The Magician (Rayman 1)

{{{Character | name = The Magician | image = [[[Image:R1Intro 001.PNG|thumb|left|320px|]]]The Magician, as he appears in Rayman 1.]] | alignment = Good (Rayman) | appears in = Rayman, Rayman Junior, English with Rayman, | portrayed by = Chris Bénard (Rayman; unconfirmed) | sex = Male | species = [[Rayman's species] | status = Magician | relatives = Andrew (cousin) }}

With his help, Rayman can enter secret worlds. But note that this magic stunt has to be deserved, and it will cost you 10 Tings to take advantage of it.

—Manual, Rayman

He is the guardian of harmony and well-being. He holds the book of knowledge and expertise. Since he is very smart, he always finds solutions and gives a helping hand to those in need. Throughout his journey, Rayman can count on his valuable advice to lead him to Mister Dark.

—Official site, Rayman Junior

The Magician will help you throughout your quest. He's always willing to trade you Electoons for Lums, which will help you unlock new worlds and maps. At your service, his magic hat will provide tips and tricks galore to help you survive.

—Manual, Rayman Origins

The Magician is a major character in the Rayman series. He makes his first appearance in the original Rayman, where he seems to be a member of Rayman's limbless species. His next major role is in Rayman Origins, where he is revealed to be a Teensie, and ultimately takes on a villainous role. (According to unused dialogue from this game, his real name is Ales Mansay.) In the intermediate years, the Magician also appeared in several educational spin-offs of the original game, such as Rayman Junior and English with Rayman.

Character description

The Magician first appears in the intro sequence of the original Rayman.

Appearance

In the original Rayman, the Magician appears to be part of the same limbless species as Rayman. He bears all of the signature traits – lack of limbs, large nose and white gloves. He has long blonde hair that nearly reaches the ground, and his eyes are always covered by his long black top hat, which shines in blue and purple and has a gold star on the front. (He often retreats into this hat, and can be found hiding inside it in many levels.) He has also been seen wearing shirts of two colours – in the introduction sequence of Rayman, he wears a purple shirt with two blue buttons, but in the game itself, this is blue with golden buttons. The colour of his shoes – purple and orchid – remain the same, but with different stripe patterns. He is also noticeably shorter than Rayman is in Rayman, but in the educational games, he is approximately the same height as Betilla the Fairy. According to English with Rayman, the Magician has a cousin named Andrew.

In Rayman Origins, the Magician is no longer a member of Rayman's species – like several other characters, he has been redesigned to better fit the world established in the Rayman sequels. The Magician is now a grey-haired Teensie who wears a purple shirt and a black coat. He still has his signature, star-adorned top hat, and can still be found hiding inside it in various levels.

Personality

The personality of the Magician had not been fully established in the first Rayman game. This was due to his low participation in the story and his mysterious nature in the game. However, his happy narrative and flamboyantly positive attitude denotes the Magician as being unconcerned despite any terrible event to happen in the Glade of Dreams; this could also mean that the Magician relies heavily on Rayman and his capabilities.

The Magician also appears to be somewhat introverted, usually hiding inside his top hat, and only showing his face when doing business. This does not prevent him from socialising with other creatures of the Glade; in the educational spin-offs, the Magician's friendship with Betilla the Fairy is made clear.

In Rayman Origins, the Magician does not appear. Instead a teensie magician makes his role and tricks Rayman to collect lums for him. The name of this magician is Ales Mansay

Career

According to a script found in the files of Rayman Origins, the Magician started his carrer at a young age in the school of magic. This event could have taken place chronologically during Rayman 1, when he was still benevolent. The other students bullied him during that time due to his poor skills in magic. While maintaining the nickname "Magician", his real name, Ales Mansay (meaning Salesman in pig latin), left more clear his main purpose in the games: provide assistance in exchange for monetary assets. Finally, tempted by the other students, the Magician turned away from Rayman to become a fan of the evil Mr. Dark. The magician also proved to be an expert engineer at the end of Rayman Origins, creating a gigantic robotic empire in the Moody Clouds.

Video game appearances

Throughout the game, the Magician can be found hiding inside his top hat.

In exchange for ten Tings, he will transport Rayman to a bonus level.

Rayman

The Magician first appears in the introductory sequence of Rayman. Here he tells the story of how Mr Dark stole the Great Protoon and brought about the collapse of the valley's natural stability. He calls on Rayman to go and free the Electoons from the cages that hostile beings had imprisoned them in, as well as bring the Great Protoon back from the Candy Château. He is the only character to have a major speaking role in the game. The Magician's voice was re-recorded for the American localisation, possibly by a different actor; his voice in this version is deeper and more brash than the high-pitched voice in the original European release.

