The Menhir Hills: Difference between revisions

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===Phase 2===
===Phase 2===
After taming another Walking Shell, Rayman crosses a nettle patch and must dodge and weave through crates and the nettles that protrude in the various tunnels he goes through.  The end of the ride leaves Rayman at the entrance of the [[Elite Troop Training Academy]]. As intimidating as the name is, Rayman soon finds there's nothing to worry about: Clark has already taken care of the students inside.
After taming another Walking Shell, Rayman crosses a nettle patch and must dodge and weave through crates and the nettles that protrude in the various tunnels he goes through.  The end of the ride leaves Rayman at the entrance of the [[Elite Troop Training Center]]. As intimidating as the name is, Rayman soon finds there's nothing to worry about: Clark has already taken care of the students inside.


Clark is not feeling well; apparently, while fighting the Robo-Pirates he accidentally swallowed a robot part.  Clark's future will not be bright unless Rayman can bring him the [[Elixir of Life]] from [[the Cave of Bad Dreams]].
Clark is not feeling well; apparently, while fighting the Robo-Pirates he accidentally swallowed a robot part.  Clark's future will not be bright unless Rayman can bring him the [[Elixir of Life]] from [[the Cave of Bad Dreams]].

Revision as of 13:07, 25 July 2011

‘This place is guarded by a walking shell. I heard that it may be possible to tame it.’Murfy instructing Rayman on how to pass through the Menhir Hills


The Menhir Hills is a location from Rayman 2: The Great Escape, Rayman 2: Revolution, and Rayman DS. It is characterized by its focus on riding Walking Shells, its short length (one of the shortest levels in all versions of Rayman 2), being the only level other than the Fairy Glade and the Marshes of Awakening that Rayman must re-visit at least once to complete the game, and being the first level in the game to give Rayman a sidekick – in this case, Clark the Giant.

The Menhir Hills are mountainous foothills covered with large, pine tree-like boulders known as menhirs, hence the area's name. In most regions of the foothills, barely a sound of life can be heard, though every now and then the falling over of a menhir breaks the silence. Large trees stand as loners in the small clearings that dot the landscape. A great river flows through the Menhir Hills, and bridges are twice necessary to cross them.

The Menhir Hills are in several instances impossibly to cross on foot; similar to Beneath the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava, patches of the hills are engulfed by giant, thorny nettles which can be crossed only by riding a walking shell. These roots occasionally poke out of the walls of the several small tunnels that cut through in the mountainside. In many of the areas where nettles do not grow, the ground is still too steep to cross on foot.

When Admiral Razorbeard seized Rayman's world, the Menhir Hills was the construction site of two Robo-Pirate training facilities: the Military Academy and the Elite Troop Training Academy. These facilities largely cut the hills into three segments.


The Menhir Hills
The Menhir Hills
The Sanctuary of Water and Ice The Canopy
Connected to {{{connected to}}}

Lums 50 Cages 7

Original version

Phase 1

The level's characteristic walking shell is used to represent it in the Hall of Doors

When Rayman first arrives in the Menhir Hills (in Revolution the Globox's House Teensie explains that Clark went to the hills and Rayman must follow him), Murfy immediately appears right in Rayman's face and warns him about the nearby academy's Walking Bullet. Murfy hints that the bullet may be tamable, and Rayman shortly does just that. By riding the Walking Bullet, Rayman is able to cross a patch of nettles to reach the Military Academy.

Rayman enters the academy to find two Henchmen 800 asleep; though the sign outside hints at sneaking past them, the Robo-Pirates are of the weak variety and are fairly easy to defeat (though particularly in all versions but Revolution this is the first time multiple Robo-Pirates are encountered at the same time) (it should also be noted that there are more than two Robo-Pirates in the academy in Revolution, some of which being hidden). Whatever the player has Rayman do, the hero must continue on to leave the small academy.

Phase 2

After taming another Walking Shell, Rayman crosses a nettle patch and must dodge and weave through crates and the nettles that protrude in the various tunnels he goes through. The end of the ride leaves Rayman at the entrance of the Elite Troop Training Center. As intimidating as the name is, Rayman soon finds there's nothing to worry about: Clark has already taken care of the students inside.

Clark is not feeling well; apparently, while fighting the Robo-Pirates he accidentally swallowed a robot part. Clark's future will not be bright unless Rayman can bring him the Elixir of Life from the Cave of Bad Dreams.

This requirement forces the level to end immediately, unfinished. In all versions other than the PS version, Rayman must backtrack to the Marshes of Awakening (in Revolution's case, this may be the first visit) to locate the Guardian of the Cave of Bad Dreams. As Rayman does not know the cave's name prior to his encounter with Clark, this cave was not accessible prior to the encounter. In the PS version, Rayman may go directly to the Cave of Bad Dreams from the Menhir Hills.

Elite Troop Training Academy
The final segment

Return

In all versions other than Revolution, Rayman is again lectured by Murfy about the Walking Bullets when he returns to the Menhir Hills. Rayman must travel through the entire level once more until he reaches Clark.

Revived by the Elixir of Life, Clark busts a wooden wall in the Elite Troop Training Academy, allowing Rayman access to the empty school. Rayman must lead Clark to other wooden walls so that he may break through them as well. In the end Rayman leaves Clark and descends a staircase leading out of the academy.

Phase 3

In the final segment of the Menhir Hills, Rayman must once again tame a Walking Shell. After doing so, he must ride it up a steep slope and then through a tunnel full of rising menhirs. The tunnel leads to a ‘forest’ full of toppling menhirs Rayman must dodge; the bridge he crosses has a similar set of obstacles. Finally, after avoiding the many menhirs, Rayman and the Walking Bullet leap off a cliff and into a Spiral Door. The level is now finished, though incomplete.

The Menhir Hills
The Menhir Hills
The Sanctuary of Water and Ice The Canopy
Connected to {{{connected to}}}

Lums 50 Cages 7

Dreamcast version

...

The Menhir Hills
Whale Bay The Canopy
Connected to The Cave of Bad Dreams

Lums 55 Denys 2 Ludivs 3 Murphys 0

PlayStation version

...

In the PlayStation version, the level is shorter still, with the entire first phase being cut. Therefore, the player has not even completed a single level of the world when they head for the Cave of Bad Dreams. As Murphy does not serve as guide in this version, his segment is also cut (although it may have been anyway, as the area in which it occurs was cut). A stone can be found near the entrance portal in which Ly explains that Rayman must tame the shell. Unlike Murphy, she appears certain that the shell can be tamed, although still does not elaberate on how to do this.

Another difference is that the portal which Rayman uses is located within the room in which Clark is found, rather than just outside as with all other versions. Therefore, it appears in the cutscene. However, it is exclusive to the cutscene and cannot be seen or used outside of the scene.

The Menhir Hills
The Menhir Hills
The Lost Island The Canopy
Hub Globox's House

Lums 50 Familiar Spirits 7

PlayStation 2 version

Backtracking

After Rayman has completed the Canopy, he is able to light torches. An alcove under the entrance of the Elite Troop Training Academy holds one of the Menhir Hills' cages, but to reach it Rayman must first light a nearby torch and ride a keg over a large gap.

External links