Rayman 2: The Great Escape

Rayman 2: The Great Escape is a 1999 platform game developed by Ubi Pictures and published by Ubi Soft for the Nintendo 64, Windows, Dreamcast and PlayStation. The game centers on the titular character Rayman, who was tasked with saving his friend Globox and the fantastical land of the Fairy Glade from an army of robotic pirates led by Admiral Razorbeard.

An enhanced port titled Rayman Revolution was developed by Ubi Soft Annecy for the PlayStation 2. An alternative remake known as Rayman 2 Forever was developed by Ubi Studios for the Game Boy Color. Rayman 2 was critically acclaimed for its gameplay, graphics and accessibility.

Gameplay
Rayman 2: The Great Escape is a 3D platformer which was played from a third-person perspective and the player has control over the camera, though in some situations this control is limited to only certain angles. At several points in the game the player loses control during cut scenes, which typically show dialogue between characters.

By collecting lums (small bodies, or shards of magical energy), the player unlocks more information about the game world and its back story, which can be read by standing still and pressing a specific button for some time. Some back story is also obtained through (optional) instructions from Murfy, a "flying encyclopaedia" who provides explanations on all kinds of gameplay elements.

In contrast to its predecessor, which was a 2D platformer, Rayman 2 is a 3D platformer. The player navigates through a mostly linear sequence of levels, fighting enemy Robo-Pirates, solving puzzles and collecting lums. Collecting enough lums gains the player access to new parts of the world. Part of the lums are hidden in small cages, in which other freedom fighters or Teensies are imprisoned, and can be obtained by breaking the cages.

Rayman starts the game with minimal abilities, and he can gain more abilities as the game progresses. The main weapon available in the game is Rayman's fist, with which energy orbs can be shot. Eventually, the orbs can be charged before shooting them, making them more powerful. Rayman can also enter a strafing stance which allows him to easily aim orbs whilst avoiding enemy attacks. Rayman later gains the ability to swing over large gaps using Purple Lums. Rayman is also able to use his helicopter hair to slow his descent while jumping, with some segments later in the game allowing him to fly with his hair. There are also various items Rayman can use throughout the game, such as explosive barrels he can throw, giant plums he can ride on to carry him across dangerous surfaces, and rockets he must ride on to access new areas.

In addition to the main, story-based level sequence, there are also several levels in which the player can gain bonuses in a time trial. Additionally, by collecting all lums and breaking all cages in a level, the player unlocks a bonus level in which one of Globox's children races against a robot pirate. When the player controlling the child wins the race, Rayman gains health or a powerup.

Setting
Rayman 2 takes place in a fictional world called the Glade of Dreams, and revolves around its invasion and occupation by an armada of interstellar Robo-Pirates, led by Admiral Razorbeard. Prior to the invasion, the Robo-Pirates destroyed over one hundred planets in the galaxy, with the intention of enslaving their inhabitants. Upon the invasion of the Glade of Dreams, the Robo-Pirates were battled against by Rayman, Globox, and other allies. After some battles, Rayman's capture occurs after the explosion of the Primordial Core. Ly the Fairy telepathically communicates with Rayman explaining the consequences of the damage, with the core's shattering into 1000 Yellow Lums, and the capture of many fighters. Rayman's powers are also lost due to this, and he finds himself captured by the Robo-Pirates at the beginning of the game.

Plot
The destruction of the world's core greatly weakens and disables Rayman's powers, which leads to his subsequent capture and imprisonment aboard the Buccaneer, a prison ship. Globox is also captured and put in the same cell as Rayman aboard the Buccaneer. Globox gives Rayman a Silver Lum which temporarily restores some of his powers. Rayman escapes the prison ship through a chute however, he is separated from Globox. After falling from the ship, Rayman eventually finds himself in the Woods of Light. Rayman decides to find Ly the Fairy, and begins his search through the forest. He comes across Murfy who serves as Rayman's guide throughout the game, and he also come across Globox's children. Rayman informs them of his separation with Globox. The children inform Rayman that Ly has been captured by the Robo-Pirates.Traversing into the forest, Rayman frees a group of Teensies who were locked in a cage. After bickering among themselves who among them is their king, they inform Rayman of Ly's location in a stronghold within the Fairy Glade. They allow him access to the Hall of Doors for the cost of some of the Yellow Lums which once collected, the King Teensie creates a network of portals that connect the Hall of Doors, which is used to access various areas throughout the Glade of Dreams. Eventually, Rayman finds Ly being held captive in a force field within the Fairy Glade. After being freed, Rayman tells Ly of his separation with Globox and his loss of powers. Due to the destruction of the Heart of the World, Ly is unable to restore Rayman's powers however, she tells Rayman of four ancient masks, through which Polokus must be awakened in order to defeat the Robo-Pirates. The four masks are hidden in secret sanctuaries consisting of the four elements. Ly informs Rayman that his only hope is to find the four masks, defeat their guardians, and awaken Polokus.

