A quick scanlation of a Rayman-themed 4koma, commemorating the release of Rayman 2 in Japan. From the pages of the May 2002 edition of Monthly Corocoro magazine. Written and illustrated by Hori Yoshikazu (this romanisation is a guess as this mangaka is fairly unknown, with few works to their name). Scanned by Ragey. @horseypope helped me translate it, I did the rest.
What a novelty to get a Rayman comic. Apart from some Rabbids-only ones later, the only other comic I know about is the 4-page short in Disney Adventures. Hopefully more will surface some day.
As an addendum to my Rayman quest, I picked up two different ports of Rayman 2. Comparing the two was informative, as each has been enhanced in different ways (for some good references for this check out the Rayman PC wiki). But first, a brief rundown of the game and my impressions.
After drawing the casts of Legends and M, I felt that some of my favourite characters were missing, so I put them together in their own picture. You won’t see them all in the same game, but these are the powerful movers and shakers of Rayman’s world: fairies, magicians, and gods. I went with the later designs, mostly because they look better, although Polokus/Bubble Dreamer came out pretty wonky. Also Origins’s Magician (Ales Mansay) is a different guy to the original Magician (Andrew/Pierre).
Like the first game, Rayman 2 had its portable equivalent on the Game Boy Color. It’s a pretty good conversion, capturing the atmosphere of its counterpart well. I also feel that it improves on the foundation of the first GBC game, giving us an enjoyable product.
Firstly, it looks great. The pixelart is nice and while the cutscenes are very derpy the game itself uses colour well to make a gloomy atmosphere and the important bits like items stand out (for the most part; I missed a switch a couple of times). Switches are new and give the game a bit more depth than a straight obstacle course, but the level design is actually more straightforward and while it’s cleverly arranged it’s usually easy to tell what to do next, which is a good thing. The exception is the last few levels that turn into big mazes, but that’s fine as a break and final challenge.
The sound is… pretty much the same as the last GBC instalment, as that one’s soundtrack was based on Rayman 2 already. No complaints, but now that I’ve refamiliarised myself with the source the delightfully chippy tunes are even better (if a little repetitive). What’s not repetitive (segue eh?) is the levels and environments, which do a good job changing up the type of challenge and the look.
While the tone and environments are carried over well from the console game, sadly not everything made the 8-bit cut. A notable lack is the enemies, with only two actual Robo-Pirates appearing in the whole game. Two! One is a miniboss (as seen in the fourth screenshot), and the next is supposed to be Razorbeard I think, despite looking and acting identically to the earlier one. We have Zombie Chickens, spiders, crabs, and barrels, and apart from that a few returning Rayman 1 GBC enemies (red bats and the rare Antitoon), but I felt the primary threat of the game was not very present—the main representation of the pirates is a ton of flying bombs. No Jano either.
I think this game did a good job replicating Rayman 2 into a 2D sidescroller on the GBC. It’s also a fun game in itself, and I got to 100% (the reward is underwhelming), which wasn’t even too hard because of the linearity of the levels. I’d recommend it, it builds on Rayman 1 GBC and improves on it, in design and also the use of saves instead of passwords. According to the credits it was made by a different team, but using the same engine and some shared assets the result was better. Which goes to show the importance of design, or something.
Next up is Rayman M/Arena/Rush. That is, unless I can get Tonic Trouble working. It’s been a nightmare setting that up, you can’t buy it, and running a Windows emulator and finding the iso has been a pain. There’s the released game and also the beta “Special Edition”, not to mention the N64 version (unfortunately there’s no decent N64 emulator for Mac). At least I can play Tonic Trouble GBC without any issues. Well, see you soon, same Ray-time, same Ray-channel.
Having explored, more or less, the Rayman 1 era of games, it’s time to move on to the next stage of the series. Rayman 2 famously was a big departure from the first game, with a darker, more realistic tone and 3D gameplay. One of the perks of the PS1 port that I chose to play is an unlockable level that’s purported to be a prototype of the original Rayman 2, using the engine, look, and playstyle of Rayman 1 but introducing new gimmicks, new antagonists and a new pre-rendered sprite style for some elements. It also seems to feature the industrialisation theme that was eventually carried through to the final game. The single level is basic and straightforward but crammed with a lot of ideas that would have gone into the game, including the “moving into the background” thing that maybe Abe’s Oddysee did first?
Anyway, the final product is much more different to Rayman 1 than this prototype. An entirely new cast of characters save for Rayman himself, although again unique to this PS1 version the Antitoons make a return as random enemies, despite the Electoons themselves being nowhere to be seen. A different playstyle, with a focus on linear 3D platforming with combat setpieces, and collectibles hidden in crannies. A much less whimsical game, R2 has a dark fantasy theme, with the magical denizens of the world being oppressed by alien robot pirate invaders. Humour is still there with the characters Globox and the Teensies, but the environments and music are a bit gloomier in general, though still with splashes of colour and more adventurous tunes. It has a unique identity that enriches Rayman’s world, especially when its additions get mixed into the delightful Origins later on.
