Band Land

Band Land
Band Land
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In a scene of clouds and sheet music, Rayman proceeds among music instruments (drums, maracas, cymbals...) and battles against wrong notes. After having escaped from the trumpets, he will find himself face to face with the deafening Mister Sax...

—Manual, Rayman

Band Land (French: Le Ciel Chromatique – The Chromatic Sky) is the second world in the original Rayman game. As its name suggests, it is a world which consists mainly of music and musical instruments.

The first level of Band Land is Bongo Hills, a grassy terrain where vast instruments sprout from the ground. It is followed by Allegro Presto, is a cold, blue, vertiginous labyrinth of slippery musical staves. This is where Rayman first encounters Mr Sax, the malevolent giant saxophone who rules Band Land; and also where he receives the helicopter ability from Betilla the Fairy. The next level is Gong Heights, a balmy region of golden clouds and inhabited by meditating monks. The final level is Mr Sax's Hullaballoo, which resembles a combination of the three preceding levels. This is where Rayman finally confronts and defeats Mr Sax.

Sights such as giant drums, recorders and xylophones are characteristic of Band Land. Rayman often finds himself battling trumpets and moths while dodging dangerous wrong notes, spiky balls and cymbals. The 'ground' usually consists of drum material or slippery musical staves, from which the player must be careful not to fall. As Rayman progresses, he ascends higher into the sky: the levels feature increasing amounts of clouds, snow and lightning. Most of the platforms in Band Land are music-related: Rayman can use maracas rockets to fly, bongos to cross chasms, and walking drums to reach inaccessible heights.

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  The first scenery of Bongo Hills, as seen in the PC version.
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  The boss of Band Land, Mr Sax.

Image gallery

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  Maracas rockets allow Rayman to fly high in the skies of Band Land.
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  Wrong notes are extremely sharp and will cause damage.
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  Tiny wrong notes (Rayman Junior only).
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  Trumpets blow at Rayman.
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  Rayman encounters a monk in Gong Heights.
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  Moths are amongst the toughest enemies in the game.
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  Rayman on a sprinkler, surrounded by spiky balls.
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  The first encounter with Mr Sax.
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  Rayman is pursued by Mr Sax.
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  Strange flute trees can be found in Band Land.
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  Red monsters are the tallest enemies in the game.
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  Cymbals have the unfortunate habit of squashing Rayman.

In Rayman 4 (cancelled prototype)

In 2005, Phoenix Studio began work on a new 3D Rayman platform game tentatively titled Rayman 4. The developers intended to feature several environments from the original Rayman, including Band Land. Several pieces of artwork were produced. However, the game was ultimately cancelled.

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  Band Land in 3D, as imagined by concept artist Guillaume Bonamy for Rayman 4.
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  Another scenery of Band Land in colour.

In Rayman Origins

Rayman Origins features adjacent environments based directly on Band Land: the Desert of Dijiridoos and the Grumbling Grottos. These worlds combine Band Land's musical component with an arid desert landscape. It is not clear if these locations are part of Band Land, near Band Land, or simply different places that look strangely similar to Band Land.

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  A piano and a drum can be seen on the ground of Best Original Score.
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  The Red Birds appear on a curved note sheet.

Names in other languages

Language	Name
English	Band Land
Chinese (simplified)	音乐天
Chinese (traditional)	音樂國度
Dutch	Bende Land
French	Le Ciel Chromatique
German	Land der Musik
Italian	Territorio della Banda (multilingual manuals) Terra della Musica (GBA, DSi, mobile)
Japanese	バンド・ランド
Korean	밴드의 땅
Russian	Музыкальная Страна
Spanish	La Tierra de las Bandas Musicales (multilingual manuals) Melodyland (PC) Musicalandia (GBA, DSi) Grupolandia (mobile)