Concerned by Rayman's progress, Admiral Razorbeard dispatches several warships to pursue him. Rayman approaches the entrance to the Sanctuary of Water and Ice in which one of the masks is contained. He defeats its guardian Axel and collects the first mask which it teleports him to the realm where Polokus rests eternally. Speaking to Rayman through his dreams, Polokus congratulates him on his find, and urges him to collect the three remaining masks. Rayman travels to the Menhir Hills, where he learns to tame and ride equine-like walking shells. Rayman acquaintances himself with Clark, a friendly giant, who has become terminally ill after accidentally swallowing a Robo-Pirate. He asks Rayman to retrieve the Elixir of Life from the Cave of Bad Dreams, a realm which can only be accessed if the occupant is asleep. Rayman asks a witch doctor to hypnotise him, which transports him to the Cave of Bad Dreams. Once there, Jano, the guardian of the dream world, offers Rayman the choice of eternal wealth instead of taking the elixir. If the player accepts Jano's offer, a humorous ending will play, which depicts an overweight Rayman stranded on a small island, surrounded by treasure. Declining the offer will grant Rayman the elixir, which he uses to cure Clark.

Afterwards, Rayman reunites with Globox, who was captured by Robo-Pirates and brought to a remote detention facility. Globox reveals that he received another Silver Lum, which greatly enhances Rayman's offensive capabilities. After destroying a warship with his new powers, Rayman travels to Whale Bay, where he frees a benevolent whale, Carmen, who has been imprisoned by the pirates in order to use her blubber to oil the engines of their ships. Carmen informs Rayman of the second mask's location, which is situated in the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire. Its guardian, Umber, is an inanimate statue which Rayman uses to control in order to walk across lava and obtain the second mask. Once obtained and given to Polokus, Razorbeard becomes infuriated with Rayman's success and orders numerous fleets of warships to kill him. A group of warships ambush Rayman in a mountainous precipice and almost kill him, however he ultimately escapes.

Rayman arrives at The Sanctuary of Rock and Lava, and obtains a new power from Ly which gives him the ability to fly. However the guardian of the sanctuary, Foutch, wounds Rayman which causes him to lose his ability of flight. After defeating him and obtaining the third mask, Polokus teleports Rayman to the Iron Mountains, which houses a vast network of mines. Rayman encounters Uglette, wife of Globox, who is in despair after informing Rayman that dozens of her children are being used for labour in the mines, and Globox has once again been captured and sent to the Buccaneer. Rayman hijacks a warship and rescues all of Globox's children from the mines. As Uglette and the children leave, one of the children passes Rayman the fourth mask, claiming that they found it in the mines. Rayman departs to see Polokus, who congratulates him on his work, and uses the power of all four masks to awaken himself. Polokus tells Rayman that he can destroy all Robo-Pirates in the Glade of Dreams, but he has no power in the air. Polokus then creates a portal which leads Rayman to the airborne Buccaneer, in which he must defeat Admiral Razorbeard and save Globox.

On board the Buccaneer, a general visits Razorbeard, who presents to him the Grolgoth, a large powered exoskeleton which makes the user invulnerable to damage. Razorbeard purchases it, and plans for his final confrontation with Rayman. Soon after, Rayman infiltrates the Buccaneer and finds both Razorbeard (housed inside the Grolgoth) and Globox in the crow's nest of the ship. During combat, Razorbeard accidentally collapses the floor, plunging both him and Rayman into a lava-filled furnace. During the descent, Ly telepathically saves Rayman from his fall and creates him a sentient flying shell, which he uses to knock the Grolgoth into the lava. Razorbeard escapes the ship in a small shuttlecraft, and initiates the self-destruct, which destroys the Buccaneer with Rayman still inside. Later, at Rayman's funeral, all gather for a memorial service. They could only recover Rayman's left shoe, however, the shoe suddenly appears to react to an oncoming presence, as a limping, one-footed Rayman emerges nearby, much to the joy of everyone present.

