Why Rayman 3 was Madder

[@LackingSaint]

I loved Rayman 3 so much and distinctly remember the christmas morning I opened Raving Rabbids, having no idea what I was going to experience, and plowing through all of the minigames waiting for it to transition into what I loved about the last game - then watching the credits scroll and realising the minigames had actually been the entire game Great video! See you in Rayman 4

[@DolanDuking]

Same thing happened to me ngl

[@barpia2549]

Wtf man, I had exactly same experience

[@HurricaneBady]

I had the same experience :(

[@camerynwa3498]

I had rayman raving Rabbids on the ps2, and I genuinely couldn’t work out why I couldn’t make Rayman run in the mini game where he runs along the beach with the pulp fiction music. I didn’t read the instructions for the game and didn’t realise I had to aggressively smack the analog sticks up and down to move Rayman, I assumed I could just make him run freely. After playing a few more of the mini games I remember being very disappointed.

[@MasterPringles]

Same here! Such a letdown

[@biraptor6205]

I think what made the Robo-Pirates and Hoodlums endearing is that they teeter on the edges between 'Edgy grimness' and 'Whimsy sillyness' with their designs, personalities and goals

[@__-be1gk]

grimsical

[@marcinsz1526]

I ramber play Rayman ogrins wii version back in USA amrcina and Rayman legendas Xbox 3600 version aslo in USA amrcina i living in Brooklyn past years

[@fabiotucci3029]

​@@marcinsz1526bro had an unforgettable stroke

[@marcinsz1526]

@@fabiotucci3029 no my good mean i nevraaaaaaa storkertyyy🍎🍎🫠🍌🥐🌽🙃🙃🥑🥑🫠🫠🫠🍆🍆🍆🫠🍇🫒🥥

[@yotambraunshtein9786]

Ubisoft neglected rayman to poop up ac

[@NrdStreetSaint]

The Desert of the Knaaren was hands down the scariest level in a game I had ever played as a child. I was NOT READY.

[@celnart3159]

Seriously, you left that level as a fully grown man.

[@ssebasgoo]

Making a level full of invulnerable ennemies was genius. You were getting used to punch everything and now you can't. And they really want to eat you, too, so you have a very good reason to run.

[@berndsauerstein1946]

I hadn't been that scared since encountering the zombies in ocarina of time. My god, the trauma

[@MyOtheHedgeFox]

But the boss of the Desert was hands down the COOLEST moment in a game I had ever played as a child. By far.

[@alexwinters6768]

I remember being like 8 and hearing them whisper "shove bamboo under his finger nails" creeped me tf out.

[@CubeSeal]

Holey Moley an actual Rayman video by someone that actually played it.

[@erikbihari3625]

Insert sonic and ign joke here? The fourth snake;"You can't spell ignorant without Ign"!

[@felixdaniels37]

"Huge Rayman fan excited to play it for the first time"

[@VICTORZITOSS]

The other commenter is saying that nitro rad has a review on Rayman and has played it before ​@@atari4171and yes, I don't know if he has said review but nitro rad plays the games

[@nnirr1]

"Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Review: 7/10 - Too much hoodlum, not enough havoc "

[@ROFLdude_Lv.99]

"You have angered the gods, Rayman!" "YEAH!" Now that's the attitude that the protector of The Glade of Dreams SHOULD have!

[@yourcordialvermillionchapw2398]

"What have you done?? There's no foretelling the indigitated incomprehension's the eldritch one's have! Our efforts may prove fruitless under their yield!" *Rayman:* And despite everything... I'm all in for it! Even under all of the improbable odds, Rayman is also just that guy.

[@QuinnArgo]

Some time ago I discovered a youtube channel that uploaded "Rayman 3 soundscapes" that contained not just the music from the levels but also all the sounds you hear in the game, birds chirping, the blue frog squeaking, the hoodlum devices cranking, etc. And I realized that something that always enchanted me about the game is how it is *alive*, and not just the sound, you also see little creatures running around, butterflies flying, floor textures moving, there's something happening everywhere. But also it's not too game-y, most of these little bips and bops have no function and they don't demand your attention, but they do coexist with you in the game world. It makes especially the land of the livid dead or the forest feel like sitting in the park on a nice day, with insects buzzing and birds sitting in the trees. And I know few games that manage to capture exactly this, even today I feel like most 3D adventures lack behind it (Maybe the first Psychonauts game comes close). And that is part of what keeps me coming back to the game, the way I simply enjoy being in this world.

[@BMask]

A true and excellent point. The developers in a little behind the scenes video talked about how they were very concerned with making the world feel lively like that, and I kinda wish I'd hammered the point home a little more.

[@thesquishedelf1301]

This is honestly part of why Ocarina of Time is as legendary as it is. Despite the pop-up-book trees, there’s still so much _movement_ in the world, constantly. It’s _very_ high praise to say a game manages to create that sense of “life” in its 3D environments.

