Trivia / Rayman Legends

• Acclaimed Flop: At first. Ubisoft originally reported that all versions of Rayman Legends sold poorly, with the Wii U version selling the best. Later comments and ports of the game would suggest this is alleviated over time, and that sales picked up.
• Acting for Two: Douglas Rand voices every single character, even the princesses.
• Cross-Dressing Voices: Doug Rand voices Barbara and all her princess sisters.
• Development Gag: The appearance of Rabbids in an in-house concept trailer could be a bit of a reference to the cancelled Rayman 4, where they were the main mooks of the game before it turned into Rayman Raving Rabbids. The level they're shown in even looks like a 2D version of early screenshots of Rayman 4.
• Executive Meddling: Ubisoft confirmed Legends was delayed due to the poor status of the Wii U in early 2013 and the fact ZombiU bombed. Microsoft's "launch parity" clause required multiplatform games to release on the Xbox 360 first or simultaneously with other systems. To say some fans weren't happy is an understatement.
• Flip-Flop of God:
  • Over how much of the game the Murphy sections took up. Part of it stemmed from some of the Ubisoft staff's limited knowledge of English.
  • So is it a Wii U exclusive or not? First they said yes, then no, then yes again. The final answer ended up being a no releasing for Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Vita and PC.
• Franchise Killer: While the game got great critical reception, it initially sold poorly; even worse than Rayman Origins did (which was already considered an Acclaimed Flop), and the series hasn't gotten a new game in years as a result, not counting some mobile game spinoffs. The departure of Michel Ancel from Ubisoft further drove the nail in the coffin. The franchise technically lives on through its More Popular Spin Off Raving Rabbids and its namesake characters, who have received an animated TV series and a crossover with Super Mario Bros. that was generally well-received, enough to warrant a sequel in 2022, which has Rayman act as the main character in the "Rayman in the Phantom Show" DLC.
• Release Date Change: By over six months, too. See Executive Meddling and Screwed by the Network.
• Rereleased for Free:
  • In May of 2018, this game was one of the free games given to PlayStation Plus members.
  • At the end of November 2019, the Epic Games Store also gave Legends away for free.
  • In 2020, Ubisoft gave away free copies of the game's PC version on their website as part of a campaign called "Play Your Part, Play At Home", which was part of a larger trend of video game companies giving away free games in order to encourage people to stay home to stop the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• Screwed by the Lawyers: On iTunes, the themes for most of the music levels ^note Castle Rock, Mariachi Madness, Gloo Gloo and Dragon Slayer are omitted from the game’s soundtrack. The most likely reason is these being covers of big name songs that weren't cleared for standalone release.
• Screwed by the Network: Legends bombing on release is generally attributed to Executive Meddling delaying the game until nearly two weeks before the release of Grand Theft Auto V in America.
• Vindicated by Cable: The game sold poorly upon its initial release, due to the controversy surrounding its switch from Wii U exclusive to Multi-Platform, and the Release Date Change resulting from said switch causing it to come out just two weeks before Grand Theft Auto V which was guaranteed to curb-stomp any other game that came out around the same time. However, both positive word of mouth as well as future ports to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch caused its sales to steadily improve over time.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The NFC functionality, with the concept trailer implying Rabbids figures may have played some role had said functionality been added.
  • The game was meant to be exclusive to the Wii U console with a launch date of February 2013. The poor sales of Ubisoft's other Wii U exclusive, ZombiU, prompted them to make it multiplatform instead, and delayed the release of the Wii U version to coincide with the release of all other versions of the game. Wii U owners who felt this was a missed opportunity for Ubisoft to at least make the game a limited time exclusive during a "drought period" in the Wii U's early 2013 release schedule (some developers on the team even said the game was basically done at the time of the delay) did not take the news well. In fact, neither did Ancel.