Rayman (video game)

This article is about the 1995 video game. For an overview of the series, see Rayman series.

For a cartoonist called RayMan, see Mark Horemans.

See also: Rayman (disambiguation)

Rayman
Cover art of the PC version of Rayman Cover art of the PC version of Rayman
Developer(s)	Ubisoft
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Designer(s)	Michel Ancel (lead designer), Alexandra Steible (characters), Vincent Gréco (lead programmer)
Platform(s)	Atari Jaguar, PC, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Gizmondo
Release	September 1, 1995 (PSone)
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single player

Rayman is a video game designed and published by Ubisoft. It was originally released in September 1995 for the Atari Jaguar, and in November 1995 for Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Rayman is a traditional side-scrolling platform game which revolves around the titular character's quest to save his world from the evil Mr. Dark.

Storyline

From the intro cut-scene:

In Rayman's world, nature and people live together in peace. The Great Protoon provides and maintains the harmony and balance in the world. One fateful day, the evil Mister Dark steals the Great Protoon and defeats Betilla the Fairy as she tries to protect it. The electoons who used to gravitate all around it lose their natural stability and scatter all over the world. In the now unbalanced world, strange phenomena begin to occur: freaks and hostile characters appear, capturing every electoon they can find.

Rayman to the rescue! As the guardian of this world, he must free the electoons, recapture the Great Protoon from its mysterious kidnapper and reassemble them all to restore the world's harmony.

But will the bad guys allow this?

Characters

File:Rayman Title Screen.gif

Rayman title screen

Rayman

Rayman is the main (and reluctant) protagonist of the story, defined by his off-beat flair and limbless appearance. His main weapon is throwing his clenched fist at his enemies, but as his quest toughens, Betilla the Fairy will bestow him with additional powers.

Rayman's friends

• Betilla the Fairy: Betilla the Fairy once acted as the protector of the Great Protoon, before it was stolen from her by Mister Dark. Her main function in the game is to aid Rayman by granting him additional powers as his quest unfolds.
• The Magician: This quirky man is often hidden away in the scenery. With his help, Rayman can enter into secret worlds. In these bonus stages, the player's skill and rapidity will allow Rayman to earn an extra life, but a fee of 10 Tings is required for entry, as the Magician bargains at a price.
• The Photographer: The Photographer is here to immortalize Rayman's feats. When he loses a life, Rayman starts again where his picture was last taken.
• Tarayzan: This madcap roams the jungles of the Dream Forest. Tarayzan is the first friend Rayman will come across, and helps by providing him with magic seed.
• The Musician: High in the mountains of Rayman's world is where the Musician lives his life of peace and music. When Rayman frees his guitar from a giant boulder, he gets a magic potion in return, allowing him to stay afloat indefinitely.
• Joe: Joe, the sad extraterrestrial, lives near the coast of the Crystal Caves and owns a snack shop. Rayman helps him restore power to his neon sign and defeats Mister Skop while he's at it.

Rayman's foes

• Moskito: This giant mosquito rules the Dream Forest. He is the first of Mister Dark's minions Rayman will meet. As Rayman watches out for falling fruit, he punches Moskito until he gives up and reforms for good. On Rayman 2, he goes by the name "Bzitt".
• Mister Sax: The deafening Mister Sax dwells high in the clouds of Band Land. He blurts out more than a few false notes, but Rayman can use it to his advantage and fire the explosive notes back at Sax, defeating him.
• Mister Stone: A stone-faced madman with a temper to match, Mister Stone is immediately out to crush Rayman the minute he enters the Blue Mountains, but the technique backfires and Rayman crushes Stone instead.
• Space Mama: This denizen of Picture City descends straight out of a science fiction film. Space Mama is a tough cookie with a deadly rolling pin. Rayman dodges the pin, and punches Mama out.
• Skops the Scorpion: This menacing creature sleeps deep beneath the Caves of the Skops. His armour is impenetrable but his own tail proves to be his undoing, as Rayman deflects the tail-beams back at the tail and defeats Skops.
• Mister Dark: This diabolical character is Rayman's arch-nemesis, with wizardry to match Betilla's and more than a few tricks up his sleeve. He hides in the sugar-coated world of Candy Chateau. After Rayman defeats everything Dark throws at him, Dark flees. As of right now, his whereabouts are unknown.

