Roll is Rock’s little sister, who remained a helper robot (as they both were originally) after Rock was transformed into a fighting robot. She assists Dr Light with his inventions and with housework, and on rare occasions has fought alongside Mega Man. (First and second image)
If Roll does continue into the X generation, her role would most likely be as a Navigator (a form of help which she has provided Rock before). She doesn’t have a clear parallel with any one character, but female supporting characters have appeared in several incarnations. Alia (third image) is probably her closest equivalent (second image), so with some memory-wiping and remodelling it’s possible they are the same…
Roll.EXE (fourth image) is also a support character in the Network universe, and love interest of the main character. This is another recurring aspect of this archetype, and has been slightly hinted at in the Rock-Roll relationship, and the X-Alia relationship.
Roll Caskett (fifth image) in Legends is a mechanic, helper of Mega Man and love interest. Her design and name seem to be based purely on artificially creating the parallel to the Classic Roll.
This archetype is carried through to the Zero series with the human scientist Ciel (sixth image), who later invents the Biometals but serves several support functions to Zero, and is a love interest (despite the fact that they are robot and human). Her mother invented the Cyber-elves, incidentally. She also has an adoptive younger sister who is a Reploid, Alouette, who grows up into Prairie (seventh image), the leader of the Guardians in ZX (not the same as the Four Guardians, more on that later). Prairie doesn’t have as many supportive functions but she is a possible love interest and important character. These two have no link to Roll but fulfill similar character types, with some key differences. Ciel is a brilliant and compassionate human scientist, and Prairie is a childish but competent commander.
Blues, or Proto Man, is Rock’s older brother who ran away from home. The original robot. Mysterious and rebellious, he is way cool. Sometimes he fights you, but he is often on your side. He is assuredly not the same person as Zero, as Zero was being built while Blues was still around, but they share many parallels. Just look at that flowing yellow scarf, and Zero’s beautiful hair!
Their attitude is very similar too. Unlike other robots, they don’t follow orders. They act by their own choice, and stand aloof while actually being very loyal to their friends. They both have dark pasts. Actually, now that I think of it, why not make them the same guy? It requires some serious canon massaging, but it fits quite well thematically.
Blues has been aligned with Dr Wily in various sources after being repaired by him, and Zero was built by Wily. Who’s to say he didn’t take some cues from Blues with the design, if nothing else?
Anyway, Blues is first encountered with no knowledge of his history, but Rock finds out that he’s his brother eventually. He will often help out Rock, but largely keeps himself separate. He has some trust issues.
Zero is a very competent Maverick Hunter, a superior to X. X looks up to him but over time the two become comrades in arms. Zero later finds out that he was built by Dr Wily, and was the cause of the original Maverick outbreak. He has a very cool personality but has formed some relationships, some of which have caused him pain (Iris).
Zero eventually deactivates himself, but is awoken a century later to find himself in a new body (third image). The new world he finds himself in is ruled by a copy of X, his old friend. This copy is nothing like X however and rules as a tyrant. Zero fights the copy X and his shadowy master, Dr Weil, with the help of the real X, now a Cyber-elf ghost. He eventually dies to protect the remaining humans.
Zero lives on in Biometal form, giving his power to a Reploid host (fourth image) so as to continue fighting Mavericks. He later combines with X’s Biometal, passing on the best powers of both to new heroes (fifth image).
Both Proto Man and Zero have counterparts in the parallel Network world. Proto.EXE wields a sword weapon, which in my mind strengthens the link between them. His role in those games is somewhat similar to Blues, although the connection to Rock is lost. Zero.EXE’s role is like Wily’s original intention for Zero, to be a virus carrier and agent of carnage.
This is the first in a series of posts about the character archetypes that run throughout the Mega Man franchise. Or, you could say different iterations of the same character.
Rockman is the posterboy, obviously. He’s like Mario, his face sells games. I don’t like him as much for this reason, because Zero is my favourite series and this guy gets plastered everywhere. You gotta love the guy though. (His brothers are cooler.)
This of course brings up, is X his brother? Or a remodelled Rock? I’m going to put forward a possible theory, that many of the Classic robots survived into the X series and in some cases beyond. Within this theory, we try to match up as many robots as possible to be the same person.
So Rock, having accumulated much life experience, was prepared by Dr Light to become the next stage in the evolution of robots. Light’s genius alone couldn’t advance robots, it was Rock fighting, learning and loving that helped him become something more. All subsequent intelligent robots in the X era were based on the design of X, who is basically an upgrade to Rock. Or, if you prefer, then X is simply a new robot made with Rock’s cooperation so that Light and Rock together made the next generation. Either way, X is heavily identified as “Mega Man” regardless.
X later becomes a Cyber-elf (third image) after his body dies. Both Reploids and, later, humans can become a Cyber-elf, depending on the conditions of their death. This was made possible by advanced technology. He takes on an advisory role in this capacity. Later, his elf is converted into Biometal, and bonds to an ordinary person, giving them his strength (fourth image).
