best machine that he believes to kill Rayman with. It may have been a last stand, but he was still not afraid to face his biggest enemy himself. In Origins the magician just had a group of bad enemies and some machines. Then when Rayman reaches him he runs off. No last stand like Andre's manipulative talking to Reflux or Razorbeard's Grolgoth. I don't know what he does in the end of Legends but from what I hear he once again does not face Rayman himself.

Wall of text, we meet again. I need to stop creating you.