Piranha

Piranha
Alignment	Bad
Appears in	Rayman, Rayman 2, Rayman 3, Hoodlums' Revenge Raving Rabbids (GBA)
Location	The Dream Forest, the Fairy Glade, the Marshes of Awakening, the Bayou, Whale Bay, Clearleaf Forest, the Bog of Murk, the Forest world
Portrayed by	{{{portrayed by}}}
Resistance
Attacks	Contact
Sex	{{{sex}}}
Species	{{{species}}}
Relatives	{{{relatives}}}

‘The Piranha is basically a pair of jaws with a bit of flesh around it. It's the only fish that really loves fishermen: not only do they sacrifice body and soul to feed the piranhas – they also supply the dental floss!’ —Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc (official description)

Piranhas are a type of flesh-eating fish enemy, named after the real-life creature of the same name, that lurks in the murky waters of the Glade of Dreams. They can be found in all three major Rayman platformers, albeit with different behavioural patterns. They are notable for being one of the series's few consistently recurring elements.

In Rayman 1

A piranha in the original Rayman game

A piranha hit by Rayman's telescopic fist

In the original Rayman, they are found only in the Dream Forest, and fly up from the water with their helicopter caudal fin. If Rayman touches them he loses a hit point, and if he's unlucky, he could be pushed into the water and lose a life. Rayman can defend himself from piranhas by punching or shooting them, which shatters their sharp teeth and then defeats them. A single punch can get rid of them.

In Rayman 2

A piranha trying to attack in Rayman 2

A piranha swimming in Rayman 2

In Rayman 2, they are found in any body of water that Rayman cannot swim in, usually polluted or stagnated water, or even acid. Two major kinds of piranhas live in those places: the small ones that devour Rayman when he falls into water, and the bigger ones that jump from water and try to bite him. A single energy ball can get rid of the second kind. In the Whale Bay, Rayman must fight off piranhas who suffer from heartburn; these piranhas attempt to eat Carmen the Whale's air bubbles, which Rayman needs to survive.

In Rayman 3

Mechanical-mouthed piranhas from the Clearleaf Forest

Piranhas in the Bog of Murk from Rayman 3

They are also present in all versions of Rayman 3, mainly in the Bog of Murk, but while Rayman can actually swim in the dirty waters they live in, they will deplete his energy very quickly and cause a game over. The piranhas in this game have mechanical jaws which resemble bear-traps. In Clearleaf Forest, piranhas are shown to swim powerfully enough to pursue Rayman and Globox as they ascend the waterfall. In the Bog of Murk, they can often be encountered jumping back and forth over the logs which Rayman must walk across. When these piranhas are punched, their mechanical jaws shatter and they are defeated; this recalls the piranhas from the previous games, whose organic teeth crumbled when they were defeated.

Piranhas are also encountered in the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3, in Forgotten Forests, the first of the game's four lands. They can be found jumping out of the water in the same manner as those in Rayman 2. These ones can also be hit and killed in a single blow, which causes their teeth to crumble, as in the other games.

In Rayman Raving Rabbids (GBA)

A piranha, as seen in the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman Raving Rabbids

In Rayman Raving Rabbids (GBA), they appear in the forest levels, and look identical to the ones in the first game. The Rayman 3 variations also appear in Rayman: Hoodlums' Revenge.