Rayman Origins

[Symbermine]

Wow! Those graphics are great, we need more 2d games nowadays. I haven´t played all rayman games, but the first one on psx is still my favourite.

[BoneFreak]

I have played the first 3, and I was really worried when they kept going with Rabbids for about 3 games, and I thought that would be the end of Rayman.

I was pleasantly surprised when this actually isn't minigame-frenzy! In fact, I couldn't even play any other rayman game then 1-3 and the first Rabbids, since the rest of the Rabbids were Wii and DS only, and alas, I don't have either console.

This better not flop. And If it doesn't, then they should keep going with it. I don't really know why Ubisoft made Rabbids in the first place. I would've been okay with it existing as long as it wasn't advertised as a Rayman game.

[Remolay]

well It was originially going to be an adventure then that happened. I think they dropped Rayman from it at TV party

[tredlow]

Saw the E3 video, it looks amazing.

The first Rayman was the first video game I've ever played. Ever. And I've always loved the sequels, except for the Rabbids games (though I actually enjoyed Rabbids Go Home, which was not Rayman-related at all). Super excited to see the game still alive, and looks awesome. Not as excited to see that it's not coming to PC (they're still 'considering' it).

It's got the feel of the first game, the deep mythology of the second game, the strange, beautiful designs of the third game and the energy of the Rabbids games. So, yeah, definitely looking forward to it.

[Pinchpenny]

Rayman 2 is one of the best games I've ever played. Rayman 3 I enjoyed a lot too. The original Rayman is my least favourite of the three; it's decent, but it's frustratingly hard at points.

Although my dream would be a new 3D platformer game, Origins looks absolutely amazing. There was a distinct lack of information on it after it got announced last year (when it was originally going to be episodic, I believe), which led me to fear it had been canned, but what they've shown at E3 impresses me greatly. Wonderful art, hectic co-op platforming and Globox is not something I'm going to pass up.

[tredlow]

I don't think the game is episodic anymore. Frankly, I'm sort of glad. I always hate it when companies use the word 'episodic' as an excuse to make short game and promise that the next one will come soon, but it hasn't for years (I'm lookin' at you, Valve). Telltale does the episodic thing well, but it's the only company that I can think of that does.

It also leads to unfulfilled expectations, like the lack of a 3rd Penny Arcade Adventures game. Telltale sort of did it with Bone, but I didn't like Telltale until Sam and Max season 1, and I already knew how Bone ends anyway.

[Pinchpenny]

Originally Posted by tredlow

I don't think the game is episodic anymore. Frankly, I'm sort of glad. I always hate it when companies use the word 'episodic' as an excuse to make short game and promise that the next one will come soon, but it hasn't for years (I'm lookin' at you, Valve). Telltale does the episodic thing well, but it's the only company that I can think of that does.

It also leads to unfulfilled expectations, like the lack of a 3rd Penny Arcade Adventures game. Telltale sort of did it with Bone, but I didn't like Telltale until Sam and Max season 1, and I already knew how Bone ends anyway.

Apart from that, I really don't think a platformer lends itself to being an episodic game. It sounded more like an excuse to get the money flowing in to fund further development of it than anything else. Luckily, as you said, it seems to just be a full retail game now.

[Captain Viku]

It's game art and style like the one in this game that makes me happy I'm stying Videogme Design. The scenery, the colors, the animation, everything just looks so unique and fluid like a living artwork. Also, the music was pretty good!

Another thing that makes me happy is that (according to the creators) this game will tie-in the first game with the second (Amazing considering the style and setting of the first Rayman seemed veeeeery diferent from it sequel.

[tredlow]

Originally Posted by Captain Viku

Another thing that makes me happy is that (according to the creators) this game will tie-in the first game with the second (Amazing considering the style and setting of the first Rayman seemed veeeeery diferent from it sequel.

Yeah, when I first played Rayman 2 I was like "What? Who? Did I miss a game or something? Who the hell is Globox?!"

[Guinea]

Disclaimer: This post contains personal opinion and emotions, and that excuses me calling people idiots implicitly. Don't feel offended.

Maybe I'm too much or not enough of a Rayman fan, but I don't really like it.
As a game it might be good and fun too, but as a Rayman game it seems too different from the first two games that I loved and the 3rd one that was quite good.

I'm mostly talking about the look and feel here.
Rayman looks like a complete idiot (even next to Globox), compared to the heroic design he had in the previous games (heck even in the Rabbids games where he was still in) and now it seems they adopted the Rabbids look and feel for a real Rayman game (and not just for Rayman but for the whole game and the music and everything).
The music, in particular the underwater music, sounds like Rabbids chanting. The original Rayman's music was beautiful and memorable.

As for the gameplay I saw in this trailer:
The gameplay seems to be more similar to a mix of New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Donkey Kong Country Returns instead of any of the previous Rayman games.
Rayman 1 tried to be original. There was other than the ability to jump nothing that reminded me in any way of existing platformers. It was 100% unique.
Example: Out of all possible franchises, Rayman shouldn't have the need to include a Tetris reference (*complete with the music* to make sure even the last idiot gets that it's *really* a Tetris reference because the blocks alone don't give it away apparently) as a gameplay element.

All of the differences can probably be explained by saying "but young Rayman is immature here" and "Rayman doesn't have his fist powers before the first game" etc. but I think that the fist is to Rayman as essential as jumping is to Mario and momentum is to Sonic. Maybe you get something like it later in the game, but from what was shown it doesn't look like it.
And to this day I still don't get the fascination that comes from character designs that act and look like completely brainless idiots on drugs, but the mass market seems to like them apparently. I couldn't explain the success of the Rabbids franchise and the design decisions for this game any other way.

