French with Rayman

French with Rayman
French with Rayman
Published by	Ubisoft
Developed by	Ubisoft
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	1996
Genre	2D platformer, edutainment
Gameplay mode	Single player
Languages	{{{languages}}}
Platforms	MS-DOS, Sony PlayStation
Ratings	{{{ratings}}}
Distribution media	{{{distribution media}}}
Game engine	{{{game engine}}}

French with Rayman is the name of the only English title in a series of educational video games for children based on the original Rayman, which consists of a large array of PC and PlayStation games in a total of 13 different languages.

The series, known internally as RAYQUI, is designed to teach children a secondary language, namely French, English, German or Spanish depending on the release. All games in the series follow the same plot and share the same gameplay. The levels are almost the same too, albeit with minor differences in layout and localized educational tasks.

Another series of educational games, which also shares the same gameplay, is designed to teach children the basics of mathematics and reading.

Plot

In Rayman's world, everything was happy and peaceful. One day, when the fairy Betilla and I were enjoying all this, I received a mysterious letter.

"It's from my cousin in France!" I explained to my friend. "I haven't seen old Pierre for such a long time. We grew up together and graduated as magicians on the same day. Oh, we had great times, Pierre and I. When he went abroad, we swore that we would always swap our most powerful magic secrets. That must be the reason for his letter! But it's written in French! I can't understand it at all! Oh, this is ridiculous! This must be a most powerful magic spell, but we can't decipher it."

What I had not realised is that the wicked Mr Dark had been spying on us. He had been listening to our conversation. He crept up on us and took us by surprise, and made off with the letter from my cousin. Then, with an evil laugh, he cast a spell over us, which he had invented himself. If no one came to our rescue, Betilla and I, in a few hours' time, we would be turned into ugly garden gnomes. And Mr Dark would have all the time in the world in which to decipher and use the magic secret instead of me. No, that must be prevented at all costs! Rayman to the rescue! Get my cousin's letter back from Dark. Decipher the secret written in French before he can do so, and break the evil spell which threatens us. You will have to go through many tests, but we still have a few hours left in which we can help you.

—The Magician, French with Rayman

The events of the game are set into motion when the Magician, while in his garden with Betilla the fairy, receives a letter from a foreign cousin: either an English one named Andrew, a French one called Pierre, a German one called Hans or a Spanish one called Pedro. It contains a recipe for a magic spell. However, the Magician is unable to read the language in question. He explains to Betilla that he and his cousin grew up together and graduated as magicians on the same day. Suddenly, Mr Dark appears, snatches the recipe from the Magician's hands, casts a spell which will turn them into garden gnomes in a few hours, and flees. The Magician then calls Rayman on his telephone and asks him for help.

After Rayman has retrieved the recipe from Mr Dark, he and the Magician use the knowledge they acquired during their journey to decipher the letter from the latter's cousin. They then discover that the formula is used to create a dessert associated with the country whose language is taught in the game, such as chocolate cake in French with Rayman or a mint chocolate chip ice cream in L'Anglais avec Rayman.

• 
  The Magician's family photo album, as seen in the English learning educational games
• 
  Rayman answering the Magician's phone call in the introduction cutscene

Gameplay

In comparison to the original Rayman game, the gameplay has been simplified for the young player. The number of main levels in the game has been reduced to 15 (2 in the Dream Forest, the Blue Mountains and Picture City and 3 in Band Land, the Caves of Skops and Candy Château]), each divided into 3 parts (maps). Each level covers a distinct educational theme, such as numbers, nature and sports.

Most regional releases are available in three levels of difficulty, but some, like the games that teach French and the PlayStation releases, are only available in one. Sometimes, all three levels of difficulty are available in the same game and can be selected from the menu, and sometimes, they are split into two different games, one for level 1 and another for levels 2 and 3. The different levels of difficulty do not only provide different educational tasks, but also different maps within levels, sometimes almost identical, sometimes completely different: the maps are usually longer and harder in the higher levels. The differences between languages, for a given map and difficulty, are always minor.

One of the Korean releases, "레이맨 프렌치이야기: 다이아몬드를 찾아라!!" ("Rayman French Story: Find the Diamonds!!"), is notable for being branded as teaching two languages, French and English, but it is only a copy of the English title French with Rayman, with no Korean content whatsoever.

