Rayman has one of the saddest video game mascot stories with how the rabbids of all things overshadowed him

"I miss Rayman." Don't we all?

It's fascinating how all 3 Rayman games are so thematically different from each other! Rayman 1: Dream-like bizarreness Rayman 2: Dark and atmospheric Rayman 3: Comedy and lightness

It's criminal how Iconic rayman is and how under utilized he is by Ubisoft.

Having him back in Sparks for Hope, it's like Ubisoft finally remember he exist. But of course, I don't doubt he'll be forgotten again after the DLC comes out.

Man, Rayman 2 was one of my first video games when I was 6 or 7. I loved the fairy tale art style and the music, both definitely influenced my artistic sensibilities

One thing I never see Rayman 2 get credit for is its use of a dynamic soundtrack. The musical tracks will change as you progress through certain levels, becoming more industrial as you enter pirate bases, or rising into sweeping orchestral crescendos as you enter a chase sequence.

Rayman 2 was such a bold choice, doing the jump from 2D to 3D whilst also changing from bright and colourful to a really sombre vibe, morose versions of his theme tune etc, whilst still staying recognisable in all his abilities.

Rayman 3 is peak Rayman for me, the gameplay, combat and Rayman himself. I love his design in 3 especially, it’s a mixture of both cool and adorable in my eyes. I really hope he comes back one day from the Sparks of Hope DLC.

Rayman was actually what glued my family closer together... my dad was always working the whole day and when Rayman came out it was just when we got our first computer and I think it came with the pc? My dad started playing and immediately became a gamer just like me and my siblings XD We all bonded over our enjoyment of the game and since then it's become a family thing :') Now I really feel like playing the old games again lol

Rayman 2 was the pinnacle of that series. I wish we could go back to a new Rayman game that captures the spirit of Rayman 2.

Im really sad we didnt got a trilogy for the new 2D games.

Can’t believe it’s nearly been a decade since his last home console game.

Rayman 2 and 3 defined the early days of my childhood. I still have fond memories of playing them on my old computer, enthralled by the whimsical world and tight gameplay. It took all my courage to get through Rayman 2's scarier parts like the sliding segment with Jano and the Tomb of the Ancients, while it took all my skill to finally beat Reflux in Rayman 3. So many good times. Still know these levels by heart. Also the Knaaren are just badass. They were completely terrifying as a kid and that made them so damn awesome.

"Combat fatigues." "That's exactly what we need!" Made my day

The music in Rayman 3 is amazing! Tons of classic bangers. The combat almost feels like platforming due to all the dodging you do. I love that game! "See you in Rayman 4"

John Leguizamo was super funny as Globox. If they ever make another Rayman game or a movie I hope they get him to reprise his voice role

Rayman pre-Origins was literally my childhood man, miss those days.

Rayman 2 was one of the first games I've ever played in my life. I had the N64 version and wow it was such an amazing platformer, a mysterious world that had many questions but very few answers and it really does hold up still to this day. If Ubisoft ever returns to a 3D Rayman platformer once more, I hope they look back to R2.

I've always loved how varied the Rayman games are tone and aesthetic wise. I headcanon that cuz it takes place in the "glade of dreams" that each game is just a new dream from the bubble dreamer, featuring some familiar characters/species and such

I find it bizarre how Rayman has such great games (even the spin-offs and mobile games are pretty decent) with several of them having an interesting development history behind them. And yet the series barely gets any recognition. it seems like now a days you don't really see very much people talking about Rayman apart from a few smaller channels, which is a shame because the series is pretty much CRYING for attention at this point. But yeah, I love the Rayman series, Rayman 1 and origins are my favorite.

Rayman 3 definitely terrified me too, but it was *so fun*. Rayman 2 and 3's soundtracks are downloaded to my computer. I regularly listen to them

I love the combo system in Rayman 3 and the many strategies one can use to get more points. Choosing to pick up yellow diamonds first, trying to chain enemy kills without getting hit, the multiplier from the cans... they all add an extra element of strategy and having to plan and improvise in order to get the most points and minimize losses by doing it in the wrong order. Not to mention all the secret areas, extra ways of earning points like looking at those gecko things in first person, picking up the flowers stealthily, sticking your tongue out at black lums to uncorrupt them... Then there is some edgy (for a kids game) humor, incredible (and surprisingly long) soundtrack mixing multiple subgenres of music, all the funny bonus videos, the meta humor, easter eggs, cool skateboard levels, very trippy visuals and amazing art direction... love that game!

