Hmm, I've just completed a 100% run of Revolution, obviously there were a few emulator hiccups, though I think the majority of the FPS issue stemmed from RR itself than the emulation, pity too, seeing as although RR does contain more detail than the other versions, games like Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank etc. worked wonders with far more detail. That being said, those did come out slightly later, and used proprietary engines, as opposed to the widespread Renderware engine in RR. (I think Sonic Heroes also used it, and it too had FPS issues if memory serves, so perhaps Renderware is partially to blame?)
That aside, the game does look very pretty, more so when upscaled to the same resolution the PC version runs at. Though the textures do look worse, I think the Dreamcast and PC versions trump RR in that respect. The models in RR are probably the best iterations of the R2 models, with the tinier details, and the eyes of the Globoxes and Murfy are actually part of the model, rather than 2D textures that followed the camera's position.
That being said, these more detailed models can be a little cumbersome at times though, platforms can sometimes be a little more difficult to hang onto due to the uneven (but detailed) shape it's been given. It also has made some Walking Shell segments a little more tricky to navigate through due to the more intricate inclines here and there, I count myself lucky that the Red Lums respawn in the Walking Shell segment in the Wrong Temple. I also really loathe the excess Nettles in the Lava Sanctuary (originally Beneath), they make traversing through certain pathways a little too intricate, as you can see below:
There's a nettle on the other side which isn't very easy to make out and thus effectively avoid, making contact with it causes Rayman to vaporise, rather than just recoil.
Another problem I have with Revolution is the music handling, for some bizarre reason, most levels play music as you'd expect during your first visit. But when you return for backtracking or just for a bit of fun, in most cases the music is replaced with atmospheric noises, while they're not terrible, I find that the lack of music just makes the level lose some part of its personality, so to speak.
Speaking of level losses, there's some of the mish-mashing, especially between the Top of the World, Precipice and Echoing Caves. These changes really don't make sense, all the cave portions of the Echoing Caves are moved to the Precipice, leaving the Echoing Caves without the cave, rather contradictory, no? I don't really mind too much what they did with the Top of the World, but it really bugs me how they've botched up the flow and point of the other two levels. Also, due to the level mish-mashing, lums have been redistributed to other worlds, and while the majority are reasonable to discover, I did find myself feeling a little exasperated in how some were placed so that the camera wouldn't show them during normal play. I know Rayman 2 does encourage some exploration, but this felt a little cheap to me.
I've kinda meandered between the Front and Hall of Doors over the years, I do enjoy being able to explore, and RR does show that Rayman could work in a more open-worlded kind of design, and the Front does involve some rather nice looking environments. However, at the same time, sometimes I find going through the Front to be a little cumbersome at times, though the Teensie Circles are a functional, if less interesting-looking, replacement for the Hall's more direct navigational role.
Negatives aside, I do think Revolution did add some wonderful additions, I did enjoy its newer bosses, and I really did like how it extended the plot and gave characters larger roles overall. The game is also a little more encouraging towards backtracking, which I don't mind at all, though it's not quite like Metroid in its execution. Some of the purchasable power-ups are quite fun to unleash, like the rebounding of shots off Robot-Pirates, that's pretty cool yet funny at the same time. Not quite as fond of the Ly's Challenges, but they do provide a more interesting way to upgrade your health, as opposed to simply breaking 10 cages, though your mileage will vary on that. The extra music in Revolution is also pretty nice, I'm particularly fond of Grolem's theme.
And on the topic of the Robot-Pirates, I do like how combat can involve greater numbers of Pirates. The variety of them is also nice, you don't just dodge bullets, but flame-throwers, flame-bombs and homing missiles. It's not quite as fun as Rayman 3's combat, but it does mean more skill is needed to beat them (well, initially, once you upgrade to max power, you can wipe the floor with them pretty easily) as opposed to the more simplistic flair of vanilla R2.
So yeah, Revolution's good, enjoyed it as much as I did when I had my PS2. But, I do think there's some issues, some in itself, others in how it compares with other R2 versions.
