Rayman 2: The Great Escape is a 1999 platform game developed by Ubi Pictures and published by Ubi Soft for the Nintendo 64, Windows, Dreamcast and PlayStation. The game centers on the titular character Rayman, who is tasked with saving the fantastical land of the Fairy Glade from an army of robotic pirates led by Admiral Razorbeard.
An enhanced port titled Rayman Revolution[a] was developed by Ubi Soft Annecy for the PlayStation 2. An alternative remake known as Rayman 2 Forever was developed by Ubi Studios for the Game Boy Color. Rayman 2 was critically acclaimed for its gameplay, graphics and accessibility.
Gameplay
Screenshot of the Fairy Glade, the second level of the game
Rayman 2: The Great Escape is a 3D platformer which was played from a third-person perspective and the player has control over the camera,[3] though in some situations this control is limited to only certain angles. At several points in the game the player loses control during cut scenes, which typically show dialogue between characters.
By collecting lums (small bodies, or shards of magical energy), the player unlocks more information about the game world and its back story, which can be read by standing still and pressing a specific button for some time. Some back story is also obtained through (optional) instructions from Murfy, a "flying encyclopaedia" who provides explanations on all kinds of gameplay elements.
In contrast to its predecessor, which was a 2D platformer, Rayman 2 is a 3D platformer. The player navigates through a mostly linear sequence of levels, fighting enemy Robo-Pirates, solving puzzles and collecting lums. Collecting enough lums gains the player access to new parts of the world. Part of the lums are hidden in small cages, in which other freedom fighters or Teensies are imprisoned, and can be obtained by breaking the cages.
Rayman starts the game with minimal abilities, and he can gain more abilities as the game progresses. The main weapon available in the game is Rayman's fist, with which energy orbs can be shot. Eventually, the orbs can be charged before shooting them, making them more powerful. Rayman can also enter a strafing stance which allows him to easily aim orbs whilst avoiding enemy attacks. Rayman later gains the ability to swing over large gaps using Purple Lums. Rayman is also able to use his helicopter hair to slow his descent while jumping, with some segments later in the game allowing him to fly with his hair. There are also various items Rayman can use throughout the game, such as explosive barrels he can throw, giant plums he can ride on to carry him across dangerous surfaces, and rockets he must ride on to access new areas.
In addition to the main, story-based level sequence, there are also several levels in which the player can gain bonuses in a time trial. Additionally, by collecting all lums and breaking all cages in a level, the player unlocks a bonus level in which one of Globox's children races against a robot pirate. When the player controlling the child wins the race, Rayman gains health or a powerup.
Synopsis
Setting
Rayman 2 takes place in a fictional world called the Glade of Dreams, and revolves around its invasion and occupation by an armada of interstellar Robo-Pirates, led by Admiral Razorbeard. Prior to the invasion, the pirates had destroyed over one hundred planets in the galaxy, with the intention of enslaving their inhabitants. Upon the invasion of the Glade of Dreams, the Robo-Pirates were battled against by Rayman, Globox, and other allies. After some battles, Rayman's capture occurs after the explosion of the world's core. Ly the Fairy telepathically communicates with Rayman explaining the consequences of the damage, with the core's shattering into 1000 Yellow Lums, and the capture of many fighters. Rayman's powers are also lost due to this, and he finds himself captured by the Robo-Pirates. Globox flees to find Ly at Rayman's request, and Rayman is taken prisoner by the pirates.
Plot
The destruction of the world's core greatly weakens and disables Rayman's powers, which leads to his subsequent capture and imprisonment aboard the Buccaneer, the Robo-Pirates' flying prison ship. Globox is also captured and put in the same cell as Rayman aboard the ship. Globox gives Rayman a Silver Lum from Ly, restoring some of his powers. Rayman plans to see Ly to restore the rest of his powers, and he and Globox escape the prison ship through a chute. The two are separated during the escape however, falling in different directions down to the earth. Rayman eventually lands in the Woods of Light where he meets Murfy, who serves as his guide throughout the game. Rayman then encounters Globox's children, and learns that Ly has been captured by the pirates.
In this cutscene, Rayman gives one of the four masks to Polokus.