The other three are not the same person as this original Rock. The fifth is Mega Man Volnutt, from Legends. A human (more or less) with some nifty armour, named after an ancient hero. The sixth is, similar to the Biometal version, bonded to a kid. He is a digital avatar for navigating the Internet invented by the parallel universe Dr Light. The seventh is an alien bonded to a different kid who happens to take the form of previous hero.
To celebrate Rockman’s 25th birthday, I’m going to make a few posts about the mythology of the various Mega Man franchises and how they tie together. First, an overview.
Broadly speaking, there are two major continuities within which there are sub-series of Rockman. They are the Robots continuity and the Network continuity (for want of a better term). Robots includes, in chronological order, the Classic series (starting in 200X), X series (30-100 years later), Zero series (100 years after that), ZX series (200 years after that), and the Legends, or DASH, series (an indeterminate period later). Network is the Battle Network series (an alternate 200X), which is followed by the Star Force series (200 years later).
The major difference is the Robots games tend to be action sidescrollers (or 3D action in Legends) featuring androids or machines, and the Network games are RPGs with cyberspace and virtual AIs, and then aliens and radio waves or something (I don’t know that much about Network to be honest). Having said that, there are sidescrollers in Network and RPGs in Robots, as well as a few racing games, sports games, board games etc.
What ties it all together though is the concept of human interactions with artifical life forms, and the behaviours of those artifical life forms. Those life forms often become antagonistic towards their creator species, starting with reprogamming by malicious individuals, to a behaviour-modifying virus, towards more dealing with the ideals of various people and groups. The creations rebelling against their creator is a strong theme, starting with the Bible of course, and it runs throughout the Mega Man franchise.
SPOILERS AHEAD. So how do these games fit together? Let’s start at the beginning, the Classic series. Rockman 1 starts with rival robotic geniuses, Dr Light (the good guy) and Dr Wily (the bad guy). Dr Wily steals Light’s robots and reprograms them to cause havoc. Rock, previously a helper robot for Light, is remodelled into a fighting machine with a unique ability to copy enemy weapons. Dr Wily consistently returns with new robots, of his own creation most of the time, and Rock shuts them down many times. This struggle never ends, and leads into the X series.
X series: Light’s last creation, X, is the successor to Rock’s legacy and has free will. Zero, Wily’s last creation, caused a ton of robots to go bad then became a good guy. So the struggle between the rival doctors continues to be played out between robot Mavericks (the ones that went bad and want to harm humans) and the Maverick Hunters (who fight them), including X, Zero, and others, many based on X’s design (Reploids).
Zero series: This conflict escalates into to a cataclysmic period known as the Elf Wars, in which some of the newly invented life form/energy source called Cyber-elves are corrupted by some guy called Dr Weil (who may or may not be related to Wily, ask your nearest fan fiction author) and lots of stuff gets killed. X is now a Cyber-elf, Zero has a new body, and a replica of X rules the remaining population with an iron fist. Now anyone who opposes Copy X and Weil is labelled a Maverick, repurposing the term. Zero has to bring down the brutal regime, and succeeds with the help of the human scientist Ciel, the Resistance, the four turncoat Guardians, the true X, and the Cyber-elves. But he dies in the process.
ZX series: Weil had merged with his robotic suit, his space station, and probably some malevolent Cyber-elves for this to make sense (they’re like magic, very convenient for plot) to form a material known as Biometal. Ciel creates some Biometals of her own from the Cyber-elves of dead heroes X, Zero, and the Guardians. They appear to have the personality and memories of their templates, and can merge with a human or Reploid host to bestow their powers. The new heroes have to fight the corrupting influence of the Biometal Model W formed by Weil’s horrific synthesis. Model W manifests itself in different ways, steals Biometals and makes regenerating robot baddies, finally revealing itself to be partly in control of certain governments and corporations. It is seemingly defeated at some point, but who knows.
Dr Light always dreamed of a world where humans and robots could live together in harmony. This theme is brought up many times throughout these series, and is sometimes twisted by crazies who want to force such a state through violence or subjugation. The last word from ZX is that a robotic recreation of Dr Light wishes to create this world through extreme means. This seemingly, with some interpretation, leads into the setting of Legends some millennia later. The humans are dead, replaced by artificially created organic humanoids— I guess there’s not much difference there. Yet another energy crisis, world flooded, ancient ruins. An ancient automated system controls the organic population… it’s pretty complicated actually. The games are mostly concerned with the Barrells (Diggers) and their enemies/rivals, the Bonnes (pirates). It’s more about interaction and characters, and summarising the real backstory is hard. Suffice to say Mega Man ends up on the moon and there are less authoritarian or violent robots at the end. It’s hard to tell exactly how it fits with the other games, but ooh look Servbots! What were we saying? Yeah.
