Rayman's species
Still no limbs, eh?! Well, the nymphs will get their act together eventually...! Less bones to break I say!
Rayman's species is an unnamed race of limbless creatures native to the Glade of Dreams.
Members of Rayman's species lack arms, legs and necks; instead, their heads, bodies, hands and feet float, connected only by some invisible force. They typically have large, rounded noses and eyes.
In Rayman
In the original game, almost every character is limbless. Several friendly supporting characters are clearly members of Rayman's species. Many other characters and enemies may also be members, though most bear some differences. It can be inferred that the valley in which the game takes place has a relatively high population of Rayman's species. Early on in the development of the game, when it was intended as a Super Nintendo title, the developers planned to feature a two-player co-operative mode, with the second player taking on the role of Rayman's female companion.
In Rayman 2: The Great Escape
In Rayman 2: The Great Escape, very few characters from the original game return. For the most part, the game features a brand-new cast of characters. Aside from Rayman himself, no members of Rayman's species appear. The game's manual states that, when Rayman first appeared, the other inhabitants of the Glade of Dreams were amazed by his limblessness, suggesting that Rayman's species is very rare and not well-known. Upon close examination, some of the characters in this game, including Globox and the Teensies, are semi-limbless; their feet float with no legs joining them to their bodies.
In Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
In Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, many characters from Rayman 2 return, but again the cast of the original game is largely overlooked, and no new characters of Rayman's species appear. However, the game does contain references to them. In the Fairy Council, Rayman can find Garden Raygnomes: limbless garden gnomes with a strong resemblance to Rayman's species. The developers of the game stated that they considered giving Rayman himself limbs, but decided that this would be too great a divergence for the series.
In Rayman Origins
Long ago, the Primordial Forest, deep and mysterious, witnessed the birth of a man... a vegetable... no, no, no: a thingamajig.—E3 2010 trailer, Rayman Origins
In Rayman Origins, many characters from the original game appear for the first time in the series's sixteen-year history. However, the developers made some effort to avoid the subject of Rayman's species, perhaps to maintain the unique status held by Rayman in Rayman 2 and Rayman 3. Characters who were originally limbless, like Betilla the Fairy, Hunters, Antitoons and Livingstones now have arms and legs. Some characters, like the Magician and the Photographer, have been changed to Teensies to better fit the style established in the previous sequels. However, some characters, like Electoons, stone men and other members of Rayman's species remain as limbless as they were in the original. In addition, Raybox and Raymesis are introduced as playable characters and skins for Rayman.
The manual for Rayman Origins also gives an explanation for Rayman's limblessness, claiming that in the distant past, Rayman was created by the nymphs in order to defeat Jano and preserve the balance of the world. However, on their way to the ritual, the nymphs accidentally lost a bag of Lums. As a result, Rayman was born incomplete: missing arms, legs and neck. However, this story conflicts with other accounts of Rayman's origins.
At one point in the development of Rayman Origins, Tarayzan from the original game was intended to be a playable character. As a skin for Rayman, Tarayzan would have remained limbless. Unused dialogue from the game reveals that the Bubble Dreamer would have called him Rayman's "cuz", although it is unknown if this was supposed to denote a literal kinship.
When a hero pulls on the Bubble Dreamer's beard while controlling Rayman, he expresses mild surprise that Rayman is still limbless, and assures him that the nymphs will get their act together eventually. This may suggest that it is possible for members of Rayman's species to gain limbs; it may be that this is what happened to the other returning characters from the original game.
In the PlayStation Vita version of the game, the player can unlock two hidden mosaics by collecting relics. One mosaic tells a story about Globox's past, while the other tells a story about Rayman's history. According to the mosaic, Rayman was originally bald, and had a wife or girlfriend who was a member of his own species. While the couple slept on a forest floor, a group of tiny creatures, each one a living strand of blonde hair, crept up on Rayman and fused themselves to his bald head. Rayman's female companion, terrified and confused, attempted to cut Rayman's hair with a gigantic pair of scissors, but the hair creatures, afraid of their nefarious fate, pulled Rayman's head and body to escape with him, accidentally making him fall off a cliff. Much to Rayman's surprise, his new hair activated its helicopter ability for the first time, flying him to safety. It is unknown what happened to Rayman's partner, as she is never seen or mentioned again.