Another villain, Mr. Clay (a parody of Batman's Clayface), was designed to appear in the game, but the idea was dropped and Mr. Clay was not involved.

Gameplay

File:Rayman (jaguar).jpg

Pink Plant Woods

Rayman is a traditional side-scrolling 2D platform game. The object of the game is to free all the electoons and defeat Mister Dark's minions across five worlds. Only when every electoon is freed will Rayman be able to enter into Mister Dark's hideout Candy Chateau.

Scattered around each level are little blue spheres called Tings. If Rayman picks up a hundred of them, he gains an extra life, but they can also be used to pay the Magician, and enter a bonus stage. When Rayman dies, he loses all of the Tings he collected.

As well as Tings Rayman will come across a variety of other power-ups and bonuses, among which a golden punching fist, a faster punching fist, power to restore Rayman's lost life energy and flying blue elves that will shrink Rayman down in size.

Rayman's powers

Rayman obtains a number of different powers during the game. Some are given to him permanently by Betilla the Fairy, while others are obtained temporarily for certain levels.

• Fist: Allows Rayman to punch with his fist.
• Hang: Allows Rayman to hang onto platform edges.
• Grappling: Allows Rayman to grab onto the pink and red rings with his fist, as well as grab trophies (lives) from a distance.
• Helicopter: Allows Rayman to use his hair as a helicopter.
• Running: Allows Rayman to run faster.
• Magic Seed: Allows Rayman to make plants grow out of the grounds, which he can stand on. This is a temporary power given to Rayman by Tarayzan in the Swamps of Forgetfulness.
• Super Helicopter: A more powerful version of the helicopter power, which allows Rayman to fly around the level without the use of platforms. This power can only be obtained temporarily in Mr. Stone's Peaks and in Pencil Pentathlon.

Stages

In the different worlds of the game described here, Rayman will meet the "bosses" more than once. Be on the lookout for the Antitoons, Mr. Dark's foot soldiers. They're small but dangerous. Each world is divided into three or four levels, and each level consists of several scenes.

The Dream Forest

File:Rayman Dream Forest.png

Pink Plant Woods

Rayman has to proceed through the jungle without ever falling into the swamp waters. He will come across hunters and explorers. This is where he meets Tarayzan, his first friend. Help him get dressed and see what happens. The big boss is Moskito.

There are four levels to finish in The Dream Forest: Pink Plant Woods, Anguish Lagoon, The Swamps of Forgetfulness and Moskito's Nest. Once Rayman has cleared Anguish Lagoon, he can proceed to Band Land. In Pink Plant Woods, the first power Betilla gives to Rayman is the ability to punch with his fist, and later on, in Anguish Lagoon, the power to hang from a nearby ledge.

Moskito's Nest is the boss level of the Dream Forest, and the hardest level on this world to complete. Adult Moskito chases Rayman with a huge pointy berry before he gets a chance to defeat him. Adult Moskito has 12 hit points and is vulnerable to being punched most of the time. By defeating him, Betilla the fairy will give Rayman the power to grab things with his fist.

Band Land

In a scene filled with clouds and slippery sheet music bars, Rayman must advance among instruments (drums, maracas, cymbals,...) and avoid wrong notes. Once he escapes from the trumpets, he will find himself face to face with the deafening Mister Sax.