As for the Network timeline, being RPGs there is a lot more talking and a lot more complexity. Generally though the setting of the Battle Network series is similar to the Classic Robots setting, except instead of robots becoming dominant, Internet technology was supreme. What this means is that many robots from the Classic series, and even some from the X series, have NetNavi counterparts— these are like avatars that help humans navigate the treacherous Internet or something. I’ve covered the salient points I think, I haven’t played any Network games so I think I can say that the main reason for a Mega Man fan to play these games is the buttload of shout outs and callbacks. Otherwise other people might enjoy it for the gameplay, which is a tactical turn-based RPG on a small grid or something. It also tries to cash into the whole collect and battle thing. As for the actual plot, who knows? Like I said, lots of RPGs and more complex.
Star Force I know even less about. Sorry. There’s an alien and all this stuff about radio waves. I already mentioned that… It actually consciously steered clear of the callbacks so much and was more self-contained, so in my mind even less reason to be interested. Um. It also shares the gameplay style of Battle Network. Er. So, that’s that one.
Well, kind of a flat note to end on but that’s the Mega Man continuity so far. But wait, what’s this? Rockman Xover!? Oh no! What does it mean? So there’s a new iOS game, Japan-exclusive for now. It’s a “social RPG”, seems to be based on the Mega Man X iOS port engine but with really basic gameplay, and an emphasis on again collecting battle cards or something. But the setting is supposed to be this confusing mishmash of many different series. There’s time travel, sure, and Dr Light building a new Reploid(?) called Over-1. But how does the parallel universe of Network come into it? Sure, have cards based on it and everything else, but story-wise how do you justify that? Wily and Sigma teamed up somehow and time travel and bleh! Hey! Collect them all! Crossovers are exciting, but this one’s pretty lazy. I’m still really looking forward to it though, especially if there’s Zero elements!
tl;dr How can humans coexist with artificial life? Let’s find a way, together… By blowing up some robots. Da-da-da da-da-dum da-da-da da-da-da da-dum-dum…
I’d like to talk about these two games at once because my backlog is filling up, and I thought a comparison of these was apt. Why?
Well, two of my favourite games growing up were Donkey Kong Country 2 and Yoshi’s Island. Those probably stand out to me the most before we got our 64. These two games, then, are related to these, being the prequel and a sequel/spin-off respectively. Also, I never really played them at the time or at all until recently. The other way I can talk about them together is that they are both ground-breaking platformers that tried new things in the market at the time, but had differing levels of success.
There is a quote from Miyamoto at the time about DKC: “The success of this game proves that people will put up with mediocre gameplay if the graphics are good.” I’m paraphrasing, but the gist is that DKC was being hyped up a lot for its graphics (even though the gameplay and other aspects were great too), and I think old Miyamoto was bitter that it was outselling his project, Yoshi’s Island. I think both games have beautiful visual styles and great gameplay, although they are very different on both counts. Both were, in a way, responses to Super Mario World but they took the 2D platformer concept in very different directions.
I can tell this is going to be long. Bear with me, folks. DKC’s sequel refined further everything that made it great, and is superior in most ways. Yoshi’s Island on the other hand had a sequel the next generation which pushed even further away from the basic SMW style, off the wacky deep end. This is my opinion, of course.
So I guess the main thing I took away from these playthroughs is that sometimes you have to try new things, and sometimes they don’t work. DKC had a few mechanics that are dropped completely in the sequel, as they were awkward or not useful. That just may be my DKC2 familiarity talking, but I feel that the designers learned a lot from DKC to make the second one a much better game. Segue to YS, which introduces a buttload of things done differently to YI, and ends up even more awkward than DKC in comparison to my childhood favourites.
They are opposite ends. That’s not to say either is bad, they just frustrate me a lot more, especially when I can see what they’ve done wrong.
To give a bit more detail, there’s a lot to love in DKC. The atmosphere, the personality, the controls feel good. My main complaints are with the hit detection, the pointless bonuses, and the badly flow-breaking animal bonus levels. These are minor though, and the reason I tend to overlook it is I prefer the sequels, the new heights they reached, how they played with the formula, plus they have more internal consistency with each other than either has with DKC1. Each installment has its own different atmosphere that gives them unique feelings, which is a great thing and more than you can say for the Mario series (ok, no more cheap potshots). The music and backgrounds play a big part in this.
YS has less to recommend it on face value. It’s a little slow and wonky, the controls are a little weird and there are also a few hit detection issues here. Also, unlike its predecessor YI the music is less memorable and tends to reuse arrangements of the main theme for most areas (in this way it resembles YI’s true DS sequel). I find this boring, personally. The aesthetic is both overly cute but also a very interesting crafty style, with newspaper, cardboard, felt, etc backgrounds like Little Big Planet but low-res.
