RAYMAN

[+doctorclu]

Didn't see a Rayman topic to resurrect from the distant past so I'll start this one.

 

Most people who have talked about Rayman have mentioned that it is the ideal platformer for the Jaguar, given similar regard as Tempest 2000, Doom, etc, as one of the games that showcase the Jaguar best.

 

Mainly curious what a lot of you think of Rayman and what you like or dislike about it?

 

Having played and mastered Bubsy I will say Rayman is a fun game, but let's get one thing out of the starting gate: If people complained about Bubsy being a game where when you died you started over, Rayman is WAY worse. There are some levels where you get your picture taken and you come back at that point, but most of the time the REALLY difficult levels, like ones where you are running from something, you are generally met with either succeeding the whole level or starting over.

 

The animation and characters are interesting though at times there are real nightmare food villians and characters. Such as the walking thing that looks like something out of a Beatles Sergeant Pepper's cartoon that walks along and spits out on of the small guys in the pithe/safari helmet. Recently found the Budda guy holding a crystal ball that he spreads out to six balls you can run across. Wild stuff.

 

Played it for a few hours last night. Used the "all power-ups" and "50 lives per continue" codes. Mainly done since the game save feature does not work on the Skunkboard. (Playing the image, shopping for a good copy as my older copy all but died and had great difficulty loading)

 

I used to play Rayman all the time but I came across the level where you have to outrun the mesquito carrying the large purple starfruit amd couldn't get past that. Thanks to watching someone beat that, I was able to learn how to outrun it.

 

But more thoughts as we go. What did you like or dislike about Rayman?

Edited August 27, 2014 by doctorclu

[Rick Dangerous]

Rayman is brutally difficult. I'm not sure why Bubsy gets so much flak for the difficulty when pretty much all Jaguar platformers are quite challenging. That said it's a beautiful game with great color, sound and animations. And it has some really unique challenges and gameplay elements.

 

The last time I played Rayman I tried to get the infinite lives activated by putting in the code at the beginning and playing the mini-game. I think I played about 12 rounds of the mini game before giving up or dying. What is the point of the code if it takes half and hour and you can die just trying to activate it? Am I missing something on that one?

[+save2600]

Rayman can be really difficult on some of the later levels. Not very fond of the musical note one for instance. I love the choice of colors and level design for the most part though and it's nice that you're not racing against time so you can actually enjoy the graphics vs. blowing right through them.

[Zerosquare]

Yes, Rayman is hard, and in the later levels you often have to restart far from where you've died. But here's what makes the difference between Rayman and Bubsy:

 

- Rayman has hit points. You can get hit several times and still survive. In Bubsy, the slightest mistake is instantly fatal.

- Rayman has a progressive difficulty curve (even if it rises pretty quickly). In Bubsy, the very first level is already choke-full of lethal stuff.

- Rayman does have some traps you can't see until it's too late, but not too many of them. In Bubsy, they're everywhere.

- Rayman has good controls. Bubsy... well, GT Turbo once said it was like handling a wet soap in a watch basin, and I think it's a pretty good analogy

[KidGameR186496]

This game ALONE was the reason that i got my first jaguar,even though my first jaggy didn't come with it,instead,it Came with cybermorph & doom,which i played the hell out of it,when my first jag stopped working due to a damaged cartridge port pin,i waited like a year to have a second jaguar,this time Came along with kasumi ninja,and the better ones,alien vs predator & ultra vortek,a few months later,i finall got rayman,and i played it through the begining to the end,lose like 1 or 2 continúes but i beated it,and i gotta say this,the jaguar versión,in my opinión it's much easier than the PS1 versión,which is more brutal,unfortunately when i got my last jaguar game,missile command 3D,for some reason,it didn't worked and then the jaguar had anomalies with pretty much every except a few included rayman,my jaguar had no point of return once that happend,so,i don't have a jaguar anymore :,(

Edited August 28, 2014 by KidGameR186496

[+doctorclu]

- Rayman has good controls. Bubsy... well, GT Turbo once said it was like handling a wet soap in a watch basin, and I think it's a pretty good analogy

 

Actually that is a good analogy about Bubsy come to think of it. Wow.

