Rayman 2: The Great Escape

It's difficult to know how to rate platformers from the 90's. It was still early days for the genre and many developers were still trying to figure out how character and camera controls should work. I've seen many people criticize Super Mario 64 for such things but frankly it's insane how much Nintendo got right on their first attempt. Just look at how Bubsy turned out.

Both Rare and Nintendo would go on to release many classic platformers on the N64 and establish the collectathon genre. At the tail end of the 90's, the console would receive another classic but this time not from Nintendo or Rare - Rayman 2: The Great Escape - but this would be far from the best version of the game.

The Dreamcast port of Rayman 2 is widely regarded as the best version of the game (superior even to its PC port) thanks to upgraded textures, smooth 60fps gameplay as well as a few additional extras thrown in on top. I would also go as far to say that this is the best platformer released for the Dreamcast bar none. Even Sega's own Sonic Adventure titles just aren't as consistently good as Rayman 2.

A big factor in why Rayman 2 is so great is just how well it controls. Thanks to the steady pace, the camera is rarely an issue despite the lack of a second analog stick to position it with. Rayman also controls really well, he is neither too sluggish or too slippery and his helicopter hair which makes precision platforming a stress-free affair. On top of this Rayman is just a joy to control and move about with the way he rapidly climbs walls, grabs ledges, performs flips and swings from purple lums.

There's also a great variety in the levels of Rayman 2, you'll be sliding down slopes in well choreographed getaway segments or surfing on rockets to break things up when platforming gets too monotonous. Another big element which can make or break a platformer is its character and persinality and I'm pleased to say this game has that in spades. Rayman and his buddies are all well designed and charming to look at. The worlds which you'll be jumping and running around are nice to look at and there's a cool atmosphere to it: You've got these jungles and temple-like environments which are quite down-to-earth but they will often throw these subtle otherworldly aspects whether it be the wildlife or just a distinctly inhuman structure, almost to remind you that this is something otherworldly.

Something I love about Rayman 2 is its restraint. I've already talked about the environments which strike a good balance between real and fantasy but it seems Ubisoft knew just how far to push and take certain things. Rayman 2 is part of the collectathon genre but there isn't an ungodly amount of things to collect; DK64 this ain't. The difficulty of this game is also well-tuned. It's a good length, taking around 8-10 hours to finish, it isn't a hard game but it's also not a complete cake walk to play through. Rayman 2 has it's harder and more challenging moments but they're well spread out and it never gets too frustrating. The developers knew what aspects to focus on. Combat in this game isn't horrible but it's also not terribly deep so it makes sense to focus on the platforming elements, particularly with Rayman controlling so well and the environments being intriguing to explore.

I think it speaks volumes on how well this game has aged when you see the huge amount of times it has been re-released. The original N64 version had to trim back certain parts to fit on cartridge (namely the soundtrack and textures), the PS1 port would scale back things even further but the PC and Dreamcast versions would restore all that cut content and visuals giving us a definitive way to play - but wait, there more... The PS2 would also see a port with some extra minigames added, the Nintendo DS and 3DS also received a version and even the iPhone would receive an official release over 10 years after the game's original release date.