Rayman Legends

[Bradandez]

I'm still kinda mad they changed the teensies' voices.

[Bionichute]

Apparently in the beta version of Rabbids, one of the trials would have had Rayman dropped onto a desert island with nothing but a fig leaf on.

Is that where they got the idea for Rayomz?

[OCG]

Apparently in the beta version of Rabbids, one of the trials would have had Rayman dropped onto a desert island with nothing but a fig leaf on.

Is that where they got the idea for Rayomz?

Any concept art of that?

[Bionichute]

Any concept art of that?

No, but it was mentioned in the 2006 Nintendo Power Rabbids article. Even if it is a coincidence, it's a pretty strange one.

[Disionity]

I just completed Rayman Legends a few minutes ago, I still have three costumes to unlock, but I have cleared the entirety of the main campaign and the Back To Origins Paintings. I might as well review the title.

Rayman Legends Review:
(Played on Nintendo Wii U Version)

My emotions during the wait for Rayman Legends drastically shifted since its original announcement from up to its release, from excitement to now utter disappointment. primarily due to my change in tastes and becoming a member of this forum. Many members like Shrooblord, Adsolution, and Drolpiratts' opinions have influenced me and made myself fully grasp what the Rayman Universe truly is.
...
First off, there is the game content itself, which is everything short of compelling, with only around a little over 40 stages that consist of the main campaign, 28 Invasion Levels, which are nothing more than a combination of various assets that are formed into short speed-running romps that must be completed within less than 60 seconds, and the pointless addition of 40 levels from Rayman Origins with simplified designs, with revised assets and music to be reminiscent of the Rayman Legends style. As well as Daily and Weekly Online Challenges with leaderboards that get quite repetitive overtime. There is enough to keep you entertained for at least 15 to 20 hours, not counting the tedious grinding you must do to obtain 100% completion.
...
Next is the always crucial aspect of atmosphere and immersion, which Rayman Legends has very little of. The environments in RL leave much to be desired, as while gorgeous, they are too organic and not as surreal and other-worldly as in previous titles. The main protagonists are only a mere fragment or if even recognizable to their original counterparts, while the original interpretations of these characters were never deep, they all had a likeable sincere quality to them that is completely defied by now running giddily through stages anticipating the next obstacle or foe to destroy. While their personalities have mellowed since RO, these zany qualities are still prevalent. The only character that saw any improvement is Polokus/Bubble Dreamer, who I believe to have the best characterization to date. As for the soundtrack, I really liked only a handful of compositions namely being "Toad Story", "Lost In The Clouds" and "Tower Of Babel". While the soundtrack is fair, on numerous occasions the track that is playing in-game doesn't not correspond well to the area or event that is transpiring at the time, thus killing any atmosphere to be found. RL seems quite barren in these areas.
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Unfortunately, Rayman Legends does not contain a logical narrative of any sort other than what is stated in the opening cinematic to add to the list of other faults, not only that, but there is also no clear villain as well or any reason to participate in any of the boss battles, or really even rescue the Teensies, thus your only real objective is to complete the stages with no driving force as to why you should other than a quickly inserted premise.
...
And of course, the gameplay, the game is quite similar to that of Rayman Origins with the exception of a few modifications to controls and touch-gameplay elements with Murfy, with work fairly well in cooperative play, but are a nightmare in the single-player experience, due to poorly implemented Artificial Intelligence of the CPU controlled character. But that is not the only issue, Murfy's mechanics weren't implemented that well in the first place, because every Murfy-required stage usually has one lone set of actions that he must carry out that are never seen again thereafter, whereas the mechanics should have been combined and evolved throughout the stages. To add, levels that make extensive use of Murfy and levels that do not are rather unbalanced thus making use of the character incredibly dull in the latter.

Overall, Rayman Legends is an enjoyable experience, but it is undeniable that the original trilogy executed many things far better.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

[Master]

Hm, an interesting set of points there, seeing as I'm off in a bit, I'll try to add or discuss 'em when I return.

[Bionichute]

So people were complaining that Origin's didn't have the organic levels of Rayman 2 and 3, but now you're complaining that the levels are TOO organic?

I do agree with you on the Murfy bits though.

[Disionity]

While the environments in Rayman 2 & 3 had organic touches here and there, they were mostly intertwined or consisted of the surrealist structures. The environments of RO were too organic for my tastes, the same as Rayman Legends. I'm not quite sure who holds the opinion about RO environments not being as organic as the previous titles.

[Bionichute]

Because a world made entirely out of cake is totally organic, am i rite?

[Disionity]

Because a world made entirely out of cake is totally organic, am i rite?

