Reviews
When you think of platformers in general, the first game that would come to mind is arguably and easily Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. That’s no surprise considering the franchise is known for making innovative decisions that keeps dedicated players coming back for more and inviting new ones to join in.
However, that’s not to say that there haven’t been other platformers that haven’t been just as good or perhaps, to some, even better than the Italian plumber. There’s been Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog, Nintendo’s other platformer Donkey Kong, Rare’s Banjo Kazooie, and Capcom’s Mega-Man.
But one another platformer that still although may not be as frequent as some of the aforementioned ones but still holds a special place in our hearts is Rayman. The limbless protagonist was the creation of French game designer at Ubisoft Michel Ancel.
The Origin of Rayman
Rayman first saw the light of day back in 1995 when it was released for PC systems. It was highly praised not just for its 2D animated graphics, but also its soundtrack, environment and, as frustrating as it may have been, hard difficulty.
The game puts players in control of the titular Rayman, who must travel across six magical realms in order to best the diabolical Mr. Dark. The game garnered a great following and this is what propelled Ubisoft to release the follow-up games of Rayman 2: The Great Escape and then Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc.
It were those two games that gave Rayman the global appeal and notoriety that he still enjoys even today. But let’s address the elephant in the room that is Rayman 3 and everything you should know about this game.
Everything to Know About Rayman 3
The Story of Rayman 3 (Spoilers Ahead)
While Rayman 2 employed a darker spin on the series, Rayman 3 took the opposite approach. It was light-hearted, whimsical and even poked fun at the platforming genre as well.
The story here follows Rayman facing off against an black lum named Andre who is said to be born out of pure evil and has the ability to turn Red Lums into black ones, and fashion scarecrow-like costumes and were then referred to as Hoodlums.
When Murphy, a worker at the Fairy Council gets wind of this and gets discovered by Andre, he runs away over to a sleeping Rayman and his pal Globox. Globox gets woken from the noise, while Rayman is still in dreamland.
With the Black Lums hot on their trail, Globox pulled a fast one by literally pulling Rayman’s hands leaving Murphy to carry the rest of Rayman by his hair and away to safety. When Rayman and Murphy meet up with Globox again, Rayman retrieves his hands.
However, things get even more complicated when Globox accidentally swallows Andre whole, forcing Rayman to look for a doctor in order to cure his friend of his buffoonery.
Gameplay
Although the controls are in the same vein as Rayman 2, instead of utilizing Energy Spheres, Rayman throws punches and kicks from long distances. Rayman can also revitalize his health using Red Lums. Another difference in the game from its predecessor is that rather than permanent upgrades, Rayman gives himself temporary power-ups known as “Laser Detergent” cans.
Some of these power-ups include Vortex where you throw tornadoes rather than punching; Heavy Metal Fist where Rayman’s strength is enhanced, allowing him to smash through specific doors; Lockjaw, Shock Rocket, and Throttle Copter among others.
Later in the game, Rayman not only gains the ability to return Black Lums back to Red Lums but even switches to his OG game face as a nice callback.
Unlike the prior Rayman games, Rayman 3 featured a scoring system based on what you do in the game. Anytime you score a point, the game turns into “Combo mode”, enabling you to add up more points based on your actions. But if you don’t do anything to follow that up after a couple of seconds, then this mode turns off.
Similarly, upon picking up Laser Detergents, your points will be doubled. Accumulating these points allow players to even unlock extra content as well as hidden areas.
Rayman 3 Overall Reception
While the rewards system, soundtrack, atmosphere and characters are nicely packaged, Rayman 3 couldn’t quite replicate the critically-acclaimed magic of its prior games. The story is decent, but the pacing can go up or down at times. Sometimes it juggles so much in between that it hardly comes together well.
There is plenty of humor and fourth-wall breaking, which is serviceable, but not something to write home about. At times, the humor can feel a bit much to where it feels unbearable.
And while we’re at it, let’s talk about one of the biggest gripes of the game that is the audio-mixing. The background music and sounds that phase out the voice-acting is frustrating to say the least.
But still, the characters gel well and the music as well as the environment really put a smile to our faces. Overall, a great game could have been better if not for its aforementioned pain points.
Whether you’re a seasoned fan or a newcomer to the limbless hero’s world, there’s always something new to discover. Join the fun now at vgamerz.com and let the adventure begin!
