Rayman 3 (Game Boy Advance)

Rayman 3
Published by	Ubisoft
Developed by	Ludi Factory
Directed by	{{{directed by}}}
Produced by	{{{produced by}}}
Designed by	{{{designed by}}}
Programmed by	{{{programmed by}}}
Art by	{{{art by}}}
Written by	{{{written by}}}
Soundtrack by	{{{soundtrack by}}}
Release date	2003
Genre	2D Platformer
Gameplay mode	Single player/Multi-player
Languages	{{{languages}}}
Platforms	Game Boy Advance, Nokia N-Gage, Mobile
Ratings	{{{ratings}}}
Distribution media	{{{distribution media}}}
Game engine	{{{game engine}}}

Rayman 3 (Game Boy Advance) is a portable version of the console game of the same name which was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. It is the first handheld Rayman game to feature multiplayer modes which made use of the Game Boy Advance/GameCube link cable, to link to the GameCube version. It is a 2D side-scrolling game with elements from Rayman, Rayman 2, and Rayman 3, though it is mostly centered around the story of Rayman 2. It is thought that it was originally developed as a Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 2, and that its Rayman 3 elements were added late in its development so that it could be marketed as a Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3. There are also versions of this game for some mobile phones, and it was ported to the Nokia N-Gage. It was not given the ‘Hoodlum Havoc’ subtitle, as Hoodlums are only being present as enemies in two levels of the game (Hoodlum Hideout and Wretched Ruins).

Plot

The game appears either to be set between the events of Rayman 2 and Rayman 3, or to be an alternative sequel to Rayman 2. The game begins with Rayman rebuking Globox for swallowing a Dark Lum while he was trying to save the Teensies. As Rayman is about to go and find a way to cure him, Globox runs away, and leaves him worried that he'll end up doing something stupid. Meanwhile, Razorbeard hears about this incident and becomes hellbent on catching Globox to extract the Dark Lum, so he can use it to make himself more powerful, while hoping to destroy Rayman again with the Grolgoth.

Single-player gameplay

As in Rayman 2, Rayman must collect 1000 Yellow Lums and must also find and destroy 50 cages – apparently the Heart of the World has been broken again by the Robo-Pirates, but it has also become his main mission to find Globox and have the Dark Lum removed and destroyed. The Yellow Lums are found in the vast majority of the levels, though 14 of them have between 2-4 cages each, unlike the original Rayman in which the 102 cages of Electoons are divided neatly into 6 for each level. Also, not all 50 cages have to be broken in order to reach the Heart of the Ancients.

The game is split into four hub worlds, which contain 6–9 levels each, including bonus areas which are unlocked when every single Yellow Lum in a world is collected. These worlds can be accessed one at a time on a world map similar to that in Rayman, and inside, the levels are presented as curtains rather than Magic Spiral Doors. A red curtain is a level that cannot be accessed just yet, while a blue curtain is one which is open for Rayman to step in. If a blue curtain is sparkling, that means that all the Yellow Lums in that level have been collected. At the end of these worlds is a lightpost guarded by Teensies, though they will only let Rayman move on if he has completed certain levels. Rayman can also exit both a level or a world if he walks to the exit signs at the beginning. Each world contains at least one boss and a Mega Havoc bonus level.

One of the multiplayer modes available

Multiplayer gameplay

As well as the single player story mode, there is also a number of multi player games in which up to four players can play using the Game Boy Advance Game Link cable. Players can either choose the Single-pak link, in which only one Game Pak is needed to play with up to 2 players, or the Multi-Pak link, in which each of up to four players will need a copy of the same cartridge each.

Single-pak game

In this game, both players control Rayman riding in the same rocketship that he uses in Heart of the Ancients, and the aim is to defeat each other, akin to the Missile Dogfight game in Rayman Revolution.

Tag Mode

This game is a tag game in which the player with the tag has to hurry and tag the others before their time runs out, and they can only do so by picking up the Fist power-up and using it.

Burglar Mode

This time, the player with the tag has to keep him or herself as far away from the others as possible, and the first one to reach the maximum time of one minute wins. A second Burglar map can only be unlocked when Rayman completes Ly's Punch Challenge 2 in the single player story mode.

Bumper Car Race

This is a bumper cars race that is set in the same environment as that in Magma Mayhem, and as such a player has to take care not to get pushed into the lava by the others as they race three laps for first place.

