Video games - Rayman

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	Video games - Rayman

:For a cartoonist called RayMan see Mark Horemans.

Rayman is a video game designed and published by Ubisoft. It was originally released in September 1995 for the Atari Jaguar, and on August 28 in 1996 for Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn. Rayman is a traditional side-scrolling platform game which revolves around the titular character's quest to save his world from the evil Mr. Dark.

Storyline

From the intro cut-scene:

In Rayman's world, nature and people live together in peace. The Great Protoon provides and maintains the harmony and balance in the world. One fateful day, the evil Mister Dark steals the Great Protoon and defeats Betilla the Fairy as she tries to protect it. The electoons who used to gravitate all around it lose their natural stability and scatter all over the world. In the now unbalanced world, strange phenomena beging to occur: freaks and hostile characters appear, capturing every electoon they can find.

Rayman to the rescue! As the guardian of this world, he must free the electoons, recapture the Great Protoon from its mysterious kidnapper and reassemble them all to restore the world's harmony.

Characters

Rayman

Rayman is the main (and reluctant) protagonist of the story, defined by his off-beat flair and limbless appearance. His main weapon is throwing his clenched fist at his enemies, but as his quest toughens, Betilla the Fairy will bestow him with additional powers.

Rayman's friends

Betilla the Fairy: Betilla the Fairy once acted as the protector of the Great Protoon, before it was stolen from her by Mister Dark. Her main function in the game is to aid Rayman by granting him additional powers as his quest unfolds.
The Magician: This quirky man is often hidden away in the scenery. With his help, Rayman can enter into secret worlds. In these bonus stages, your skill and rapidity will allow you to earn an extra life, but be ready to offer up 10 Tings (the game's main collectible), for the Magician bargains at a price.
The Photographer: The Photographer is here to immortalize Rayman's feats. When he loses a life, Rayman starts again where his picture was last taken.
Tarayzan: This madcap roams the jungles of the Dream Forest. Tarayzan is the first friend Rayman will come across, and helps by providing him with magic seed.
The Musician: High in the mountains of Rayman's world is where the Musician lives his life of peace and music. When Rayman frees his guitar from a giant boulder, he gets a magic potion in return, allowing him to stay afloat indefinitely.
Joe: Joe, the sad extraterrestrial, lives near the coast of the Crystal Caves and owns a snack shop. Rayman helps him restore power to his neon sign and defeats Mister Skop while he's at it.

Rayman's foes

Moskito: This giant mosquito rules the Dream Forest. He is the first of Mister Dark's minions Rayman will meet. As Rayman watches out for falling fruit, he punches Moskito until he gives up and reforms for good. On Rayman 2
, he goes by the name "Bzitt".
Mister Sax: The deafening Mister Sax dwells high in the clouds of Band Land. He blurts out more than a few false notes, but Rayman can uses it to his advantage and fires the explosive notes back at Sax, killing him.
Mister Stone: A stone-faced madman with a temper to match, Mister Stone is immediately out to crush Rayman the minute he enters the Blue Mountains, but the technique backfires and Rayman crushes Stone instead.
Space Mama: This denizen of Picture City descends straight out of a science-fiction film. Space Mama is a tough cookie with a deadly rolling pin. Rayman dodges the pin, and punches Mama out.
Skops the Scorpion: This menacing creature sleeps deep beneath the Caves of the Skops. His armour is impenetrable but his own tail proves to be his undoing, as Rayman deflects the tail-beams back at the tail and defeats Skops.
Mister Dark: This diabolical character is Rayman's arch-nemesis, with wizardry to match Betilla's and more than a few tricks up his sleeve. He hides in the sugar-coated world of Candy Chateau. After Rayman defeats everything Dark throws at him, Dark flees, but is presumably killed by Razorbeard, the villain of the next game.

Gameplay

Rayman is a traditional side-scrolling 2D platform game. The object of the game is free all the electoons and defeat Mister Dark's minions across five worlds. Only when every electoon is freed will Rayman be able to enter into Mister Dark's hideout Candy Chateau.

Scattered around each level are little blue spheres called Tings. If Rayman picks up a hundred of them, he gains an extra life, but they can also be used to pay the Magician, and enter a bonus stage. When Rayman dies, he loses all of the Tings he collected.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Rayman ]

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