The original Rayman game is a devilishly tricky but wonderfully clever little game with bucket loads of likability factor in its colourful and comical world that will have you engaged for hours. This side scrolling platformer was released in 1995 and was also one of the first games to be released for the PlayStation though it also came out on the PC and Atari Jaguar too. The game was an instant hit, becoming the most sold game on the PS1 of all time, and it’s easy to see why; gloriously detailed levels, hours upon hours of content all set an idyllic fantasy land that is both memorable and imaginative. Challenging, quirky and deeply immersive you’ll soon appreciate why this is the game that set off an incredibly successful series enjoyed by generations of gamers.
Gameplay and plot
The game follows Rayman, our lazy and limbless hero, as he tries to restore balance and harmony to the land after a certain ‘Mr Dark’ has stolen the Great Protoon. Without it, chaos has beset the usually peaceful land causing Electoons to be scattered and nasty, unnatural creatures to appear everywhere. Rayman must rescue the Electoons and defeat Mr Dark to restore order and tranquillity to the land. If you’re familiar with ‘Rayman Origins’ and ‘Rayman Legends’ you’ll instantly recognize certain features like the style of the map, the inclusion of Electoons and of course Rayman but you’ll likely be surprised at how much slower and how much more difficult it is.
Gameplay consists of navigating through the side scrolling levels to reach a signpost with an “!” on it which completes that level. The levels tend to consist of lots of platforms and parts of the environment that you can interact with to gain access to otherwise out of reach areas such as bouncing purple fruit that can be used as a makeshift boat. Depending on the level they’ll be different obstacles and environments so it’s not all walking and jumping and quite often you’ll be sliding at top speed, hovering precariously or bouncing off and between objects. Each level is littered with enemies and also the poor, crying caged Electoons which you must release by smashing open their cages open with your fists. There are six caged Electoons on each level and you have to free all of them if you wish to complete the game as only then will you be able to reach and confront Mr Dark in the epic finale. This sounds easy enough, after all you can revisit the levels from the world map, but the Electoons tend to be tricky to find and even more tricky to access. With limited lives, you’re going to have your work cut out for you.
To help you through the game you gain additional abilities from Betilla the Fairy as you progress. The very first abilities you learn allow you to hang from ledges and to throw your fists which is your primary means of killing enemies. The other abilities are all generally very standard and nothing particularly unusual, except one, the helicopter ability. This power utilizes Rayman’s hair as a means of flying and this allows you to travel short distances or to save yourself from what would be otherwise fatal falls. Without the bolstered speed and agility from the more recent Rayman instalments like 'Rayman Origins' and 'Rayman Legends' you’re going to find yourself having to rely on your own accuracy and luck to get through this classic, making these abilities are utterly crucial to your success.
Beneath its cute and colourful exterior lies a game that is punishingly difficult and infinitely frustrating. It really does make me wonder who this game is aimed at; children or adults as though on the surface it clearly looks like a children’s game it is just too incredibly challenging for that to be so. You’re probably wondering what could be so damn hard about this game that I keep mentioning how challenging it is, well, lots of things make it difficult. To begin with, you have a very limited amount of lives and acquiring additional lives is a huge challenge as it requires you to collect 100 blue orbs called Tings. When you die, you lose all your Tings collected so far which can leave you in a never ending loop of dying, being unable to get another life, and dying again. To make matters worse the chances to save the game are few and far between. Once you’ve started a level you have to complete it to be able to save again, there is no saving from the menu and there is no auto save feature. I can genuinely guarantee that, even with the one checkpoint they kindly throw in your general direction, you’ll be replaying certain parts of this game over and over until you want to crush the controller between your palms.
For those of us who don’t mind a bit of gaming masochism, or employing cheat codes, there’s a staggering 70 levels to shoulder through that are either beautifully designed or, in the very least, pretty to play through. There are six different worlds that are divided into two categories, ‘natural’ and ‘imaginary’. The natural worlds take place in a forest, mountains and caves whereas the imaginary levels are set in worlds that are significantly more dreamlike and unusual. There’s a fair bit of freedom regarding which order you play through the levels in but, since the difficulty scales across the worlds, it’s a lot easier to play the game in the intended way. At the end of each level you’ll have to defeat a boss enemy and the bosses are pretty interesting creatures, which is much appreciated since up until that point you’ve only been fighting one or two variations of enemy. Fighting enemies is purely to get them out the way so you don’t die and there’s no reward for killing them. To make things harder not all enemies are immediately visible. Instead, enemies tend to pop into existence once you’ve stepped foot in their little ‘area’ of the map such as some narrow platforms above dangerous water. What this usually results in is you being knocked back and taking away some life, knocked into some form of trap such as the water or surviving and still being unable to kill them due to the tiny platform you’re teetering on. Rayman can only take three hits before he dies so you need to be extremely careful when traversing the levels as danger can quite literally appear out of nowhere.