 

Yeh that is the nice part about Rayman is the gradual learning curve.

 

They let you walk and jump. Then they add punching. Then they add hanging. Then they add floating (by hair helicopter). But the levels compliment learning those abilities.

 

While there is not any timed levels you do have levels where you get chased by something and have to outrun it. And recently I found a level that moves you along, you actually race the terrain itself.

 

It is the levels like those where you are being chased that I am getting better at, but I had to put the game down for a while, even quit because they were simply frustrating.

 

One thing that helped with the chase levels was getting better at using the "A" abiliity to run. Strangely, never used that ability much until those levels. Actually learned or rediscovered running and how to use it on accident one day.

[+doctorclu]

This game ALONE was the reason that i got my first jaguar,even though my first jaggy didn't come with it,instead,it Came with cybermorph & doom,which i played the hell out of it,when my first jag stopped working due to a damaged cartridge port pin,i waited like a year to have a second jaguar,this time Came along with kasumi ninja,and the better ones,alien vs predator & ultra vortek,a few months later,i finall got rayman,and i played it through the begining to the end,lose like 1 or 2 continúes but i beated it,and i gotta say this,the jaguar versión,in my opinión it's much easier than the PS1 versión,which is more brutal,unfortunately when i got my last jaguar game,missile command 3D,for some reason,it didn't worked and then the jaguar had anomalies with pretty much every except a few included rayman,my jaguar had no point of return once that happend,so,i don't have a jaguar anymore :,(

 

Cybermorph grew on me. Didn't like it at first, now one of my favorite games.

 

Generally with the Jaguar, well, first off I like the system. Used to the controller, I like the setup. So games for it no matter how hard I eventually figure out some way to work around the difficulty. And most Jaguar games are difficult or just weird. Rayman and the chase levels were just that.

 

But I have noticed that the Playstation games are crazy difficult. Why is that? I have played Gauntlet; Legends and Little Green Army Men: Sarge's Heroes on the Dreamcast and then on the Playstation. It is not just a matter of controller, I like go from being unbeatable on the Dreamcast to just barely scraping by on the Playstation version.

 

So when you say the Playstation version of Rayman is more difficult than the Jaguar version I am not surprised but based on my Rayman playing this week I have to say: DAANNNNGGG!

 

That said, when I was shopping for a new Rayman cartridge today I was sooooo tempted with the $7 price tag for the Playstation version verses the $70 (and that was a good price at the moment) Rayman for the Jaguar.

Edited August 28, 2014 by doctorclu

[+doctorclu]

For the longest time I have have played the musical notes levels. And I thought, that was interesting as Bubsy and Zool did about the same thing. I think in Zool's case it was speakers, however Bubsy II was almost identical to Rayman so thought that was funny.

 

Last night however was my first time to see the school supplies levels. Now have to admit, that was new. And the colors of the erasers brought back a lot of memories of elementary school.

[+jeremiahjt]

I have a dream of speed running this game, but I want to finish my ridiculously over in-depth walkthrough first. This is probably one of my top 5 games ever when it comes to being able to beat it easily without needing to practice.

[Lynxpro]

I still officially hate Ubisoft for baiting us Jaguar owners with this title and then sitting on the release for a year. And yet, I hold no animosity for Sony over it.

[JagChris]

I still officially hate Ubisoft for baiting us Jaguar owners with this title and then sitting on the release for a year. And yet, I hold no animosity for Sony over it.

 

I remember this too. Can you share any specifics about your recollection of this?

 

Apparently after the smoke cleared the rumor was Ubisoft wasn't going to release the Jaguar version of Rayman at all. The guy who programmed it had to go to bat to get his work released.

[Willard]

Last night however was my first time to see the school supplies levels. Now have to admit, that was new.

 

That was the last section I got to before I abruptly stopped. I thought the game was a little too difficult for its' own good, I wonder how many people who bought it ever actually completed it (if I were to guess I'd say not as many as you'd think given the number of copies sold:p).