Bumper Car Arena

This is the same game as above, only this time the aim is for each player to push their opponents into the lava. The last one standing is the winner. This can only be unlocked when all 50 cages have been found and broken.

GameCube Link

Players which have both Rayman 3 on the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo GameCube can link the two games together using the special Game Boy Advance/GameCube link cable. Both of these have content only playable through this method. On the GameCube, there are unlockable minigames where Rayman is driving Kart and Globox is building Rayman's path. There is a second minigame similar to this, except two link cables, two Rayman 3 GBA cartridges, and two GameCube controllers are required. This one is basically the same, though there is a second team consisting of Reflux and Gumsi. On the Game Boy Advance, when the link is detected (due to data having to be transferred from the GameCube game to play), shorter bonus stages are available to play. A new bonus stage becomes available for every 100 Yellow Lums collected (out of 1000).

Levels

Forgotten Forests

• Wanderwood Forest
• Shining Glade
• Ascension
• Swamps of Begoniax
• Garish Gears
• Hoodlum Hideout
• Mega Havoc I

Haunted Dreams

• Magma Mayhem
• Vertigo Wastes
• Void of Bones
• Jano's Nest
• Prickly Passage
• Ly's Punch Challenge I
• Swamps of Begoniax II
• Mega Havoc II

Magmacosm

• River of Fire
• The Underlands
• Boulder Brink
• Den of Rocky
• Wretched Ruins
• Wicked Flow
• Mega Havoc III

Pirate Stronghold

• Creeping Chaos
• Scaleman's Keep
• The Mettleworks
• Magma Mayhem II
• Razor Slide
• Mega Havoc IV
• Lum Challenge
• Ly's Punch Challenge II
• Heart of the Ancients

Powers

Typically, Rayman will need certain powers to reach certain areas and as a result will have to return to them later once Ly the Fairy gives him all the powers he needs. Thankfully he begins the game with his Telescopic fist, which is much like that in Rayman, though at that point it is basic.

• Double Fists: This power allows Rayman to quickly use both his fists, which becomes useful for knocking down large objects.
• Grappling Fist: This allows him to grab onto Purple Lums and reach places he couldn't before.
• Climbing between two walls: Once Rayman receives this power, he will be able to scale between two walls.
• Super Helicopter: Allows Rayman to fly with his Helicopter whenever he eats a Blue Lum.
• Body Shot: This exclusive power allows Rayman to use his body to throw downwards and break weak floors, such as wooden bridges, open. This can only be done when he is in the air.

Items

• Yellow Lums: Rayman has to collect all of these in every level. Some are hidden, and some are in his pathway. Getting all of the Lums in one world gives him access to the Mega Havoc level of that world.
• Red Lums: These refill one space of Rayman's health if he collects one.
• Blue Lums: Blue Lums let Rayman use his helicopter hair to fly. Most of them only allow him to do it for a short time, but at one point in the game he finds one that lets him fly for as long as he wants until he reaches the end of that part.
• Green Lums: These work as checkpoints. If Rayman collect a Green Lum, he returns to the place he got it if he dies.
• Silver Lums: Whenever Rayman collects one of these he will gain an extra life. They are some of the rarest Lums in the game.
• Cages: Cages are hidden throughout the levels, and imprisoned within them are some of the inhabitants. Rayman usually has to hit the cage twice to free them.
• Lightposts: These are green lights on a post. They always at the end of a part of a level, and whenever Rayman goes to one, he will proceed to the next part of the level.
• Magic curtains: These are what Rayman uses to enter a level in the world map. They are blue in colour and the red ones must be unlocked.

The N-GAGE version

Gameloft did a port of the GBA version from Rayman 3 and released it for the Nokia N-GAGE mobile. There are some differences compared to the Game Boy Advance version:

• The screen is smaller (176x208 pixels, while the original GBA screen's resolution is 240x160 pixels)
• Some graphic elements are more sharp (Ex.: Rayman himself, he has got a black lineart)
• Some sound effects are weaker (Ex.: The Super Fist sound effect is different, aswell Rayman's jump sound effect)
• Some visual effects do not exist (Ex.: The curtains on both sides of the screen are missing, aswell the animation from the world transition)
• Four levels (Swamp of Begoniax, Magma Mayhem, Swamp of Begoniax 2 and Magma Mayhem 2) were substituted by new redesigned levels: Ascension, Ly's Punch Challenge 1, Free Falling and Falling Down. The number of Lums wasn't changed.

External Links

List of the complete gameplay videos of Rayman 3 for GBA