Development
Rayman 2 was originally conceptualised as a sidescrolling 2D platformer, like the first game. Development on the prototype began in early 1996 with a team of six people and a budget of 10 million francs. It was slated to be released on the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Microsoft Windows in the fourth quarter of that year. The prototype of Rayman 2 featured some usage of prerendered bitmaps of 3D computer models, differing from the hand-drawn presentation of its predecessor. The PC was the original lead platform, but it was switched to the Nintendo 64 mid-development, necessitating reducing the quality of the textures. The Dreamcast version uses the original high-quality textures. The art design was inspired by the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Tex Avery, and was made to give the game's world a sense of mythology.

Release
Rayman 2: The Great Escape was first released for the Nintendo 64 in Europe on October 29, 1999, and in North America on November 9. The Nintendo 64 version is compatible with the Expansion Pak, which allows the game to be played in a higher resolution. Unlike other versions of the game, the soundtrack is played in a MIDI format. The Microsoft Windows version was released in North America on November 4, 1999, and is compatible with Windows 95, 98, 2000, and XP. The Dreamcast version was released in 2000, and is similar to the Windows version, but certain environments and the final battle have been modified and bonus mini-games were added. The PlayStation version was released in North America on September 16, 2000. The graphics were downgraded, the game has a new layout within its levels (some hidden areas having been removed), the world map is constructed slightly differently and the game contains a bonus prototype of an early 2D version of the game. The PlayStation 2 version, titled Rayman Revolution, was a launch title for the console's European release. Rayman Revolution features improved graphics over the Windows and Dreamcast versions, as well as new and modified levels. The Nintendo DS version, titled Rayman DS, is a port of the Nintendo 64 version, and was a launch title for the console's European release. The iOS and Nintendo 3DS versions are ports of the Dreamcast version.

Reception
Rayman 2 received critical acclaim upon release, with the Windows version receiving a silver sales award from Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association.

Jeff Lundrigan for Next Generation reviewed the Nintendo 64 version of the game for and stated that "with its cute character designs and slick, polished gameplay, Rayman 2 is one of the few titles that can honestly claim to have something to offer any gamer of any age or skill." IGN writer Brandon Justice praised it as "the most impressive feat of game design and execution the platforming genre has ever seen" and recommend players to forget about Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie and Crash Bandicoot.

Many writers of Game Informer praised the game as a "gorgeous" game in which pays homage to Banjo-Kazooie and calling it best Nintendo 64 game because of it camera and control system in which one of the writers Jay wrote how there times when the game looked brilliantly such as "helicoptering down a long chute or skiing behind a sea monster." Stuart Clarke of Sarasota Memorial Hospital appreciated that the graphics are "lush and beautiful" which was helped by the Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak or a "good" PC 3-D accelerator card.

He also reviewed the Dreamcast version and stated that "just go out and buy it. You won't be disappointed." The reception for Rayman DS was mixed or average, IGN writer Craig Harris citing graphical flaws and camera problems. While it did support controlling the game via the touchpad, this was regarded as both "sloppy and awkward," GameSpot writer Provo Frank criticize that it has made numerous graphical issues that often interfere with gameplay.

Rayman 2 is occasionally included in "greatest video games" lists by video game publications, with IGN calling it "a demonstration of what the modern platform game could be -- smart, fast and challenging." It was ranked number six on Nintendo Life 's 2024 list of the best Nintendo 64 platformers which writers described it as "a very strong 3D platformer from a time when you couldn't move for them" and they indicates that the Rayman series make "the jump from 2D in a colourful adventure" that have everything the player could want from the platformer genre.

Accolades
Rayman 2 was nominated for personal computer action game of the year award by GameSpot in 1999. The Dreamcast version was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual best platform game award. During the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Rayman 2 in the categories of "Game of the Year", "Console Game of the Year", "Console Action/Adventure", "Animation", and "Game Design". Rayman Revolution was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual best platform game award.