Rayman is a franchise of Platformer, created by video game designer Michel Ancel for Ubisoft.
The series is set in a fantastical, magical world which features a wide range of environments that are very often based on certain themes, such as "the Eraser Plains", a landscape made entirely of stationery. The core games of the series are platformers, but there are several spin-off titles in other genres. The protagonist is Rayman, a magical limbless being renowned for his courage and determination who, with the help of his friends, must save his world from various villains.
Games
Main series
Spin-offs
Raving Rabbids
Other
Cancelled games
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Rayman (SNES) - Ancel initially produced Rayman for the Atari ST, a 16-bit personal computer system, working alone on every aspect of the game.
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Rayman 2 (2D platformer) - Rayman 2 was originally conceptualised as a sidescrolling 2D Platform game, like the first game.
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Rayman 4 - Two years after the release of , Ubisoft had foreseen the development of the sequel. The initial stages of development began in 2005, with totally different concepts and without the presence of the Rabbids, and were entrusted to the studios of Phoenix Interactive. The programmers created a considerable amount of concept-artworks, of which a good part was gradually revealed to the public in the following years. These artworks show that the game should have 3D features faithful to many environments of Rayman, such as the "Land of Music" and "Picture City", as well as a new presumed return of Bad Rayman. After four months of initial production, development of the game was cancelled. It appears that the game was to be a reboot/retelling of the original Rayman game, and would have involved Rayman revisiting numerous locations from the original game recreated in 3D and to a high level of accuracy. In the book L'Histoire de Rayman, it was revealed that the Robo-Pirates and the Livingstones/Lividstones were planned to return in Rayman 4, also the evil counterpart Dark Rayman and even Mr. Dark were planned to return. There is also concept art of a young human girl named "Cielle" who was intended to appear in the game. It is unknown what her role was to be in the game or if she was intended to be playable.
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Rayman Raving Rabbids (platformer) - From the previous project a second development was started at the studio of Ubisoft Montpellier, the studio that developed the first three chapters of the series. In 2006, the second phase was again geared towards the development of a 3D platform game designed by Michel Ancel and known by the final title of Rayman Raving Rabbids. This new title, which Michel Ancel himself referred to as Rayman 4, was to be an adventure story in which Rayman teams up with his former enemy André from Rayman 3 to save the world by an army of Rabbids. In addition to the characters already appeared in previous titles, there were new ones, among which stand out an anonymous female one belonging to the same lineage as Rayman who served as damsel in distress, and a hedonistic emperor of the Rabbids. Michel Ancel also stated that in the course of history the main purpose would have consisted also in saving, in addition to the aforementioned girl, André himself and the latter's girlfriend. Gameplay innovations included attacking enemies with punches and kicks, the ability to ride creatures such as giant hawks, tarantulas, sharks, and warthogs, and in an end-of-level minigame where you had to hypnotize the Rabbids by dancing to access new areas to play.
Characters
Rayman
Rayman is the
title character and
main protagonist of the series. He is a
human-
anthropomorphism creature who has no limbs, though he has hands, feet, and a head that are able to move independently from his body.
He can use his hair as
helicopter blades for means of transportation, throw his fists to punch from a distance, and in some games, even project balls of energy from his hands.
He is typically found wearing white gloves, a red neckerchief on a purple body with a white ring in the center (the neckerchief was replaced with a hood in later entries), and yellow trainers (which are also slightly modified in the later games). He was voiced by Steven Perkinson in the 1995 video game of the same name. He was voiced by
Billy West in
, although he was given a "New Yorker" accent. He was voiced by David Gasman in ,
Rayman M,
, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, , and
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope.
He has been voiced by Douglas Rand in the video games since
Rayman Origins,
and was voiced by
David Menkin in the 2023 adult animated series
.
Michel Ancel first drew Rayman at the age of 20.
Rayman has had other appearances such as the Super Smash Bros. series as a trophy and spirit,
Secondary characters
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Globox was a toad-like creature who is Rayman's dimwitted best friend and sidekick.
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Grand Minimus is the king of Teensies, magical creatures created to protect the Heart of the world. In Rayman 2, after Rayman saves four Teensies, with one being the Grand Minimus, they're having trouble remembering who is the king. Grand Minimus is a playable character from Rayman Origins onward.
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Goth Teensy is a playable character from Rayman Origins onward. He is the guardian of the door to the Land of the Livid Dead to keep them from coming to the surface – however, he and his friends' snoring eventually annoy them to the point where they invade the Glade of Dreams.
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Barbara is a spunky, red-haired princess, warrior and barbarian who first appeared in Rayman Legends, becoming the first human being to be playable in the main series – simultaneously with a younger sister and eight barbarian princess cousins who can be rescued throughout Legends. She is armed with a flail battle axe, whose head can be launched forward from the shaft to strike foes from a distance, and uses a magical winged helmet to float through the air, mimicking Rayman's helicopter hair ability.
Supporting characters
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Betilla the Fairy is a benevolent fairy and Rayman's "mother". After failing to stop Mr. Dark from stealing the Great Protoon, Betilla assists him in his quest by granting him various new abilities as the game progresses. Betilla reappears in a similar role – and with a new humanoid, curvaceous design – in Rayman Origins, where it is revealed she was the one who created Rayman and that she also has five sisters, who may also have contributed to the aforementioned event.