Graphics and audio
This game truly does push the PS1 console to its full capabilities as environmentally the game looks fantastic and it has genuinely aged extremely well, even if everything is 2D. I remember playing through Rayman 3 which was in full on 3D graphics and quite frankly, it looked absolutely dire. I probably enjoyed the game because I was extremely young and very forgiving when it came to games but Rayman feels very much like Oddworld in that, despite being 2D, that’s the best thing for it as it allows much more detail and much better graphics. The music of the game is quite lovely, very satisfying and exists as a great background addition that draws you fully into Rayman’s adventure. The soundtrack is a bit quirky but has a strong retro feel that manages to bring you right back to the 90s in an instant. For me, it was an instant reminder of all the times I’d played this game when I was a kid and I absolutely loved it.
Although everything is quite cartoony ‘Rayman’ has a very clear identity that sets it apart from typical animated games so, rather than it coming across as childlike, it instead manages to portray itself as a mature, yet fun, platforming game. The levels are incredibly varied and though the distinct worlds mean that some levels have the same theme there is a clear difference in the way you get through the level. Rayman is incredibly animated as well and the humour really does make itself quite pronounced through his animation and his own audio. Sit away from the controller for five goddamn seconds and he’s coughing, trying to get your attention to make him move. I genuinely miss that in games and it was quite a common feature to have your character get a little pissed off if you ignored them for a bit, but Rayman does do it so politely. Apart from his impatience he has a wide range of facial expressions, utter terror being the most hilarious of course. Rayman will quite physically chew on his knuckles at the sight of a monstrous enemy and will appear, genuinely, to have his life flashing before his eyes as he teeters over a ledge. All in all, he’s designed and animated very well and he’s incredibly likable whilst his idle animations and emotions really do bring him to life.
Overall
Rayman is an incredibly memorable experience for me and really is the best 2D game that is on the PS1. As a platformer it’s of incredibly good standard whilst the levels are fun and inventive with plenty in them to maintain your interest. It’s very difficult to get back into due to how punishing it is but, and I’m ashamed to admit it, an infinite lives cheat really does ease the way into the game if you just want to play the thing without murdering everybody around you. The controls are so easy and simple to get used to though the lack of analog sticks is a bit of a pain. Though the game does feel much slower and clunkier than the latest instalments it’s still great fun and a whole different game to the Mario inspired 'Rayman Origins' and 'Rayman Legends' you’ll see today, though they are fantastic too.
Score: 9/10
Gameplay and plot
The game follows Rayman, our lazy and limbless hero, as he tries to restore balance and harmony to the land after a certain ‘Mr Dark’ has stolen the Great Protoon. Without it, chaos has beset the usually peaceful land causing Electoons to be scattered and nasty, unnatural creatures to appear everywhere. Rayman must rescue the Electoons and defeat Mr Dark to restore order and tranquillity to the land. If you’re familiar with ‘Rayman Origins’ and ‘Rayman Legends’ you’ll instantly recognize certain features like the style of the map, the inclusion of Electoons and of course Rayman but you’ll likely be surprised at how much slower and how much more difficult it is.
Gameplay consists of navigating through the side scrolling levels to reach a signpost with an “!” on it which completes that level. The levels tend to consist of lots of platforms and parts of the environment that you can interact with to gain access to otherwise out of reach areas such as bouncing purple fruit that can be used as a makeshift boat. Depending on the level they’ll be different obstacles and environments so it’s not all walking and jumping and quite often you’ll be sliding at top speed, hovering precariously or bouncing off and between objects. Each level is littered with enemies and also the poor, crying caged Electoons which you must release by smashing open their cages open with your fists. There are six caged Electoons on each level and you have to free all of them if you wish to complete the game as only then will you be able to reach and confront Mr Dark in the epic finale. This sounds easy enough, after all you can revisit the levels from the world map, but the Electoons tend to be tricky to find and even more tricky to access. With limited lives, you’re going to have your work cut out for you.
To help you through the game you gain additional abilities from Betilla the Fairy as you progress. The very first abilities you learn allow you to hang from ledges and to throw your fists which is your primary means of killing enemies. The other abilities are all generally very standard and nothing particularly unusual, except one, the helicopter ability. This power utilizes Rayman’s hair as a means of flying and this allows you to travel short distances or to save yourself from what would be otherwise fatal falls. Without the bolstered speed and agility from the more recent Rayman instalments like 'Rayman Origins' and 'Rayman Legends' you’re going to find yourself having to rely on your own accuracy and luck to get through this classic, making these abilities are utterly crucial to your success.
