I’m anticipating playing Rayman Mini soon, so I thought I’d revisit my favourite Rayman game while also catching up on this port. Is it the definitive version…??
Origins was a relaunch of the Rayman series, a beautiful co-op enabled 2D platformer with buttery smooth momentum-based play control and a joyous soundtrack. It was refreshingly modern with no game overs, charming in its hand-drawn animated style, and full of secrets and challenges. It made me love the series and this is the third time I’ve played it to completion.
At this point, I look back on it as a very pure experience. Legends was a bit muddled with no plot and compulsory control gimmicks, as well as making the art style more detailed (a debatable choice). The mobile games—Jungle Run -> Fiesta Run -> Adventures—became more focused on user-unfriendly microtransaction mechanics. (Although I did replay Jungle Run just now through an old device, as it’s been delisted, and it’s a great use of the Origins style to make a compelling level-based autorunner; I highly recommend it). Origins is focused and bold, and executes brilliantly on its aims, with the exception of the shooter levels which still break the flow a bit, and the character selection which is a little limited and mostly filled with Teensy variants.
As for the Vita port, it has extra additions that are unique to it. There’s new collectibles, small stones that sit in the background or foreground, blending into that beautiful artwork. They make a sound and move when you’re near them, and then you tap the touchscreen to collect them. These unlock murals that tell an amusing new anecdote about both Rayman and Globox’s pasts. Finding these adds a small extra spice to replaying the levels in the same way that Donkey Kong Country 2′s GBA port had a sprinkling of new secret pickups on top of its nigh-perfection.
That’s the main thing. There’s also a pinch-to-zoom camera function to facilitate the search for these baubles, but which is otherwise a hindrance. The touchscreen can also be used to pop item or enemy bubbles, which is nice. Otherwise there’s a new Ghost Mode, where select levels can be played in a special stripped-back time trial mode against staff ghosts. Using my skills honed in Legends’ race modes, I found these pathetically easy. Ghost Mode is supposed to be a conciliation for the Vita version not supporting simultaneous multiplayer in any way, which could be a drawback or a non-issue depending on your circumstances. Player ghosts were meant to be traded between Vita systems, through a service that has now been discontinued, so it’s a bit of a moot point.
The Vita’s resolution is lower than a HD console but higher than the Wii. I found the game looked great on its vibrant screen, and it controls equally well with the clicky D-pad or the nubby stick. The main problem with this version, and what makes me hesitate short of declaring the Vita port definitive, is the audio glitches I experienced. Not often but frequently enough to be annoying, sounds or music would fail to play. It’s an unfortunate black mark on an otherwise cromulent port with some added bonuses. Either way, I enjoyed replaying this game immensely; for me it’s where the entire franchise peaked and it still brings me joy.
