Rayman 2: The Great Escape

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''Rayman 2: The Great Escape''
Published by Ubisoft
Developed by Ubisoft
Release Date 1999
Genre 3D Platformer
Gameplay Mode Single player
Platforms Nintendo 64, PC, Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation, Game Boy Color, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Sony Playstation 3 (PSN), Sony Playstation Portable (PSN), Apple iPhone, Apple iPod Touch

"Rayman 2" redirects here. For other uses, see Rayman 2 (disambiguation).

Rayman 2: The Great Escape is the second major game in the Rayman series, and is the sequel to Rayman. It was first released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64 and was followed by ports for the Sega Dreamcast, PC, and Sony PlayStation, with each port being different in its own way perhaps due to the specifications of each console. It was also the first 3D game of the series, and introduced many brand-new major characters, though featured almost none from its predecessor. Rayman 2: The Great Escape is often abbreviated as Rayman 2 or (to avoid confusion with the similarly named Rayman 2: Revolution) R2. The Sony PlayStation version of Rayman 2 was later released as a PSOne Classic on the North American PlayStation Network, on December 18, 2008. On March 1, 2010, a version based on the Dreamcast incarnation of the game was released for the Apple iPhone and the Apple iPod Touch.

Contents

Early production

Main article: Rayman 2 (2D prototype)

Recently, it was revealed that Rayman 2 was first developed to be a 2D platforming game in the same vein as Rayman, for the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn.[source] Screenshots and videos suggested that the game was still going to be about a robot invasion as it featured enemies similar to the Robo-Pirates, and it also featured background platforming - using a device similar to a shower head and a toilet flush, Rayman could teleport from the foreground to the background. One video in particular also featured a female character with red hair that appears to be Betilla the Fairy, but could also be Betina in a cameo.

The whole of this game was cancelled in favour of the 3D version it became, though a playable prototype (version 01.12d) featuring one level is included in the PlayStation version of Rayman 2, and unlocked if the player collects at least 720 Yellow Lums out of 800. It was recently discovered that this prototype was finished on May 31st 1996 and was sent to the Playstation RayMan 2 team for review.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Rayman 2 is somewhat similar to that of Rayman, though this time Rayman starts with a few powers to defend himself, one of which is given to him by Globox who is introduced at the very beginning. The aim of the game is to rescue all of the Yellow Lums that have been scattered following the explosion of the Primordial Core, and the creatures that have been imprisoned in cages, while defeating any Robo-Pirates that stand in Rayman's way.

Main Characters

The Good Guys

The Bad Guys

Environment

Unlike Rayman, Rayman 2 is not divided into certain themed worlds, but rather a trail of 20 different locations, none of which are as surreal as its predecessor's, but are still dissimilar to the real world. The levels are played in a linear fashion in a World Map known as the Hall of Doors (Isle of Doors in the Dreamcast version), with most levels following a single path (though the Cave of Bad Dreams, Walk of Life, and Walk of Power are on side-paths). The player is able to backtrack to past levels if he or she wishes, and can move on to the final stage without breaking all of the cages.

Levels

PC, N64 and Dreamcast version

Hack

It is possible to run the game under higher resolutions than 1024x768 by a simple hack. By editing the file C:\WINDOWS\UbiSoft\ubi.in with a basic text editor, you'll have something like this 

[SYSTEM]
Test Sound=1
3DFX=0
Memory=511
MMX=1
Windows colors=34
CPU=9

[INSTALLED PRODUCTS]
rayman2

[rayman2]
GLI_DllFile=GliDX6
GLI_Dll=DirectX6
GLI_Driver=display
GLI_Device=Direct3D HAL
GLI_Mode=1 - 1024 x 768 x 16
ShortCutDesktopName=C:\Documents and Settings\Administrateur\Bureau\Jouer à Rayman 2
ShortCutDirectory=C:\Documents and Settings\Administrateur\Menu Démarrer\Programmes\Ubi Soft Games\Rayman 2
Language=French
Configuration=2
VolumeName=RAYMAN2
SrcDataPath=\
Directory=C:\UbiSoft\Rayman2\

[OSD]
Valid=TRUE

The GLI_Mode line defines the resolution of the game. You'll just have to replace "1024 x 768" by "1440 x 900" to run the game in 1440x900 instead of the default 1024x768.

Caution: Modifying the other values may crash the game.

Promotion

Ubisoft promoted Rayman 2 with many toys and even a cartoon. There were YoYos, cell phone covers, a PlayStation 2 remote, a version of the game with a figure, and Happy Meal toys.

Cartoon

Main Article: Rayman: The Animated Series

McDonald's

Ubisoft joined with McDonald's to make a happy meal with Rayman toys. These toys were a Rayman rolling on a Walking Shell, Rayman on a plum with spinning helicopter hair, a light-up cage, a sound-making Henchman 800, a wobbling Globox and Ly.

Tonic Trouble

Characters from each game made cameo appearances in the other game. In Tonic Trouble, Rayman would be seen during the game's end credits. In Rayman 2, a salesman who previously appeared in the intro sequence of the PC version of Tonic Trouble sells the Grolgoth to Razorbeard late in the game. Tonic Trouble was worked on (though not designed) by Michel Ancel, used the Rayman 2 engine, originally appeared on the same platforms as Rayman 2, and was also released by Ubisoft, giving reason for the crossovers, though Tonic Trouble had not fared well critically or commercially, whereas Rayman 2 became successful in both areas.

Rayman Mobile

Rayman Bowling, Rayman Golf, and Rayman Garden are spin-offs of Rayman 2 and its remakes. These games were ported by Gameloft to the N-Gage and other Samsung and Nokia phones.

Remakes

  • Rayman 2: Revolution - PlayStation 2 remake that was essentially a slightly more difficult version of the original, with added levels, enemies, and a new free-roaming feature which replaces the Hall of Doors.
  • Rayman DS - DS remake identical to the original N64 version, though many glitches and bugs were included that were not present in the original.
  • Rayman 2 was also ported to the Apple iPhone and the Apple iPod Touch by Gameloft. It appears that the Sega Dreamcast version was used as the basis for these ports. The graphics are more impressive than Rayman DS due of the increased capabilities of these platforms.

Trivia

  • In the German gaming magazine PC Player (issue 01/2000), Rayman 2: The Great Escape was named as "Best Platformer in 1999".
  • The Sony PlayStation release of Rayman 2 originally came with a digital watch.
  • In the Japanese localisation of the game, some characters with purple in them were changed. Rayman's body was made blue, Sssssam the watersnake turned into a kind of green, and Jano's hat was turned red. But the most bizarre change was made to Ly, whose body was changed from yellow/purple to white/pink.
  • The names of a few characters changed during design of the game: the original name of Globox was Globber, the original name of Razorbeard was Razorface, the original name of Polokus was Pollochus the Magician, the Teensies were originally named the Smalbeings, and the Robo-Pirates were originally named the Mysterious Guild.

See also

Retrieved from "http://www.raymanpc.com/wiki/en/Rayman_2:_The_Great_Escape"
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