Razoff

Count Razoff
Count Razoff
Alignment	Bad
Appears in	Rayman 3
Location	The Bog of Murk, Crush (wrecking ball only), Razoff Circus, Commando
Portrayed by	Eric Bauza
Resistance	34 HP (when on foot) 100 HP (wrecking ball)
Attacks	Arrow gun, bombs, wrecking ball
Sex	{{{sex}}}
Species	{{{species}}}
Relatives	Nimrod (grandfather) Artemis (grandmother) Count Zaroff (father)

A master predator, the son of Count Zaroff – a most dangerous game-hunter, if ever there was one! – and grandson of Nimrod and Artemis, Razoff holds the chair of Cynegetics at the University of Tyr-Kainkou. At least, that's what he claims...

—In-game description, Rayman 3

Only descendant of the Shoedsackovskaïa family, Count Razoff settled a long time ago in the swamps in order to perpetuate the familial tradition. In fact, each member must come back once adult with an extraordinary prey. Unfortunately, Razoff has never found a prey matching up to those of his ancestors: the legendary Abominable Geranium of the Seas of Cockatoo or the Space Mama of Picture City.

—Official site & dossier presse, Rayman 3

Count Razoff Shoedsackovski is a boss character who appears in Rayman 3. The last descendant of the royal Shoedsackovskaïa family of maniacal hunters, Count Razoff is a tall green reptilian creature who lives in a mansion in the Bog of Murk. He bears some resemblance to a Teensie, as well as to the species of Inspector Grub from the Animated Series. Dressed in a red and gold outfit, he sports a shotgun which shoots arrows at any intruders that dare to enter his mansion. He is a formidable but extremely egotistical hunter, and his mansion is decorated with a great many paintings and sculptures of himself, as well as mirrors and ‘statues of his finest catches’, including Uglies, piranhas, and possibly Ssssam the Watersnake from Rayman 2.

Biography

Main article: Shoedsackovskaïa family

The in-game information states that Count Razoff is the son of Count Zaroff, and the grandson of Nimrod and Artemis. He also claims to hold the Chair of Cynegenics at the University of Tyr-Kainkou. He has settled in the Bog of Murk, as is his family's tradition, and he will return to his homeland only when he has captured an exotic prey. He also appears to enjoy capturing lesser creatures; several Uglies are imprisoned in his mansion, and at least one Mawpaw is locked up in his dungeon. It is not known if his mansion was handed down to him from his father, or if each member of the family must have their own dwelling constructed in the region. ‘Schoedsackovski’ is not explicitly mentioned as Razoff's surname, but this detail can be derived from actual Slavic surnames of similar form.

Each member of Razoff's family is named after a great fictional or mythical hunter. Razoff's father, Count Zaroff, is named in reference to the character General Zaroff from Richard Connell's 1924 novella ‘The Most Dangerous Game’. ‘Razoff’ is simply ‘Zaroff’ with the ‘Z’ and the ‘R’ switched, and the characters bear many other similarities. Nimrod, Razoff's grandfather, is named after a great biblical hunter, and Artemis, Razoff's grandmother, is presumably named in reference to the Greek goddess of hunting. The ‘Shoedsackovskaïa’ surname was created by adding a Slavic suffix to the surname of Ernest Schoedsack, the director of the 1932 film adaptation of The Most Dangerous Game – this film is the first work to depict the character of Zaroff as a count rather than a general, and seems to have been a significant influence on Rayman 3.

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  Razoff with his gun.
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  Razoff on his wrecking ball.

Count Razoff's mansion

The entrance to Razoff's mansion.