Unlike the more precise YI, the platforming and egg-throwing is more forgiving or loose, although if you miss a jump I found it very hard to recover. The game is quite short but it is built for multiple playthroughs, with each of the 6 worlds having 4 possible levels with one being played each go through. This gives it a lot of variety, and each run will be different. The structure is also unique, mostly left-to-right or down-to-up but some more complex structures with branching paths and the level ends when you eat 30 fruit, not reach a certain point or anything.
Speaking of structure, I guess I didn’t structure this review so well but I saw some commonality there. Basically I regard both these games as lesser installments in series that I adore, and therefore worth playing on the strength of their brethren alone. But I was pleased with each when I actually got to playing them, and with YS I appreciate its radically different style. I can look past DKC’s faults to see the germ of the great series it spawned, but its more abstract features that carry through are fantastic. I just think it’s popularly overrated. YS on the other hand is slightly underrated.
The Yoshi and DK series as wholes are way too big to include any of here, so maybe one day they’ll get the proper MiloScat treatment. I’m glad I’ve now experienced these as they’re so important and influential to the overall series, DKC in its design and music and YS in its contribution of sound effects to all subsequent Yoshi material, and the aesthetic that was adapted in many Mario sports games. But now I want to play the actual games I grew up with, so I’m gonna do that. Toodles.
I have a bad habit of getting to the last stage or boss in a game and then putting it down. In this case, I was brought back to Shantae 2 by learning of a 3rd one coming soon to the 3DS eShop.
Let’s start by comparing it to the first one, on the GBC. Instead of finite items, you purchase spells with the same effects and then use your magic bar to cast them. I approve, I tend to never want to use numbered items but I like abilities. The traversable world is a bit more complicated, but I think easier to navigate due to a simple in-game map. It seems smaller, because there’s only one town and I got lost less often. The collectible system is very different, but I think I prefer it as it seemed easier to keep track of what you had and the rewards were less necessary for completion.
What I really liked about it was how it kept the feeling and details of the original but with a huge graphical improvement. Having said that though, the frame that the iOS version has makes it painfully obvious how direct a port that version is from the DSi one. A bit jarring, and they even kept this one building that detects other WayForward games you have installed in your DS that is useless now. Still, can’t complain too much, in general the game is very compelling and polished, plus it was cheap and we didn’t even get the DSi version here in Australia!
I personally don’t mind the on-screen button thing, I just love having “proper” games on the super-portable and convenient iPhone. The interface and software distribution platform is also leagues better than any dedicated games system I’ve ever played (not counting my old GBA, only online systems with apps and stuff).
The returning characters made me smile, it’s especially fun to see familiar people and settings with more detail. The dialogue was also very good, very funny. WayForward is very high in my personal estimation of developers, and they’re real small too. I loved the Boy and His Blob reboot immensely. There’s a great level of polish and love I can see, which is why I’m now looking forward to Shantae 3.
I think this game benefited a lot from me playing the GBC original first, it put the mechanics and plot in context so I’m very glad I did. It’s improved mechanically, as I’ve discussed. Also it got rid of the overcomplicated dance system.
So in all it’s a nice little game, and I would support WayForward developing a new 2D Metroid as has been rumoured. Shantae has rightly earned its status as an indie favourite. I think the best part is that it’s so full of character, it reminds me of a Rare game or a Paper Mario. Until Shantae 3 then.
There’s a few things in the backlog right now but I’m pushing this to the front because it’s DKR’s 15th anniversary! Link! DKVine sprang a surprise forum skin redesign, and I decided to get back to this little gem and push on a bit.
When I last set it down, I’d just figured out where Dragon Forest was, having finished the other 3 worlds, so it didn’t take long to get through that and a few tries to beat Wizpig’s foot race. This got me the credits, although there is another world and many more challenges that I’m doing now. But my rule is I can review a game when I see the credits, so here we are.
I first played DKR many years ago, maybe even 15, on my friend’s N64. The hovercrafts impressed me, if I recall, though I mainly played battle mode at that time and it didn’t stand out so much from Mario Kart 64, its main competitor and comparison. The interface did stand out though (better), and the bright colours and kiddy feel also set it apart. That’s what I remember at the time, but also for a long time I’ve had a bias against games I don’t own so that I don’t feel bad about not owning them. And I love most things I do own.
Anyway, I digress. What I didn’t realise was how important DKR was to the shared universe concept of the DKU, an idea I was not cognisant of. I made up my own shared universes in my head, with no regard for explicit crossovers and shared game worlds. I used to imagine space ships filled with different video game protagonists, with stockpiles of their respective collectibles; or Fox, Yoshi and Diddy (my 3 favourite characters at the time, due to DKC2, Yoshi’s Island and Lylat Wars) teaming up and having adventures.
Of course, officially sanctioned shared universes are exciting in their own way, especially as we grow older and lose our imaginations. Plus, DKR was widely regarded as one of the best mascot racers, and I love Rare. So I bought it, wanting to experience this classic and also the last Rare game on a Nintendo platform, and the only Rare DS game (the Viva Pinata DS port being the exception to both these statements…shh).
