For the record, here is a machine translation of the Chinese article you shared earlier:
Speaking of Rayman, surely everyone has a deep impression of him. This endlessly wonderful cartoon character, born in 1995, once stirred up a whirlwind across the world. At that time, French game developers created the prototype of Rayman on their workstations. This cute character not only caused a sensation domestically but also swept across all of Europe. As one of the few side-scrolling action-adventure games on PC, Rayman can be considered a leader in this field regarding graphics, sound effects, storytelling, and playability. In particular, this game is full of romantic humor rich in local French color!!! Rayman evoked memories of Super Mario Bros. and Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, which is why it has so many supporters. Now, after a period of silence, this little guy is returning to our midst with a brand-new look. To create a better Rayman 2, Ubisoft spent three years of diligent work. As a signature title for the French company UBISOFT, Rayman 2 not only retains all the strengths of the first generation but also makes special improvements in many aspects, hoping to stir up a whirlwind once again. So, let us take a look at exactly what kind of game Rayman 2 is!
In Rayman 1, the protagonist Rayman had to try and defeat the evil Mr. Dark. Mr. Dark stole the treasure of Betilla the Fairy, which allowed him to emit pink things throughout the game that maintained the balance of Rayman's world. Rayman ultimately succeeded in defeating Mr. Dark, and the world finally returned to its original peace and stability, with people living happy lives. However, the happy life did not last long before villains appeared again. Rayman has once again embarked on a difficult journey. (Perhaps every hero's mission is the tireless struggle against evil.)
The new adventure story begins again... A group of cruel pirates has invaded Rayman's world from outer space. Their mission is to sell the inhabitants here to an intergalactic circus to work for them. The arrival of the pirates has severely disrupted the order of life here, and even Rayman has lost his powerful energy. The hero Rayman was also imprisoned by the bandit leader: a four-foot-tall pirate who runs an intergalactic circus—Scarface. As the game progresses, Rayman begins to swiftly execute his escape plan from the pirate ship. Although Rayman successfully escapes, his friends remain prisoners. To rescue his companions, Rayman collects new resources helpful for defeating the pirates while constantly seeking the keys to the gate of sacred power with the help of his friends. But he must also return to save the fellow inmates he met during his imprisonment. The ultimate mission of the game is for our hero Rayman to go through various adventures to find the great magician and help him restore his own energy to save the world.
The entire game uses over 10 large maps. These maps mainly include 3 different worlds, which are the 4 Great Sanctuaries (The Sanctuary of Ancients, Water, Wind, and Fire), the RAYMAN Planet, and the Pirate World (including the prison, bastion machines, and the pirate ship). In these 3 worlds, you will encounter various different environments, such as: primeval forests, putrid swamps, beautiful bays, deep blue seabeds, scalding volcanoes, gloomy tombs, and so on. Moreover, every time you arrive at a new place, there will be a new feeling. This is mainly attributed to the great effort the production team put into rendering the environments. Added to this is the fact that Rayman 2 also has three hidden bonus levels, making for a total of 60 levels that the hero Rayman needs to clear one by one.
In Rayman 2, Rayman is no longer a loner like in the first generation; his friends also play a pivotal role! Whenever Rayman rescues a companion, he can obtain excess energy from his friends and the small spirits to increase his own power, thereby raising his strength to a new level and gaining stronger abilities. This allows Rayman to fully recover his superpowers. However, the appearance of these characters is not selectable at any time in the game. They often lend a helping hand or give you advice when you are in danger, thus affecting your progress. Moreover, in certain special locations in the game, Rayman must rely on the help of companions to pass the level. For example, the Magician, who is the first companion Rayman needs to save. He appears on every map, and his ability is to help Rayman upgrade the power of his invincible flying fist. Similarly, Rayman's enemies are also very powerful. In this game, enemies have become truly smart; they seem to have quite high AI. Whether it is piranhas, pirate robots, the Five-Poison Snake God, or two-legged missiles, they will try every method to stop Rayman, even sneak attacks!!! So you must be extremely alert when dealing with them.
The first few levels of the game can serve as a guide for everyone to get started. You can familiarize yourself with the game's environment in these versions and test Rayman's various abilities. Although at the beginning of the game, Rayman does not yet fully possess his superpowers, this cute little 3D figure can already perform many actions. He can walk, run, climb, swim, somersault on land and underwater, slide, rotate, crawl on the surface of stones and between two stones, swing on ropes, climb steep walls, carry, push and throw things, and even use his hair to hover in the air like a helicopter! Moreover, the vast majority of actions can be completed simultaneously. As the game progresses, Rayman's superpowers continue to increase. He learns to fly, can shoot more powerful energy balls, and finally can even dive, pilot rockets, and ride clouds and mist. But the true excellence of Rayman 2 lies in its rich emotional coloring, being able to express his feelings very clearly. This is unique among all characters to date: Rayman can clearly express various expressions such as effort, courage, fear, as well as smiles, laughter, amusement, and a full sense of humor. It's truly incredible!
Action games these days aren't fun without 3D, and Rayman couldn't avoid going 3D either. In fact, most of the production team's blood, sweat, and tears over these three years were spent creating a truly excellent 3D game engine. The graphics of Rayman 2 adopted the most eye-catching graphics technology "Environment Landscape Curved Surface Mapping" (Environment Mapping). So when you see this final Rayman 2, it is already an action game with fully true 3D modeling and fully true 3D scene architecture. Although Rayman still has that small round face, that eggplant body, and those golden fists with immense power, it is not what it used to be; Rayman has put on a gorgeous 3D coat. All character models in the game are created with 3D software, and everything looks so real. Plus, the game adopts a camera tracking system, making playing the game feel more like watching a movie. In addition, the game has also made great improvements in the overall visuals: 24-BIT true color, particle systems, weather systems, etc. In the game, everyone can see nearly real smoke, rain, flowing water, and flame effects. Coupled with the real-time lighting system, it adds a lot of bright scenes to the game. And because of the use of a 3D engine, Rayman's movements are more delicate and diverse. Whether it is Rayman's walking, running and jumping, climbing, swimming, rotating, or even using his cute hair as a helicopter to fly in the air, it is all so vivid and natural.
Rayman 2 is also quite successful in terms of music and sound effects. There is a total of 75 minutes of CD-quality music throughout the game from beginning to end. Just listening to this music alone can give you a sense of enjoyment. Moreover, when playing the game, the transitions of the music as the scenes change are very well connected. The music with widely different styles can well highlight the atmosphere of the game, and the addition of 3D environmental sound effects makes the strange world of RAYMAN even more real.
As a cartoon image and as an action game, the 3D world hero Rayman 2 introduces us to a brand new world. Furthermore, Rayman 2 is also the first multi-platform game in the Rayman series. By then, it will appear simultaneously on PC, DREAMCAST, N64, and PLAYSTATION. It can truly be called a cross-platform 3D game masterpiece at the end of the century.
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