Rayman 2: The Great Escape (1999)

The second Rayman mainline entry remains one of the most ambitious and memorable 3D platformers of its generation. At a time when many franchises struggled to adapt from two dimensions to three, Rayman made the transition with a lot of confidence. The game trades the colorful simplicity of the original for a more atmospheric adventure set in a world oppressed by robotic pirates, creating a tone that feels both whimsical and surprisingly serious. Though the main plotline is not very complex to follow, what hurts it the most is the fact that it has nothing to do with any previously introduced elements in regards of the world building.

The strongest aspect is its sense of adventure, every level introduces new ideas, environments, and challenges, ensuring the experience rarely becomes repetitive. This was not a very common thing back in the day, which sometimes made games feel like they were trying to fill in the gaps just to make them longer. While at the same time, this comes at the cost of a very short experience, even for those looking for going 100%. You will spend one moment navigating lush forests and caves, then you'll be riding rockets, escaping enemies in high-speed chase sequences. This constant variety keeps the pacing fresh throughout the journey and gives the game a scope that made it standout compared other similar titles at the time.

The game's visual presentation is particularly impressive considering the limitations of the PlayStation hardware. While the graphics are less detailed than those found in other platforms, such as the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2 or even the Nintendo 64, the artistic direction remains excellent. The environments, distinctive enemy designs, and fluid character animations help create a world that still has a lot of charm to it. The same cannot be said about the level of polish of the scenarios though, with very limited and simple geometry. This even makes it hard to distinguish the place you find yourself in, especially when it comes to trying to achieve 100% and find all hidden secrets.

The OST deserves special praise for the role it plays in establishing the game's identity. The music ranges from peaceful and mysterious to energetic and dramatic, enhancing the atmosphere of each area without overwhelming the gameplay. Similar to other titles, it has a very distinguished feel to it, making it iconic enough for you to remember the moments that they play, even after the credits roll. Combined with environmental sound effects, the audio design contributes a lot to the overall immersion, especially because the PlayStation 1, compared to the Nintendo 64 one, is the only one that has any voice acting to it. And this feature gives its characters a distinct personality and remains a nostalgic highlight for those who played it at the time.

Combat is simple but effective, Rayman's ability to fire energy projectiles provides a satisfying way to deal with enemies without distracting from the platforming focus. Though it is simple enough to call it limited, because the projectiles can travel an infinite amount of space, making it trivial to hit your targets. And this makes the difficulty level of this entry quite an immense step back compared to the first entry, which was one of the most brutal games ever released. The controls are generally responsive, although the camera occasionally struggles in tighter environments, a common issue among early 3D platformers. These moments can lead to minor frustration, but they rarely overshadow the overall quality of the experience. There are even a couple of bossfights which are not as good as other similar titles, but deserve some praise since each of them are very unique.

One recommendation that I have is to play other versions of this title, since the PlayStation 1 is simply not the best release of this title. The Dreamcast, PlayStation 2 and even Nintendo 64 versions are better in almost every way. But particularly speaking, I really don't think this is a good enough game to recommend, aside from die-hard fans of the Rayman frachise. The PlayStation 1, and other platforms of the same era, have far better options out there. And even if the other options didn't existed, this is a very difficult title to recommend. Besides all that, its imaginative world, memorable OST, and creative level design combine to create an adventure that feels timeless. Its technical limitations and outdated designs makes it a standout title when it comes to how to transition from 2D to 3D, even though that, more often than not, is for the wrong reasons.

I recently finished replaying Rayman 2 for the first time in 12 years. I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder, because I had a fantastic time.

The complaints I've had with the game since my dial-up days haven't gone away. The camera's weird, a few mechanics aren't very well explained, the controls can be a little finicky here and there, some sound effects are shrill and repetitive, and I always need to bump up the "luminosity" setting a bit for darker areas.

But these annoyances aren't specific to Rayman 2: They plague many games of the era. With the benefit of hindsight, they've become more forgivable... maybe even a little nostalgic?

With that perspective, I found it easier than ever to focus on all the game does well.

Compared to its contemporaries (Sonic Adventure, Donkey Kong 64, etc.), Rayman 2 is surprisingly linear. You double back to a previous area once or twice, there are some hidden exits to find, but overall this is a linear adventure that plays out over 18 main stages, which themselves have a clear beginning, middle and end.

But what Rayman 2 lacks in scale, it makes up for with focus and variety: Each stage fully invests in its theme, yet no mechanic sticks around long enough to overstay its welcome. Tired of platforming? Here's a combat encounter. Feeling a little slow? Here, ride this rocket around like it's a little horse. Did that make your palms sweat? Here's a light puzzle.