[@Greatdictator]

''World right out of a animated 90s VHS adventure '' is a great way to describe Rayman 3s setting honestly

[@ax2781]

french here, dont know about rayman english dub but yeah it is GENUINELY funny af, murphy in rayman 3 is incredible... even as a kid I deeply remember how "relatable" it sounded for a video game... never felt that until meeting gaston and rené in disco elysium i guess

[@Flay10]

Another Frenchie here and I completely agree with this comment

[@Lordmuhkuh23]

Actually, the German dub was also hella funny. Played a bit with German dialects (not a huge lot) and was full of wordplays and purposely bad humor. It is amazing.

[@TJlolbagger]

The English Murphy was great, too. Also Disco Elysium is fabtastic.

[@Nemrof0]

Polish dub was also great, plenty of great actors gave their voices and the jokes were brilliantly brought to polish people taste. The same person who translated the dialogues of Shrek, Ice Age, Madagascar movies also translated Rayman dialogues - that’s why it’s still greatly appreciated in the polish gaming community

[@Yul_B_Awright]

@@Lordmuhkuh23 still mindboggling to me that they got Guildo Horn voicing Globox xD

[@PrincessFelicie]

Rayman 3 is by far my favorite of the trilogy. I love how it takes the polygonal edges of Rayman 2's technical limitations, and reinterprets them into intentional, aesthetic jagged edges. There's a slapdash energy in the artistic direction of Rayman 3 that I've never really seen done well anywhere else.

[@Unmarketable]

I stand firm that Rayman 3 is a gem that was lost in a year of huge releases

[@jurtheorc8117]

Regarding Rayman 3's combat: What i consider a strength of the Combat Fatigues, is that they largely serve a purpose outside of combat as well. The channel Mark Rambleprism did a fun video on the subject of Rayman 3 as having one of the best 3D platformer combat systems. No ring swinging without the Lockjaw; the Vortex Fist can be used to destroy Hoodboom stilts, screw down particular pillars and even shrink enemies so they deal less damage and can be walked over; the Shock Rocket can be interesting for exploring the level from a new angle in a way that Ratchet & Clank could do with the Visibomb Gun or Kya: Dark Lineage with the Golden Boomy, plus just... attack from a distance; and most straightforward of all, the Heavy Metal fist was downright required to break open wooden barricades or fight the big Hoodlums in baseball armor and the shoulder-mounted toilet cannon. The Throttlecopter doesn't even *have* a combat ability, that one's pure mobility and platforming. It's fun when objects, weapons, tools, powers and other forms of utility, can have a secondary purpose. Like how the Earthcaller from Darksiders 1or the Void Fist powerup from Cookie Cutter are both a mandatory progression object *and* a combat tool that deals no damage, but *heavy* knockback in a fairly wide area to recuperate. And in Cookie Cutter's case, the Void Fist is used for fine light puzzles. Or how the Mickens from Kya: Dark Lineage are pudgy animals that can be used to set off traps, as a weight for a pressure plate, or as a mobile trampoline that you move around by just running and using as a football. It's fun that the Combat Fatigues are not permanent: whenever you loose the power-up, you're glad to find them again and have that new taste of what the Combat Fatigues offer. It's different than if you were to attain an object forever: you'll take it for granted, if you realize it or not, until you start a new game and don't have that tool right from the get-go. So, now you have to look again for wherever the next can of power detergent is hidden. Be it carried by a Hoodlum during a scuffle, a fracas, a kerfuffle, or given as a reward from rescuing Teensies. Yet more incentive to run, jump, explore and fight: To do all that from a new, fleeting and fun avenue of aptitude. Apparently there's a fairly sizeable community of people that find the speedrunning or point collecting quite a fun challenge, and in that too the Combat Fatigues have a strong presence due to doubling the score for as long as they're active until their timer runs out. In this, some people i've seen on the comments of Mark Rambleprism's video, have compared Rayman 3 to a Boomer Shooter, if that's the right term. Running, jumping and "shooting", with Old Reliable at your side going through more corridor-like designs to new bigger battle arenas each time, which themselves have explorable avenues. But there are other options of offense on offer-- yet again, fleeting ones. In Boomer Shooters this may be because the ammunition is rarer, or because you are defaulted to starting out with Old Reliable between levels-- or both. The Combat Fatigues in Rayman 3 are fun and fleeting in a different manner. No ammunition, but instead a timer, and so in a scuffle you really want to make the most of the time you've got. Perhaps let certain gemstones you have already spotted in the area, be there until you've knocked out a Hoodlum and *then* make a go for the gems, making a break for a Heavy Metal Fist can on a higher platform, while charging up a big punch for yet another Hoodmonger on yet another higher platform. Hope this was interesting! Interested too in hearing what other people think of this.