Rayman can come across the Magician's hat several times throughout the game. The Magician only emerges from it if Rayman has at least ten Tings; if not, he will clearly indicate with his hand that the hero will need them. If Rayman does have at least ten Tings, he automatically reaches out and drops them into the Magician's outstretched hand. The Magician then teleports Rayman to one of his bonus levels. In these secret areas, Rayman must collect all the Tings within the time limit. If he succeeds, he wins an extra life. Only a single life can be won in each bonus level. Subsequent victories in the same bonus levels are purely for fun, and also record the time taken by the player so that they can attempt to beat their records if they wish.

The Magician and Betilla the Fairy watch over the Magic Book of Knowledge

Rayman Junior

The Magician takes on a major role as a mentor and teacher in Rayman Junior, one of several educational spin-offs based on the original Rayman game. He introduces the story of the game once again, only this time, he tells of how Mister Dark has broken into his cottage, stolen the Great Book of Knowledge and destroyed the map to the villain's hideout. Once again, the Magician and Betilla the Fairy must call on Rayman to save the day, this time by reassembling the map to Mr Dark's Lair so that he can recover the book.

Instead of providing bonus areas, the Magician now helps Rayman to solve the many problems (spelling and mathematical problems for the young player) throughout the journey. When Rayman starts a level, the Magician gives him an overview of the specific tasks he needs to carry out in order to complete it. After that, his hat appears several times throughout the level. Whenever Rayman passes it, the Magician either asks a new question or reminds Rayman of the level's task. Each time Rayman reaches the end of the final stage of a level, the Magician appears and gives a different performance, such as dancing or rapping 90s style, while praising Rayman for his success.

In Rayman Origins, the Magician can still be found hiding inside his top hat, but now he gives the heroes advice rather than unlocking bonus levels.

The Magician collects the player's Lums at the end of each level.

Rayman Origins

The Magician does not appear in this game. Instead, a teensie with his same clothes makes appareance. The teensie´s name is Ales Mansay as decipted in the following script

The Magician takes on the mantle of Mr Dark.

An earlier version of the game's script was found amongst the files of the game's demo, and, while it follows the same general story, it also sheds more light on certain aspects of the plot, and contains a great deal expository dialogue that was excised from the final version of the game. The Teensie Magician´s, real name Ales Mansay, was bullied and ostracised by the other Teensies at magic school for his poor magical abilities. Although he saw how Rayman overcome Mr Dark in the original game, Ales Mansay secretly admired the villain's dark and mysterious nature, and wanted to emulate him instead of follow the hero´s path. He also developed a hatred for the Bubble Dreamer, whose nightmares had repeatedly overcome the Glade of Dreams and were a constant threat to its inhabitants. Ales concocted a plan. He hid a microphone in the Snoring Tree, so that the heroes' snoring would irritate and ultimately start a war with the Livid Dead. (This microphone, disguised as a flower, can still be seen in the game itself, in both the beginning and ending sequences.) Throughout the game, the Teensie pretended that he was a friend of the heroes, allowing him to collect Lums from them in exchange for Electoons which they could use to reach new levels. Ales used these Lums to power his mechas: gigantic machines which he was building to take over the Glade of Dreams, imposing order and eliminating the chaos of the Bubble Dreamer's nightmares. Eventually, however, the heroes reach Ales's headquarters in the Moody Clouds and put a stop to his plans.

Rayman Legends

The Magician's hat in Rayman Legends.

According one of the leaked screenshots, the Magician is presumed to return in Rayman Legends. His signature top hat is clearly seen sitting under the shadow of a fallen tree, though this time it's placed upside down. But it couldn´t be the return of The Magician but Ales Mansay, who could have survived from the explosion in Rayman Origins.

Trivia

Although he does not make a direct appearance, a notable reference to the Magician is made in the Gameboy Advance version of Rayman Raving Rabbids, in the level 'The kids' hamlet' from the Child world. In certain area, a grey Rabbid wearing the Magician's top hat won't let Rayman pass. Much like the Magician, the bunny proposes Rayman to play a minigame with limited time. Rayman must enter his tent and play a minigame called 'Shoot a Rabbid', where he has to shoot carrots at targets with the face of a Rabbid, and avoid shooting at the ones with the face of Murfy. If Rayman completes the challenge successfully, the Rabbid will let Rayman pass through the rest of the level.

Image gallery

		A Rabbid wearing the Magician's hat.