So yes, DKR is a great game. But DKRDS is a bad port of a good game. Firstly, the interface is just janky and off-putting. Having seen the credits now, the handheld team was apparently very small and it shows. The whole thing feels rushed or watered down. I guess the interface is the main sticking point, but there were arbitrary changes that didn’t improve the game too. The touch-screen challenges which are now a big part are just plain not that good. And they made Taj’s voice less hilariously stereotypical.
What it comes down to (generalising here) is the Rare handheld team makes much less polished games than the console team. That would broadly cover all the great, smooth console Rare games I’ve played versus the somewhat awkward handheld games (mainly just the Donkey Kong Lands and Country Advance remakes). That is a gross simplification, but it’s the way I think for whatever reason. I’m not going to give up on Rare games and I’d like Grunty’s Revenge, Sabre Wulf 2004 and Conker’s Pocket Tales to prove me wrong when I get around to them.
Well, I guess I’ve been influenced by a lot of people’s opinions on DKVine. I actually had a lot of fun with this game, and not having experienced the original too much, I’m not that fussed about what I’m missing, especially with the handheld convenience. Plus I like some of the things they added, like the vehicle customisation, currency for unlockables, the admittedly weak icon designer mode, a few extra tracks (on DK Island!) and most importantly Dixie Kong! She makes up for any flaws I’ve perceived. And much of the presentation is so charming, you can’t stay mad at it.
Sure, they removed Banjo and Conker. Sad. But it’s still a great game, and I am very glad it exists. Because emulating N64 is tricky, it’s not on the VC and my 64 is at my parents’ house. So I can play it! It’s good because it’s cute, it has loads of character, the racing takes real skill, the mechanics are interesting, and heck it gave birth to the DKU. Don’t listen to the haters, the DS port is not as bad as they say. But that’s just me talking, and I’ll love any video game. Especially if I’ve decided to buy it.
nicollettenikki asked: I read your Ico review if you liked that game then you need to play Journey from thatgamecompany. Its pretty cheap and well worth it. Its an emotional rollercoaster with amazing, and breathtaking locations. I just really wish and hope you play it. That's all.
Hi nikki, thanks for the message, and thanks for recommending a cool game. In fact, I’ve already played Journey and loved it. You can check my Archive or Game List. I’m glad to say I agree with your comments, it was beautiful and a great experience. It was nice of you to suggest it. :)
The good things I heard about Ico, especially from John Siracusa on Hypercritical, was one of the factors in finally breaking down my Nintendo wall and buying a PS3. So I was very pleased to find it a rewarding and engaging experience.
I guess you could say that in some ways it’s in the “art game” category, but I tend to think of it as Zelda but more realistic, with a tighter focus and more emphasis on immersion and atmosphere than I dunno finding items or whatever. I love Zelda but as a variant on that formula and a change of pace (warranted for a series that, like many Nintendo properties, is getting oh so slightly, shall I say, stale?), it was a best game. Maybe not the best, but a best.
Seriously though, compared to other Zelda-likes I’ve played and also loved (such as Okami), it just goes in a different direction. I can’t call it the best because that’s not what it’s aiming for. This may be the first sense it’s an art game: it’s not comparing itself to big games and trying to be a flashy super game.
The second sense is the style and aesthetic. The whole setting is very muted and oppressive, but also dignified and other adjectives, then there are moments that open up or secluded, beautiful spots. It really draws you in just by the places you visit and the climbing over huge things that you do.
The main mechanic of the game, I’d say, is the relationship between Ico and Yorda. You meet Yorda early on, and she’s *sigh* a princess, but it’s not like that really. You’re just two kids trying to escape shadow demons in an empty castle. Everywhere you go, you drag Yorda along by the hand, and that really reinforces your personal connection to her as a player. It’s probably the best case of developing real caring for an NPC that I’ve experienced, and it’s a great strength of the game.
The other bits are a lot of fun, too. The aforementioned climbing, exploring each new area as you find it to locate the switch you need, protecting Yorda from waves of shadow creatures. Conquering each area may take a while, but that makes it really rewarding.
Oh before I forget the manual (the PS2 one anyway) is full of spoilers, and I found it much better to read it only after I’d finished. There are a few reasons I found this. One is that it goes into too much detail and ruins the interpretive aspect. I preferred to develop my own ideas about the plot and my own conceptions about how the game was structured, rather than having it all laid out plain. The other reason is the game has very minimal interface—no on-screen interface during gameplay, ever—and “gamey” things about it, so that trophy notifications became jarring (they weren’t in the original spec), and the process of saving (by sitting on stone couches) quite abruptly takes you out of the world (appropriate enough I guess, for the end of a play session). In the same sense, the manual devalues this from whatever it is into a mere game. (I blame marketing for American audiences.)