The evolution of this series is pretty interesting. It started out with a rather simple and kiddish 2D platformer, then it became a far more focused and ambitious 3D action platformer with Rayman 2, eventually becoming a more mature/adult friendly game with Rayman 3. It's like you can see how they were trying to appeal to a progressively older crowd with every game.

Rayman 2 was the one of the first Playstation games I ever played and it was a bloody amazing experience. I don't think I'll ever get the same feeling of excitement and wonder I had while playing through The Clearing for the first time, seeing all the whimsical yet dark scenery and listening to the CD audio soundtrack - I listen to it all the time while drawing to this day. I love Rayman 2, and its one of my favourite games of all time. Honestly, almost all the Rayman games have a glorious aesthetic to them. The fairytale aura surrounding them feels so timeless.

I love Rayman. Rayman 3 on the Gamecube was one of my first games of that generation. No one ever talks about that game.

Really happy to see more Rayman content. This is a wonderful video and really makes one reminisce over how good these games were, wonderful work! Rayman forever!!

All so true man. We had a trilogy of masterpieces that was a huge part of my childhood as a gamer (as with many others here), a reboot that shook it up with two very different - yet still exceptional - prequels, and then... flatline. We can only hope that his upcoming appearance in SoH just _might_ be a sign of things to come, especially since platformer revivals have become pretty popular in recent years

I always hated Rabbits because of the amount of disrespect given to Rayman. He's the best character of my childhood (it's subjective, I'm describing my case). The dlc announcement alone made me want to buy Mario + Rabbits just to show them that we still care a lot about Rayman

I really miss the sense of mystery the original trilogy had. Especially 2 and 3. There's always some minor visual storytelling here and there that makes you sit and go "huh."

The 3D rayman games are a huge part of my childhood

I replayed Rayman 2 about a year ago and it's honestly really good. I never really understood why Crash Bandicoot and Mario 64 gets all the recoginiton nowadays but Rayman 2 almost never gets mentioned when talking about 3D platformers of this era.

Loved Rayman 3 so much, my favorite video game to this day. I wish we could get another game like that

Rayman 3 on GBA is really underrated, its level design was amazing.

i love, I LOVE the artstyle of the 3D games, Dark Fantasy is such an underused genre and it fits Rayman so so well

Rayman 3 was THE joy of my childhood. I tried buying it so many times. It wasn't until it was finally available on the Ubisoft Store that I got a digital version of it. Soooo Good. The surfing between levels? Those were the JAMS

Rayman 2 is such a classic man, one of the games I remember so vividly from my childhood

The original Rayman was one of the first games I "experienced" as a kid, he became a really huge icon for me when I was younger. There are basically these things called "Play Schemes" which were I guess a form of "Day Care" in the UK? The age range was about 5 year olds to young teenagers and at every one I went to, there was always at least one console there which became my favourite reason for going. Of course on one of them was the original Rayman and his helicopter hair and boomerang punches were the coolest things I'd ever seen on a character. Admittedly I was pretty much completely unaware of his 3D entries afterwards until I got a bit older and those games became "retro", but I still looked back on Rayman's history fondly which unfortunately made me quite bitter when I realised the Rabbids had stolen Rayman's place as Ubisoft's mascots and I ended up hating everything about them. I was then super happy years later when Rayman Origins was announced and I *really* loved that game but admittedly I thought it was kind of disappointing when they took away Rayman's physics-based boomerang punches and made them a fixed range instead which was tied to Rayman's fixed movement. Never-the-less, it was an awesome experience and I felt the same way about Legends when it came out (although I thought the Wii U gamepad made it kind of annoying to play in certain settings). The Mario and Rabbids DLC makes me happy they haven't forgotten about Rayman but part of me is still bitter that the entire crossover could've been "Mario and Rayman" instead at one point, had Ubisoft utilised him more instead of downgrading his status in the company.

They did an updated design for Mr Dark on a mobile game of all things. I think a third 2D game with Mr Dark as the villain would have been a great way to make it a trilogy; he was the influence for the magician's scheme in Origins and the Dark teensies in Legends are the result of that. Having him come back in the third would have been a great way to end it and it's a shame this never happened. Come on Ubisoft!

I really wish Rayman 2 would get a remaster. Or at least a steam port

I really love the Rayman 2 soundtrack, there's so many magical tracks.

I've always loved how Rayman as a series, has no real consistency for designs or styles. It's like a scattershot approach, which certainly matches the dream motif.