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Holly Luya, the fairy of the Desert of Dijiridoos and one of Betilla's sisters.
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Edith Up, the fairy of the Gourmand Land and one of Betilla's sisters.
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Annetta Fish, the fairy of the Sea of Serendipity and one of Betilla's sisters.
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Helena Handbasket, the fairy of the Mystical Pique and one of Betilla's sisters.
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Voodoo Mama or Fée de la Mort, the fairy of the Land of the Livid Dead and one of Betilla's sisters, she was transformed into a multi-eyed tentacled monster, Big Mama, by one of the Bubble Dreamer's nightmares which Rayman must defeat to return her back to normal.
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Ly the Fairy is a benevolent fairy, an ally of Rayman who assists him through the course of the second game and in the other versions of Rayman 3 (e.g. Game Boy Advance) and Rayman Raving Rabbids (e.g. Game Boy Advance). She has an assortment of magical powers. According to the official site of Rayman 2, Ly and Rayman are in love.
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Murfy serves as a guide to Rayman. He has a snarky, sarcastic nature, unable to deal with failure. He appears to be bored with his job and cannot be bothered with trivial details. His race is depicted as mischievous and described as "cultivated hedonist". He is voiced by Billy West.
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The Teensies are a magical race of ancient, diminutive and wise creatures created by Polokus.
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Polokus, also known as the " Bubble Dreamer" in Rayman Origins and Legends, is a divine being and, according to Rayman 2, is the creator of Rayman's world. During the plot of Rayman 2, Polokus is sleeping and can only be awoken with four masks that Rayman is tasked with collecting. He later got redesigned in Rayman Origins, where he appears larger, a little more amphibious and elderly while blowing bubbles with a hookah or Pipe smoking.
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The Captain, an adventurous and good pirate introduced in Rayman Adventures where he requires Rayman and Barbara's help to rescue Incrediballs from enemy hands.
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Rabbids, lunatic and psychotic rabbits first introduced in Rayman Raving Rabbids, they mainly appear to be white anthropomorphic rabbits with blue eyes (which turn red when getting aggressive). They are also not very smart at times and usually use plungers as weapons; despite this, they are a very advanced species capable of creating giant robots and time machines, and reproduce with the use of science. They went on to star in their own Rabbids of party games.
Antagonists
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Mr. Dark is Rayman's archenemy, the main antagonist of the first game and the overarching antagonist of the series overall. In the first game, he stole the Great Protoon and by doing so threw the world into chaos and Rayman went after him to bring it back. He later kidnapped Betilla who was helping Rayman by giving him powers. Rayman faced him and defeated him. In Rayman Origins, although he is absent, his influence inspired the Magician to become a villain and his successor, as seen in the E3 2011 trailer of Rayman Origins and in the level "The Reveal" of the same game (with various references and clues such as various drawings depicting Mr. Dark, a sign with "Love Mr. D." written on it, and the same hat worn by the Magician disguised as Mr. Dark in the aforementioned trailer exposed on a shelf). He later reappears for a mode in Rayman Mini.
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Admiral Razorbeard is Rayman's second archenemy and the leader of the Robo-Pirates and the main antagonist of . He invades Rayman's world and captured its inhabitants and destroyed the Heart of the World, causing Rayman to lose his powers. Throughout the game he tries to prevent Rayman from getting the four masks and awakening Polokus, who can destroy his troops on the land. At the end of the game, Razorbeard uses a robot called Grolgoth to fight Rayman. After his defeat he sets Grolgoth to self destruct while he escapes. Razorbeard returns as the main antagonist of the ,
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André is a Black Lum and the main antagonist of . He was created after Rayman's hands accidentally scared a Red Lum while he was sleeping, and since then he has been creating more Black Lums. He was accidentally eaten by Globox. At the end of the game he teamed up with Reflux (an enemy Rayman encountered along the way) to defeat him, but was ultimately defeated and turned back to normal. André returns as the main antagonist of , as a part of his spirit remained in Globox after he was swallowed and extracted out of him. He slowly started to possess Globox, causing him to become mean, but is eventually expelled out of him. He is voiced by Ken Starcevic.
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The Magician is a supporting character to secondary antagonist of the series, serving as the main antagonist of Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends.
Reception
Rayman was named the Best New Character award of 1995 by
Electronic Gaming Monthly.
Since his debut in 1995 on the
Atari Jaguar, Rayman has become a well received, fan favorite and recognizable video game character by countless players and was known for his lack of limbs.
Other media
Rayman has been the subject of a short-lived animated television series in 1999,
, which was produced as a tie-in to the video games, though significantly different from the source material. Only four episodes were made.
In 2019, another animated TV series was announced to be in works at Ubisoft Film & Television. However, the project was scrapped in 2023.[ It's official Rayman & Les Moldies has been cancelled. Regrettably the project was never given the greenlight. The show had planned to take inspiration around the Incrediballs and the Rayman license.]
Rayman appears as a recurring character in the 2023 animated series , voiced by David Menkin.
Notes
External links