Whatever it is, then, is something more. But what to call it? Art, or interactive experience? Sounds pretentious. More like, this is what a game should be. What other games should aspire to be like. Sure, it doesn’t suit every genre, style or developer, and I don’t think everything should be a lot more Ico. But maybe more things should be a little bit more Ico.
Anyway, I had a blast playing this great game. Hmm, well blast is the wrong word, my playthrough was more ponderous than that. I had a slow burn. But a good one. Anyway I had fun. And there’s more to look forward to! See I bought the Ico&SotC Collection, so soon I’ll start on Colossus, and there’s much more widespread praise for that so it should be good, but I have different expectations for it. Plus, there’s the New Game + option, with co-op. I think I’ll call it here. Not a long game but so good, concentrated quality.
Wife’s comment: “It made me feel dizzy when you moved the camera.” Yeah that feature was a bit sensitive.
The Rayman series has a long tradition of having handheld versions to the current main title. Many blend together aspects from the console titles, which lets them serve as a sort of bridge between the main series games, which as I mentioned previously are each quite different to each other.
This started with Rayman for the Game Boy Color, which came out after Rayman 2, and so features some changes: Rayman’s appearance in cutscenes and promotional material is based on his appearance in 2; Tings are said to be fairies inside globes rather than just globes, linking somewhat to the Lums that replaced them; and all of the music is chip-ised from 2’s tunes, rather than 1’s. I think of it as a kind of “Rayman 1.5”. It was likely developed at least partly in tandem with Rayman 2 Forever (GBC), which has almost identical boxart and the same music, and was released a year later (and obviously is also a 2D platformer, unlike the actual Rayman 2).
Rayman 3 had a few handheld spinoffs, firstly Rayman 3 (GBA), which was probably made originally as a separate handheld version of Rayman 2 for GBA, with Rayman 3 elements tacked on at the last minute. It was released simultaneously with the main Rayman 3, and in fact even has connectivity and mini-games with the GCN version, but is mostly inspired by 2. It has Lums, Ly the Fairy, Razorbeard and Robo-Pirates, and Ssssssam the snake, none of which are in 3 proper. Black Lums and Hoodlums are present but rare, so I like to call it Rayman 2.5, especially as that is its probable timeline positioning. This game was also scaled-down and ported to the Nokia N-GAGE, and a separate but very similar Symbian game also exists.
However, the other Rayman 3 GBA spinoff, Hoodlums’ Revenge, is a true sequel to 3, making it I guess Rayman 3-2 (like Final Fantasy X-2), as it is still heavily based on 3. Unlike all other handheld games up to this point, it’s not a 2D platformer but an isometric-type deal. It has more Lum types than 3, but otherwise uses a lot more elements from it than R3(GBA) did. Its plot is also original (although derivative of 3) unlike R3(GBA), which is a pastiche of 2 and 3. Gameplay is different to any other Rayman game, I think.
The final game in the “classic” Rayman series, before Origins, is… well, it’s Rayman Raving Rabbids, but only the handheld versions. Two prototypes of “Rayman 4” were hashed out at various times, one as 4 and one as Raving Rabbids. It was eventually retooled into a party game that spawned some more party games, but remnants of the true Rayman 4(s) survive in 3 handheld games, all called RRR. The purest is the GBA version, which contains environments and concepts from 4 and is solely a 2D platformer. It also features Ly, Globox, Murfy, Lums, and Teensies (Ly gets lots of handheld appearances, despite being in only 1 console game!). Apparently gameplay is very similar to R3(GBA), so maybe you could say this is Rayman 3.5, as it melds gameplay from R3(GBA), which was 2.5, with the concepts of 4. Ok this number thing is getting silly.
Anyway, the DS version of RRR was also a 2D platformer, but it also incorporated minigames, so it’s more of a halfway point between the GBA and console versions. I should make a graph. There was also a Symbian version which apparently rips off its gameplay from Sonic the Hedgehog, of all places. It does use Purple Lums and cages though, in addition to being a 2D platformer with Rabbids as enemies.
Other handheld games include ports of Rayman 1 to the GBA and DSiWare, and ports of Rayman 2 to DS, 3DS, and iOS. There’s also the mobile phone spinoffs: R1-based puzzle game Rayman Garden; the monochrome Rayman Golf; the mono and colour Rayman Bowling, based on R1 locations; and the more recent Rayman Kart, the only game (so far- Legends remains to be seen) to feature characters from 2, 3 and RR!
This brings us to the present. Rayman Jungle Run is a new game for iOS and Android, using the exact same engine and assets as Origins. I guess the closest comparable game is Rayman 2 Forever (GBC), as it is the only one to be solely based on one console game. This is much more similar visually and aurally, obvious since it reuses assets. The big difference here is the gameplay, which is designed specifically for touchscreens. Physics are the same but the controls and levels are designed around Rayman automatically running and you telling him to jump and, later, attack. This works much better than it sounds since as I said the levels and experience is designed around it, instead of trying to also reuse levels from Origins.