Thanks for letting me remember how much I miss Rayman, KZfaq algorithm… Rayman 2 was my favorite game as a kid! So many good memory’s

17:22 loved these parts always so much. In my memory these parts also have the best soundtrack and yeah the design and visuals are just awesome!

The Rayman mainline games were so good! I miss Rayman as well but at least we have some hope with the Rayman dlc in Sparks of Hope and that new Rayman cartoon in the works. Hopefully we'll get a new mainline Rayman game in the next few years!

I love the Rayman series, I'm making a game inspired by both Rayman and Crash, but it kinda hurts to see Origins and Legends feel left out by the nostalgia

Rayman has been my first ever video game character/Mascot I've ever known before Mario and Sonic, and I kid you not. Seeing the Rayman DLC Show up made me cry. The Boy is BACK.

Allow me to share a personal memory: My father and I had a great common passion for this trilogy. My father was not a gamer but he was passionate about the richness of the universes of each games, the humor and the music, especially those of the first game he considered exceptional, all media combined (he was a musician and a music teacher). We spent a lot of time together creating levels on Rayman designer. Your video reminded me of all those good times 😉. And apart from this personal vision, excellent video 😎.

I seriously think Rayman is a character that is too underrated and abandoned compared to other company's iconic characters. He really should put out a new game, a new rival, a new friend, a spin-off, and even bring back Ly as a love interest and Mr. Dark as a nemesis.

got introduced to rayman by rayman arena on the gamecube. it was in the bargain bin and one of my favorite games to play when i was little. i never got to beating it but i still hold very fond memories of the game from me and my older brother yelling at each other for zooming past one another on the obstacle course race

I really hope if we will get Rayman 4, a mix of Rayman 2 and Rayman 3, that would be awesome

Was very excited to see this on my home page. Even more excited to see my name pop up in the video. Great content my friend

I will absolutely get the dlc for Sparks of Hope. I had no idea they had announced it!

I first played that phone version of rayman, and back when no internet or pc was at my fingertips, it was probably the most fun I had outside the general fun we used to have as kids Then, when visiting my grandma, who had both net and pc before anyone else in the family, I remembered Rayman, looked it up, and turns out there is a whole trilogy of games about him? Knowing our financial status and whatnot, I just mentioned it to my mom because she also played it, but I knew full well I probably wont have it because any store I visited here, had no sign of Rayman.. Time passed, I somehow saved up enough money to buy my first pc when I was around 12 or 13, and then my mom surprised me with the 10th anniversary collection for christmas.. still no idea how she got it, but that has to be the single greatest gotcha moment I had up to that point, I was fully convinced that I cant buy it anymore, didnt even push to get it, yet in typical mom fashion she went above and beyond because she must have known how influental rayman was for me in a good way And to this day, I still replay the games every now and then, but there are probably no secrets left for me to discover.. but I will forever cherish these moments, and probably forever despise how badly he was handled by ubisoft.. Cant we just get a proper Rayman 4 like how Murphy promised?

Rayman 3 freaked me out as a kid so much I played another Ubisoft game instead which was Splinter Cell. So if it wasn't for Rayman 3 I wouldn't have fallen in love with Chaos Theory.

Rayman 2 is a game which is strongly connected to my childhood! Love seeing it and the others so intensively covered :)

Rayman Arena is my absolute favorite of them all, with the Great Escape being a close second!

Rayman 2 was one of the first games I played as a kid, I remember playing it till late night with my godmother and it was so immersive. The soundtrack, the scenery, the puzzles... Rayman and Crash were my favorite games. And then we had Rayman 3 with that spooky vibe that was so unique to see in a child's game, and that super musical levels! I love the looks and gameplay of Origins/Legends (2D platformers are my favorite genre), but they could've given more love to the 3D Rayman as well :(

If we get a new Rayman, I had this idea where similar to Kirby's Adventure, the Rabbids would be set up as the main villain only for them to be revealed to have been trying to stop the real villain but in their own chaotic way. Also I first remember getting interested in trying Rayman through the Rabbids funnily enough mainly from starting out with Rabbids Go Home, learning of the Rabbids connection to Rayman, playing Rayman's DSI port, and the demo to Rayman Origins 3DS before getting Rayman Legends.

The reason why Japan opted Rayman’s shirt to be blue is because the color purple in that country is considered evil.

Rayman 2 is my third favorite game of all time It’s such an excellent experience

Played the og rayman as a kid on my ds, never got to finish it (i didn’t know how to save the game as a kid so I had to keep my ds open at all times). Last year i found my ds, opened it and finished this amazing game (I was almost crying from the nostalgia at the end). For me the og rayman was my childhood, and it’s a real shame that ubi won’t treat its mascot with the respect it deserves.

