Rayman 2: The Great Escape

"Not the best version, but still a charmer."

Rayman isn't the greatest or most well known platformer in the industry. The original (and fairly mediocre) 2D side-scroller had a quiet release on the Playstation in the early years of the console's life cycle, and the game's title character came across as quirky but not too likeable. The game, as a whole, was fairly forgettable. Then, a couple of years later in 1999, developer Ubisoft decided that they were going to give their limbless hero a second shot, and released Rayman 2: The Great Escape on Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast. Rather than being a two-dimensional side-scroller like its predecessor, Rayman 2 was a full-fledged, 3D platformer in the vague style of such hits and Super Mario 64. And it worked… very, very well.

As a matter of fact, Rayman 2 is one of my favorite 3D platformers of all time. Personally, I've never played the Dreamcast version, but the N64 version was good enough to compete with the system's best, and that includes the aforementioned Mario 64 and the extraordinary Banjo-Kazooie. A year later, the game was ported to the PSX, with some changes. This review focuses on the PSX version of Rayman 2.

The story is pretty simple, and is actually fairly good without being too much (but then again, this is a platformer, and a deep story is unnecessary). Rayman's world has been completely overrun by mechanical pirates, and most of the people have been captured, imprisoned and enslaved by them. They also destroyed the center of the world, which exploded into eight hundred Lums. All hope is seemingly lost when Rayman himself is captured. Then, while aboard one of the pirates' ships, Rayman meets up with one of his buddies, Globox. The big blue fella gives Rayman his trademark power: The ability to shoot with his fist. He uses it to escape from the ship (giving the game its title: The Great Escape), and then begins exploring the land to regain his powers, free the people, and collect the Lums.

Whereas games like Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie have players collecting items in fairly free, open environments, Rayman 2 sticks to tradition by offering a linear quest in which you must complete stages by… well, getting to the end. In some of the other 3D platformers of its time, players explored huge, open level designs that really had no “end” so to say, and were designed around the idea of collecting some form of golden, sparkling doodads in whatever fashion you want. Rayman 2's level designs are linear, meaning there's a set path for each level that you MUST follow. You haven't completed the level until you've gotten to the end. Simple enough, right?

Rayman 2 really benefits from its main character. Whereas in the first game Rayman came across as a rather boring and unoriginal character, in Rayman 2 he's actually a pretty likeable guy, with this “lighthearted hero” aspect to him. What's more, Ubisoft really took advantage of his abilities. Aside from shooting with his fist (his method of attack), his major feature is his hair. By jumping with the X button and then pressing X again in midair, Rayman's hair will start spinning around, allowing Rayman to hover until he reaches the ground. Eventually, he'll learn other moves, such as the ability to swing from purple Lums or charge his attacks.

What's really ingenious about this game is how well the levels are structured. Although many of the game's levels have a basic mix of platforming, battling, puzzle-solving and all that jazz, a good chunk of Rayman 2's stages have some sort of a gameplay-related theme to them. There's one level that's spent almost entirely underwater, with enough breaks for the occasional breath of fresh air. There's another level where you're being chased by a ship across a series of collapsing walkways. In another level, you're skiing through a swampy area dodging ghosts and picking up Lums. Not only in the level design throughout the game incredibly diverse, but it's very focused in its design and jumps from one gameplay quirk to the next. Each level is just long enough to get you used to it and just short enough to keep it interesting.

The game did suffer a bit in the transition to PSX. I don't know if the system hardware couldn't handle all of this data, or the developers just wanted to make the game easier, but it's very clear that Rayman 2's level designs have been toned down in the port. It's easier to say that they've been “simplified”. Although no enormous chunks of the game have been pulled, many of the game's stages are shorter, and entire areas have been scrapped. For instance, in the game's first real level, Fairy Glade, the brief underwater segment at the beginning has been scrapped. That's only one of many examples of shortening the levels and making them a bit simpler and easier. In comparison, the Dreamcast and N64 versions had a thousand Lums to collect. This one has only eight hundred.

The PSX version of Rayman 2 controls fairly well at its basis, but the developers stuck with the N64 configuration for the port and didn't bother taking advantage of the Dual Shock controller's two analog sticks. The game still controls pretty well, but there are some various problems that arise. Moving can be done with either the left analog stick or the d-pad, although the analog stick is the obvious choice, especially for a platformer. Jumping is done with X, and shooting is performed with the Square button. The trouble is in camera control. You can turn the camera with the R1 and L1 buttons and center it with R2, but that's it. The right analog stick should have been used to rotate or zoom the camera (something helpful) but instead it's used to – get this! – shoot and jump. We already have buttons that are used to jump and shoot, so what's the point? I'd like more precise camera control, especially in a game like this, where precision is needed.

If anything, this PSX rendition certainly looks nice. I wasn't expecting it to look anywhere near as good as it did on the other two renditions, but it certainly pushes the PSX hardware to its limit and looks pretty damn close to the N64 version. The character models are terrific and well animated, and the game's colorful, unique style captures the mood like few others. The overall style of the game is a little strange, and a little freaky, and very interesting and intriguing on the whole. Sound has also received a bit of a change since the game appeared on other consoles. The music, which was never that great in the originals in the first places, has been remixed sounds downright bland in this rendition. Also, full-fledged voice acting has been added to the game's cutscenes. Some would think of this as a good call, but I personally miss the mumbling, garbled language that characters spoke in the original. Just a matter of taste, though.

Pros

+ A port of one of the better 3D platformers out there.
+ Terrific graphics push the system to its max.
+ A compelling main character with a great set of moves.
+ Great level designs put your arsenal of abilities to use.
+ The game is full of variety and character.
+ There's a cool, exclusive 2D level to unlock.

Cons

- The Dual Shock controller is sadly underused.
- I miss the garbled voices of the original.
- Many of the level designs have been toned down.
- The music isn't that good.

Overall: 8/10

Rayman 2: The Great Escape has and always will be one of the best 3D platformers of all time. That said, if you're going to get it and you have an N64 or Dreamcast, you're better off getting it for one of those two consoles, as the better graphics and bigger and more complex level designs certainly win over this game's toned down affairs. Still, if PSX is all you have, you definitely shouldn't miss out on it. It's a great platformer on any system, but it stands out on PSX, where the genre has run a bit thin. The game's great visual style and intuitive set of moves make it a winner in every way, and although this version is inferior to others, it's still one that's worth checking out.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/05