Rayman 2
| Rayman 2: The Great Escape | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Published by | Ubisoft | |
| Developed by | Ubisoft | |
| Release date | 1999 | |
| Genre | 3D Platformer | |
| Gameplay mode | Single player | |
| Platforms | Nintendo 64, PC, Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation, Game Boy Color, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS | |
"Rayman 2" redirects here. For other uses, see Rayman 2 (disambiguation).
Rayman 2: The Great Escape is the second major game in the Rayman series, and is the sequel to Rayman. It was first released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64 and was followed by ports for the Sega Dreamcast, PC, and Sony PlayStation, with each port being different in its own way perhaps due to the specifications of each console. It was also the first 3D game of the series, and introduced many brand new major characters, though featured almost none from its predecessor. Rayman 2: The Great Escape is often abbreviated as Rayman 2 or (to avoid confusion with the similarly named Rayman 2: Revolution) R2.
Early production
Very recently, it was revealed that Rayman 2 was first developed to be a 2D platforming game in the same vein as Rayman, for the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn [1]. Screenshots and videos suggested that the game was still going to be about a robot invasion as it featured enemies similar to the Robo-Pirates, and it also featured background platforming - using a device similar to a shower head and a toilet flush, Rayman could teleport from the foreground to the background. One video in particular also featured a female character with red hair that appears to be Betilla the Fairy, but could also be Betina in a cameo.
The whole of this game was cancelled in favour of the 3D version it became, though a playable prototype (version 01.12d) featuring one level is included in the PlayStation version of Rayman 2, and unlocked if the player collects at least 720 Yellow Lums out of 800. It was recently discovered that this prototype was finished on May 31st 1996 and was sent to the Playstation RayMan 2 team for review.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Rayman 2 is somewhat similar to that of Rayman, though this time Rayman starts with a few powers to defend himself, one of which is given to him by Globox who is introduced at the very beginning. The aim of the game is to rescue all of the Yellow Lums that have been scattered following the explosion of the Primordial Core, and the creatures that have been imprisoned in cages, while defeating any Robo-Pirates that stand in Rayman's way.
Main Characters
The Good Guys
- Rayman - The hero and protagonist of the game
- Globox - Rayman's best friend and Uglette's husband
- Ly the Fairy - Rayman's friend and powerful ally
- Murfy - Serves as an "instructor"-type character
- The Teensies - Keepers of the Hall of Doors
- Clark - A friend of Rayman's
The Bad Guys
- Admiral Razorbeard - The villain of the game
- Robo-Pirate Army - Razorbeard's army
Environment
Unlike Rayman, Rayman 2 is not divided into certain themed worlds, but rather a trail of 20 different locations, none of which are as surreal as its predecessor's, but are still dissimilar to the real world. The levels are played in a linear fashion in a World Map known as the Hall of Doors (Isle of Doors in the Dreamcast version), with most levels following a single path (though the Cave of Bad Dreams, Walk of Life, and Walk of Power are on side-paths). The player is able to backtrack to past levels if he or she wishes, and can move on to the final stage without breaking all of the cages.
Levels
PC, N64 and Dreamcast version
- The Woods of Light
- The Fairy Glade
- The Marshes of Awakening
- The Bayou
- The Walk of Life (sublevel)
- The Sanctuary of Water and Ice
- The Menhir Hills
- The Cave of Bad Dreams (sublevel)
- The Canopy
- Whale Bay
- The Sanctuary of Stone and Fire
- The Echoing Caves
- The Precipice
- The Top of the World
- The Sanctuary of Rock and Lava
- The Walk of Power (sublevel)
- Beneath the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava
- The Tomb of the Ancients
- The Iron Mountains
- The Prison Ship
- The Crow's Nest
Hack
It is possible to run the game under higher resolutions than 1024x768 by a simple hack. By editing the file C:\WINDOWS\UbiSoft\ubi.in with a basic text editor, you'll have something like this
[SYSTEM] Test Sound=1 3DFX=0 Memory=511 MMX=1 Windows colors=34 CPU=9 [INSTALLED PRODUCTS] rayman2 [rayman2] GLI_DllFile=GliDX6 GLI_Dll=DirectX6 GLI_Driver=display GLI_Device=Direct3D HAL GLI_Mode=1 - 1024 x 768 x 16 ShortCutDesktopName=C:\Documents and Settings\Administrateur\Bureau\Jouer à Rayman 2 ShortCutDirectory=C:\Documents and Settings\Administrateur\Menu Démarrer\Programmes\Ubi Soft Games\Rayman 2 Language=French Configuration=2 VolumeName=RAYMAN2 SrcDataPath=\ Directory=C:\UbiSoft\Rayman2\ [OSD] Valid=TRUE
The GLI_Mode line defines the resolution of the game. You'll just have to replace "1024 x 768" by "1440 x 900" to run the game in 1440x900 instead of the default 1024x768.
Caution: Modifying the other values may crash the game.
Promotion
UbiSoft promoted Rayman 2 with many toys and even a cartoon. There were YoYos, cell phone covers, a PlayStation 2 remote, a version of the game with a figure, and Happy Meal toys.
Cartoon
Main Article: Rayman: The Animated Series
McDonald's
UbiSoft joined with McDonald's to make a happy meal with Rayman toys. These toys were a Rayman rolling on a walking shell, Rayman on a plum with spinning helicopter hair, a lighting up cage, a sound making Henchman 800, a wobbling Globox and Ly.
Tonic Trouble
Characters from each game made cameo appearances in the other game. In Tonic Trouble, Rayman would be seen during the game's end credits. In Rayman 2, a salesman who previously appeared in the intro sequence of the PC version of Tonic Trouble sells the Grolgoth to Razorbeard late in the game. Tonic Trouble was worked on (though not developed) by Michel Ancel, used the Rayman 2 engine, originally appeared on the same platforms as Rayman 2, and was also released by Ubisoft, giving reason for the crossovers, though Tonic Trouble had not fared well critically or commercially, whereas Rayman 2 became successful in both areas.
Rayman Mobile
Rayman Bowling and Rayman Golf are spin-offs of Rayman 2 and its remakes. Gameloft ported them to the N-Gage and other Samsung and Nokia phones.
Remakes
- Rayman 2: Revolution - PlayStation 2 remake that was essentially a slightly more difficult version of the original, with added levels, enemies, and a new free-roaming feature.
- Rayman DS - DS remake identical to the original N64 version, though many glitches and bugs were included that were not present in the original.
Trivia
- In the German gaming magazine PC Player (issue 01/2000) Rayman 2: The Great Escape was named as "Best Platformer in 1999".
- The PSX release of Rayman 2 originally came with a digital watch.
- In Japan, some characters with purple in them were changed. Rayman's body was made blue, Sssssam the snake turned into a kind of green, and Jano's hat was turned red. But the most bizarre change was made to Ly, who's body was changed from yellow/purple to white/pink.
- The names of a few characters changed during design of the game.
The original name of Globox was Globber. The original name of Razorbeard was Razorface. The original name of the Teensies was Smalbeings. The original name of Polokus was Polochus. And the robo-pirates were originally named the Mysterious Guild.