Game Info
Game Name: Rayman Legends
Developer(s): Ubisoft Monpellier/Ubisoft Casablanca
Publisher(s): Ubisoft
Platform(s): PC/PS3/PS4/Vita/Wii U/Xbox 360/Xbox One
Genre(s): Action/Adventure/Platformer
Release Date(s): August 29, 2013 (Australia)/September 3, 2013 (US)
ESRB Rating: E10+
Any way you slice it, swimming levels kill my will to live…
Rayman has found that the Magician is alive and kidnapped the world’s ten princesses. Rayman must save the princess, the Teensies, and land with the help of his friends and the princesses themselves. The danger of the worlds is growing and only Rayman and his friends can stop it to free the land!
Developd by Ubisoft Montpellier, Rayman Legends is a side-scrolling platformer. The game is a sequel to Rayman Origins (released in 2011) and was intended to be a launch title for Wii U. The game’s release for Wii U was pushed back and the game was released on multiple platforms. The game was well received by critics and fans.
Rayman Legends was the first Rayman game I played. Despite being a long-time gamer and a fan of side scrollers and platformers, I never got into Rayman that always seemed like a generic Mario game. With the number of quality games on the Wii U limited, I decided to try Rayman Legends due to the positive reviews…and found it enjoyable in some ways more than the Wii U’s Mario games.
Black Betty!!!
There is a tricky balance between challenging and simple. Recent Mario and Donkey Kong games take side scrolling and make them almost impossibly difficult. Everything is about timed jumps and running as fast as possible. Exploration is out in most side scrolling games…which is a shame since they are even better looking now. Rayman Legends isn’t impossible so it does avoid some of these pitfalls, but a few levels feel a bit tedious since they aren’t difficult enough…it is just passing through to get to the next level.
The series does have some great and smooth controls. The Wii U version of Rayman Legends utilizes the Wii U’s GamePad and sometimes switches between the views on the screen and the pad. I find this kind of a distracting aspect of the Wii U (which is ironic since it is supposed to be the catch). Despite this, Rayman and his friends move smoothly and the movements seem natural and easy…something that also helps a side scrolling game.
He’s not as hard as he looks…
Visually, the graphics are slick and stylized. There are some fun level designs that make the most of the abilities of the Wii U and other next gen systems. The game features updated versions of Rayman Origins which can be unlocked through game play and the game levels and designs are expansive. Particularly fun are a few music based levels where “Black Betty”, “Eye of the Tiger”, “Woo-Hoo”, and “Antisocial” provide both a soundtrack and a timing mechanism for jumping and moving…they are highlights of the game.
Rayman Legends is a great side-scroller with a lot of game play tied to it. With dropping prices, this game can often be found for cheap and it is well worth the purchase price for fans of classic jumping and running games. Rayman Legends will provide hours of fun and some replay ability (got to get all those Teensies). Pick up Rayman Legends and enjoy!
