Before I get into reviewing this game I want to throw out there that this game along with Crash Bandicoot 2 were the two games that actually got me into the Playstation. Until I played those two games I was pretty much 100% a Nintendo player, but Rayman and Crash helped to make me see there was more out there than what the Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo had to offer. With that being said, onto the game!
Rayman was developed by Ludimedia and published by Ubisoft. The game was released in September 1995 on the Sony Playstation. Other ports of the game exist on the Playstation Network, Game Boy Advance, Atari Jaguar, PC, DSIware, and Sega Saturn. The plot of the game is that the evil Mr. Dark has kidnapped the Great Protoon. This kidnapping caused all the small electoons to lose their stability and scatter. Mr. Dark would then round up all the electoons and imprison them in cages. It is up to Rayman, with the help of Betilla the fairyto rescure the Great Protoon and the electoons and save his colorful world from the dark fate it is facing.
Rayman is a platforming game that starts out fairly simple. You control Rayman as you jump through a variety of levels. After a short time though, you realize that the game is going to become more than a bright and colorful Mario knock off. As you play through the game Betilla grants Rayman a variety of powers from punching to running to cliff grabbing to even using Rayman's hair as a helicopter propeller. Through the game you will encounter the captured electoons that I mentioned earlier. You'll want to be sure to free them all as you cannot confront Mr. Dark without doing so. Some of these cages are pretty well hidden so you will need to use all of Rayman's ability and your own gaming smarts to find them all. Other things you will find along the way include blue crystal like orbs called tings. Collect 100 of these and you'll get a 1-up. Speaking of 1-ups, they too can be found in levels. You can also find powerups for your punches and ways to increase your health.
The controls for this game are pretty solid. Occasionally you'll encounter the ever famous "I had that" moment as you've probably had with countless other games, but in general everything is pretty easy to get the hang of here.
Graphically the game is actually very pretty. Rayman travels to a variety of locations including the forest, a world of band instruments, and even a world of pencils and erasers... Okay the world are a little odd, but they are all very good looking! The soundtrack from the game is respectable as well. You'll hear a lot of the same melodies repeat through the levels, but they're generally spaced out enough that they don't become annoying.
Overall I've had a lot of fun with Rayman. In this case it's not just blind nostalgia taking over either as the Rayman series has cranked out quite a few games now spanning a great variety of systems. I'll give Rayman a solid 7.5 out of 10. Rayman does a lot of things right, but the quality of the first installment in the series, while innovative, I don't think is as gripping as games that came out before it. If you asked me what I thought of the game oh say 10 years ago I'd probably have rated it higher, but the small control issues, limited, but respectable soundtrack, and personally the frustration of trying to find every cage of electoons in the game bring it down now for me.
Final Verdict: 7.5 out of 10. Rayman is certainly worth a try. Some will love it, others probably wont, but if nothing else, this is a platformer that should be given a shot!
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