Since the backstory conflicts with other stories of Rayman's origin, and of how he received the helicopter, it is unclear if it is true.
In Rayman Legends and its spin-offs
A slew of new members of Rayman’s species are introduced in Rayman Legends as skins for Rayman, such as Sir Rayelot, Raymolk, and Rayomz. Many of these new skins are exclusive to certain versions of the game; however, this is rectified in the Nintendo Switch’s “Definitive Edition” of the game, which includes all of the console-exclusive skins.
A few new members of Rayman’s species, including Raylatin and Raywolf, made their debut as skins in Rayman Fiesta Run. Rayman Adventures introduces even more members of Rayman’s species as skins, like Raydoom, Shayman, and Raywiz, to name a few, while bringing back all of Rayman’s skins from Rayman Legends, including the console-exclusive ones (with the exceptions of Ray Plumber and Champion Ray). Many of these costumes were confined to time-limited events and special packs that were made unavailable after their time was up; however, a few of these characters returned in Rayman Mini as permanent additions.
In other games
In Rayman Raving Rabbids, the developers intended Rayman to have a girlfriend, Simohne, whom he would have to rescue from the Rabbids. Concept artwork suggests that the game would have parodied Star Wars to some extent.
The announcement of Growtopia’s crossover event with the Rayman series calls Rayman “our favorite Rayperson ever,” providing a potential name for his species.
Two new members of Rayman's species, Raydvar and Ray of the Dead, are introduced in the fighting game Brawlhalla as skins for Rayman.
In other media
In Rayman: The Animated Series, Rayman is called "thing" and "freak", appearing to be the only one of his kind.
In Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, Rayman travels to the Earth dimension from what Eden calls "Dimension X". Here, he is referred to as an alien, and "alien scum" (by Red) derogatorily. He struggled to fit in, being the only one of his kind.
List of the known members from the species
- Rayman, the hero of the Glade of Dreams
- Tarayzan, a forest-dwelling friend to Rayman
- The Musician, a guitar-playing friend to Rayman that lives with his wife and child
- The Magician from the original Rayman game, a handy friend to Rayman
- Bad Rayman, a mindless, deadly clone created by Mr Dark
- Dark Rayman from Rayman Arena, an evil doppelgänger who can be unlocked as a playable character
- Simohne, a girlfriend to Rayman that was meant to appear in the cancelled prototype for Rayman Raving Rabbids
- Raymesis, a sentient clone that may also have been created by Mr Dark
- Raynette, a wife or girlfriend to Rayman that was only seen on a mosaic in the PlayStation Vita version of Rayman Origins
- Sir Rayelot, a knight hero
- Ray Plumber, a hero dressed like Mario
- Ray Vaas, a hero (and presumed lunatic) dressed like Vaas
- Raymolk, a hairy hero that lives in the deep jungles of the Glade of Dreams
- Rayomz, a half-naked hero
- Splinter Ray, a spy and conspiracy theorist dressed like Sam Fisher
- Assassin Ray, a pirate hero dressed like Edward Kenway
- Ray of Persia, a fashion victim dressed like the Prince of Persia
- Funky Ray, a 70s-loving hero
- Champion Ray, a champion hero that was once exclusive to the developers of Rayman Legends
- Dark Rayman from Rayman Legends, another mindless, deadly clone
- Santa Ray (also known as Ray-Mas), a Christmas enthusiast
- Santa Ray 2, another presumed Christmas enthusiast
- Ray-Fucius, a hero obsessed with Eastern philosophy
- Shadow Ray, the Glade of Dreams’s biggest movie fanatic, who shares the appearance of Dark Rayman from Rayman Legends
- Shayman, a former shaman
- Raywolf, a werewolf-like hero and a presumed astronomer
- Raylatin, a hero made of gelatin
- Rayphael, a painter
- Raybolt, an athlete
- Raybeard, a ghost pirate
- Raydoom, a demonic hero
- Freeze Ray, a cold-loving hero
- Raysiris, the Desert Kingdom’s best runner
- Dr. Farayday, a mad scientist
- Samuray, a samurai warrior
- Ray-One, an intergalactic explorer
- Raywiz, a wizard
- Sorceray, a short-tempered sorcerer
- Ray-Gnarr, the leader of Mystical Pique’s early settlers
- Raydvar, a hero dressed as Bödvar from Brawlhalla
- Ray of the Dead, a phantasmic hero