Now long-time readers may remember that I’ve actually played this game before. The original release for the N64 and PC was enhanced graphically for the Dreamcast, with a few minigames added and a few level changes. Most latter-day ports, including for DS and iOS, are based on the Dreamcast version (sans additional minigames). However, late in the same year (2000) it was also ported to the PS1 and PS2, with more significant differences. Both added full voice acting, and the PS1 version shortened and cut levels, while the PS2 one lengthened and added some. There’s also unique extras such as the bonus prototype I mentioned, and the additional enemies. The PS1 port also has more interesting characters to rescue from the cages, with little dinosaurs, fairies, and greenbottles (Murfy’s species, although he himself doesn’t appear in the game). The PS2 port on the other hand has three hubworld areas to access levels from, replacing the map screen other versions share.
The PS2 one having more content, I wanted to play that, but couldn’t get the PS2 emulator working. As a second choice, the PS1 port with its many differences seemed a good way to re-experience the game and see what’s been changed. For a start, the graphics are quite poor. Lots of aliasing and low-res textures, but that’s to be expected. The voice acting’s pretty cheesy and generic, and brings up inconsistencies with pronunciation: Raym'n or Rayman? They say “Lumm” but the Origins manual explicitly says that it’s said like “Loom”. Ly the fairy is pronounced Li, while perusing a Japanese subtitled playthrough, they seem to express it as Lai. I also found I was pronouncing Polokus wrong, or was I? There seems to be no consistency, so maybe I should just go with whatever I want.
Enough nitpicking though. The content cuts are actually significant and result in an inferior version. I mean, if you want to play through quicker and see the unique things it’s not a bad option, but there were definitely parts I missed or noticed the lack of, like parts of Tomb of the Ancients or the whole Robot Dinosaur chase. The final phase of Razorbeard’s Grolgoth is also different, although I actually prefer the endless scrolling 3D shooter style to the original’s navigating the enclosed cavern, which led to many deaths in my original playthrough.
On the whole I had a good time with this version compared to my iOS play. Those touchscreen controls really are no substitute, and having a larger (although worse looking screen) was better for the platforming. But still, it’s not a stellar 3D platformer; although remembered fondly by many and with good ideas and atmosphere, the gameplay is not always up to scratch. The level design is just ok, the health system is good, but the whole engine just seems a little shaky. Maybe one day I’ll finally play the PS2 version and see the full potential of the game (or the Dreamcast one, which some people insist is definitive).
For now though, I’ve reacquainted myself with the world presented in Rayman 2, and I’m ready to see what its many spinoffs will offer me. Here’s what we have to look forward to: Rayman 2 Forever (GBC), the multiplayer spinoffs (M, Arena, and Rush… all the same game with differences based on which port it is), Tonic Trouble—the game that served as a prototype for R2’s engine and which crosses over with it slightly—and its GBC version, and finally I’ll also watch the animated series that only has 4 episodes. Some of the educational games are also based wholly or partially on Rayman 2, but I talked about those and I don’t plan on playing them. So look forward to all that, Rayman fans!
A screenshot I took of Rayman 2: The Great Escape for iOS. As far as I know, this was based on the Dreamcast version, for what that’s worth. Apparently the DS versions are quite buggy.
This is in the Land of the Livid Dead, in a small graveyard section off the main path. One of the graves houses an ambushing robot pirate. At the far end are two graves with identical images, or skeletons.
This picture illustrates an interesting bit of fanon I’ve constructed. My theory goes like this. The figure, to me, resembles the Magician from Rayman 1, despite his arms. You see, the original Magician was a Rayperson, as were several of the cast. This was retconned later. In my theory, instead of being retconned into a Teensy, the original Magician died and was interred here.
A separate Teensy, perhaps his apprentice or similar, then took on his mantle. Unfortunately he also took on another mantle. *SPOILERS* Rayman Origins’ Teensy Magician is also the new Mr. Dark. Unused dialogue in Origins fleshes out Mr. Dark 2’s background, but I can’t find it online. The lead writer, however, stated that Origins’ Mr. Dark was a copycat, confirming this aspect of my theory. If he’s copying Dark, he can copy the Magician too.
The existing theory for the graves is that they are for robo-pirates, but my weird theory explains why the Magician is different between 1 and Origins. And the second grave? Why, it belongs to the Magician’s English brother, Andrew, of course! They are identical, apart from their clothes. Andrew appeared in the French-only educational title, English with Rayman. Nobody replaced him, of course.
I may not have explained this too well, but it fits together in my mind. And it’s way better than a straight retcon, as it keeps the universe consistent. Rayman’s actual origin, on the other hand, is much harder to keep straight between games. But that’s fanon for another day!
Having explored, more or less, the Rayman 1 era of games, it’s time to move on to the next stage of the series. Rayman 2 famously was a big departure from the first game, with a darker, more realistic tone and 3D gameplay. One of the perks of the PS1 port that I chose to play is an unlockable level that’s purported to be a prototype of the original Rayman 2, using the engine, look, and playstyle of Rayman 1 but introducing new gimmicks, new antagonists and a new pre-rendered sprite style for some elements. It also seems to feature the industrialisation theme that was eventually carried through to the final game. The single level is basic and straightforward but crammed with a lot of ideas that would have gone into the game, including the “moving into the background” thing that maybe Abe’s Oddysee did first?