Unlike RO, Rayman Legends seems to go to extremes with its environments and tends to be either too organic or just these indescribable, semi-surrealist environments that just seem so bloody bland and lack the Fairy-Tale, fantasy appeal The Glade of Dreams is supposed to have.

[sonicbrawler182]

environments that just seem so bloody bland and lack the Fairy-Tale, fantasy appeal The Glade of Dreams is supposed to have.

Toad Story is LITERALLY based on fairy-tales, and people are complaining that the worlds in this game lack a fairy-tale quality? M'kay.

And Teensies in Trouble is basically the environments from Rayman 2, portrayed in a much better level of detail. Teensies in Trouble is filled to the brim with Celtic inspiration, you know, JUST LIKE Rayman 2.

I'm going to be the devil's advocate and say that not all of Rayman 2's art assets are amazing. A lot of levels felt too similar. At least Rayman Legends makes it easy to distinguish levels, even ones within the same world.

Also, it's quite obnoxious to say "Rayman's world is supposed to be such-and-such a way". You are not Michel Ancel.

[Keane]

However Rayman 2 is atmospherically so superior to Legends that comparing the two is barely possible. Toad Story is like the game is taunting you by showing how many great opportunities they didn't take.

[SilentSanctuary]

I agree. The atmosphere in Origins/Legends is too much like... just a video game, sort of; Rayman 2, and Rayman 3, have actual storylines and are based more on the story-telling and setting than just gameplay.

[OCG]

Thats why I like Rayman 2 more than RO/RL

[Keane]

I agree. The atmosphere in Origins/Legends is too much like... just a video game, sort of; Rayman 2, and Rayman 3, have actual storylines and are based more on the story-telling and setting than just gameplay.

Well aside from the fact that the new games lack story, it's also that they don't allow the player to really, I guess, feel anything for the world that it has created. Rayman 2 especially does a great job of balancing seriousness with magic. With that game, I know I'm on a journey and there is a well developed place with living beings in it that I care for. In levels like The Sanctuary of Stone and Fire the world really allows itself to become part of the game. The music can be calming, upbeat, magical, dark. At the end of Rayman 2 you really know the world. How it looks, how it acts. With the new games it's like New Super Mario Bros: Just different places to create variety. While Legends does have some interesting ideas these places don't have anything to them that make them more then levels. Not one location in Origins or Legends really adds on to the Glade. Sure, some of Rayman 2's area's may not be as original as others, but they help out greatly in setting the mood. The pirate takeover is clearly shown (Even more in Revolution where you can go into their mines and factory) whereas in Origins you actually need to get to the final boss to find out why anyone is even against you.

As much as I like RO/RL in terms of gameplay, it really isn't a whole lot more then just an extremely good Super Mario Bros. Try putting New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy next to each other and say how Wii is the better one in expressing emotion or atmosphere.

[Disionity]

However Rayman 2 is atmospherically so superior to Legends that comparing the two is barely possible. Toad Story is like the game is taunting you by showing how many great opportunities they didn't take.

Exactly, I wanted to bring this up in my review but did not have the sufficient time to do so.

environments that just seem so bloody bland and lack the Fairy-Tale, fantasy appeal The Glade of Dreams is supposed to have.

A lot of levels felt too similar. At least Rayman Legends makes it easy to distinguish levels, even ones within the same world.

Also, it's quite obnoxious to say "Rayman's world is supposed to be such-and-such a way". You are not Michel Ancel.

And while yes, Rayman 2 seemed to overuse the "grassy" environments a little too heavily, but even those had more atmosphere than most levels in Rayman Legends combined. And yes, when stating what Rayman's Universe is supposed to be so firmly perhaps isn't the best way to state the clearly RL's environments are inferior in atmosphere, and somewhere Michel Ancel and/or his development team have lost sight of what Rayman's Universe appeared to be in previous titles. You may label me as nostalgic, but frankly, I did not grow-up on the franchise and only became a fan in the past three years, so, the original trilogy holds no nostalgic value for me.

[Keane]

I don't believe Ancel nor his team is in any way dedicated to continuing or expanding anything from the glade. It's just Rayman's mushroom kingdom.

[Henchman1028]

Rayman Origins and Legends are a bit too wacky. Rayman 3 was wacky, but still kept a somewhat serious atmosphere and a proper story.

[Keane]

Rayman Origins and Legends are a bit too wacky. Rayman 3 was wacky, but still kept a somewhat serious atmosphere and a proper story.

Is this a quote from me?

[OCG]

I don't believe Ancel nor his team is in any way dedicated to continuing or expanding anything from the glade. It's just Rayman's mushroom kingdom.

And Ales is Rayman's Bowser