In addition to the main levels, there is an area called Betilla's garden, containing five short levels which the player may play to practice their skills without losing lives. The game also features a new world map, different from that of the original Rayman.

Each level starts with the Magician giving Rayman an overview on what he has to do. Throughout the level, Rayman will encounter his hat at various points where he asks the player a question. The player then has multiple paths to choose from, the right path being the right answer to the question. A life is lost if the wrong path is taken, usually due to it leading to an obstacle which instantly causes Rayman to lose a life. During levels, it is possible to access a section where either the Magician or Betilla give hints on how to solve the problems. the Magician's cousin and an unnamed relative of Betilla's are also encountered. Once all of the educational levels have been cleared, Rayman can then access Mr Dark's lair, a final level in Candy Château with no educational content.

Levels

• Betilla's garden
• People
• In the Street
• At School
• At Home
• Media
• Special Occasions and Traditions
• Numbers
• Nature
• Sports
• On Holidays
• Food and Drinks
• The Human Body
• Adventures and Heroes
• Culture and Art
• General Knowledge
• Mr Dark's lair (also known as "The end")

Regional releases

Below are tables of all known releases of the game. The file date shown is the date recorded for the files on the disc and does not indicate when the game was officially released.

Franska med Rayman, Spanska med Rayman and Tyska med Rayman were originally meant to release in Sweden a year after the release of Engelska med Rayman, judging by the box cover which states this on the back, but the releases were eventually canceled. Similarly, the Dutch titles Spaans met Rayman and Duits met Rayman were advertised in the manual for Engels met Rayman and Frans met Rayman but never released. The game files of some versions also suggest that a game for teaching Italian to French speakers was considered, but it was never advertised nor released.

Platform	File date	Name	Original language	New language	Version code	Version mode	Difficulties	Text language
MS-DOS	1998-06-29	French with Rayman - (Age 8+)	English	French	GF	GF - 1	1	English
MS-DOS	1997-07-31	Anglais avec Rayman - CM/6ème Rayman Jeu d'action pour réviser - Anglais - CM/6e	French	English	FG1	FG - 1	1	Français
MS-DOS	1997-08-02	Anglais avec Rayman - 5e/4e Rayman Jeu d'action pour réviser - Anglais - 5e/4e	French	English	FG2	FG - 2 3	2 3	Français
PlayStation	2000-06-18	Rayman Junior : Anglais - CM/6e	French	English	FG1	FG - 1	1	Français
MS-DOS	1997-08-04	Allemand avec Rayman Rayman Jeu d'action pour réviser - Allemand - Collège	French	German	FD	FD - 1 2 3	1 2 3	Deutsch
MS-DOS	1997-08-04	Espagnol avec Rayman Rayman Jeu d'action pour réviser - Espagnol - Collège	French	Spanish	FE	FE - 1 2 3	1 2 3	Spanish
MS-DOS	1997-10-23	Englisch mit Rayman - Anfänger Rayman Springen Rennen Lernen: Englisch - Anfänger	German	English	DG1	DG - 1	1	Deutsch
MS-DOS	1997-11-06	Englisch mit Rayman - Fortgeschrittene Rayman Springen Rennen Lernen: Englisch - Fortgeschrittene	German	English	DG2	DG - 2 3	2 3	Deutsch
PlayStation	2000-06-18	Rayman Junior: Englisch für Anfänger	German	English	DG1	DG - 1	1	Deutsch
MS-DOS	1997-10-15	Französisch mit Rayman - Anfänger Rayman Springen Rennen Lernen: Französisch - Anfänger	German	French	DF	DF - 1	1	Deutsch
MS-DOS	1998-02-06	Engels met Rayman - Beginners - 8-12 jaar	Dutch	English	GH1	GH - 1	1	HOLLAND
MS-DOS	1998-02-10	Engels met Rayman - Gevordenen & Vergevorderen	Dutch	English	GH2	GH - 2 3	2 3	HOLLAND
MS-DOS	1998-02-10	Frans met Rayman	Dutch	French	HF	DF - 1	1	HOLLAND
MS-DOS	1998-05-08	레이맨 잉글리쉬 제1편	Korean	English	KG1	KG - 1	1	English
MS-DOS			Korean	English	KG2	KG - 2 3		English
MS-DOS		레이맨프렌치	Korean	French
MS-DOS	1999-09-22	雷射超人英語闖通關	Chinese	English	TG1	TG - 1	1	Taiwan
MS-DOS	1999-09-22	雷射超人英語闖通關	Chinese	English	TG2	TG - 2 3	2 3	Taiwan
MS-DOS	1999-12-16	Rayman uczy angielskiego - Poziom 8-14	Polish	English	PG1	PG - 1	1	Polish
MS-DOS	1999-12-16	Rayman uczy angielskiego - Poziom Gimnazjum	Polish	English	PG2	PG - 2 3	2 3	Polish
MS-DOS	1998-11-09	Rayman Opettaa Englantia - Taso 1	Finnish	English	FG1	FG - 1	1	Suomi
MS-DOS	1998-11-09	Rayman Opettaa Englantia - Taso 2 & 3	Finnish	English	FG2	FG - 2 3	2 3	Suomi
MS-DOS	1998-10-10	Engelska med Rayman - Nivå Lätt	Swedish	English	SG1	SG - 1	1	Svenska
MS-DOS		Engelska med Rayman - Nivå Medel/Svår	Swedish	English	SG2	SG - 2 3		Svenska
MS-DOS			Thai					thai
MS-DOS		Rayman English - Volume I	Italian	English	IG1	IG - 1	1	Italiano
MS-DOS		Rayman English - Volume II e III	Italian	English	IG2	IG - 2 3	2 3	Italiano
MS-DOS	1998-04-02	Inglés con Rayman I	Spanish	English	EG1	EG - 1	1	Castellano
MS-DOS	1998-02-23	Inglés con Rayman II	Spanish	English	EG2	EG - 2 3	2 3	Castellano
PlayStation	2000-06-18	Rayman Junior: Inglés - Nivel principiantes - 8-10 años	Spanish	English	EG1	EG - 1	1	Castellano
PlayStation	2000-06-18	Rayman Junior	Italian	English	IG1	IG - 1	1	Italiano
MS-DOS			Portuguese (Brazilian)	English	PG1	PG - 1	1	Português
MS-DOS	2000-05-10	Aprendendo Inglês com Rayman - Idade 8 a 12 anos	Portuguese (Brazilian)	English	PG2	PG - 2 3	2 3	Português
MS-DOS	1998-07-24	雷曼英语万事通	Chinese	English	CG1	CG - 1	1
MS-DOS	1998-07-24	雷曼英语万事通	Chinese	English	CG2	CG - 2 3	2 3

