Rayman is a video game series created by
Michel Ancel. Rayman is a strange,
limbless individual of
various origins, who fights to save the Glade of Dreams from a variety of antagonists.
The first game in the series, simply titled
Rayman, is a 2D platformer, in which Rayman must defeat the evil Mr. Dark, a sinister individual who has stolen the
Great Protoon. Along the way, Rayman must rescue the many Electoons, who have been held captive by Mr. Dark's minions.
The second game,
Rayman 2: The Great Escape, is his first 3D title, and the most popular among fans.
Darker and Edgier, although still wacky and cartoony, it features an evil group of sinister Robo-Pirates, lead by the Admiral Razorbeard, who enslave the people of the Glade of Dreams and split the Heart of the World - the planet's Primordial Core - into 1000 beads of light, the Yellow Lums. In order to defeat the pirates and restore the Heart of the World, Rayman must gather four legendary masks, which will summon Polokus, who created Rayman's world. This was followed by
Rayman 2: Revolution, a Playstation 2 exclusive remake of
Rayman 2, which made several significant changes to the level design and featured improved graphics.
The following game,
Rayman M (Known as
Rayman Arena in the US) was a multiplayer-focused game consisting of racing and battle segments. It introduced a few new characters but it didn't have a storyline.
The third game in the main series,
Rayman 3 Hoodlum Havoc, was the first Rayman game without Michel Ancel, and featured a more detailed storyline involving Andre, a Black Lum, who seeks to use the power of the Heart of the World to spawn an army of Hoodlums, hooded
mooks shaped like potato sacks.
This game was controversial for introducing a points system and a humorous (at times subversive) script. It also employed voices from well-known actors, including
Jason Marsden as Rayman,
Billy West as Murphy (who coincidentally voiced Rayman for the TV show), and John Leguizamo as Globox.
There have also been several handheld adaptations and a
Party Game spin-off series,
Rayman Raving Rabbids, featuring Rayman's attempts to do battle in various
Mini Games with a horde of bizarre rabbit-like creatures, which was very well received by the majority of critics. The Rabbids later spun off into
their own franchise, breaking ties with Rayman and following its own agenda.
A little-seen Rayman CGI TV Series was also made, but only lasted four episodes and was never finished due to lack of funding.
For a while it seemed like Rayman would be
UbiSoft's answer to Nintendo's Mario, becoming its mascot. But recently, the character was abandoned by the company once they became one of the biggest international gaming producers and left the whole childrens' market all together, considering that 1.)
Ancel moved away from the line-up after
The Great Escape to work on other titles, such as
Beyond Good And Evil, making the series lose its luster, 2.) the rabbids themselves
stole Rayman's spotlight to the point that he's basically become a minor character, and 3.) the series was never popular enough to become a cash cow anyway.
However, after years of waiting for news on the state of the next 'proper' Rayman game, one was finally announced in the form of
Rayman Origins. While originally intended to actually be a prequel of sorts to the series, it instead takes place sometime after
Rayman 2 and
combines plot and world elements from the first 2 games. The game follows Rayman and
up to 3 friends (Globox and the Teensies) as they battle through a
beautifully detailed 2D world in order to save the Glade of Dreams from the evil Darktoons who have invaded, in a
throwback to the great 2D platformers of old. Oh, and the game was developed by series creator Michel Ancel in his return to the series after
Rayman 2. Needless to say, the fandom rejoiced and so, in fact, did the critics, who gave the game rave reviews, with many calling it not only the best in the series, but one the best platformers of recent years. Even
Yahtzee loved it. The 2013 sequel,
Rayman Legends, is on the way to Wii U,
PS3, and Xbox 360.
If you were looking for the
Rayman Raving Rabbids games that were originally a part of this series, see
Raving Rabbids.
Games in the Series
Main Series Games
- Rayman (1995) PS1, PC, GBC, GBA, DS, Jaguar, Saturn, PSN.
- Rayman 2: The Great Escape (1999) N64, PS1, PS2, PSN, PC, GBC, DS, 3DS, Dreamcast, iOS
- Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc (2003) PS2, PSN, PC, Xbox, XBLA, Gamecube, GBA, N-Gage, Mac OS X, Mobile
- Rayman: Hoodlum's Revenge (2005) GBA
- Rayman Origins (2011) Wii, 3DS, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360, PC
- Rayman Legends (2013) Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360
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