Rayman

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JaySevenZero
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Rayman

Post by JaySevenZero »

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions of Rayman for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder to all that where feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but self-editing (brevity) is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mainly reading. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.
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TheEmailer
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Re: 433: Rayman

Post by TheEmailer »

Got this as a 8 year old, thinking it was suitable. It might be a great game, but it was too hard and I experienced very little of it.
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iHateNumbers23
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Re: 433: Rayman

Post by iHateNumbers23 »

Rayman was the first video game I ever played. To this day, the hiccup noise when you’re hit, the “Yeah!” at the end of each stage and numerous other sound effects are etched into my brain. The game remained unbeatably difficult throughout my childhood. I remember being in awe of my 2 year older sister as she was able to beat some of the music-themed stages whereas I barely managed to best the mosquito boss. What was left to explore beyond those pesky music notes and disappearing clouds? I still don’t actually know.

That game will always represent a time of my life when the world seemed incomprehensibly huge. Maybe I’ll try to beat it someday, maybe it’s best to leave it lingering in a fuzzy nostalgic haze. For what it’s worth, Rayman opened my eyes to this wonderful hobby and for that I owe its developers a huge “Merci”.
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Jobobonobo
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Re: 433: Rayman

Post by Jobobonobo »

I am a massive fan of both Origins and Legends but I had never got the chance to play Rayman’s original outing back in the day. When I came across a cheap PS1 copy, I snatched it up and popped it into my PS3. What catches your eye straight away is how gorgeous the game still looks to this day. The colours are eye popping, the character designs memorable and the animation a delight. While the PS1 era was the awkward baby steps for 3D gaming, 2D was looking better than ever at this stage and Rayman was one of the best examples of how developers could really push 2D graphics in beautiful new directions.

However, if the old saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” could be applied to any game, it would certainly be this one. Behind the bright colours and cheery sounds lies an utterly brutal platformer that will break you without mercy if you are not at the top of your abilities. I kept getting destroyed by this game again and again. Its obstacles and enemies placed in exceedingly tricky places which makes dodging them require lightning quick reflexes. Rayman kicked my arse so bad I did not even beat World 1! Also to consider is the limited amount of continues that you have and that you can easily go through them all in a string of bad luck resulting in you having to start over. Everything in this game is set against you and it was just too much for me. It was nice to go back to where the character started but Rayman’s modern adventures are far more balanced in their ratio of challenge to fairness and I would fully recommend those over this beautiful but frustrating debut.

Three word review: Appearances are deceptive
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Mr Ixolite
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Re: 433: Rayman

Post by Mr Ixolite »

I would not usually do this, but for anyone considering, or being in the process of playing this game, I strongly recommend using the following code, which I do not so much consider a cheat, as I do a balance patch to allow people to actually finish the game. Because this game is incredibly stingy with lives.


Press Start, then carefully enter the following code: Press in order and hold L2 + R1 + L1 + R2. Release the buttons in this order: L1, L2, R2, and R1. Press and release Circle. Hold Left + Circle + Square + Triangle. Release the buttons in this order: Left, Triangle, Square, and Circle. If you entered the code correctly, the life indicator in the top left of the screen should show 99 lives.
HaloFandango
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Re: 433: Rayman

Post by HaloFandango »

Simply one of the most charming and colourful games on the PS1. Many fun (and frustrating) hours were had with my friend trying to navigate a flying rayman through a spikey obstacle course. The 99 lives cheat was a must!
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Nick_Moon93
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Re: 433: Rayman

Post by Nick_Moon93 »

Loading up this game for the first time, I remember six year old me being instantly drawn into the colourful levels, upbeat soundtrack and entertaining cast of characters - like Tarayzan who has somehow got his toga stuck in a tree and the poor mosquito who Rayman reduces to tears only for the two of them to immediately becomes best friends.

The early levels in the Dream Forest introduce you to the game's mechanics and gently test your abilities and despite some difficult sections, such as the combination of floating/moving platforms and swinging red thorns, you always felt that you were being gently pushed to get better at the game. However, that all changes when you get to the Band Land where the difficulty level spikes exponentially. You starting getting ruthlessly punished for not making pixel perfect jumps and at a number of points in one level the game requires you to control the direction of narrow, moving platforms whilst dodging lightning bolts, spiky fish, evil music notes and more all at once. Watching a playthrough of the game whilst writing this, I definitely experienced some of the later levels but that can only be because I used cheat codes to unlock them and I definitely never saw the credits roll.

