Wanted to re-log this as my thoughts on it are still fresh in my mind.
Rayman 2 is weird conceptually. The sequel to an already great, weird 2D platformer (with an amazingly whimsical soundtrack), turns out to be almost a soft reboot; rayman is redesigned, his world has a small bit of lore, new characters who end up being mainstays are introduced, and it’s a 3d platformer on the n64. All of this taken into consideration, I feel like this would be a kind of scary position to put yourself into. Competing against other more popular 3d platformers at the time, as well. Nevertheless, rayman 2 improves upon 3d platformers in the late 90s and is still so fun to play.
The game started out as a basic sequel to the ps1 original, consisting of the same 2d platforming gameplay (you can actually play the first level of the prototype for this version of rayman 2 on the PS1 version of the game). But mid development it apparently shifted over towards the n64. Rayman 2 has incredible soundscapes and simple worldbuilding techniques that allow the game to have a very unique atmosphere and aesthetic, which I’m very fond of. Outside of that, rayman controls extremely well. While not having as varied as a moveset, he’s given “Lums” to throw as a melee attack that locks on to enemies, he has a glide after a jump, and that’s pretty much it aside from being able to swing from flying lums like a grappling hook and being able to strafe during combat (which was a neat addition. But this allows the game age extremely well whereas some would argue other 3d platformers on the n64 could use some refinement. It quite literally feels like it could’ve been made today, albeit with very, very minor hitches (like how rayman’s acceleration and deceleration feels). Puzzles in this game are extremely fun and don’t feel like they’ve been mimicked time and time again; one puzzle had me going from one end of the level, to the other end, carrying two orbs to the center of the level while avoiding enemies and lava. There’s a lot of variety in the gameplay too. Rayman has to carry items, defeat enemies, ride on top of rockets, fly through gusts of wind, find hidden switches to exit a level, its all fun. Never does any part of the gameplay feel like it should’ve been cut.
Collecting lums is extremely simple but fun, very akin to how banjo kazooie throws musical notes into its worlds. But contrary to mario 64 and banjo kazooie, rayman’s “Glade of Dreams” feels lived in. Every level feels connected to the last; the world feels cohesive, not like the disconnected, “themed” levels that both banjo and mario 64 managed. The Glade of Dreams feels dark and moody, not only because of the story, but because of the stellar ambient soundtrack and foley.
Rayman 2 is a very consistent, well paced 3D platformer that I feel doesn’t get enough credit for being released during this era. I would highly convince anyone who plans on picking this up for the first time to try looking at the version differences to see the additional content and George Lucas-esque changes made to the ports of this game. Thats not to say the changes are bad, some are actually very welcome changes. Personally, I love the Dreamcast version; it has a new world map and uses the original high quality assets the team wanted to use before pivoting to the n64 from the pc version for launch in 1999, and is also at 60fps.
Rayman 2 is weird conceptually. The sequel to an already great, weird 2D platformer (with an amazingly whimsical soundtrack), turns out to be almost a soft reboot; rayman is redesigned, his world has a small bit of lore, new characters who end up being mainstays are introduced, and it’s a 3d platformer on the n64. All of this taken into consideration, I feel like this would be a kind of scary position to put yourself into. Competing against other more popular 3d platformers at the time, as well. Nevertheless, rayman 2 improves upon 3d platformers in the late 90s and is still so fun to play.
The game started out as a basic sequel to the ps1 original, consisting of the same 2d platforming gameplay (you can actually play the first level of the prototype for this version of rayman 2 on the PS1 version of the game). But mid development it apparently shifted over towards the n64. Rayman 2 has incredible soundscapes and simple worldbuilding techniques that allow the game to have a very unique atmosphere and aesthetic, which I’m very fond of. Outside of that, rayman controls extremely well. While not having as varied as a moveset, he’s given “Lums” to throw as a melee attack that locks on to enemies, he has a glide after a jump, and that’s pretty much it aside from being able to swing from flying lums like a grappling hook and being able to strafe during combat (which was a neat addition. But this allows the game age extremely well whereas some would argue other 3d platformers on the n64 could use some refinement. It quite literally feels like it could’ve been made today, albeit with very, very minor hitches (like how rayman’s acceleration and deceleration feels). Puzzles in this game are extremely fun and don’t feel like they’ve been mimicked time and time again; one puzzle had me going from one end of the level, to the other end, carrying two orbs to the center of the level while avoiding enemies and lava. There’s a lot of variety in the gameplay too. Rayman has to carry items, defeat enemies, ride on top of rockets, fly through gusts of wind, find hidden switches to exit a level, its all fun. Never does any part of the gameplay feel like it should’ve been cut.
Collecting lums is extremely simple but fun, very akin to how banjo kazooie throws musical notes into its worlds. But contrary to mario 64 and banjo kazooie, rayman’s “Glade of Dreams” feels lived in. Every level feels connected to the last; the world feels cohesive, not like the disconnected, “themed” levels that both banjo and mario 64 managed. The Glade of Dreams feels dark and moody, not only because of the story, but because of the stellar ambient soundtrack and foley.
Rayman 2 is a very consistent, well paced 3D platformer that I feel doesn’t get enough credit for being released during this era. I would highly convince anyone who plans on picking this up for the first time to try looking at the version differences to see the additional content and George Lucas-esque changes made to the ports of this game. Thats not to say the changes are bad, some are actually very welcome changes. Personally, I love the Dreamcast version; it has a new world map and uses the original high quality assets the team wanted to use before pivoting to the n64 from the pc version for launch in 1999, and is also at 60fps.