Rayman 2

[Bionichute]

I'm assuming that Ancel was very involved in Rayman Origins' artistic direction (due to his appearance in multiple advertisements and interviews), and as such, is also at least somewhat responsible for most of its positives and flaws. Then again, his appearance isn't saying much, as anything could really be happening under the hood. He has his name up on it quite a lot though, so if he wasn't the one responsible for the game's problems, he certainly embraced them.

Just asking, but what were your problems with Rayman Origins? My problems basically come down to a few things, like the non-existent story, the reuse of level settings, and the lack of non-Teensie playable characters, and all of those things can basically come down to budgetary and time constraints. The only other problems I can see is it not being the game you expected it to be, and the fact it didn't "feel" like Rayman 2, which aren't actually problems with the game itself, but personal tastes.

[Master]

Spiral once made an analogy that I'd like to quote:

Rayman 1 feels like reading French fairy tales after imbibing hallucinogenic substances.

Rayman Origins feels like watching Cartoon Network after imbibing a pizza, except the pizza is all cheesy and messy and makes you want to play Rayman 1.

Origins had the potential to be more than what it is now, the lacking story is one thing, but I think it just doesn't seem to have the same balance between being wondrous, and being zany, there's no denying that the Rayverse has always maintained a zany feel, from the wacky way enemies were sent flying when beaten in Rayman 1, to the idea of using a Missile with legs as a steed, to the odd significance plums have had in the series, and many other examples. However, even with these quirky elements, the series has always maintained a counterbalance of a mystical world that can be interpreted in many ways, the description Spiral gave in the previous page is a good example of what previous games had, and what Origins lacked, that mysterious edge. The level in RO come up with similar concepts to Rayman 1 (Band Land, and Food World), but they embraced the zany element excessively, and the mysterious element was minimised, which I think, changed the feel overall, and, reduced the sense of wonder the world presented in RO gave.

I think there was a couple of pages in the RO topic where several members sounded off what they felt RO was missing, I'll see if I can find it.
EDIT: T'was the Legends topic, it started with this post: viewtopic.php?p=722461#p722461

[Keane]

I'm assuming that Ancel was very involved in Rayman Origins' artistic direction (due to his appearance in multiple advertisements and interviews), and as such, is also at least somewhat responsible for most of its positives and flaws. Then again, his appearance isn't saying much, as anything could really be happening under the hood. He has his name up on it quite a lot though, so if he wasn't the one responsible for the game's problems, he certainly embraced them.

Just asking, but what were your problems with Rayman Origins? My problems basically come down to a few things, like the non-existent story, the reuse of level settings, and the lack of non-Teensie playable characters, and all of those things can basically come down to budgetary and time constraints. The only other problems I can see is it not being the game you expected it to be, and the fact it didn't "feel" like Rayman 2, which aren't actually problems with the game itself, but personal tastes.

Origins is very distant from what Rayman was. There's nothing from Rayman's world there except a few characters which have all been either redesigned or received a new personality. Looking into the scrapped content the game seems much more wanting to explain and expand the Ray universe, but the final result simply took figures from the original game and placed them somewhere else. I understand, they wanted to redesign some things, but then I see Bubble Dreamer and I feel like weren't trying at all to make it a game about returning to the roots of the series, or even knew too much about it. He's Polokus because we are told he is, but Bubble Dreamer doesn't seem to at all be related to Polokus. Why didn't they just make it an actual different character instead of getting our hopes for nothing? It brought back Ray 1's world in the sense of having natural worlds (Ocean, forest, etc) mixed in with odd worlds (Food, instruments) but it stays at that. It didn't really take the Ray universe anywhere, only made it more confusing. Why call a world The Land of the Livid Dead and then not have it related to the place in Rayman 3 with the same name? I'd have been more glad if they'd at least done it like Rayman 3, with which is the case that it didn't quite work with things like humour and silly characters, but the world itself is very much Rayman, taking elements from the first two games, and honestly I think the Rayman 3 world is the most interesting out of all the games.

And the story from Origins is lacking too. I'm not sure why they advertised and show in the intro cutscene that the Livid Dead will be the main enemies and then not have them appear until a bonus level at the end of the game.

I agree with Spiral, a fan would have a better idea about where to take the series, and looking at what Phoenix had in mind it would have been my favourite Rayman game. I love the otherworldly, magical direction they were going to take it to. Worlds based on origami and pinball, with Picture City and Band Land coming back. Just the idea is amazing.

When I imagine a Rayman game designed by myself, I find much of my ideas match with Adsol's game. Revenge of the Dark has so far shown to have a great balance of magic and reality, a story with a darker touch, and making Band Land return in 3D has got to be on the wish list of most Rayman fans.

[Snagglebee]

Shit's on graphic >_> That looks even worse than just 640x480.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hp12tqyeer8y3 ... 1%2005.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c815jtfsj4n82 ... 2%2007.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/aln3r12dn4k8y ... 2%2038.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/07fi7tkfq5e0i ... 2%2048.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bj68f4p5vkezy ... 3%2042.jpg


And if I deactivate depixalation on my PS3 it'll look like this: >_>
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gt3e4xwtgdlow ... 8%2055.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xx135nfbemes6 ... 9%2009.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xsbbmd8avt60a ... 9%2026.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/reewihl3tx8h1 ... 9%2033.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j2d3vdk6kf3wu ... 9%2039.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x77distmikgpu ... 9%2049.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pee1z6ost4uqj ... 0%2016.jpg

[OCG]

lol, PS3 never did enhance PS1 games. Only Emulator does that.

