Rayman M

Rayman M, later released as Rayman Arena in North America, is a multiplayer party game developed and published by Ubisoft. It consists of two modes: an arena fighting mode, and a racing mode, both up to four players.

In Rayman M, there are four leagues, with 3 race tracks and 3 battle arenas, (a fifth Bonus league is available via in-game progression, which consists of 5 race tracks and 1 battle arena). In the Gamecube and Xbox versions of Rayman Arena, there are three levels of difficulty: Beginner, Pro, and an unlockable Master. There are also 4 cups to be won in both the Battle and Race modes.

Plot

Eight Rayman characters are fighting to go challenge the great champion of the competition in Rayman M. In the Gamecube and Xbox versions of Rayman Arena, there are nine characters fighting to win.

Characters

Rayman M/Arena features eight playable characters with the PlayStation 2 and PC versions: while Rayman Arena features nine different playable characters for the Xbox and Nintendo GameCube.

• Rayman: The hero of his land. Uses his hair to glide. He is the main character of the Rayman games, he may be somewhat small in stature, but he makes up for size with speed, agility, and a highly likable personality. His theme music uses some kind of banjo-like instrument and is a very catchy tune. He also has a skin of himself called Dark Rayman who is the main antagonist of the Xbox and Nintendo GameCube versions of Rayman Arena. Though it is only one of Rayman's skins, the game refers to him as Dark Rayman. It is the same as Rayman except for his appearance, which is drastically different from that in Rayman: A darker, almost black, purple shirt, with an "X" on it, fairly orange shoes, red hands, a yellow bandanna around his neck, and completely red eyes. He is unlocked by completing the Master Challenges. His music is the same as Rayman, because he's his skin (in fact, Rayman is the only character who only has one alternate skin). (GameCube/Xbox only)
• Globox: Rayman's dimwitted friend. Blows up like a balloon to glide. He makes appearances in many Rayman games. He may be daft and awkward, but he has spirit. His music includes a trombone, among other instruments.
• Dark Globox: In the Gamecube and Xbox versions of Rayman Arena, the player can unlock him. He's just like Globox but he is purple with a skull on his back. Another skin has a wolf on the back. He may look angry, but he is actually dumber than the actual Globox. He hangs on to an invisible purple lum to glide. His theme music is like a hundred singing frogs with a trombone like Globox. It was used as Globette's theme in Rayman Rush (not to be confused with Uglette, Globox's wife) .(GameCube/Xbox only)
• Tily: A small, furry fairy. Uses her wings to glide. She seems to be Ly's sister. Her tune is happy and fairy-ish. Pre-release posters of Rayman implied that Ly may have been a playable character, but however Tily seems to have replaced her.
• Henchman 800: A robotic pirate from Rayman 2. Uses the jet on his back to glide. He is a Henchman for Admiral Razorbeard. His music is a rock tune.
• Henchman 1000: An older model of the robot pirate. He seems to be a pirate/gangster/cowboy/salsa dancer robot. Like Henchman 800, He uses the jet on his back to glide. His tune is a rock n roll/rodeo tune.
• Teensies: Two senile old dwarves that work together in a race. One spins the other around the other's head to glide. In Rayman 2 it shows that they forgot who the king was so they take turns wearing the crown, and being king. Their music uses a synthesizer.
• Admiral Razorbeard: Short in both stature and temper, Razorbeard is the robotic admiral of the evil robot pirates. Spins his arms around to glide. He was the final boss of Rayman 2. His theme song uses an electric guitar.
• Razorwife: Razorbeard's awful wife, called Mrs. Razorbeard in the European version and the U.S. select screen. Flaps her arms around to glide. Her humorous tune is her dreadful opera singing.

Release

Rayman M had been released in Europe in 2001 for the PlayStation 2 and PC, while Rayman Arena was released in North America for the PlayStation 2 and PC in 2002. There are very minor changes between the two versions (intro movie, load screens, etc). The name change was remove confusion as M means mature in North America.

As there was not a port of Rayman M to the GameCube and Xbox, the development team had made several changes to the game and released it on the GameCube and Xbox platforms. For instance, the menus had been changed; the space theme was gone and navigation was somewhat different.

• In Rayman M, there is always four competitors in a race, one in Popolopoï and two in Lums, but varies between two and four competitors for the Battle mode. In the Gamecube and Xbox versions of Rayman Arena, in the Beginner and Master Leagues, there is only one opponent per stage regardless of which type of race or battle players are playing. In the Pro League, there are two opponents.

Rayman Rush

Rayman Rush is an on-foot racing game developed and published by Ubisoft, based on the Rayman universe. It features conversions of eleven race tracks, a slightly edited introduction movie, seven characters also character theme songs. However, it lacks the battles from its predecessors. It is a 1-2 player game, with the Championship mode and Lums mode having 2 characters running and 1 in other game modes. The game was released 4 months after Rayman M.

Game modes

There are 5 game modes (only Championship Mode has multiplayer support):

• Championship Mode: The player competes with a computer-controlled character (or a second human player if multiplayer is on), to finish 3 laps before the opponent to win. One victory in Championship Mode unlocks Lums Mode for the same track. With multiplayer, the screen is divided vertically. Player 1 is represented by yellow while player 2 or the computer is represented by blue.
• Lums Mode: Only available once the corresponding level has been unlocked in Championship Mode. In this mode, many Yellow Lums are spread around the maps, which the player must compete with a computer-controlled character and win the 3-lap race. At the same time, collect as many Lums as possible. If the challenging player wins, the corresponding level will be unlocked in the Target Mode, Depending on the number of Lums collected, a time bonus for Target Mode will be awarded.
• Target Mode: Only available once the corresponding level has been unlocked in Lums Mode, a single player will race alone against the clock, shooting at butterflies that are spread around the level. Each butterfly shot gives extra time.
• Time Attack Mode: A single player will run one lap on their own. The aim is to reach the next checkpoint before the timer reaches 0.
• Training Mode: This mode serves only as a means of familiarizing new players with the tracks, allowing them to practice and master the game controls and tricks before a real challenge.

Reception

Rayman Arena has received generally mixed reviews. IGN gave the GameCube version a 4.7/10 and gave the Xbox version a 3.8/10 saying that it's not a great multiplayer game, while GameSpot gave both the GameCube and Xbox versions a 6.2 and the PS2 and PC versions mediocres saying that the four-player multiplayer has worn off. However Rayman M has received positive reviews compared to its American version.

External links

• Rayman Arena at MobyGames