All this is presented within a unique and consistent world. Unabashedly hand-painted textures (especially gorgeous in the Dreamcast version) adorn lush forests, damp caves, creaking ships and rusty old factories. Character designs are whimsical, exaggerated and cartoony: Often absurd, never boring. The score is catchy, evoking feelings of adventure that compliment the irreverent heroes and villains.

Is Rayman 2 dated? Sure: It's 25 years old, this ain't Astro Bot. But Rayman 2 is a special game, a bridge between fifth- and sixth-generation 3D platformers which owes little debt to Mario or Sonic and with no true successor to date (sorry, Hoodlum Havoc). I won't wait another 12 years to play again!

"R" was my final letter for the Grouvee alphabet challenge, so I ended up replaying Rayman 2 for the first time since it came out! I remembered really enjoying it way back when, and honestly it's still impressive.

Unlike Mario 64 and the other playground platformers of its era, Rayman 2 is highly linear and heavily deemphasizes its core moveset. Instead, almost like a sort of proto Mario Galaxy, the focus lies squarely on a cavalcade of super polished setpieces, aided by a cleverly scripted camera. Rayman's doing something different pretty much every level, be it battling pirates, riding rockets, evading giant chicken mechs, or even braving a rudimentary version of Galaxy's spheroid gravity, and almost all of these gimmicks are good fun. The finale's labyrinth of high-speed, full 3d flight is still incredibly tense, and the lovely art nouveau style lends the whole game an unmatched sense of whimsy.

Definitely up there with Sands of Time and Mario + Rabbids as one of my very favorite Ubisoft games.

I played Rayman 2 on my 3DS which as I heard is a version people don't appreciate much but I think is one of the better games on the system. Let's see why.

Rayman 3d is my first game in the Rayman universe that I have played. I don't think Rayman and all the other accompanying characters and foes are peak character design but they worked for the game. To me they all seem a bit bland. Nonetheless the game manages to create visually stunning and immersive enviroments that make the whole experience feel like a big adventure. The worlds are varid enough and the cartoon look aged very well despite the older 3d technology. Music also nicely connects everything together.

Rayman 3D is a 3D platformer that controlls very well. At the beginning I taught rayman was a bit floaty but I quickly got used to the movement and the whole thing felt responsive. This is not a very challenging plattformer so it also doesn't require a very big level of precision. Exception would be flying levels which felt very snappy and precise in my opinion. Camera was cooperative and always followed me in a way that I didn't get confused. I also liked very much cinematic angle changes as you enter certian areas. But even with all that, the game would be rather boring if it wouldn't have great levels. Rayman 3D maybe doesn't have the best level design but it has so many ideas that surprise you every time you start a new stage. You will fly, run, stear and fight in ways that you won't see it comming. At least I didn't. And it does all that without feeling it diverting much from the core gameplay.

I really enjoyed it and I think you will too.

The transition from the original Rayman to a new, fully 3D game called Rayman 2: The Great Escape was a big success and it brought forth a game with hours of content, a fresh look and amazing soundtracks.

In Rayman 2: The Great Escape, you fight a horde of Space Pirates, lead by an admiral, called Razorbeard. He and his gang destroyed many worlds in the galaxy and now the world of Rayman, called the Glade of Dreams, is his next target. Razorbeard already imprisoned many Lums and Teensies, magical creatures that have been introduced in this new installment. Rayman fought hard against the space pirates but was eventually captured and imprisoned in the huge pirate ship of Razorbeard. Just when he thought everything was lost, he got rescued by Globox and escapes the ship.

Now, Rayman needs to take the fight to Razorbeard once again, while freeing the Lums, Teensies and other new characters like Ly the Fairy, who aids you in your adventure.

In addition, you need to collect the four masks of the elements, fire, water, air and earth, each guarded by a boss. The Teensies that you save serve as gatekeepers of the magical realms in the Glade of Dreams and unlock doors to the boss stages when you collected enough Lums. After defeating the boss, you go to Polokus, the spirit of the world itself and present him with the mask, which he snaps on top of his magical pillar thing. Collecting the four masks is the only way to stop Razorbeard.

This story is excellent and surprised me in comparison to the first game, which was a lot more cliché and generic. Of course, I take the time period into account here.

The fresh new mechanics in Rayman 2 are epic. You can still grab rings, destroy cages, just like the original Rayman, but in addition, you can now swim, carry plumes to use at other locations, climb vines and nets, and solve puzzles to progress in the game. Mainly, these puzzles consist of finding switches to open doors, but some require backtracking or coming back later because you need to complete a certain other level first to reveal the passage.

On your journey, you unlock more powerful attacks and skills to help you on your quest. These abilities are unlocked by collecting enough Lums.

