‘Rayman Legends’ review: Rayman becomes a legend

Rayman debuted in the gaming world in 1995 with his self-titled game.
After a few sequels and encounters with Rabbids, he returned to the side-scrolling world with “Rayman Origins.” The sequel, “Rayman Legends,” takes all that was great with “Rayman Origins” and adds a few new elements to provide fun among all ages.
The story in “Rayman Legends” is simple. While Rayman, the limbless protagonist, and his friends had been sleeping the past century, the magician from “Origins” captured all of the princesses and Teensies.
The story is simplistic and doesn’t provide much more than an excuse for the action; however, the lack of an overly engaging story is a strong suit for this side-scroller. It allows the gameplay elements to shine while simultaneously giving the game an older feel.
The game shows its modern age through the art. The beautiful cartoon-style animations from Rayman and the other playable characters as well as the enemies and backgrounds are done very well.
The varying environments look engaging, from a dangerous jungle with several creatures in the murky water to a medieval castle with lava and dragons.
The backgrounds may be pretty to look at, but the gameplay steals the spotlight. The side-scrolling controls are very tight if very simple. Puzzles abound in the form of secret rooms and the addition of Murfy, Rayman’s guide.
Murfy appears in many levels, lending a hand by controlling levers, cutting ropes, and tickling guards.
On PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, the AI controls where Murfy goes while the player tells it where to go while the player tells it when to interact. On the Wii U and Playstation Vita, Murfy is totally controlled by the player via the touchscreen.
This could be a flaw on the major console due to the tightness the AI needs to have. Several times, the AI would not go to a specific place in order to get a secret room or item but instead insisted for the player to carry on through the level.
This game encourages drop-in/drop-out multiplayer for up to four people. Any level in “Legends” supports these characters, which can be chosen from up to 15 possibilities, including two Teensies and ten princesses. The game even includes a “Kung Foot” competitive multiplayer option that functions like soccer.
The levels for these characters are great in both number and variety. The game includes five worlds and a total of over 120 levels, including remixes from “Rayman Origins.”
While many levels are standard fare, both with and without Murfy, others add either a timed challenge or a musical score to accompany the action.
Running through the level while either watching the clock or listening to a comical rendition of the song “Black Betty” adds better variety, but these levels could be more plentiful, especially the musical levels, which there are only twelve in the game.
Overall, “Rayman Legends” earns itself a place in almost every household, either as a children’s game, a party game, or just a fun game to play. Some concepts could have been played less and others more, but that fact does not affect the overall experience.
For those who want to play through levels with a challenging time trial, with an eerie castle look, or an 8-bit mariachi-style “Eye of the Tiger” theme, this game is great. “Rayman Legends” deserves a 90 percent out of 100.
Rayman Legends can be experienced currently on Wii U, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PC and Xbox 360.