I actually played the original Rayman on the Sega Saturn way back in the day. It immediately stood out from other side-scrolling platformers. Its hero was a funny-looking chap with hands and feet, but no arms and legs. The world was bright, colorful, and quirky to the point of being surreal. But it was beautiful, and it was fun. After that, Rayman went 3D with the absolutely brilliant Rayman 2: The Great Escape. Then the series sort of flopped around not sure where it was going until the wonderful Rayman Origins, when it got back to its 2D roots. And that leads us to the latest, and the most ambitious, release in this uneven franchise—Rayman Legends.

Rayman Legends is one hell of a game. There’s just so much of it! It’s a giant toy box overflowing with Rayman goodies. There are a ton of levels to complete, filled with things to collect and secret areas. You can play with up to four players. There are challenges you can take on and compete against people’s scores online. There are monsters, paintings, and other doodads to collect. You can play a soccer mini-game. You can free a bunch of other characters in the game and play as them. AND the entire Rayman Origins game also included. 

This game is a looker! The graphics are absolutely lush. It's one of the best-looking 2D games of this generation, and you’ll really see the difference when you go back and play Origins. The colors are rich, the lines are crisp, and the levels are packed full of detail. And the great use of foreground, middleground, and background on each level give the game a nice layered look.

The gameplay is refined a bit from Origins and will make use of many of platformer skills you’ve honed throughout your video game life. Assuming you like platformers, otherwise I don’t know why you’d be reading a review about one. And if you’re a longtime Rayman player, you’ll be right at home with the action in the game. Overall the control is airtight. In fact, Rayman controls so well, even the water levels are fun as he swims gracefully around dangerous obstacles. The wall-running sections of the game may give players a little bit of a hard time, but if you’ve played the cell phone games (which aren’t half bad), you shouldn’t have a problem.

My only complaint about the game is there really isn’t a narrative. You’re just kind of jumping from world to world, and the whole thing feels very compartmentalized. But that's just my preference. It's not an actual dig on the game. 

It’s nice to see Rayman get the five-star treatment. Ubisoft has this "strange thing" about making money, so they usually focus on the big blockbuster games. But it’s nice to know they still have some love for the little guy…with no arms and legs. 

Hint: Die if you miss a captive Teensie! The game usually doesn't start you very far back, so you can get the Teensie without having to do the entire level again. 

by Urian Brown