Rayman DS
Rayman DS is a remake of Rayman 2: The Great Escape that was released especially for the Nintendo DS in March 2005. It is almost identical to the original Nintendo 64 version of the game, only that it now includes a new, optional method of control which makes use of the touch-screen and stylus.
| Rayman DS | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Published by | Ubisoft | |
| Developed by | DC Studios (UK/Canada) | |
| Release date | 2005 | |
| Genre | 3D Platformer | |
| Gameplay mode | Single player | |
| Platforms | Nintendo DS | |
| Ratings | 3+ (PEGI), E (ESRB) | |
| Distribution media | Cartridge | |
Differences from Rayman 2: The Great Escape
- Rayman DS is identical to the N64 and PC versions of Rayman 2, and shares the same Hall of Doors hub level. The lower-quality MIDI music from the N64 version is used.
- The textures in Rayman DS are generally more jagged than the N64 version of Rayman 2 due to the DS's lack of texture filtering. The actual textures are the same, however.
- The conversion didn't go without any hiccups: See Technical Problems
- Rayman's speed could be controlled by the Touch Screen instead of the D-pad, which doesn't allow analog control.
Technical issues
Unlike any other version of Rayman 2, Rayman DS included many technical problems in its gameplay. The swirls that radiate from the Four Masks of Polokus or the Guardian of the Cave of Bad Dreams' staff, for example, are not located exactly where they should be. Another particularly troubling problem is experienced during the 'battle' against Umber and in the flower ride in the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava: in both cases, Rayman should be locked to the respective surfaces, but can slip off, even during Umber's cinematic. The only way to lock Rayman back to the surface's centre is to press the R button. Also, when replaying the Marshes of Awakening, Sssssam can completely disappear during his cinematic.
Trivia
- Another problem in the game is its dialogue. Occasionally (especially in the Knowledge of the World), names are misspelled. A frequently-misspelled name was Polokus, which is misspelled as Polukus.
- This was the first Rayman game to use the new Ubisoft logo.
- The US cover for Rayman DS is in the same style as the cover for Rayman: Hoodlums' Revenge and the European cover for Rayman Advance. Likewise, the European cover for Rayman DS is in the same style as the US cover for Rayman Advance.
- Rayman DS was one of the Nintendo DS titles shown on the back of the original Nintendo DS box.
- Rayman 3D, another remake of Rayman 2 for the Nintendo 3DS, was released under similar conditions to this game: close to the console's launch.