This is just my opinion, and it might be severely influenced by the nostalgia factor, and it might be formulated a little harshly here and there, but feel free to discuss it and tear it apart. If anything I'd be happy if someone can convince me that this is the Rayman game I've been waiting for since Rayman 3.

[tredlow]

Originally Posted by Guinea

I'm mostly talking about the look and feel here.
Rayman looks like a complete idiot (even next to Globox), compared to the heroic design he had in the previous games (heck even in the Rabbids games where he was still in) and now it seems they adopted the Rabbids look and feel for a real Rayman game (and not just for Rayman but for the whole game and the music and everything).
The music, in particular the underwater music, sounds like Rabbids chanting. The original Rayman's music was beautiful and memorable.

As for the gameplay I saw in this trailer:
The gameplay seems to be more similar to a mix of New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Donkey Kong Country Returns instead of any of the previous Rayman games.

They said that the story was gonna be about how Rayman, a complete idiot, becomes the hero we know today. It's called Rayman: Origins, after all. So, yeah, "young Rayman is immature here", but the point of the story is to explain how he stops becoming that and becomes heroic.

Also, the thing about the Rayman series is that since the very first game, there are very few things that aren't changed in the next one. The tone, the characters' personalities, the look and feel, even some gameplay aspects, are either tweaked or are completely changed in the next game. So, a Rayman game that is different than the previous ones isn't really something that hasn't happened before.

For instance, the first game was a sidescroller, with levels like "band land", "picture city", "candy chateau", and it has a really cartoony feeling in it. The second game was a 3D platformer, which abandoned most of the silliness and gave the world a deeper mythology. The third game still retains the mythology of the second game, but it adds more humor to it, and is not afraid of being sillier than the 2nd game.

From the looks of the trailers and the info I can find around the internet, Rayman Origins is about making a bridge between the silliness of the first game and the deeper mythology of the second one. Because, when you think about it, the world of the first game and the world of the second game is almost completely different. Rayman Origins wants it so that there is a sort of middle ground where the elements of both worlds meet.

Now, about the game adopting the Rabbids look and feel for a real Rayman game; The reason the Rabbids game is not a 'real Rayman game' is not due to its look and feel, it's because it's just a collection of minigames with an poor Excuse Plot instead of a well-written story. It also lacks that feeling of exploration of Rayman's universe, with each minigame being just a stage instead of a living, breathing world. The look and feel, though, it doesn't bother me much (though the heavy focus on the Rabbids instead of Rayman himself irks me). In fact, if the game was an action paltformer with the exact look and feel, it'd still be pretty cool.

Originally Posted by Guinea

Rayman 1 tried to be original. There was other than the ability to jump nothing that reminded me in any way of existing platformers. It was 100% unique.

Yeah, but if the gameplay of Rayman Origins was like the previous games, then it'd be even less original wouldn't it? I'm just saying that, these days, I've seen more dark, serious 3D platformers than bright, energetic 2D sidescrollers.

Originally Posted by Guinea

Example: Out of all possible franchises, Rayman shouldn't have the need to include a Tetris reference (*complete with the music* to make sure even the last idiot gets that it's *really* a Tetris reference because the blocks alone don't give it away apparently) as a gameplay element.

I don't think it's a gameplay element. I think it's just a one-time joke. Sure, the blocks appeared again in a later level, but I don't think it's gonna be a big part of the game.

Originally Posted by Guinea

All of the differences can probably be explained by saying "but young Rayman is immature here" and "Rayman doesn't have his fist powers before the first game" etc. but I think that the fist is to Rayman as essential as jumping is to Mario and momentum is to Sonic. Maybe you get something like it later in the game, but from what was shown it doesn't look like it.

We still don't know exactly, but yeah, maybe we won't. Though I kinda like how Rayman's fighting style isn't just throwing his fists (In the trailers, I see him rapidly punching enemies as well as kicking). It just looks cooler. And yes, we might not fight by launching Rayman's fists towards enemies, which is a big part of the franchise, but I'm not really bothered about that since there's already been multiple forms of the combat mechanism.

Originally Posted by Guinea

And to this day I still don't get the fascination that comes from character designs that act and look like completely brainless idiots on drugs, but the mass market seems to like them apparently. I couldn't explain the success of the Rabbids franchise and the design decisions for this game any other way.

Well, that I can't argue about, because that's your personal taste. I actually like the character designs. It's not that I have a fascination on characters acting like completely brainless idiots on drugs, it's just that they really fit into the atmosphere the game is trying to achieve. Of course, I also like the more heroic, mature Rayman, but it wouldn't really fit much with the what the game is doing. And you might not like what the game is trying to do, but, again, that's your personal taste.

Originally Posted by Guinea

This is just my opinion, and it might be severely influenced by the nostalgia factor, and it might be formulated a little harshly here and there, but feel free to discuss it and tear it apart. If anything I'd be happy if someone can convince me that this is the Rayman game I've been waiting for since Rayman 3.

I don't think it's the nostalgia factor. I think it's just personal taste. The nostalgia factor influenced me as well, but it gave me a positive opinion of the game instead. I, for one, welcome the silly, weird Rayman, but I think you want the darker, more serious Rayman. Which is why I don't think this is the Rayman game you've been waiting for since Rayman 3. Hell, it's not the game I've been waiting for since Rayman 3, but it still looks awesome.