Box art

• 
  French with Rayman
• 
  L'Anglais avec Rayman CM/6ème (1997 PC edition)
• 
  L'Anglais avec Rayman 5ème/4ème (1997 PC edition)
• 
  L'Allemand avec Rayman (1997 PC edition)
• 
  L'Espagnol avec Rayman (1997 PC edition)
• 
  L'Anglais CM/6ème (1999 PC edition)
• 
  L'Anglais Collège (1999 PC edition)
• 
  L'Allemand Collège (1999 PC edition)
• 
  L'Espagnol Collège (1999 PC edition)
• 
  Rayman Junior (CM/6ème; PlayStation edition)
• 
  Französisch mit Rayman
• 
  Französisch mit Rayman
• 
  Französisch mit Rayman
• 
  Französisch mit Rayman
• 
  Englisch mit Rayman
• 
  Rayman English
• 
  Rayman English
• 
  Rayman uczy angielskiego
• 
  Rayman uczy angielskiego
• 
  雷曼英语万事通
• 
  Frans met Rayman
• 
  Engels met Rayman
• 
  Engels met Rayman
• 
  Engels met Rayman + Frans met Rayman (compilation)
• 
  Engelska med Rayman
• 
  Engelska med Rayman

Localized assets

German learning

• 
  Title screen
• 
  World map
• 
  Menu
• 
  The Photographer's panel

French learning

• 
  Title screen
• 
  World map
• 
  Menu
• 
  The Photographer's panel

English learning

• 
  A title screen
• 
  A world map
• 
  Menu
• 
  The Photographer's panel
• 
  Another title screen, featuring Rayman in a bowler hat.
• 
  Another world map, featuring real-world locations. The World Trade Center can be seen on the right of the screen.
• 
  Later editions of the game were edited out of sensitivity following the September 11 attacks.

Spanish learning

• 
  Title screen
• 
  World map
• 
  Menu
• 
  The Photographer's panel

External links

• L'Anglais avec Rayman introduction scene
• Inglés con Rayman playthrough (PlayStation version)