What I’d heard about Rayman 3 led me to expect it to not fit in as well with the other games, with Michel Ancel not being involved and all. Playing it was a pleasant surprise, as I enjoyed it quite a bit! It actually fits quite well as a follow-up to Rayman 2; sure it does some things differently but what sequel doesn’t? 2 itself was very different to 1, after all.

So what’s new in Rayman 3? Well, it has a score system, which is the counter you can see in the corner in screenshots. Defeating enemies and collecting the gems scattered around gives you points and doing such actions in quick succession builds a combo meter for more points. The gems themselves are new; Lums appear as part of the story but only red ones (and black). Also new are the cans which give you a temporary power-up as part of a costume (and also double your points while they last). The scoring system has been integrated well into the game as a whole, even unlocking silly little minigames which is its only purpose apart from score-chasing, which people are into. Always thinking about your score is an interesting twist, planning your collection to maximise your combo.

Also new are the cinematic elements. There’s more plot, and the situation changes as you progress. The game is also fully voice-acted, more so than the Playstation versions of Rayman 2. Characters will natter at you throughout, and for the most part it’s endearing unless you have to replay a section. I guess John Leguizamo (Luigi Mario himself!) is the only real big name, but he does Globox, a major part, and he does a great job at it. He’s depicted as simple-minded but written well with lots of jokes. He plays off Andre, the Black Lum who Globox swallows early in the game, so there’s constant banter and contact with the antagonist a la Banjo-Kazooie or Portal. Billy West (who played Rayman in the Animated Series) is Murfy, unfortunately only for one level with many wisecracks and fourth-wall breaks. David Gasman’s Rayman doesn’t talk much, and the other minor characters aren’t bad except the three Teensie doctors you see for plot, who are crude German, hippy, and Asian stereotypes respectively.

This aspect of Rayman 3—the voices, I mean—may turn people off, but I liked it as part of what this game was trying to do. In fact the whole game left me feeling positive; the levels are well designed, it looks gorgeous, it expands the Rayman universe in clever ways. Sure there might be too many shoe-racing segments but it was just nice to play a 3D platformer again. The power-ups help change up the gameplay every now and then while restricting your moveset to keep things simple. It even made me feel a bit emotional at the end, when Globox starts feeling attached to Andre, and there’s a scene right at the end where you as a player have to transform him back into a Red Lum—reminiscent of the final moments of Snake Eater (ok I haven’t played it but I’ve heard about it).

So you can tell I would recommend this. It’s not on as many platforms as Rayman 2 but it’s easier to access the best one in this case, as the Rayman 3 HD port for last-gen consoles is it. You do miss out on the unique minigames on the GCN version when connected to a GBA, though. It may feel a little more linear than Rayman 2 but later levels open up a little more, with some doubling back and plenty of secrets to discover, and there’s still platforming here despite a bigger focus on combat. But again, I prefer to appreciate the game for what it’s trying to do rather than comparing it directly to Rayman 2′s gameplay. But that’s just me reacting to my perception of this game’s reception. Anyway, enough waffling, it’s fun.