"An Improvement In Style, But Flawed In Practice"
"Rayman 2" was a big change in the series' direction, shifting from the 2D level-based style of the original game to a 3D overworld-based style. This title boasted a revamped story, new 3D graphics, a new combat system, and an overworld to explore with new characters to meet. Things were shaping up to be a great improvement over the first game, as I didn't enjoy the ridiculous difficulty of that title alongside its lack of a story w/ proper characters and its unclear platforming goals for each level. However, this title trades the confusion and massive difficulty for some smarter level design, but less interesting visuals for levels themselves. Unfortunately, the new combat system failed to make this title more interesting as well, and floaty nature of the limbless Rayman started to get on my nerves before long.
The story in this game starts off decent enough, with Rayman's goal of saving his friends from a tyrannical pirate being clear, concise, and certainly appealing. However, once you meet his friends once by one, their charm and the overall appeal of the initial goal starts to wane. Rayman's friends are both strangely weird and ultimately boring, which was a very confusing feeling to encounter. Each character's dialogue is pretty poorly done, and the audio mixing is bad for voices as well. This led me to dislike the plot and direction of the title, something I didn't enjoy in the first game as well yet felt was less "in your face" the way this game goes about it.
Next, the design of the levels takes a nosedive in visual interest. Gone are the bright colors and unique stages of the first game, and instead you are met with a lot of muddied browns, greens, grays, and dark blues. The developers went for a darker world for this sequel, but in turn they failed to capture what made the first game's aesthetic so appealing - the bright, tightly drawn world with interesting level themes. Thankfully, the design gameplay-wise is much tighter, and no longer are there requirements for blind jumps or frustratingly-janky physics puzzles getting in the way of progress. However, this is countered by a lack of intriguing goals for each level still, and alongside the bland color palette this makes levels only slightly more enjoyable than the first.
Last comes the platforming controls and combat. The platforming here is decent, though feels particularly floaty for some segments. The shift to 3D is handled very well compared to other 2D franchises, but there are still weird platforms to jump on involving camera angles you may struggle to comprehend. The combat is no better, with it devolving into standard "shoot orb, dodge, repeat" with little to build upon. Hits feel weightless and the sound effects don't help much either, with cartoonish smacks subtly drowned out by the unmixed music tracks blaring in the background. The gameplay doesn't frustrate quite as much as the first title, but it sure does bore at times.
Overall, "Rayman 2" just didn't meet the mark for what I hoped would occur with the shift to 3D. I hoped for tighter platforming gameplay, but instead found a sloppy combat system thrown in instead. A better story is introduced, but in turn the levels are blander than ever despite having stronger structure. The presentation of the game tries to convince the player of a massive increase in quality, but the voice acting and sound mixing stand in large contrast to the solid 3D graphics. It's an entirely mixed bag of a sequel that I personally couldn't find much enjoyment from, and I would Not Recommend many to go back and try it out unless they are willing to put up with its shortcomings. If you're able to do that, you may find a good 3D platforming experience for yourself, but for others its only a marginally better experience than the first game.
Final Verdict: 4/10 (Below Average)
"Rayman 2" was a big change in the series' direction, shifting from the 2D level-based style of the original game to a 3D overworld-based style. This title boasted a revamped story, new 3D graphics, a new combat system, and an overworld to explore with new characters to meet. Things were shaping up to be a great improvement over the first game, as I didn't enjoy the ridiculous difficulty of that title alongside its lack of a story w/ proper characters and its unclear platforming goals for each level. However, this title trades the confusion and massive difficulty for some smarter level design, but less interesting visuals for levels themselves. Unfortunately, the new combat system failed to make this title more interesting as well, and floaty nature of the limbless Rayman started to get on my nerves before long.
The story in this game starts off decent enough, with Rayman's goal of saving his friends from a tyrannical pirate being clear, concise, and certainly appealing. However, once you meet his friends once by one, their charm and the overall appeal of the initial goal starts to wane. Rayman's friends are both strangely weird and ultimately boring, which was a very confusing feeling to encounter. Each character's dialogue is pretty poorly done, and the audio mixing is bad for voices as well. This led me to dislike the plot and direction of the title, something I didn't enjoy in the first game as well yet felt was less "in your face" the way this game goes about it.
Next, the design of the levels takes a nosedive in visual interest. Gone are the bright colors and unique stages of the first game, and instead you are met with a lot of muddied browns, greens, grays, and dark blues. The developers went for a darker world for this sequel, but in turn they failed to capture what made the first game's aesthetic so appealing - the bright, tightly drawn world with interesting level themes. Thankfully, the design gameplay-wise is much tighter, and no longer are there requirements for blind jumps or frustratingly-janky physics puzzles getting in the way of progress. However, this is countered by a lack of intriguing goals for each level still, and alongside the bland color palette this makes levels only slightly more enjoyable than the first.
Last comes the platforming controls and combat. The platforming here is decent, though feels particularly floaty for some segments. The shift to 3D is handled very well compared to other 2D franchises, but there are still weird platforms to jump on involving camera angles you may struggle to comprehend. The combat is no better, with it devolving into standard "shoot orb, dodge, repeat" with little to build upon. Hits feel weightless and the sound effects don't help much either, with cartoonish smacks subtly drowned out by the unmixed music tracks blaring in the background. The gameplay doesn't frustrate quite as much as the first title, but it sure does bore at times.
Overall, "Rayman 2" just didn't meet the mark for what I hoped would occur with the shift to 3D. I hoped for tighter platforming gameplay, but instead found a sloppy combat system thrown in instead. A better story is introduced, but in turn the levels are blander than ever despite having stronger structure. The presentation of the game tries to convince the player of a massive increase in quality, but the voice acting and sound mixing stand in large contrast to the solid 3D graphics. It's an entirely mixed bag of a sequel that I personally couldn't find much enjoyment from, and I would Not Recommend many to go back and try it out unless they are willing to put up with its shortcomings. If you're able to do that, you may find a good 3D platforming experience for yourself, but for others its only a marginally better experience than the first game.
Final Verdict: 4/10 (Below Average)