Beneath its cute and colourful exterior lies a game that is punishingly difficult and infinitely frustrating. It really does make me wonder who this game is aimed at; children or adults as though on the surface it clearly looks like a children’s game it is just too incredibly challenging for that to be so. You’re probably wondering what could be so damn hard about this game that I keep mentioning how challenging it is, well, lots of things make it difficult. To begin with, you have a very limited amount of lives and acquiring additional lives is a huge challenge as it requires you to collect 100 blue orbs called Tings. When you die, you lose all your Tings collected so far which can leave you in a never ending loop of dying, being unable to get another life, and dying again. To make matters worse the chances to save the game are few and far between. Once you’ve started a level you have to complete it to be able to save again, there is no saving from the menu and there is no auto save feature. I can genuinely guarantee that, even with the one checkpoint they kindly throw in your general direction, you’ll be replaying certain parts of this game over and over until you want to crush the controller between your palms.
For those of us who don’t mind a bit of gaming masochism, or employing cheat codes, there’s a staggering 70 levels to shoulder through that are either beautifully designed or, in the very least, pretty to play through. There are six different worlds that are divided into two categories, ‘natural’ and ‘imaginary’. The natural worlds take place in a forest, mountains and caves whereas the imaginary levels are set in worlds that are significantly more dreamlike and unusual. There’s a fair bit of freedom regarding which order you play through the levels in but, since the difficulty scales across the worlds, it’s a lot easier to play the game in the intended way. At the end of each level you’ll have to defeat a boss enemy and the bosses are pretty interesting creatures, which is much appreciated since up until that point you’ve only been fighting one or two variations of enemy. Fighting enemies is purely to get them out the way so you don’t die and there’s no reward for killing them. To make things harder not all enemies are immediately visible. Instead, enemies tend to pop into existence once you’ve stepped foot in their little ‘area’ of the map such as some narrow platforms above dangerous water. What this usually results in is you being knocked back and taking away some life, knocked into some form of trap such as the water or surviving and still being unable to kill them due to the tiny platform you’re teetering on. Rayman can only take three hits before he dies so you need to be extremely careful when traversing the levels as danger can quite literally appear out of nowhere.
Graphics and audio
This game truly does push the PS1 console to its full capabilities as environmentally the game looks fantastic and it has genuinely aged extremely well, even if everything is 2D. I remember playing through Rayman 3 which was in full on 3D graphics and quite frankly, it looked absolutely dire. I probably enjoyed the game because I was extremely young and very forgiving when it came to games but Rayman feels very much like Oddworld in that, despite being 2D, that’s the best thing for it as it allows much more detail and much better graphics. The music of the game is quite lovely, very satisfying and exists as a great background addition that draws you fully into Rayman’s adventure. The soundtrack is a bit quirky but has a strong retro feel that manages to bring you right back to the 90s in an instant. For me, it was an instant reminder of all the times I’d played this game when I was a kid and I absolutely loved it.
Although everything is quite cartoony ‘Rayman’ has a very clear identity that sets it apart from typical animated games so, rather than it coming across as childlike, it instead manages to portray itself as a mature, yet fun, platforming game. The levels are incredibly varied and though the distinct worlds mean that some levels have the same theme there is a clear difference in the way you get through the level. Rayman is incredibly animated as well and the humour really does make itself quite pronounced through his animation and his own audio. Sit away from the controller for five goddamn seconds and he’s coughing, trying to get your attention to make him move. I genuinely miss that in games and it was quite a common feature to have your character get a little pissed off if you ignored them for a bit, but Rayman does do it so politely. Apart from his impatience he has a wide range of facial expressions, utter terror being the most hilarious of course. Rayman will quite physically chew on his knuckles at the sight of a monstrous enemy and will appear, genuinely, to have his life flashing before his eyes as he teeters over a ledge. All in all, he’s designed and animated very well and he’s incredibly likable whilst his idle animations and emotions really do bring him to life.
Overall
Rayman is an incredibly memorable experience for me and really is the best 2D game that is on the PS1. As a platformer it’s of incredibly good standard whilst the levels are fun and inventive with plenty in them to maintain your interest. It’s very difficult to get back into due to how punishing it is but, and I’m ashamed to admit it, an infinite lives cheat really does ease the way into the game if you just want to play the thing without murdering everybody around you. The controls are so easy and simple to get used to though the lack of analog sticks is a bit of a pain. Though the game does feel much slower and clunkier than the latest instalments it’s still great fun and a whole different game to the Mario inspired 'Rayman Origins' and 'Rayman Legends' you’ll see today, though they are fantastic too.
Score: 9/10
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