 

I will occasionally try and start over again (maybe 3 times so far I've tried) and keep forgetting how quickly the difficulty ramps up. Maybe I just haven't stuck with it enough to figure it out and it's probably easier than I think!

 

Still, the game looks really nice and is generally well designed, that kind of draws you in and it'd be worth lowering the difficulty just because I think it's the kind of game you'd play every now and again just to explore the environments and appreciate the detail and effort that went into it.

[PeterG]

I think it is a difficult game but not THAT hard. There are a few though sections though and you can run out of lifes and continues... What comes to mind instantly is one reeeeealy long jump in that rubber levels that has to be times perfectly to barley even work.then that boss which is actually two bosses and that level on the cable car where you have to hit switches and you don't know what's coming. But other than that it is doable and beautiful but you need some patience...

[JagChris]

My cousin and my friend who were both good at platformers had not much trouble getting through Rayman. Until the end levels.

 

Both went on to own PSXs and both bought Rayman for that system. Neither one liked it over the Jaguar version. Neither one really stuck through it on that system as far as they did on the Jaguar.

Edited August 31, 2014 by JagChris

[Isgoed]

Years ago when I bought my Jaguar, there were children in my family that played and beat Rayman without to much trouble.

Recently, children in my family (the "next generation") played and finished the PS1 version of Rayman without to much trouble.

 

Me, I am not very good at Rayman, but I think it's a beautiful and great game with a difficultylevel that is good and well balanced.

[Lynxpro]

 

I remember this too. Can you share any specifics about your recollection of this?

 

Apparently after the smoke cleared the rumor was Ubisoft wasn't going to release the Jaguar version of Rayman at all. The guy who programmed it had to go to bat to get his work released.

 

Ubisoft contacted all of the registered Jaguar owners in the States via mail advertising Rayman. Then they sat on it for a year and didn't release it until 1 week after the Playstation version debuted along with the Playstation. So the Jaguar game that would've been considered revolutionary had it been released in the previous year looked weak compared to the Playstation version since the Jaguar version was cartridge-based.

[JagChris]

And all the magazines bashed the Jaguar version.

[JagChris]

 

Ubisoft contacted all of the registered Jaguar owners in the States via mail advertising Rayman.

 

Does anyone still have this advertisement? I would love to see it and it would be great to have a record of. I can't remember if I was contacted or not.

[+save2600]

I vaguely remember such a campaign by them BITD.

[Willard]

Probably wouldn't have changed anything had Rayman been released on the Jaguar earlier, considering Atari wasn't really coming through with the potential hits they would've needed to compete with the Playstation and they had no third party support. Some of their later exclusives were pretty good, just not the kind of titles that appeal to the majority of the platforms user base like Alien VS Predator and Rayman do.

 

The only possible hits they had on the horizon imo were:

+Black Ice White Noise (although being a JagCD game would've limited the interest)

+Tiny Toons (we all now know that was a lost cause, although it would've been interesting to see how the second version would've turned out)

+Phear (if Atari had the sense to prevent Nintendo from buying it out from under them).

~I wonder if any work started on battlewheels or an avp followup.

~The Realm of Fighters, Mortal Kombat 3, Zone Hunter, and Skyhammer would've been quality games to fill the gap between some of the above releases.

 

Anyway I think it would be interesting to know more about the history behind the development of Rayman across the platforms. The playstation version has a few little changes and additions, but also a few small details were omitted. Although I think it would've been cool to have the Jaguar version identical to the PSX version just to say "the Jag and the PSX versions are the same," I kind of think the extra couple layers in the PSX version (with the plants in the water) are a little tacky and overly busy, the end of level jingle is really annoying, and the ability to shoot with your mosquito in the Jaguar version is much nicer. I'd like to do or see a full comparison someday, just with I had the time!

[NeoGeoNinja]

Probably wouldn't have changed anything had Rayman been released on the Jaguar earlier, considering Atari wasn't really coming through with the potential hits they would've needed to compete with the Playstation and they had no third party support. Some of their later exclusives were pretty good, just not the kind of titles that appeal to the majority of the platforms user base like Alien VS Predator and Rayman do.