Rayman 10th anniversary pack was the first ever game I'd gotten on the PS2. So many memories with the games on it. Revoloution always felt too hard for me at the time so I'd always settled for Rayman M when I wanted to mess around with my friends and 3 which I probably played the most. Had to be my favourite of the bunch. Thank you so much for this great video!

The first 3 rayman games are my favorites 💜 I’m collecting all the vintage gadgets, are emotionally fantastical ❤️

>Was with Ubi since their early days >Got a whole lot of games and spin-offs (EVEN EDUCATIONAL GAMES) >Beloved by gamers >Ubi backstabs him alongside Prince THE PAIN.

Great video! I got an immense amount of nostalgia for Rayman 2, 3, and Arena personally. I wish we would have consistent rereleases of Rayman 1-3.

Seeing the snake and the brute from Rayman 2 hit the kid in me in the feels man...

I love Rayman, especially this era. I miss when there were stories and characters in these games. My favorite will always be the PS1 version of Rayman 2. I'm aware of the changes that version went through, but it doesn't bother me, plus it adds more context to the story and I liked the Spanish dub that it has. Although I do feel that removing the choice to take the gold at the end of the cave of bad dreams was a mistake. And the combat in Rayman 3 is fantastic. That style must return if they ever make another 3D Rayman. Great video!

YEAH FRAME RATER

Great video! Subscribed! I was fairly late to Rayman, my first game was Origins, but I enjoyed it so much I went back and played all the others. Legends is easily my favourite, followed by 3, Origins, 2 and 1. Redemption is amazing as well. I really hope we see another Rayman game at some point, but with the creator having left the games industry I don't know if it'll happen. In regards to the "naughty" jokes of R3, it's certainly a cultural thing. Europe is more open and accepting of that kind of humour than the US, and France - where Rayman originates - is probably the most open of all.

if im not wrong, rayman having a blue shirt in japan is a result of the fact that purple is seen as the color for death, often used by villans

The rabbids really destroyed him I’m glad he returned in sparks of hope. Rayman was one of my favorite franchises before sonic and Mario. His story’s his games his content and everything else I love games like Rayman. He’s such a cool character it’s nice to see a documentary about a character that I miss dearly hopefully after sparks of hope will allow him to make games again.

do it now, do it now, to make you feEL MORE *MADDER, MADDER, MADDER* *THIS ONE DAY BAM-BAM-BAM* *BAMMA, SLAMMA, JAMMA* TO MAKE YOU FEEL MORE *MADDER*

Rayman 3 was my fathers favourite game and as a child I always loved watching him play this. It was the only game he played over and over again. But I was really scared of the Knaaren too but as I got older I tried to beat the game myself and defeated my fear of them 😂

Here's hoping that Rayman DLC is only the beginning for our boy, to say another Rayman revival is overdue would be the understatement of the......ever!

i really hope rayman inclusion in mario + rabbids sparks of hope means that they want to do something 3D again with rayman in the future,i mean they are going to make a new 3d model so maybe its for a reason,plus its not just a character,they said it was a new campain with him but i wonder if it would be just rayman and rabbids or if he would meet mario in this future campain i really hope it means something and they finally make rayman 4

I remeber as a child, on christmas, I got Rayman 2, I was so exicted to play it ! back then me and my brother only had one computer, so we had to swap "PC time" every 30 mins. None of us, could read the clock, as we had to ask our dad when it was our time to play. However, I remeber ONE mission, that still haunts me to this day like no other game ever will. It was on the piratship, whenever I got to that level, I had a bug, where a GIANT pirat flag would apear and cover 95% of the screen. the game would still run, I could hear the music, I could run around, but I couldn't see ANYTTHING beside a little bit in the coners. I tried everything, restart the game, restart the computer, uninstall and install the game, get to the same level, only for the pirat flag to apear again. I don't know how many times I started a new game, got to the same level and started crying.. It was pretty far in the game. I was around 7-8 years old back then. Today I'm 31 years old. I could never finish Rayman 2, that I got for christmas... IT WAS DEVESTATING.

Man, Rayman 3 and Rayman M; I’ve never had so much fun as a kid, playing these games with my friends.

Commenting for engagement

Rayman is such an interesting and sad series.

