A game by Ubisoft Montpellier for PC, PS4, PS3, Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, and Switch, originally released in 2013, with the Definitive Edition released in 2017.
While many gamers may recognize the Rayman name from the
Rayman Raving Rabbids series, the limbless hero has been around quite a bit longer than that, originally appearing in a 2D platformer known simply as
Rayman in 1995, at a time when mainstream 2D gaming was about to go into a decade-long hibernation. The game was developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and was a pretty decent (and pretty tough) platformer that separated itself from other genre entries with its gorgeous visuals, smooth animations, and excellent soundtrack, made possible by a new generation of CD-based hardware.
Rayman also has the honor of being one of the few 2D franchises to make a smooth transition into 3D.
Rayman 2 represented some of the best 3D platforming of the day, giving genre forerunner
Super Mario 64 a run for its money. Another sequel,
Rayman 3, was developed by the Ubisoft Shanghai team. While it wasn’t as mechanically solid as its predecessor, it retained much of its charm, including some very funny and strange comments from John Leguizamo who provided the voice of Globox (seriously, he has idle dialogue where he stands around talking about how he wishes he could have babies).
Ubisoft Montpellier intended to revisit the series with a new platforming entry, but after experimenting with the motion controls of the recently unveiled Wii system, they decided to develop
Rayman Raving Rabbids instead. Rayman himself was sidelined in favor of the maniacally daft Rabbids, and platforming was removed in favor of minigames. The Rabbids series continued with the Rayman prefix for quite some time before eventually dropping the Rayman name altogether with the 2009 release,
Rabbids Go Home, making it appear that Rayman had been entirely supplanted by red-eyed space bunnies.
However, in 2011 Ubisoft Montpellier went back to its roots, not only bringing Rayman back as the star of his own game, but creating an entirely new 2D entry in the series with
Rayman Origins. As with the original release, the studio sought to separate it from other games on the market with strong visuals and animations, and a unique soundtrack. The studio used an internally-developed tool known as the UbiArt Framework, which made it easier for artists to create and animate detailed characters and objects, creating a game that could run in high resolutions at 60 frames per second.
Rayman Legends is the follow-up to that game, and once again sees Rayman and friends charging through detailed worlds filled with colorful enemies. The game takes place 100 years after the last, as Rayman and his friends lie sleeping in the woods. In the meantime, dark forces have once again overrun the land. Their friend Murfy wakes them up (by smacking them out of a tree) and lets them know what has been happening. Apparently, 10 princesses have been abducted by a nefarious villain, and hundreds of Teensies (magical long-nosed blue creatures) have been captured as well. Rayman must journey through dozens of levels, rescuing imprisoned Teensies, completing challenges, defeating bosses, and freeing each of the princesses (who then become playable characters).