As others have written here, the later Rayman games definitely strike a fairer balance between challenge and fun. Objectively, I think this makes them better experiences overall but, being one of the first video games I ever played, the original Rayman will always hold a special place in my heart as an enchanting (and incredibly frustrating) introduction to a lifelong hobby.

Chris
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Mr Ixolite
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Re: Our next podcast recording (22.8.20) - 433: Rayman

Post by Mr Ixolite »

It was not 3D environments or fancy cutscenes that sold me on the original Playstation, but good old Rayman. As someone who’d cut his gaming teeth almost entirely on monochrome Gameboy platformers this was true “next gen” gaming to me, not just because of the sumptuous cartoony visuals which still hold up excellently, but also because of the sheer imagination on display. I was used to more or less “realistic” themings of plains and mountains, but places like Band Land showed me that the sky was the limit, that anything could be a level, or a hazard with evil eyeballs. Add to that a truly amazing soundtrack and my younger self was hooked, enough to be emotionally invested in saving every last caged Electoon. The games story was paper thin, and yet I still wanted to beat the ominously binocolar-using Mr Dark, and save the day.

And yet, when I last replayed the game, Band Land was a demarcation line for my enthusiasm. The audiovisual imagination dwindles in subsequent mountain and cave levels, and though it returns with a vengeance in Picture City, the difficulty has at this point been ratcheted up to frustrating levels. The lush environments start to move from a blessing to a curse, as lovingly rendered thumbtacks contain devious hitboxes I could never judge accurately.

The whole thing wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the games lives system. This is something I’ve never had a problem with in other platformers, but lives in Rayman are simply way too hard to come by, and by the end of the game you can find yourself barely scraping by with no continues left. I must’ve spent ages replaying levels because I was losing more lives than I could afford, which is why I now have no qualms using cheats to max out lives. You don’t get Celeste style instant respawns so it seems a fair way to even the odds.

Its certainly how I plan to experience the game next, and until then I’ll just enjoy it for the nostalgic memories and Remi Gazel’s iconic music.

3WR: PUNCHING THOSE EYEBALLS

(I know it doesn’t work)
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Pconpi
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Re: Our next podcast recording (22.8.20) - 433: Rayman

Post by Pconpi »

I never had played a Rayman game and so last weekend I downloaded the Rayman DSi port on the 3DS. I had heard people mentioning the difficulty and I was intrigued having recently enjoyed completing all the K levels in Tropical Freeze and wanted to see where this fell in comparison.

The challenge felt similar except that instead of the hard difficulty being relegated to bonus levels it is the baseline game. There is a lot of memorization of level layout by dying repeatedly with decent enough check pointing to not feel demoralizing. Since I had the appropriate level of challenge expectation I wasn’t turned off but I would guess the original completion rate by people who bought this game is quite low. (FYI, I’ve made it half way through the fourth world and haven't really focused on collecting many Electoons).

Some of the specific game play elements I had comments on were:
• Punching enemies instead of jumping on them is very satisfying especially with the animation of the enemies.
• The sliding movement on the Allegro Presto is fantastic
• The ledge grab ability is great
• The shrinking fairy sections are frustrating and not well designed.
• I did not appreciate the respawning of enemies especially when backtracking and exploring for the Electoons
• The knock back effects, platforms that only appearing after triggering events, and inconsistent area hit effects were all frustrating and did not add to my enjoyment of the challenge
• The DS screen area shown is smaller than the original game. This is problematic especially during boss fights when the boss is off screen and I’m trying to react to their attack cues.
• Collect all the collectibles to finish the game? No thanks.

The DS has a feature where it takes your picture when reaching a checkpoint and then every time you die and start from that checkpoint. This means that when you are repeatedly dying in difficult sections and yelling in frustration the DS is taking a picture of your angry face each time. I thought it would bug me but it ended up lightening the mood as I would make a funny face each time and enjoy how ridiculous the feature is.