My first Rayman was the Great Escape, and I fell in love with that game. It was so iconic in my childhood! I truly love this version ❤️

Holy crap, I remember watching your channel a few years back! I guess it's good to see you back even though I haven't looked at your stuff in years! :)

Rayman's character is so unique. My brothers and I were able to play Rayman 2 at a restaurant. We thought, that was the trippiest thing ever. And Rayman was so cheeky and cool. Something you don't see often with the main character while during the level gameplay (maybe merely in cutscenes or dialouges with other characters). It was refreshing from the silent or just kind characters like Link or Mario. They even toned down Spyro and Sonic much. But Rayman was just a full of Energy Character who sticks his tongue out at you. And I loved that.

I used to play Rayman 3 with my dad when I was like 4-5. Rayman was a huge part of my childhood once me and the other boys in preschool realised that We enjoyed the same game.

I poured hours into the 10th anniversary pack on the GBA as a kid, finishing Rayman 3 for the first time felt like a huge accomplishment and the GBA soundtrack lives in my head, especially deep forest from Advanced with how many times I played through those first couple levels.

Randomly came across your channel and what a blessing it's been. Fantastic composition, honest personal reviews, and genuinely entertaining. So incredibly tired of the highly templated dull, repeated ad nauseam retro gaming channels that are popping up. Loved this video too. I'm a 'late in life' discover of Rayman and I've thoroughly enjoyed the series.

I really wish Rayman someday gets the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro treatment

Rayman 2 (ps1)... my childhood. Pirates scared the crap outa me, animation and sound design was on point. And i still miss that curly texture aesthetic. Ratchet and Clank recieved a 3+ rating at release time in europe btw. Still boggles the mind :D

I see noone talking about Rayman 1, it was my absolute child memory with my brother. We kept playing it when we were allowed to on our dad's computer. It was so incredibely hard but so long to finish, exciting and mysterious. I think we never managed to finish it haha. Incredible memory, I think there was a similar one on gameboy that I liked as well but was not exactly the same.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one terrified of the Kenaran as a kid. I could only beat that section if I had the volume muted. It was really jarring punching the lights out of tons of enemies, only to encounter one that was basically invincible.

Rayman truly means so much to me. Ever since I saw that commercial of a guy getting eaten by a couch while playing Rayman Oranges, I knew there was something special about this series: that game is the reason why I'm an artist. Rayman 2, 3, and Origins really captured my imagination as a kid, I just wanted to experience these vivid dreamscapes and see all the funky characters do their thing. It was truly wonderful!

Rayman 1 has a special place in my heart. Because it was my first PC game as kid on our 486 (played only console games before). For a long time it was the only game we had, so we played it a TON

The Great Escape had sooo much atmoshpere it was incredible. My mom (who is not a gamer at all) would sit next to me with like a 100 page printed out walktrough. Guiding my 7 year old ass trough the game. IT was an amazing experience and to share that with my mom made it a memory I will never forget. Btw, I dont not aggree on Rayman 2 being an easy game. It was at times very clunky, the camera would fuck you over sometimes and the platforming was pretty damn tough sometimes. Dont forget gaming was pretty new back then and people didnt have 15 years prior gaming experience like they do now.

Man that thumbnail hits home 😓 Great video as always FrameRater!

Rayman 3 is one of my favourite games ever. I absolutely love the soundtrack, the story the design, the graphics, the surf stages, and of course the special ability you unlock.

It's funny to think that as a kid, I would always come back to Rayman 3 on gamecube whenever I caught a cold. Because I felt so bad, Rayman 3 was the only game that made me feel relaxed, kept my mind off and feel happy. It's a very linear game, not too many collectables. So you focusing on getting from point A to B, while greeted with fun jokes, amazing music, vibrant colours and fun gameplay. And by the time I had finished the story, my cold would be gone. It became kind of a tradition for me to do, haha. (Oh yeah, and I always thought it was cool that on gamecube, in the Bog of Murk, when it rains the splatters go onto your TV screen. That wasn't a thing on xbox and ps2 versions! thought it was really cool back then.) And even if I finished this game a million times, I will always love it and replay it again. In fact, I found a cool website that has mods for Rayman 3 PC; textures are a lot better (even better than the Rayman 2 HD version), and it has distance blur. It almost looks like a nowadays remaster...gonna try it out soon.

the rayman Sparks of Hope dlc has the same energy as crash bandicoot in Skylanders.

My first experience with rayman was on the gambit advanced was a big part of my childhood

15:42 I was too. The Knaarens scared me to death as a kid ! Took me weeks to decide really trying to pass that level.

Rayman 3 has such a warm place in my heart 😭😭