[@SunsetSullivan]

No WAY!! Rayman 3 is my all time favorite game. The atmosphere and overall tone of the game is best Franco-Fantasy aesthetic ever. Such wild and powerful tone shifts, such strong and punchy gameplay, such insipid humor! No one ever talks about Rayman 3, which always saddened me as I love it way more than 2. Thanks for giving it the time of day.

[@kingoftropes922]

Rayman feels like the ultimate case of 'Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" of the gaming industry. Such a color world, such unique ideas for stories and such consistently great gameplay regardless of where exactly it leans into per game, all starring a frankly iconic character that feels almost timeless in how he can be adapted into any generation...and yet he was time and again treated like a complete afterthought in his own series to the point his latest appearance in the Mario + Rabbids DLC ROASTS him about it. The fact we actually have a semi working copy of Rayman 4 in our hands really is a bittersweet taste, getting to know what things *could* have been like had fate shook out a little differently and how much potential it really had. No offense to the blue blur but it is a little crazy Sonic, for all his ups and downs, still gets new releases celebrating his history while Rayman gets left in the proverbial dust. It's funny, as a kid i wanted a return to classic 3D Rayman so bad i started making my own design document for it: storyboards, level maps, enemy design sheets, you name it. I think it was the first large scale project i ever did and even to this day i'm still proud of a lot of the work i put in and it was all because of my interest in this frankly C-rank platformer mascot's divisice 3rd entry, so I guess you can't argue it didn't have any impact on anyone lol Yet today...i'm not sure if i'd even *want* another Rayman. Not to say I don't think you couldn't make another great Rayman game, 3D or otherwise, but...idk I guess i've just come to terms with the legacy he managed to carve out for himself in spite of everything, and especially in light of being own by Ubisoft. If he shows up again i'd be happy to see him, but for now, i think his ending Mario + Rabbids couldn't be more fitting.

[@TheGreatRio]

What stings about this so much is that Ubisoft has entirely shifted gears and is in so much financial trouble now which I just can't help but feel like could have been avoided if they had instead focused their finances on the next big blockbuster Rayman game. Crash got a new game too, ironic because apparently it sold "better than expected", which just tells you the state of the industry. And I don't even have to mention Mario. It's a shame.

[@Barakon]

I still want a new Rayman game, I still believe in Rayman, it’s Ubisoft I don’t trust. And Davide Soliani is fiddling his thumbs instead of Taking Rayman with him to form an indie that would actually care about him. But I’m not waiting for Davide, for why *beg* others for what I can do *myself* ? Why not *Redeem* , *Reclaim* , *Recontextualize* ? *PAR LA RÊVE! POUR LA RÊVE! RISE UP, MICHEAL .D. RAYCASTER, SHOW THEM WHAT YOU GOT!* BOOGIE-YEAH!

[@nathanlecam941]

As a french who played it very much in french when i was younger, and you're absolutely right about translation: there were many jokes that i think would be hard to translate, the kraarens were saying more horrible thing like "skin him", and globox voice is deeper and slower in french. He sounds like a grown man but can't take care of himself, wich makes him irritating and funny at the same time. I wanted to play that game again for its 20th birthday but i forgot about it, thanks for the reminder !

[@markusturunen7929]

One thing that I did like about Rayman 3 is that it really built up the character of the villain by having him constantly interact with the heroes, thus creating a better story in that way, considering not intimidating the villain it was actually quite an epic climax for the time with characters that had a real motivation and history built behind them. Despite it's looney and bonkers plot.

[@stressrepellentmachine]

i still think the whole idea of a dark comedy fantasy game was such a unique concept and that's why i love rayman 3 so much ^_^ amazing review

[@bloopahVIII]

That's the exact reason why I love the Oddworld games pre-New N' Tasty. They're (mostly, cough cough Munch's) great games, and they all have great jokes both in-game and in cutscenes.

[@stressrepellentmachine]

@ ive played oddworld too and theyre the absolute best oddworld has such a unique aesthetic and its gameplays fun too

[@BenOlsberg1995]

Rayman 3's soundtrack is in a league of its own. Once I was in my adolescence and I gained a more adamant appreciation for music, I begun to regard it even higher. The track that plays during the snowboard section at the tail end of the wintery mountaintops is so damn good, I make a point of listening to it at least a few times during the Christmas season every year.

[@BMask]

I’m still in awe of what it’s doing, and it just so happens to fit in with a fair few of my video essay subjects to use as background music too!

