Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Underappreciated"

Rayman was a great franchise, especially Rayman 2 and 3, those were some awesome games, then the Rabbids came, and while some of those games were pretty fun, I missed the platforming and most importantly, Rayman himself who was quickly tossed aside. But now he's back, in a new 2D platformer, and it is a triumphant return to be sure. Or, I notice the way I'm writing, it seems this is a new game, actually, it's been out for a while, problem is, people didn't buy it, however I am glad they still decided to make another Rayman game titled Rayman Legends which is coming to the Nintendo Wii U later this year, hopefully, and it seems to be in the same style as this one, in terms of gameplay, not entirely in terms of visuals. This game looks great, that's the first thing you'll notice, it reminded me of the Wii Wario game, "Shake-something" or whatever it was called, thing is, this game's in HD, and the details, the characters, the environments and enemies all pop to life and it's just a joy to behold. The gameplay is fun as well, a LOT more fast paced than the original Rayman, plus the sprites don't take up most of the screen, you start the game with a very limited number of moves, actually you don't have any moves besides running and jumping, but when you save 5 nymphs or fairies, yeah, I know, I'm not going to comment on their appearance like so many other people, I like Helena Handbasket the best, the way she speaks Scandinavian-like gibberish is pretty cool, but anyway, rescuing them gives you the well known Rayman powers such as the helicopter hair, the ability to punch, swim along with the ability to run on walls and the power to shrink.

The game is mostly very easy, but extra challenges are avilable, which makes the game fairly lengthy. The last level with a time attack option took me a long time to get through, and the Skull teeth stages can be infuriating as they leave practically no room for error, but you feel pretty good when you finally do complete them. The shooting sections where you ride on a giant pink mosquito, I think it's the one from the first Rayman game, are good as well, but they became a pain the neck near the end where you have to get 300 lums to get a new Electoon, they zip by so fast, it's difficult to get enough, and unlike the regular stages, you miss one, you can't quickly turn and go back to get it. But eventually I did manage to get all the electoons. The final, secret stage, Land of the Livid Dead, you want a challenge, play that, I dare anyone to play that and finish it the first time around, only disappointment is that the final boss in this stage is a little too easy. Some of the bosses are pretty epic, but some are way easier than others. I wish the difficulty was more consistent, but fine. The music is hit and miss for me, and a lot of it is reused too often. There's a distinct "Redneck" feel to the game, to the music, the humour, the enemies, but that's okay and didn't bother me. Now, can we have a 3D Rayman game soon? Rayman 4 possibly? Either way, I really enjoyed this new Rayman game, it has a bunch of creative stages and is a great return for one of platformings greatest and most underappreciated heroes.