There are four levels in Band Land: Bongo Hills, Allegro Presto, Gong Heights and Mr. Sax's Hullabaloo. Bongo Hills is divided into six scenes, making it one of the longest levels in the whole game. Allegro Presto is the hardest level of Band Land, and it is in this stage Rayman receives the power to use his hair as a helicopter. Once Allegro Presto is finished, Rayman may proceed to the Blue Mountains.

Mr. Sax's Hullabaloo is where Rayman faces the boss of Band Land, Mr. Sax. He has 12 hit points and takes damage when Rayman punches the false notes back at him. Defeating Mr. Sax serves no purpose, as it is actually possible to complete the game without defeating him if Rayman gets all of the cages of Electoons and quit the level.

Blue Mountains

File:Rayman - Mister Stone.png

Rayman versus Mr. Stone

Rayman has to move forward, avoiding rock avalanches and stone creatures. In these mountains, Rayman meets the Musician and helps him recover his lost guitar. The big boss to defeat is Mister Stone, a creature made of rock.

The Blue Mountains has only three stages for Rayman to complete, but all of them need to be finished in order to proceed to Picture City. The three stages are: Twilight Gulch, The Hard Rocks and Mr. Stone's Peaks

Mr. Stone's Peaks is where Rayman faces the boss of the Blue Mountains. On this level, The Music Man gives Rayman a super helicopter power. Mr. Stone himself has 8 hit points, and takes damage when Rayman punches the head of the totem pole in the center of the arena into Mr. Stone. Upon his defeat, Rayman will be able to access Picture City, and Betilla the Fairy will grant him the power to run faster.

Picture City

This is the world of images, as well as a world of mirages. Once he walks across the stage of a small theater, Rayman meets with beings straight from a movie.

Just as the Blue Mountains, Picture City consists of only three levels: Eraser Plains, Pencil Pentathlon and Space Mama's Crater. Each level offers plenty of opportunity for Rayman to test his new powers, his running skill especially.

Space Mama's Crater is the boss level of Picture City. Space Mama has 12 hit points, and takes damage by being punched in the head. Defeat Space Mama to get to the next world. After she is defeated, Betilla the fairy gets kidnapped by Mr. Dark!

The Caves of Skops

File:Rayman Skops.png

Rayman versus Skops

This is a troubling underground world. Enter it through Joe the Extraterrestrial's snack shop. First, Rayman has to plug in his friend's shop sign while avoiding the spiders. Then he must work his way around the stalactites in the cave to find the lair of Skops the Scorpion.

The three levels in the Caves of the Skops are: Crystal Palace, Eat at Joe's, and Mr. Skops Stalactites. Eat at Joe's is unique in that it takes place in darkness (only on PCI Express setting); Joe gives Rayman a firefly to help light the way, but it unfortunately only lights up a small area around Rayman. This is mitigated by the fact that the light is around Rayman's fist, therefore what lies ahead may be revealed by punching in that direction. This may demand one to stop still and punch in order to light the way ahead; not being able to see the character can prove fatal to those who lack control.

Mr. Skops's Stalactites is the boss level for The Cave of Skops. First, Rayman must avoid Mr. Skops's claw as the platforms fall into the lava below. Next, he will walk back and forth, forcing Rayman to hang on the edge of the platform. Then, there are 3 crystal platforms that Mr. Skops will send into the lava with his sting, followed by a chase to the end of the level and into the battle arena with Mr. Skops. Punch Mr. Skops when he sends Rayman a sting from his tail to send it back to him. Mr. Skops has 8 hit points. Once he is defeated, Rayman can enter the final levels.

Candy Chateau

This is the level of desserts where Mister Dark is hidden, guarded by clowns performing amazing stunts. Candy Chateau is only accessible when the player has collected all of the cages of electoons.

The final world of the game has only one level: Mr. Dark's Dare. In the first scene, Rayman slides in a frying pan down slopes of candy and frosting. In the second scene, Mr. Dark creates Dark Rayman, who does exactly what Rayman does and will die when the level is completed. In the third scene, Mr. Dark reverses Raymans controls, so that left is right and right is left, and at the end of the level, he forces Rayman to run constantly, and steals his fist. In the final battle he will meet a mixture of all his previous foes. After Rayman defeats the mixed enemies, Mr. Dark sees no choice but to flee for his life.