The visual art in this game seems to be underrated (I didn’t see it on many best of PS1 visuals lists) and I enjoyed how beautiful the 2D graphics were and the great animations. I didn’t realize Rayman’s aesthetic was animated/cartoon based and the effect was like playing a Looney Tunes or Disney short. The animation of punching an enemy and having their body fly off the screen only to have their eyes be left behind is brilliant. Just watch a video of the Mr. Sax’s Hullabaloo fight for a good representation of how creative and great this game looks. I usually think of the PS1 as an era of ugly graphics that haven’t aged well but the 2D games like Rayman, Symphony of the Night, and Legend of Mana are incredible. While appreciating all the visual design I do feel like the character of Rayman is out of place in this cartoon world. He feels like a 1990s cartoon character while the enemies and world feel more akin to cartoons from the 1930's and 40's. Also, his “Yeah!” doesn’t feel congruous with his look or world.

Interested to see how the C+R crew gets on with this and if folks collect all the Electoons to finish…good on you if you did!
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Jobobonobo
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Re: Rayman

Post by Jobobonobo »

Currently watching Michiel's stream of this game and I am in utter awe at the god-like patience he is undergoing while dealing with the nonsense this game pulls. I particularly remember where I gave up as well. Band Land was destroying me so I thought I would go back to Moskito's Nest and maybe I might get a new ability there to help me out? And it was the swinging spiky fruit with their random ass patterns, the moving flower platforms over a river where accuracy is paramount and the autoscrolling section where you are chased and a million and one obstacles are in your way. After all this, I realised I was not having fun and gave it away to a collector friend of mine. I might have stuck around if I knew about the 99 lives cheat but I did not so c'est la vie.

Watching the stream bought back all the memories and made me realise I was far too nice on this game in my feedback for the show. This game is a mean, vindictive little shit that throws far too much at you at once with a control scheme that can barely handle it. But on a lighter note, try Rayman 2, Michiel. It is way, way better than this and is one of the best introductions of a 2D character into three dimensions that I have seen. Game is actually play tested and the difficulty is far less bullshit than the original. Thinking about it actually makes me want to see a new 3D entry in the series. 3D platformers are making a bit of a comeback so who knows what will happen in the future?
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Michiel K
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Re: Rayman

Post by Michiel K »

Thanks for that tip, Jobo! I've always been interested in Rayman 2 and was considering getting a Dreamcast copy. What you say is encouraging.

That is exactly the thing. Even before I finally gave up (which I'm not proud of!), all fun was sucked out of the game for me. Even a diabolical piece of software like NES Double Dragon III staid enjoyable to some level to me as at least the main actions and game dynamics remain satisfying.
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Flabyo
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Re: Rayman

Post by Flabyo »

It always amazes me that they kept making Rayman games despite them not being that great until suddenly they became really great. It’s a persistence that you don’t see all that often.

(Oranges and lemons are both exceptional games, especially the animation in them)
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Re: Rayman

Post by Simonsloth »

Flabyo wrote: September 18th, 2020, 8:10 am It always amazes me that they kept making Rayman games despite them not being that great until suddenly they became really great. It’s a persistence that you don’t see all that often.

(Oranges and lemons are both exceptional games, especially the animation in them)
Completely agree. I always thought he was a bit of a joke the rabbids a marketing gimmick to squeeze the consumer. Origins, Legends and Mario + Rabbids totally changed that.

I can’t really think of another franchise to have such a remarkable upturn in quality.
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Jobobonobo
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Re: Rayman

Post by Jobobonobo »

Michiel K wrote: September 17th, 2020, 1:54 pm Thanks for that tip, Jobo! I've always been interested in Rayman 2 and was considering getting a Dreamcast copy. What you say is encouraging.

That is exactly the thing. Even before I finally gave up (which I'm not proud of!), all fun was sucked out of the game for me. Even a diabolical piece of software like NES Double Dragon III staid enjoyable to some level to me as at least the main actions and game dynamics remain satisfying.
Yeah, do give it a try of you can. I know 3D platformers are not your favourite genre but I think Rayman 2 is among the more memorable ones (not in the Bubsy 3D way, thankfully!) of the 5th generation and introduces a lot of the characters that appear in Origins and Legends. For me, it is where the franchise truly starts.

Have not finished watching the entirety of the stream yet. I am at the part where you are starting to get the hang of it and even enjoy yourself a little bit. A pity that that feeling is not going to last. Curious when the magic starts to break?
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Michiel K
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Re: Rayman

Post by Michiel K »

Yeah, I can't pinpoint that moment, but I did start every session deliberately with a positive outlook ("it's not that bad, maybe last time I was just having an off day, maybe it was me, look at the pretty 2D graphics," etc.) until at one point I just couldn't anymore, haha.

Good points on how that series turned around, guys!
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