 

Agreed. Rayman would never have saved the Jaguar. Not entirely sure what the reasons for holding Rayman back were though? Presumably to stop it looking like an old title by the time it was released on PS1 nearly a year later? Makes sense, seeing as the Jag was always a sinking ship. No need to damage a promising new franchise out the gate unnecessarily, damage limitation etc. I think they did the right thing, unlike (say) holding back Rayman Legends on WiiU.

 

If anything, releasing them side-by-side could have only 'worked' in the Jaguars favour, making it look as though it was still receiving current gen level support alongside the likes of the PSX?

 

Anyway I think it would be interesting to know more about the history behind the development of Rayman across the platforms. The playstation version has a few little changes and additions, but also a few small details were omitted. Although I think it would've been cool to have the Jaguar version identical to the PSX version just to say "the Jag and the PSX versions are the same," I kind of think the extra couple layers in the PSX version (with the plants in the water) are a little tacky and overly busy, the end of level jingle is really annoying, and the ability to shoot with your mosquito in the Jaguar version is much nicer. I'd like to do or see a full comparison someday, just with I had the time!

 

Out of owning ALL three releases, the Saturn version is the best and most polished imo. Rarely gets mentioned though, but it's a nicer port than the PS1 version, presumably thanks to it being released a little later still...

[Isgoed]

NeoGeoNinja, in what way is the Saturn port nicer than the PS1?

 

While the Jaguar and PS1 versions differ a lot, I've never played or seen the Saturn version.

[Austin]

+Black Ice White Noise (although being a JagCD game would've limited the interest)

+Tiny Toons (we all now know that was a lost cause, although it would've been interesting to see how the second version would've turned out)

+Phear (if Atari had the sense to prevent Nintendo from buying it out from under them).

~I wonder if any work started on battlewheels or an avp followup.

~The Realm of Fighters, Mortal Kombat 3, Zone Hunter, and Skyhammer would've been quality games to fill the gap between some of the above releases.

 

The only one of these that would have mattered is Mortal Kombat 3. Atari's system needed more power-houses like that. The others listed would have been nice additions, but few would have cared.

[Willard]

 

The only one of these that would have mattered is Mortal Kombat 3. Atari's system needed more power-houses like that. The others listed would have been nice additions, but few would have cared.

 

The reason why I didn't include it in the top list is because it was released on other platforms too (even the SNES however gimped) so it really wouldn't have brought people to the system. I think the Jaguar would have benefitted more from getting MK2 early on because that was a time when the Jaguar could've really shown how much better than the competition it was. Not that it would have though - Atari devs didn't think that way as evidenced by their "good enough" ports of NBA Jam TE and Primal Rage that could've probably been Arcade perfect if they put the resources into it.

 

I think Battlewheels could've been a real hit if handled right but there is no information on it... I imagine it being similar to twisted metal. But again, Atari probably would've mishandled it and it probably would've been more like T-Mek with cars. Battlewheels was one of the few games released on Atari's later platforms that was really at the top of innovation in regard to a genre that would later become extremely popular.

 

BIWN had the potential to show that the jaguar could do a serious and involving next-gen game and it seemed to be on the right path. I *really* wish that one came out. Phear could've shown that the Jaguar could do some impressive 3D graphics.

 

I think fight for life could've been added to a list of potential hits had it actually been handled right. I guess that's why there are no certainties in regard to most of the games that could've come out for the Jaguar. As with Tiny Toons and Fight For Life, they could've been done right and been very popular, but they weren't.

[JagChris]

I think Rayman coming out a year earlier than the other 2 versions would of helped the Jaguar a bit. Platformers like that SELL systems. Would it of saved the Jaguar? I don't know. I'm confident it would of boosted sales. That could of snowballed into us Jaguar users getting Rayman 2 and other companies perhaps making platformers for the Jaguar.

 

There was a TON of buzz about this game when it was announced. For months. Every magazine I read had a boner for it.