Whale Bay
From RayWiki
Whale Bay is a location from Rayman 2: The Great Escape and Rayman 2: Revolution. It is one of the levels where importance varied greatly between the different game versions, especially if comparing the PlayStation version of Rayman 2: The Great Escape, Revolution, and Rayman DS (to represent the other versions).
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[edit] Description
Whale Bay is a calm bay located near Skull Cave, the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire, and possibly the Looming Sea. The bay takes much resemblance to the Lost Island, another aquatic level from the same game. Birds will occasionally flock in the bay to feed on fish and crabs. Carmen the Whale frequently makes trips to the bay, hence its name.
Following Admiral Razorbeard's invasion of the Glade of Dreams, the Robo-Pirate Army assigned Whale Bay as the location of one of their major strongholds. The main purpose of the Whale Bay Fortress was primarily to hold Carmen the Whale captive--the Robo-Pirates planned to use Carmen's blubber for fuel. The fortress lacks many interesting features, though it does have one or two aquariums.
Whale Bay appears to have been a battlefield in Admiral Razorbeard's campaign, or at least was a battlefield at one point in history; many locations in the bay have wrecked ships and submarines, some still running.
The caves under the bay are home to many different animals, and despite Whale Bay being one of the few levels in Rayman 2 where swimming is possible (as opposed to Piranha-infested waters), Piranhas lurk in the caves.
The Sanctuary of Water and Ice in Rayman 2 is located near Whale Bay, though this is later discredited in Revolution.
[edit] As a Level
Whale Bay is the first level in the game to feature Barrel Pirates--however, fighting these powerful enemies is avoidable.
The first half of Whale Bay takes place in the Whale Bay Fortress, with Rayman attempting to locate the prison where Carmen the Whale is being held. In some versions of the game, one area in particular has respawning Robo-Pirates, making for some interesting challenges.
The second half of Whale Bay revolves around the lake itself, and Rayman's attempts to free Carmen the Whale. After Carmen is freed, Rayman must follow Carmen into the extensive underwater cave network of Whale Bay, using Carmen's bubbles for air (considering the Piranhas don't reach them first). Carmen leads Rayman to a secret grotto, where the remains of a submarine mark the way for escape. In most versions of Rayman 2, the level closes with Rayman exitting a beached ship, sliding down a watery slope, and evading an Ape Pirate.
[edit] PlayStation Version
In the PS version of Rayman 2: The Great Escape, Whale Bay follows the Bayou level instead of the Canopy. The level is notably more difficult than in any other version, requiring the player to battle many camoflauged Barrel Pirates where in other versions the player would have just had to journey through respawning pirates and not have to fight any Barrel Pirates.
Carmen's journey is also majorly different, to a story-changing degree. Instead of taking Rayman to a grounded ship, Carmen takes Rayman to the Sanctuary of Water and Ice--in fact, Whale Bay replaces the Sanctuary in the Hall of Doors. This replacement is slightly ironic; the PS version of the actual sanctuary is actually more like the other sanctuary levels than the other versions.
As such, the boss of Whale Bay in the PS version is Axel, the Guardian of the Sanctuary of Water and Ice. Whale Bay's rendition is also unique in that it is the only appearance of Axel's to have dialogue.
[edit] Rayman 2: Revolution Version
Revolution adds a connection between the Canopy and Whale Bay levels, compared to the odd linear connection in the other versions. In Revolution, Rayman must rescue Globox from the Canopy; otherwise, one of the Baby Globoxes will not help Rayman elude the Robo-Pirates guarding the entrance to Whale Bay. Rayman in addition profits from rescuing Carmen--Carmen then devours the thorny root blocking the entrance to the nearby Sanctuary of Stone and Fire.
[edit] Characters
(those with a ^ only appear in the PS version; those with a # appear only in the other versions)
- Murfy
- Carmen the Whale
- Polokus^ (PS debut)
- Axel^ (PS debut)
[edit] Enemies
- Henchman 800 (various types)
- Barrel Pirate (debut)
- Piranha
- Walking Shell
- Ape Pirate#
[edit] See Also
[edit] Level Details
[edit] Rayman 2/Rayman DS
Canopy => Whale Bay => Sanctuary of Stone and Fire
- Level type: Aquatic/Coastal
- Number of Lums: 50
[edit] Rayman 2: Revolution
Canopy => Whale Bay => Sanctuary of Stone and Fire
- Level type: Aquatic/Coastal
- Number of Lums: 50
[edit] Rayman 2 (PS version)
Bayou => Whale Bay => Menhir Hills
- Level type: Aquatic/Coastal/Special
- Number of Lums: 35
- Number of Ludivs: 2
- Boss: Axel
