Rayman Pirate-Community

What exactly are some of the notable influences behind the Rayman games?

Ancel has cited Celtic, Chinese and Russian fairytales as a source of inspiration. Don't think he went into more detail.

I know that those robots in the anime "castle in the sky" inspierd the rayman 2 grogloth

Thats all i remember

interesting

I've also heard the Dark Crystal was a heavy infuence on the shift in direction for Rayman 2, or at least, I remember citing that in my disseration. It explains a lot of that dark yet surreal fantasy vibe, I think.

What inspired them to revert back to a more comedic tone for 3?

The change in director from Michel Ancel to Ahmed Boukhelifa probably has a lot to do with the change of tone in Rayman 3, although I've always suspected that the game's 'edgier' humour int the script and emphasis on celebrity casting was the result of Ubisoft executive meddling rather than the creative designers, although I have little proof on that front.

To be honest, I've always assumed that the folks at Ubisoft Montpellier just like making the Rayman games they want to make, and enjoy mixing things up every few titles, which is why the tone and universe changes from game to game. It used to annoy me when I little, but I've grown to accept it a lot more now.

I honestly feel like Rayman 2 is a bit of an odd man out when compared to all the other installments in the series. It’s the only one with a semi-serious tone, while every other major entry is a different flavor of comedy, including the original to a certain extent.