Updated Versions

Rayman Gold

Later, on September 28, 1997, Ubisoft released an updated version of the game for the PC. This bundle had the original Rayman in its entirety, as well as another package, known as Rayman Designer. The package contained 24 original levels, with the same gameplay but a few new concepts: now Rayman has to collect 100 Blue Tings in a level before he can finish it. A few other interesting features were added, like colored tings that trigger special events, additional objects and a timer to show the player how fast they can complete this level. It included a level editor (hence the name Rayman Designer) with which players could make their own levels and share them with others via the Internet; a feature that didn't particularly catch on.

Rayman Forever

Around a year after that, Ubisoft released Rayman Forever. It was the same as Rayman Gold, except it contained a bundle of 50+ new levels, and a fridge magnet.

Rayman Collector

Another level set, similar to Rayman Gold and Rayman Forever, was released by Ubisoft in late 1999. This one featured sixty levels, many of which were considered, by fans, to be very short and dull.

Game Boy Color version

Ubisoft also released Rayman for GBC, which was more of a Rayman 2, since it contained all the Rayman 2 music and worlds, but had the storyline of Rayman.

Rayman Advance

This version for the Game Boy Advance was identical to the original Rayman with a few very minor changes and considerable degradation in graphics and sound quality (due to GBA hardware limitations).

Sequels

Rayman 2: The Great Escape was released for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, Nintendo DS, and PC Systems. The PS2 version of the game is titled Rayman 2: Revolution. The Nintendo 64, PC and DC versions are identical in terms of gameplay. The PlayStation version has fewer lums and smaller levels.

Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc was released for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox and PC. All versions are identical in terms of gameplay. In addition to that, a Gameboy Advance game with the same title exists, but it is a 2D platform game, nearly identical in style to the original Rayman and to Rayman Advance. Series creator Michel Ancel dropped out of work on Rayman 3 to work on Beyond Good and Evil.

Several spin-offs have also been released, including Rayman Arena and Rayman Rush. Remakes of Rayman 2 have been rereleased with enhancements or minor changes for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS as Rayman Revolution and Rayman DS respectively.

Rayman Collector's Edition was released around October 10, 2005. It includes: Rayman 3 (with a few extra bonus levels and movies), Rayman 2, and Rayman Arena. Rayman Forever was not included due to the fact it ran on MS-DOS. It was only released for PC.

Rayman Raving Rabbids, the fourth installment in the series, is currently under development and it was said by the producers to have new features like diguising and creature-riding. It marks the return of creator Michel Ancel and, announced for release for all the new-gen consoles (up to date), it will have more details revealed in E3 2006.

Trivia

• Other than Rayman and Dark Rayman, there was a new set of characters for Rayman 2. Dark Rayman was also seen on the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube versions of Rayman Arena.
• This game is known by many as the hardest Rayman game.
• Rayman was also released for the Game Boy Color, but had many differences:
  • The game's worlds were different from the original version.
  • Rayman's fist and hang were default at the beginning of the game.
  • Instead of the original's 6 worlds, the worlds were Spellbound Forest, Airy Tunes, Rocky Peaks, Ancient Forest, Firey Depths, and Arcane Forest.
  • Running and the taunt were unavailable for the GBC Version.
  • The game was noted to be "darker" than the original Rayman, most likely because of the lack of fluorescent colors.
  • This was a more suitable prequel for Rayman 2, due to similar element.
• Rayman is the best selling PlayStation game of all time in the UK, beating titles like Gran Turismo and Tomb Raider 2.[1]
• Is one of Adam Sessler's favorite games.

External links

• Rayman official website
• Rayman at MobyGames
• Rayman-Fanpage