I recently realised there were just a few things left to cover before I can really wrap up my playthrough of the “classic” Rayman games. The final two pieces of software are somewhat similar to some of the educational games made in the Rayman 1 era. I’m just going to talk about them real briefly because come on, I want to play Origins so badly!

Rayman 3 Print Studio

A simple program that was produced around the release of Hoodlum Havoc itself. It was also bundled in with 2 and 3 in some later collections. It allows you to arrange pictures, text, and graphic elements to make collages in a number of templates, such as greeting cards or bookmarks. The pictures are renders and concept art from 3 and apparently also from 2, including for example a previously unseen concept of Ly (although that could have been from the planning stages of 3, I don’t know). Not super educational I know, but creative. If you’re desperate to know more, just go here or see it in “action” here.

Rayman Raving Rabbids Activity Centre

This neat little application includes most of the print studio functions of the above, but with stuff related to the first Rabbids game. It also has a handful of minigames that recall those of the first title, as well as a simple painting tool. When I found out about this game I was delighted that despite so much time passing, the educational Rayman 1-based games were being revived in some way. The truth is though that the minigame format had really been converted into the main game, in a much more comprehensive way. At least it has a few other functions, and the 3 minigames it contains are actually unique to this program. Also the title screen has the massive, imposing Rabbid mech as seen in a few places outside of the lead Rabbids title. Read more here or watch this.

And that is truly it. With this, I tie a nice big bow around the entire pre-Origins Rayman series. It was quite a ride, with a lot of quality titles: 2 and 3 were very good 3D platformers, and several of the handheld games were enjoyable. As I suspected though, Origins was a triumph that surpasses anything that came before, also bringing a revitalisation of the franchise that offered great spinoffs as well. But the older games have certainly earned a place in my heart, and I do plan to go back at least for the PS2 port of Rayman 2. The chronicle of my look back at the Rayman series is here. Thank you for reading.

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