Rayman 2: The Great Escape (PS1)

Rayman 2: The Great Escape (PS1)
This port looks like it got washed away by robot pirates.
Genre(s): Platformer Platform(s): PlayStation Release Date: NA: August 31, 2000 EU: September 8, 2000 AU: 2000 Developer(s): Ubi Soft Shanghai Publisher(s): Ubi Soft Entertainment Country: China Series: Rayman Predecessor: Rayman Successor: Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc

Rayman 2: The Great Escape is a 1999 3D platform game developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and published by Ubi Soft Entertainment for the Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows. The PlayStation port was released in August 31, 2000.

While most versions of the game were critically positive to acclaimed, the PlayStation port of the game received mixed reception from gamers and was heavily criticized for lacking content.

Bad Qualities

Note: This port isn't actually bad but just had more flaws than the other ports

1. Most levels are missing several sections. Some levels were redesigned and cram several sections of the original level into one.
   • And to add insult to the injury, some of those redesigned levels are somehow worse than the other versions because they lack the charm of the other versions and are overall not as strong as the other versions, even if it still play well and that the gameplay is still fun.
2. Two levels from the original version were completely removed.
3. The game suffers from rather noticeable aliasing, making it look extremely jagged.
4. One of the removed levels, The Sanctuary of Ice and Water, was turned a minor section of Whale Bay; the only thing remaining is the battle with Axel.
5. The Knowledge of the World and bonus minigames from the Sega Dreamcast version were removed.
6. The hidden section of The Fairy Glade was removed.
7. Due to how much limitation the PS1 have and that it cannot fit the entire Rayman 2 game, they had a missed oportunity to instead release the scrapped 2D game that could have worked better than the Rayman 2 we know today.
8. After defeating Jano in The Cave of Bad Dreams, Rayman automatically chooses to decline the treasure instead of giving the player the choice to accept or decline.
9. The 1000 Yellow Lums were reduced to 800. The manual mistakenly lists around 1001 similar to most versions.
10. The graphics are a huge downgrade from the other versions, because not only it look washed out but also more pixelated and had the characters models looking worse than the other versions, even the N64 version look better.
11. The Power Fists are absent from this version of the game. They're mentioned in the manual, but aren't anywhere in the game.
12. Collecting all Lums in levels in this version does not give you the bonus mini game.
13. Unlike most versions, your health increases for every cage you break, which greatly decreases the difficulty as in most versions every 10 cages increases health.
14. Unlike the other versions, this game had almost no explorations due to the reworked level design, which make it even more linear than the other versions, which we're linear but still had exploration, although because of the reworked level design, some levels actually end up being even better than the other ports.

Good Qualities

1. This version had voice acting instead of using gibberish or "Raymanian" over text dialogues. The addition of voice acting also adds some more lore and context to the plot with extra cutscenes, such as Foutch's reasons for attacking Rayman. The voiced dialogue would carry over to the PS2 port, Rayman Revolution, and Rayman 3.
2. After completing the game 90%, you can play a prototype of the original 2D build of Rayman 2 that was scrapped, and that prototype is great.
3. Some versions came with a good-looking beach ball.
4. The music is better quality than the compressed N64 MIDI music and it instead had the soundtrack from the other versions, thanks to the PS1 supporting CD-quality audio.
5. It adds the Antitoon enemies from the original Rayman in three of the levels not found in other ports, save for the completely different GBC version in one level.
6. Despite how much contents it got cut, this port is actually not that bad and is still better than both Rayman DS and Rayman 3D, it is also better than the GBC version and another mediocre Rayman port on the PS1 titled Rayman Rush, even if that game had nothing to do with Rayman 2.
7. The final boss is still great and is different from the other versions, at such it make this port even more unique than the other versions due to being almost entirely different.

Reception

Unlike the other versions who received positive reviews, this version received mixed reviews by gamers who consider it to be the inferior version of the game due to how much loss contents it had, and the downgraded graphics as well as the redesign of the levels that we're criticized, though some peoples liked this version.

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