This game is more score attack-y that Origins, as the goal is to get every Lum in the level as you run through. Rewards are more Livid Dead levels (yay! so hard!), and a phone wallpaper gallery, handy since you know, it’s on a phone. This gallery also reveals the name of the nymph who was transformed into “Big Mama”, the secret boss of Origins. It’s Fée de la Mort, and there are some nice original art pieces in there.
It’s good to see the tradition of handheld spinoffs continued in post-Origins Rayman, and it’s a short and sweet game. I wonder if Legends will get its own spinoff too. Odd that Origins was on every platform but Legends is only on one, so hopefully there’s something coming.
PS. I should say I’ve never played any of the games I talk about here, except R2(iOS) and Jungle Run. Most of my info is from the Rayman Pirate Community wiki, a generally excellent resource. I’d like to play through them all one day, though. Thank you, emulators!
When I heard there was a co-op 2D platformer better than Donkey Kong Country Returns, I was skeptical. But Rayman Origins is clearly my favourite game of this year, in fact it would be my Game of the Year except in came out in 2011. It is so good.
From my perspective there was a lot of hype for it, but that hype is so justified. Ubisoft and Michel Ancel came back and really put a lot of love and effort into making this the next Rayman successor.
Speaking of him, I find it interesting that each of the four “main” Rayman games features kind of a soft reboot. Rayman 2 was so different to the original, and while the third is quite similar to 2 there are few returning enemies or locations. (Although I haven’t played 3 so I’m generalising a little). Origins makes a worthy attempt to reconcile the seldom-revisited characters and locations from the original bright sugary game with the darker tone and characters of 2-3. Before this game, I think making an overall timeline or setting for the Rayman universe would have been a lot more difficult.
Of course, I say this, but the truth is I had little interest in Rayman before hearing about how great Origins is (and it is really great). However, as I like to do with games I get into, I dived deep into the leading fan wiki. I also picked up Rayman 2 for iOS for a dollar for a bit of background there (it was very hard to control, but nostalgic as a 90s 3D platformer). This prepared me for the game pretty well, although in some ways there are just as many new or different concepts to Rayman’s world as previous games had introduced.
Having a bit of context is always good for games with callbacks, and this game had lots. It uses both Lums and Electoons, collectibles from 2 and 1 respectively. Teensies and Globox from 2 and 3 help you out, with Betilla the fairy/nymph and the Magician from 1 as NPC helpers, although I’m convinced it’s not supposed to be the same Magician. Mr. Dark, also from 1 appears finally as the big bad, although I think you would need to have read the blog and the cut script from the demo to make that have more impact.
Incidentally, this development blog often featured characters, concepts and even basic setting that were changed before the final release, making it very interesting to go back and read after playing. The original setting, surviving in subtitle form in the final game, was that of a prequel. As it is it could be set anytime after 2.
Of course, there are many more games in the Rayman series that the “main” 4, but I’ll save that for another post.
Anyway, as for the basic gameplay of the game it’s a smooth-flowing, fast-paced 2D platformer with collectibles and secret areas and gimmicks. There’s also the usual levels with completely different gameplay that are often seen in 2D platformers, in this case side-scrolling shmups. A staple of modern 2D throwback games such as DKCR, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Kirby’s Adventure Wii, etc is the co-op feature. These vary from the more co-operative (DKCR with no collision and teaming up to help each other) to more competitive (NSMBW with tons of precision-destroying collisions and trolling). Origins compromises very effectively I feel, with no collisions but the ability to use attacks on the other players to knock them around without doing damage. It’s a good system that lets you either help or hinder your friends. Naturally, I played most of the game single-player as my brother and I now live in different states (we had loads of fun with DKCR last year).
Rewards for getting more collectibles are fairly satisfying, more Lums in a level gets you more Electoons, which unlock more levels (often) and character skins (less often). The skins are a great idea that other games should do way more often *cough*NSMBW*. Even DKCR could have used Funky and Dixie as swaps, but I digress. There are also optional challenge levels, and if you do them all, a final super-hard level in a unique environment (seen in the game’s intro). This was good as something to work for, and plenty challenging for me. There’s enough levels generally too that the single one as an end reward was enough.
But let’s talk about the best aspect of the game by far, and the one that always leaves me smiling and happy. The sound and visual design were just beautiful. The cartoony/painterly art style is wonderful, and the ridiculous music was a joy to listen to, one of the few straight game soundtracks I can listen to outside the context of the game. The characters are all exaggerated and funny, and most of them speak Pig Latin in silly voices which is very endearing.
But let’s wrap up. Rayman Origins, as I’ve said, is my favourite game I’ve played this year. It’s just so well-designed, every aspect. From the look to the sound to the very solid gameplay, it’s just great to play. There are of course one or two niggles like mid-air attacks cancelling momentum, the majority of skins being Teensies, or the large amounts of plot and dialogue that were cut which I at least would have enjoyed. But as a game, and as an installment in the Rayman universe, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. It certainly breathed new life in a big way into the Rayman franchise, which had stalled after the Rabbids overtook his popularity. Fantastic, big hand to Ancel and Ubisoft. Thank you for making a game I love so much.
