Rayman Rocks!Remember Rayman? The limbless hero? That guy? This game was a bit of a hit and miss when it came out for the PS1 some time ago. Some say it was too hard, and some say.....it was way too hard. I thought the game was pretty darn good. With the exception of the ending which they completely failed at. They remade this game on the GBA, with lower quality music and some missing levels, which was a shame. So It's only fair that i review this game, and not the PS1 version. I'll just point out a few things that were better in the PS1 game. Not to say this is a bad game. It's almost as good as the original....apart from the music and a few levels missing. Lets have a look.
So it starts off with a magician telling you a story. How the Great Protoon was stolen by the evil Mr Dark (I think this guys awesome). Then the world went into chaos, creatures that weren't there before appeared out of no-where. You, Rayman, are called with no back story to defeat Mr Dark and save the world. Right, sounds simple. So you start the game (yes, that was an introduction to the game) and it turns out Mr dark is watching your every move. That adds a nice touch. Instead of you seeing it from your point of view, you see it from Mr Darks point. But it looks the same apart from the level select screen. Kinda defines the point a little. Well, lets play.
The first level is pretty easy, at least, compared to the future levels. The learning curve is steep, so learn fast or die. There are these blue sparkly pearls that are kinda like the coins in Super Mario Bros. Collect 100 and you gain a life. you can spend some to go to a bonus stage for an extra life if you see a magician hidden in a level. This is a pretty rare thing, though. Basic stuff, touch water you die. Never gets old. So you....haven't got a weapon yet. Ok, this game is beginning to look like a drag. So after you go through some part of the level, you meet a fairy. She gives you some nice powers. The first one is the ability to punch. You need an ability to punch? Well, ok. But i sure hope that logic in this game doesn't get too annoying.
So you must get through all the levels, but must also break open cages, which holds protoons in. You need to free them all to get to the last level. Seems like a lot of work, but trust me when I say it's worth it. When you get to punch, the game becomes alive. When you punch enemies, their defeated animation is comical. Some try and dodge it, but with a bit of practice you can get them from the back. And that's the basic game play. Some levels are a race against the clock, as you are challenged with a flood or chased by a boss. You'll get toa level with a boss in, but that entire level isn't just the boss. You have to get through a level first then fight that boss, which makes a nice change.
The music is ok, could have been better and some sound effects have been taken out of the PS1 game. In the PS1 game, whery time you got to the end of a section of a level, Rayman would go "YEAH!", and a little tune would follow, which got kinda annoying after a while. Although of what is there, is pretty nice. The game play is nice. It's not stiff or anything. It's nice and smooth. But what I like most of all is the level design. There's something about it that, if you have mastered the controls, makes it seem epic when the moves are executed right. Swinging from one hope to another and then jumping on a certain platform. It might be hard, but I find it the perfect kind of hard. The epic kind of difficulty.
Overall I give this game 9.3/10 This game offers nice graphics, pretty nice music, although it could have been made better. The game play is great and is probably one of the best platformers I have ever played. It has some flaws in it (like the last boss, not that it was bad, just it was disappointing, even though the level before was epic. Try your skills and check it out), but it was a good game, and I like it. I was disappointed to hear the next game was in 3D, but when I played it, lets just say I was surprised at how good it was. The PS1 game is the game to play, but if you don't want to pay for a PS1, and the game, or even wait for it arrive, play this for free.
Graphics
9 Sound
6 Addictive
8 Depth
9 Story
7 Difficulty
10
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