Hoodlum

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From left to right: Hoodboom, Hoodstormer, Grim Keeper, Grim, Hoodblaster, Hoodoo, and Xowar (the latter is not a Hoodlum).
After some punishing auditions, the developers have brought together the worst army ever, made up of the dumbest enemies. They’re dressed like potato sacks and are ready to use any old tactics, however ludicrous or dangerous, to stop Rayman and Globox.
—Manual, Rayman 3
Shooting, smacking, bombing, and slashing! These mayhem wreakers live to wreak mayhem! You'll have to take out as many as possible to keep the land from falling into darkness.

The Hoodlums (once called Kagoulards) are an army of enemy creatures which first appeared in Rayman 3. The Hoodlum army was created when the evil Black Lums, under the leadership of the lord, André, began to steal the fur from Bontons and weave it into costumes for themselves. Hoodlums are often found sporting an assortment of weapons and powers, ranging from blunderbusses to explosive bottles of plum juice, and even giant stomping machines and tripod submarines. They come in many shapes and sizes, and have many different strengths and weaknesses. When a Hoodlum is defeated, the Black Lum that was controlling it from the inside escapes; later on in the game, Rayman receives the power to grimace, which can be used to revert these Black Lums back into Red Lums which Rayman can absorb for health.

Creation

Some Hoodlums like the Hoodmonger, the Hoodboom and the Slapdash had a different design during the development of Rayman 3. Hoodlums were planned to talk in the beta version, but this idea was removed.

The Hoodlums were originally created by Stéphane Zinetti, the lead character designer for Rayman 3. Zinetti had the following to say regarding the genesis of the Hoodlums in an interview with RaymanZone at about the time of the game's release:

We were looking for a fairly simple principle that would be easy to offer in a variety of forms for several characters, without repeating exactly the same thing.

The idea for the Hoodlums came from one of my sketches. It was a sort of Mexican holding a fat rifle and wearing a big sombrero and a kind of poncho covering his whole body. He was a blend of Darkman [sic] from Rayman 1 – a mysterious character rolled up in his cloak, for those who don't know him – and the hunter, also in Rayman 1. Then came the idea to make characters out of cloth. This was easy for the player to recognise, and very simple for us to vary. What's more, rendering the flexibility of different fabrics was a graphic challenge that was interesting to take up.

Once we'd found the basic principle, we worked on the basic psychologies to create a whole heap of characters. For example, using a slightly mannered and mysterious profile, we created 'Hoodoo', an elongated sorcerer. For 'Slapdash', we wanted to create a fat moron. So we made him a nice bright strawberry color and gave him a vacant look and a fairly oafish physique.

—Stéphane Zinetti, RaymanZone


In Rayman 3 and its spin-offs

One of the Hoodlum army emblem.

The Hoodlum army is formed at the very beginning of Rayman 3, when a lone Red Lum is given a terrible fright and becomes the Black Lum known as André. He then proceeds to convert many other Red Lums into Black Lums. Stealing the fur of animals such as Bontons, they weave their outer bodies from cloth. They begin their invasion by launching an assault on the Fairy Council, where the Heart of the World is kept; André hoped to corrupt its 1000 constituent Yellow Lums into a more powerful army of Hoodlums. However, André was accidentally swallowed by Globox before he could reach the Heart, thus setting the events of the game into motion.

In Rayman 3 (Game Boy Advance)

Hoodlums also appear in the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3, in which Rayman must defeat both them and the Robo-Pirate minions of Admiral Razorbeard. They mostly appear in Hoodlum Hideout, but Spinneroos can be found in Wretched Ruins, and Scaleman in Scaleman's Keep.


In Rayman: Hoodlums' Revenge

Hoodlums appear once more in Rayman: Hoodlums' Revenge, the isometric Game Boy Advance sequel to Rayman 3. In this game, it is revealed that a fragment of André's evil spirit remained in Globox's body. As Rayman and Globox fight against the new Hoodlum invasion, Globox gradually becomes possessed by André, who eventually transforms him into a clone of Reflux.


Other appearances

A scarecrow resembling a Hoodmonger (on the right) as seen in a cinematic from Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party.

A Hoodmonger appears as a playable character in Rayman Kart, a spin off racing game available only for mobile phones, and as a scarecrow in a Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party cutscene.

In the credits of Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, a picture frame depicts the Hoodlum army that also parodies the 'Usual Suspects'.


Types of Hoodlums

Hoodlum devices

A strange Hoodlum device seen in the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3.


Gallery

External links