Traveling deeper into the woods, Rayman frees a group of Teensies from a cage. After bickering among themselves who among them is their king, the Teensies inform Rayman of Ly's location in the Fairy Glade. The Teensies use the Yellow Lums Rayman collected to grant him access to the Hall of Doors, a network of portals to various areas throughout the Glade of Dreams. Rayman travels to the Fairy Glade and frees Ly, but she is too weakened by the destruction of the world's core to restore all of his powers. Ly instead tells Rayman of four ancient elemental masks hidden in secret sanctuaries that can be used to awaken Polokus, a being powerful enough to defeat the pirates. After Ly grants him the ability to swing from Purple Lums, Rayman sets off to find the masks.
Rayman travels to the Marshes of Awakening, where he learns from a serpent named "Ssssam" that Globox was recaptured by the pirates. Concerned by Rayman's progress, Admiral Razorbeard dispatches several warships to pursue him. Rayman enters the Sanctuary of Water and Ice in which one of the masks is contained. He defeats its guardian Axel and collects the first mask, which teleports him to the realm of Polokus' eternal rest. Speaking to Rayman through his dreams, Polokus urges him to collect the three remaining masks. Rayman travels to the Menhir Hills and finds Clark, a friendly giant who has become terminally ill after accidentally swallowing a Robo-Pirate. He asks Rayman to retrieve the Elixir of Life from the Cave of Bad Dreams, a realm within the Marshes of Awakening that can only be accessed if the occupant knows its name. Returning to the marshes, Rayman is transported to the Cave of Bad Dreams by Jano, the guardian of the dream world. He offers Rayman the choice of eternal wealth instead of taking the elixir. If the player accepts Jano's offer, a humorous ending will depict an overweight Rayman surrounded by treasure on a small island. Declining the offer will grant Rayman the elixir, which he uses to cure Clark.
Afterwards, Rayman reunites with Globox in a remote detention facility. Globox gives Rayman another Silver Lum from Ly, which greatly enhances Rayman's offensive capabilities. Rayman then travels to Whale Bay, where he frees a benevolent whale, Carmen. Carmen informs Rayman of the second mask's location, which is situated in the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire. Its guardian, Umber, ferries Rayman across a lava pit, allowing Rayman to obtain the second mask and give it to Polokus. Razorbeard becomes infuriated with Rayman's success and orders numerous fleets of warships to capture him. A group of warships ambush Rayman in a mountainous precipice, but he ultimately escapes.
Rayman arrives at the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava, and obtains a new power from Ly which allows him to fly indefinitely with his helicopter hair. However, Rayman loses this ability when he is ambushed by the guardian of the sanctuary, Foutch. After defeating Foutch and obtaining the third mask, Polokus teleports Rayman to the Iron Mountains, which houses a vast network of mines. Rayman encounters Globox's wife, Uglette, who is in despair after informing Rayman that dozens of her children are being used for labor in the mines, and that Globox has once again been captured and sent to the Buccaneer. Rayman hijacks a warship and rescues all of Globox's children from the mines. One of the children passes Rayman the fourth mask that they found in the mines, and Rayman departs to see Polokus. Polokus uses the power of all four masks to awaken himself, and tells Rayman that he can destroy all Robo-Pirates in the Glade of Dreams on ground level, but not in the air. Polokus then sends Rayman to the airborne Buccaneer, in which he must defeat Admiral Razorbeard and save Globox.
On board the Buccaneer, a general visits Razorbeard and presents to him the Grolgoth, a large powered exoskeleton which makes the user invulnerable to damage. Razorbeard purchases it, and plans for his final confrontation with Rayman. Soon after, Rayman infiltrates the ship and finds both Razorbeard (housed inside the Grolgoth) and Globox in the crow's nest of the ship. During combat, Razorbeard accidentally collapses the floor, plunging both him and Rayman into a lava-filled furnace. During the descent, Ly telepathically saves Rayman from his fall and creates him a sentient flying shell, which he uses to knock the Grolgoth into the lava. Razorbeard escapes the Buccaneer in a small shuttlecraft, and initiates the self-destruct, which destroys the ship with Rayman still inside. Believing Rayman to have died in the explosion, Rayman's friends hold a memorial service in his name, having only recovered Rayman's left shoe. However, the shoe suddenly appears to react to an oncoming presence, as a limping, one-footed Rayman emerges nearby, much to the joy of everyone present.