Razoff's mansion is located in the Bog of Murk. It is very large and classical mansion with many statues inside including statues of Ssssam, piranhas and a statue of Razoff riding a Goaty (a scrapped character from the game). There are also several bug-like creatures called Uglies which can be found chained-up in his mansion; if Rayman frees the Uglies, they thank him by giving him Red Lums before flying away. Typical for Razoff, in his mansion is a vast array of guns and a cannon. Globox was accidentally transported to the basement of Razoff's mansion when he was separated from Rayman in the Teensie Highway. Also in the basement are a large ball and chain which Razoff attempts to kill Rayman with, a magic mirror similar to the one found in Bégoniax's house, and at least one Mawpaw, a large plesiosaur-like creature with a hand for a head which Razoff was apparently keeping imprisoned, and who helps Rayman out in the battle by giving him Heavy Metal Fist power-ups and placing him back on the platform when he falls down.

Razoff has several statues of Ssssam the snake in his mansion, showing that he has encountered, or at least knows of, the character. Michael Janod, one of the game's developers, revealed in a RaymanZone interview that Razoff's mansion contains "statues of his finest catches", hinting that the hunter may have captured Ssssam at some point. The watersnake's fate is however unknown.

The room in which Razoff's telescope is housed contains a wide array of switches and control panels. Some of the equipment seen in the room is identical to that used by the Robo-Pirates in Rayman 2, which suggests that Razoff may be putting some old Robo-Pirate wreckage to work. The Hoodlum vehicle Céloche, fought in the Land of the Livid Dead, also appears to be constructed from the wreckage of Robo-Pirate installations.

Razoff is last seen struggling in the grip of Bégoniax, the witch who is madly in love with him. It is said that Bégoniax exacts revenge on the men who reject her love by transforming them into toads, and that she then breeds with them, producing so many tadpoles that she does not know what to do with them. This offers a clue as to Razoff's potential fate.

Early plot

During the early development of Rayman 3, the plot was that Rayman and Globox, flying over the Bog of Murk on the Wooglah, take a crash landing after the giant bird gets wounded. Searching for help to heal the wound, Rayman finds Bégoniax, who offers him to help if he finds the beauty potion she is looking for on the other side of the marsh. Rayman goes through the mirror and finds Ssssam, then crosses the marsh and enters Razoff's mansion. Upon being defeated, the hunter starts crying, and one of his teardrops falls on a nearby Ugly, which then turns into a butterfly-like creature. It is then revealed that his tears are in fact the elixir of beauty, which Bégoniax uses on herself, allowing Razoff to fall in love with her. To thank him, the witch and the hunter promise to take care of the Wooglah, and show him the way to the Land of the Livid Dead.

Minigames

Concept artwork depicting various designs for Razoff.

Count Razoff is notable in that the player controls him in three different minigames in Rayman 3.

In Crush, the player controls Razoff's wrecking-ball as he uses it to squash an infestation of toads, which was caused by Bégoniax's spell. This minigame evidently takes place after the events of Rayman 3, and indicates that Bégoniax became vengeful when Razoff spurned her romantic advances.

In Razoff Circus, a first-person shooter minigame, the player controls Razoff as he practises his marksmanship, using his mansion as a shooting gallery. Since this training is meant to account for the skills Razoff displays when Rayman encounters him, it is most likely that this minigame takes place before the events of Rayman 3; however, the presence of targets depicting Rayman, Globox, and various Hoodlums implies a more contemporaneous setting.

In Commando, a top-down third-person shooter, Razoff is delighted to find that his land has been invaded by Hoodlum trespassers, as this gives him an excuse to take potshots at them. The player controls the hunter as he battles his way through a small Hoodlum army. Since this minigame depicts the Hoodlum invasion, it is most likely that it takes place at around the time of Rayman 3. His gun, more powerful than Rayman's telescopic fist, can kill enemy Hoodmongers with one hit and Hoodbooms with three.

Gallery

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  Razoff could be seen in the PC's beta demo loading screen of Rayman 3.
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  Set of paintings representing Razoff.
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  Painting representing Razoff.
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  Artwork of Razoff.
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  Razoff's rifle.
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  Targets representing Razoff appear in Razoff Circus.

See also

• Hunter