Wife’s comment: “It was too hard, but the flying bits were ok. It was pretty.” I managed to get her help with the shmup sections, it makes them much much easier with 2 people, even with an inexperienced gamer.
EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot, I played the demo on 3DS, DO NOT BUY. From my experience and what I’ve read, the 3DS version is a really crappy port. Slow interface, gameplay elements too small and blurry, overall a lazy port. Get a console version for goodness sake! I have no idea how the Wii version compares to the HD consoles, but it was perfectly fine for me, absolutely no complaints RE: resolution or anything.
Anonymous asked: This is one of the Supper Mario Broth writers. Regarding the Yoshi comic, I simply scanned that one page and translated just that one panel. I might translate the whole comic later if I have the time. It's always nice to see somebody care about these comics.
Ah I see. Well, I didn’t know there were multiple contributors. No wonder there’s so much output! Anyway, you did a super great job with that scanlation! What font did you use? I’m working on the DKC2 special from Club Nintendo at the moment, and I was going to move on to that one. So if you start working on it in full, let me know and I will do the same.
OK, now you really have to tell me where you got these scans. This comic, as far as I knew, hadn’t been translated yet and it was next on my list. Please tell me where you found it or else upload the whole thing yourself! I recommend mediafire.
Ok, one more quick review before I go back to Pokemon (I’ve been playing it all day). Golden Sun is a fantastic series and you should play it. No wait, I hate when people say that, it’s obnoxious. “I love Golden Sun.” Better.
Played the first two, loved them. So good. Unfortunately, they were stolen. This was a pretty big event in my gaming life. While on a family trip to America, our rental car was broken into and bags stolen, containing our whole Magic card collection and our Game Boys and all games. All we had left were a few at home and insurance money to buy new ones, which we did. But this left us bereft of some of our most cherished, memorable games. Anyway, I had the chance to play this sequel when I borrowed it from my brother this year.
Actually I started playing last year, at a family get-together. But now I’ve finally finished, I can say I was a little bit disappointed. Maybe it’s my rose-coloured memories, but the scope, length, and plot seemed lesser than my recollection of the first two. In terms of gameplay though, DD is streamlined and improved in all sorts of little ways.
There were plenty of callbacks to the GBA games, with returning characters (and some, oddly, repeatedly mentioned but never seen), concepts renewed, and many of the same items (weapons have more special attacks here though, which is a good thing). The return of the same weapons though raises an interesting implied narrative. In the 30 year gap, is it possible the Warriors of Vale travelled the new world, seeding appropriate items in different places according to the strength of monsters there? Hehehe, now that could make an interesting game…
What’s different though is the look. Changing from sprites to polygons is common in the GBA->DS transition, as indeed in the SNES->N64. I feel that the areas have a similar feel though, Camelot has done a good job of capturing the tone of the previous installments, with their varied environments, distinct cultures, fantastical monsters with little relevance to imagery in the game (except bosses). Also, all the Djinn look different now! It’s awesome!
The new characters are pretty cool, I especially liked Sveta and being able to control Eoleo, the pirate’s baby from The Lost Age. The villains were totally boring though. Not as mysterious as Saturos and Menardi or as well-developed as Karst and Agatio, Blados and Chalis (while very similar in style) just show up, drop cryptic statements and leave. Snore. They don’t even get a proper fleshing out later on, just more hints. The whole game feels inconclusive, like it’s just setting up a sequel that will really explore things properly, a game which hasn’t happened yet. And we all got it was Alex under that mask, give us some more!
As a sequel it was simultaneously gratifying and disappointing. It continues from the previous in a great way, and sets up some very cool things, but being such an obvious interlude it lets you down hard in the end and little is resolved. And only letting you explore 1/3—1/4 of the world makes it feel small, even if it is quite large. I suppose it’s a realistic depiction of life in an era of limited communication and travel options, and it made you feel part of the world with events happening offscreen. This is a good thing.
As its own game, it gets a lot of things right and has some inventive ways of filling in backstory for new players. It does a good job with providing vague direction but letting you wander, which is refreshing to me. It looks great and controls very well, with easy-to-use menus and smooth events. Cut-scenes can be a bit jarring and tend to drag at times, though. Smaller and more often, I say.
I played all the Final Fantasy Advance games, so coming from that Golden Sun is a nice change of pace. As RPGs go, the series is a fine example with a very well-developed world that doesn’t get too crazy. The world-building really is a highlight, as is the Djinn system of pet/class customising/summons/special attacks. I can’t call it unique, because of the vastness of RPGs I haven’t played, but in my experience it’s one of my favourites. I had a very good time with this one, too. Until next time: it’s wise to keep one’s mind and body strong.