I also really liked the bonus games in which you race against other magical creatures. In this race, your character moves on its own and follows the path. The only thing you need to do is mash the left and right button in turns as fast as possible to build up the speed meter. This was some intense stuff back then. In addition, you got levels in which you ski on the water while a lake creature carries you forward, you swim with a giant whale who produces air bubbles for you and best of all: The rocket races, in which you tame a bomb shell by riding it like a bull. When it gets tired, you jump on its back and need to complete the stage while constantly moving. These sections where hard as hell, but a lot of fun to play. Especially with the epic soundtracks that played in the background.

Rayman 2 is a really big game with a lot of different levels, all themed differently, according to the elemental mask that you are after. You got volcanic levels in which the floor is lava everywhere, ice palace stages and underwater stages. Completing all the stages and collecting everything takes many hours and I really liked the new 3D world map in which you can choose the stage you want to play. It is nicely detailed and gives a certain charm to the game.

The leap to 3D in Rayman 2 is really well done. The graphics look amazing for its time and the environments are filled with all sorts of life like butterflies, frogs, small creatures and fish. I really like the steampunk/gothic theme that this game has, a theme that can be seen in the later Rayman installments as well.

The sound effects are nice and solid and enhanced my experience by a lot. The music is the best factor in this game. It is ridiculously good and has a mix between early techno, rock and orchestra. It is hard to compare but it sounds amazing.

The final battle with Razorbeard was epic. I don’t know who comes up with the design for the final battles in the Rayman series, but just like the original Rayman and Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, the final boss stage against Razorbeard was a hard and glorious fight with multiple stages that was a ton of fun to play. I felt really proud when I finally beat his ass and reflected on all my hard work throughout the game.

In the end, I can only praise Rayman 2: The Great Escape and its excellent game play, improvements and new story and I would recommend it to everyone.

Even today, the game aged fairly well in my opinion so it is just as fun to play today as it was back then.

Wow, this game really flashed me back to when I was REALLY little. I first played this game when I was about 5 years old and that was a time when I couldn't even play video games because I was so inept at them. 3D was just too hard for me at the time and that's why I think I couldn't even beat the first level of this game, back then. Now I'm 23 and by just looking at the first cutscene and level of Rayman 2 on the N64, I immediately was taken back to slight memories I had of these sounds and graphics coming from the TV. I had a big old smile while nostalgically exploring and decided to beat this game for the first time.

First thing I can say is that this game is a product of it's time. 3D platforming with collectibles thrown in to keep you on your toes. The camera is not the best, though you'd be surprised, and the real focus is just about how to navigate a 3D space. With that said, Rayman 2 does a great job of giving you new things to do in order to keep things interesting. Riding rockets, blowing stuff up with barrels, climbing, glide hovering with Rayman's little hairs, grapple swinging (my favorite by the way), and more. The story is simple enough to make you feel this is a world with things going on and has a "get to the goal then play the next level" structure.

In my opinion, I think the game is very fun most of the time, but not all the time. The way you control Rayman can feel invigorating because of how parkour-esque it can be. It actually makes me realize why the developer made a game like Rayman Arena/M two years afterwards where you literally just have fun with Rayman 2's mechanics, of course with racing and battling involved, but I digress. The points when it's not as fun is when you have to explore, though it's more of an annoyance if anything. It can feel sluggish trying to find new things when the name of the game is collecting stuff. Rayman's speed can feel just a little slow at times and you can actually miss collectibles by going too far in a level, meaning you can't back track, meaning you need to play the level again. When I get to the end of a level, after trying to thoroughly look everywhere for a lum or teensy cage, and I see that I'm missing so much still: I just feel tired and want to move on. Thankfully, you don't have to collect everything in order to see the ending.

While playing, I was definitely having fun and I really appreciated how simple challenges were laid out for you. First of all you don't have lives to worry about, checkpoints are aplenty, and you're never really put into an area that's super huge with no real direction. It's usually a situation that doesn't give you too many options to make you overthink, and just takes some logical thought. Though watch out for the plums, those have a couple of weird properties.

Overall, after finally putting this game to rest after 18 years, I can say that the game is definitely fun if you know what it's going to be. It's an early 3D platformer for the N64 that has concepts and mechanics that were just done better later. The game's not that long and things can feel a little less polished at times. When you accept all of that though, you get a game that can be considered one of the best of it's kind. Solid controls and fun levels with variety really hold this game high. I really enjoy how uncomplicated this game feels and could definitely see myself coming back to it if I want to play something that isn't going to stress me out (especially now that I've beaten it). I recommend it to anybody that wants something straightforward, challenging, and forgiving.