[Master]

In fairness, a TV of that size and clarity isn't going to be doing any favours to games of old.

[Rulez]

[Bzzit]

ahahaha beautiful <3

[Snagglebee]

haha nice made!

[Rayfist]

Those zoomed in pixels clearly show how pissed he is.

[Rulez]

Those zoomed in pixels clearly show how pissed he is.

Haha yeah! Actually a big part of the whole joke is that the characters look piss-ugly and emotionless, even, and somehow that's funny.

[spiraldoor]

t's a bit of a crossover I've noticed between two things: Most of the artwork in the levels is larger-than-life; even in the tightest, most claustrophobic of corridors, the game still manages to convey such a sense of vastness. The backgrounds, especially in levels like The Canopy show trees and plants growing up, far above your head and beyond, yet at the same time, you appear to be suspended high up in the air yourself. In the Hall of Doors, this is still the case, where a looming mash of anything and everything to do with the game is seen towering above what the camera allows you to see, but at the same time, it's as if you're looking at the whole world, all of those visually massive levels compressed into one small area. Clearly this is could also be seen as the case with virtually any map selection screen, but the way it's laid out in Rayman 2 - mysteriously massive appearance compressed within more mysteriously massive appearance - combined with the artwork, mood and presentation really entrances me. At times I'm actually not sure whether I like the Hall of Doors from the PlayStation 1 or PC version better, as while the PS1 version shows off a beautiful purple, auroric cosmos, the PC version has kind of an unknown darkness. You don't know what's behind those trees, just that Rayman's world is mighty huge.

It's true that Rayman 2 in particular has a strange sense of space. I don't know if this was the intended effect or the result of technical oversights, but the player often has the sensation that they're in a landmass which is floating in the middle of an enormous void, with mountains in the distance or forests far below. It's disorienting. It's hard to decide how this relates to the original game: Rayman often had to clamber over floating landmasses there too, and the backgrounds always conveyed a sense of vastness, but in Rayman 2 these same elements feel almost like accidents.

The Hall of Doors in the N64 version also has advantages over the one in the PlayStation port. The forested style is charming, and adds a sense of comfort; a sense that you are in a place where things are waiting to be discovered. The PS1 Hall, with all its edges, seems a little naked by comparison. One interesting difference is that the PS1 Hall maintains the astral void even as far as the Crow's Nest; the N64 Hall gives way to a more naturalistic coastline before that point. This brings its own sense of place with it, but also has the effect of making the Hall more mundane; you feel as if you could walk a few miles down the coastline and find yourself in a perfectly standard level (or whatever passes for standard in the Glade of Dreams). The PS1 Hall is more absolute in its otherworldly isolation, and the floating coastal rocks receding into its distance are much more stirring in their oddness.

Another thought: the stars in the N64 Hall look like white smudges painted on a black backdrop. The stars in the PS1 Hall look like pinpricks; much more convincing. The N64 version does a better job of selling the idea that the Spiral Doors are located in a stream of water, but I'm not sure the PS1 version's failure to do this is a bad thing; it makes it feel a little colder and a lot more alien.

Music is also critically important in maintaining the Rayman tone. This track feels like a direct answer to the Sanctuary of Water and Ice:



As good as some of the Rayman Origins tracks are, none of them come remotely as close to evoking classic Rayman as this one.

[Haruka]

That is one of my favourite tracks of the game, and one of the fewest moments I did feel Rayman atmosphere too.

I like both Hall of Doors but while I like how the Teensies use it as their Chamber to talk with Rayman and to open the gates (I honestly prefer this way over the Chamber of the Teensies) but the PS1 way feels more claustrophobic. I always found the classical HOD more free.

[Rulez]

Alright, so right now I'm about to start playing Rayman Revolution again, and will beat it 100% for like the ninth time? I think I may do it a bit differently this time around, though, and I think I'll try to 100% the whole game without buying ANY powers at all, and maybe without beating Ly's challenges either.

However, would anyone be interested in seeing if I succeed? I'm just hoping I'll beat my record of nine hours and fifty or so minutes, but it could prove to be difficult without the additional powers. So, yay or nay?

[Haruka]

I always wondered if it is possible to beat the game without "handicaps". It would be interesting to see your results.

[Rulez]

I'm almost 100% sure that it's possible, but either difficult or just frustrating. I actually doubt I'll get less than 10 hours because a lot of the abilities are there just to save time, but I'll try!

[Haruka]

I just get worried because of the Henchmen 800 army you catch before going to the Rainbow Creek. Prepare for a hell of a time...

[Rulez]

Ah yeah, that one gets me every time. It's not hard, but incredibly time-wasting. However, it was a nice addition overall.

Also for a second there I thought you need accumulation to light the cannon in the Sanctuary of Water and Ice but nope, you just need the yellow shot! So it's gud.

Okay so I'll be doing a run:

• without buying any upgrades in the Magic Well
• without completing any of Ly's minigames
• without using the Lum Radar when obtained

Should I add, or should I say substract any handicaps? I'll probably stay up all night to finish it.

[Haruka]

I think you didn't forget anything. I honestly don't use the Lums Radar anymore since I know all the locations of the Lums in an unconscious way. (I should be ashamed )

[saerleiya]

Well, I think I'll give RR a try with Romstation .