Development
Rayman 2 was originally conceptualised as a sidescrolling 2D platformer, like the first game.[4][5] Development on the prototype began in early 1996 with a team of six people[6] and a budget of 10 million francs.[7] It was slated to be released on the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Windows in the fourth quarter of that year.[4] The prototype of Rayman 2 featured some usage of prerendered bitmaps of 3D computer models, differing from the hand-drawn presentation of its predecessor.[5][8] The PC was the original lead platform, but it was switched to the Nintendo 64 mid-development, necessitating reducing the quality of the textures.[6][9] The Dreamcast version uses the original high-quality textures.[6] The art design was inspired by the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Tex Avery, and was made to give the game's world a sense of mythology.[6][10]
Release
Rayman 2: The Great Escape was first released for the Nintendo 64 in Europe on 29 October 1999, and in North America on 9 November 1999.[11][12][13] The Nintendo 64 version is compatible with the Expansion Pak, which allows the game to be played in a higher resolution. Unlike other versions of the game, the soundtrack is played in a MIDI format.
The Windows version was released in Europe on 29 October 1999, and in North America on 4 November 1999.[11][14] Compared to the Nintendo 64 version, it features more detailed graphics and a 22 kHz soundtrack.
The Dreamcast version was released in Europe on 16 March 2000, followed by North America on 21 March 2000 and Japan on 23 March 2000.[15][16][17] It is similar to the Windows version, but certain environments and the final battle have been modified and bonus mini-games were added.
The PlayStation version, developed by Ubi Soft Shanghai, was released in Europe on 8 September 2000, and in North America on 16 September 2000.[18] The graphics were downgraded, the game has a new layout within its levels (some hidden areas having been removed), the world map is constructed slightly differently and the game contains a bonus prototype of an early 2D version of the game.
The PlayStation 2 version, titled Rayman Revolution and developed by Ubi Soft Annecy, was a launch title for the console's European release. Rayman Revolution features improved graphics over the Windows and Dreamcast versions, as well as new and modified levels.
The Nintendo DS version, titled Rayman DS released in Europe as a launch title for the handheld on 11 March 2005, followed by North America on 28 March 2005. It is a port of the Nintendo 64 version.
The iOS version was released on 1 March 2010, and the Nintendo 3DS version, titled Rayman 3D, released as a launch title for the handheld in 2011.[19] They are ports of the Dreamcast version, albeit with the bonus mini-games removed.
Jeff Lundrigan for Next Generation reviewed the Nintendo 64 version of the game for and stated that "with its cute character designs and slick, polished gameplay, Rayman 2 is one of the few titles that can honestly claim to have something to offer any gamer of any age or skill."[73]IGN writer Brandon Justice praised it as "the most impressive feat of game design and execution the platforming genre has ever seen" and recommend players to forget about Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie and Crash Bandicoot.[74]
Many writers of Game Informer praised the game as a "gorgeous" game in which pays homage to Banjo-Kazooie and calling it best Nintendo 64 game because of it camera and control system in which one of the writers Jay wrote how there times when the game looked brilliantly such as "helicoptering down a long chute or skiing behind a sea monster."[39] Stuart Clarke of Sarasota Memorial Hospital appreciated that the graphics are "lush and beautiful" which was helped by the Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak or a "good" PC 3-D accelerator card.[75]
He also reviewed the Dreamcast version and stated that "just go out and buy it. You won't be disappointed."[76] The reception for Rayman DS was mixed or average, IGN writer Craig Harris citing graphical flaws and camera problems. While it did support controlling the game via the touchpad, this was regarded as both "sloppy and awkward,"[77]GameSpot writer Provo Frank criticize that it has made numerous graphical issues that often interfere with gameplay.[78]
Rayman 2 is occasionally included in "greatest video games" lists by video game publications, with IGN calling it "a demonstration of what the modern platform game could be -- smart, fast and challenging."[79][80] It was ranked number six on Nintendo Life's 2024 list of the best Nintendo 64 platformers which writers described it as "a very strong 3D platformer from a time when you couldn't move for them" and they indicates that the Rayman series make "the jump from 2D in a colourful adventure" that have everything the player could want from the platformer genre.[81]
^ ab"PC and games". The Daily Telegraph. United Kingdom. 23 October 1999. p. 164. Retrieved 26 October 2024. Now the eagerly awaited Rayman 2: The Great Escape is out to buy on PC and Nintendo 64 from 29 October (£29.99) and is set to become the hottest game this Christmas.
^"HOO-RAY! Loads of Rayman 2 prizes to be won". Daily Mirror. United Kingdom. 16 October 1999. p. 69. Retrieved 8 December 2023. Grab your joypads and get set for some alien-busting platform action with Rayman 2: The Great Escape. It's out for the N64 on October 29 and to celebrate we've joined forces with Ubisoft to hand out some cool prizes.
