The Sanctuary of Water and Ice

The Sanctuary of Water and Ice is a location in Rayman 2: The Great Escape and its remakes. It follows the Bayou in all versions of the game, even though the sanctuary itself is found at the end of Whale Bay instead of on the Lost Island in the PlayStation adaptation. This is where Rayman fights Axel and finds the first mask of Polokus.

The Sanctuary of Water and Ice The Sanctuary of Water and Ice ← The Bayou The Menhir Hills → {{{connected to}}} Original version The Chamber of the Teensies Before entering the Sanctuary, Rayman is instead teleported to a hall, in which he meets the four Teensies he met in the Woods of Light. They tell him that he is now in the Chamber of the Teensies, a strange place that grants access to new worlds, provided that Rayman has collected at least 100 Yellow Lums. If he has, then they will allow him to pass through the gigantic stone doors. A little hesitant, Rayman approaches them, and is then coaxed to go in by the Teensies. Rayman will visit the Chamber for each time he is about to find a world that hides one of Polokus' masks. Phase 1 Rayman arrives on the beach of an island - one side, there are cliffs to climb, on the other side is a wooden pier with a cage hanging from a pole. While climbing up the cliffs, he will encounter a crab and a blue Henchman 800 () that can drill into the ground and tunnel to a nearby position - the drill can be deadly if it emerges and catches Rayman from underground. At the top of the cliffs, there is a little cave, and a pool of water, which has an underwater passage that leads to a small room with a cage. Rayman will then have to go back that way, and then climb the netted ladder, where he will then end up on a higher cliff in which small Pirate buildings were built on. There is also a strange door, and on its foot are two odd looking triangles, a yellow and a blue one - the Pirates have been looking for a way to open this door as well. Then Rayman will encounter a red Henchman 800 (), and once the coast is clear, he can proceed to throwing kegs at the metal sparadraps that lock the two buildings. Each one contains a Magic Sphere, which needs to be placed on top of these triangular bases according to their colour. Once they are both placed on, the door, which leads to the Sanctuary itself, will open. Down the corridor, there is a hall in which lots of Yellow Lums are found. Its walls display octopuses with tentacles resembling waves. Though the name of the sanctuary suggests a mixed environment of water and ice, the sanctuary lacks of water and is predominantly icy. There is also an open passageway that will lead to the next part of the sanctuary. Rayman is about to slide down the icy slope Phase 2 Now in a starry void, Rayman is left to slide down a set of icy, slippery slopes, catching the Yellow Lums as he goes. At the bottom of this, there is a slope facing upwards, where Axel, the Guardian of the Sanctuary, is waiting to ward Rayman off. Along the way there are Purple Lums, which are used here to avoid Axel's attacks, and to swing his way to a giant icicle that will destroy the Guardian if it falls on top of his head - otherwise, he is invincible. If Rayman falls, he will slide to the bottom of this slope, and will have to start over. Once the battle is over, an extra Purple Lum will appear from the fallen icicle, and he will have to swing onto the others once again, to cross the gap in between, onto another floating building with a waterfall flowing down. The waterfall curtains a large hallway. At the end of the hallway is a grassy chamber with a thin but steep hill, which has a strange pillar at the top with rings engraved on it. As Rayman shyly approaches this, the white ring on his chest begins to glow, as does the ring on the pillar, and an electric beam connects it to his body. This opens the pillar up, revealing the First Mask of Polokus. Rayman climbs onto it, and when he takes it, he is finally warped away as the pillar closes itself. Rayman then arrives on a moonlit cliff. At the edge of the cliff is a pillar similar to the one in the sanctuary, but atop it sits Polokus, the god of the Glade of Dreams. Polokus explains that he is far away despite being physically present, and can only speak in dreams, but by travelling to the Sanctuaries and acquiring their corresponding masks Rayman can bring Polokus back. Polokus takes the mask from the sanctuary and places it on his pillar, then warps Rayman back to the Hall of Doors (the Teensie Circle in the Minisaurus Plains in Revolution).

The Sanctuary of Water and Ice The Sanctuary of Water and Ice ← The Bayou The Menhir Hills → {{{connected to}}} Dreamcast version This level remains the same as before, but with the following exceptions: Axel is surrounded by a yellow glow At the beach in Phase 1, a blue Henchman 800 () parachutes down and replaces the drilling pirate. In the cave in which the cage is found, a Glob Crystal can be found as well. Instead of the cage being on the floor, it is hanging from the ceiling. A drilling blue Henchman 800 () shooting flying bombs replaces the other pirate at the door to the Sanctuary. In Phase 2, it appears to be snowing, mainly as a graphical enhancement. A yellow glow surrounds Axel. Strangely, no victory fanfare plays, neither does the jingle that usually plays when Rayman picks up a Mask.

PlayStation version Main article: Whale Bay The level is absent. Instead, Axel and the first mask can be found in Whale Bay (which occurs in this level's place, between the Menhir Hills and the Bayou, rather than after the Canopy). Only Axel's arena and the Mask chamber are lifted from the Sanctuary of Water and Ice for Whale Bay.

The Sanctuary of Water and Ice The Sanctuary of Water and Ice ← The Bayou The Menhir Hills → The Minisaurus Plain PlayStation 2 version While the game still refers to this level as the Sanctuary of Water and Ice, the characters now refer to it as the Lost Island, which appears to be the name of the island upon which the sanctuary was built. It also bears the following changes: On the beach in Phase 1, there are more Pirates as well as there are more trees, leaving Rayman with less room for him to move around while attacking them. He would also have to jump off the top of the cliffs and glide to catch the Yellow Lums at are above his reach. In the cave at the top of the cliffs, there is another Pirate, this time with bombs and a flamethrower. Another Pirate also sleeps next to the ladder. Most notably, there is a little room near the Sanctuary door, in which a cannon stands. Throwing a keg will not ignite the sparks it emits, so Rayman will have to backtrack once the power of his shots is upgraded in the Canopy. More Pirates stand at the door - two purple ones and a yellow one. Once they are cleared, Rayman can proceed to gathering and placing the Magic Spheres as normal. In Phase 2, the music played at the icy slopes is different.

External links Whale Bay playthrough at YouTube (Sony PlayStation version) (Part 2/2) The Sanctuary of Water and Ice playthrough at YouTube (Sony PlayStation 2 version)