[@gonzoGnostalgic]

One of my all-time favorite games. The Hoodlums were one of my first hyperfixations-I used to draw them all the time as a kid-and looking back, I actually really do like the crass, late-'90s-early-2000s cartoon humor. One of my favorite movies is Ralph Bakshi's Wizards, and Rayman 3 almost feels like it's set in that same universe. In fact, I'm sure playing Rayman 3 as a kid planted the seeds for the appreciation of this specific flavor of fantasy setting that made Wizards such a favorite of mine years later-these kinda-crude fairytale creatures with anachronistic, modern ways of speaking, in a lush, murky, undulating magical world, going to war against a ramshackle, industrialized army of dumb, masked bullies with guns.

[@jurtheorc8117]

Perhaps you'll find something interesting in the Zeno Clash series too. Colorful, bizarre, set in a world that doesn't even have a notion of a central unified culture, language or even currency, and the inhabitants get so strange that there is hardly a grasp of species and subspecies. Had a prequel in 2023 called Clash: Artifacts of Chaos. I've seen it said that for some, AoC loses out because the voice acting is actually professional this time around, rather than strange, below-par and offbeat, stiff acting. No less fantastic and colorful, though.

[@irinore]

Oh my god a fellow obsessive hoodlum artist childhood!

[@__kev__]

​@@irinore me too

[@NICKtendoReviews]

Great analysis! Incredibly inspirational copyright avoidance tactics on display here.

[@BMask]

Shout out to TGB for making that joke ages ago and lending his vocals so we could let everyone hear it!

[@mann-nova9392]

Top 3 greatest anime crossovers number two

[@LeisdogOP]

I fucking screamed I thought this day would never come

[@erikbihari3625]

Felt same way when magma paint called. Also, check out her stuff, she really rocks!

[@DavidWasTakn]

If only we got another game like this :(

[@Dragoodranite]

As much as i love the design of the hoodlums these days, they scared the CRAP out of me as a kid. This is still my favorite Rayman game of all time. I replay it every year. A ps2 gem for sure. 👌🏻

[@ApahtieParty]

60% of the game scarred child me 😭

[@Dragoodranite]

Absolutely fair. The giant legs boss and the noises he makes skeeved me out so much as a kid. Now they make me laugh.

[@pawlogates]

Please look up some rayman 3 combo videos. You will be amazed at how much the scoring system synnergizes with the 3d platforming in this one. I put about 200 hours into scoring and it was an amazing experience. (Annoying to retry combos only start at 700K total score, so i dont recommend going past that)

[@Birthnote]

I highly agree. The scoring system made me replay this game much more than Rayman 1 or 2

[@jam560]

for me its too damn stressful. because of this i never went out of my way to really min max but instead i just tried to get more than my last playthrough

[@pawlogates]

@@jam560 thats exactly how i was doing it too! After 5 playthroughs my combos were way better and consistent without any grind

[@SXMDUB]

Thank you KZbin algorithm for recommending me a Rayman 3 video

[@CasualYugiStuff]

See you in Rayman 4!! 😢😢😢

[@Average_shieldbasher]

Rayman 2 and 3 were my first video games, literally. I remember a lot about them, from some of the levels to the exact spot where my copy of Rayman 2 was literally so corrupted that it just broke and refused to work again. Seeing all of these frames again and hearing about the game after so, so long is honestly just such a treat. It's like walking into a time chamber and watching younger me play these levels again, watching over the shoulder of a kid who could barely count to thousand yet already played through the entire game thrice and is currently on the fourth playthrough. Thank you for reminding me of those times.

[@BMask]

I got a lot of comments about people's nostalgia for this game and they're great, but this is a particularly lovely one. Thank *you* for sharing!

[@bubuchenbois]

I'm so happy to see you talk about Rayman ✨

[@BMask]

Vive le France

[@somniloguy12]

Uncanny. Rayman 1 was also the first game I ever saw, and Rayman 2 is my OG childhood game whose details are forever etched into my brain. Rayman 3 was the first game I remember 'coming out'. Needless to say, it is very difficult for me to look at these games 'objectively', as they coloured so much of my understanding of video games (and maybe art in general). In retrospect, I think that the blend of fantastical/comical/surreal elements has always left its mark on my personal preferences. I always like fantasy settings that use their fantastical elements as powerful tools to engender emotion and hinting at bigger forces/world at play, without getting bogged down in trying to make the world all too coherent. The cosmic setting of the final battle in Rayman 3 for instance, or the nightmare world in 2, always created this feeling for me. That is why I am surprised that this video echoes a lot of my personal sentiments around these games. Rayman 2 has an insanely fantastical design but misses the comedy element a bit and starts to run out of steam as a game at a certain point. The third and fourth masks and their respective levels kind of exemplify this, with number 3 being a thematic repeat of the second for some reason (though still mechanically an interesting level) and the fourth mask coming literally out of nowhere. Rayman 3 feels like the more complete and varied experience that doesn't overstay its welcome, though indeed -almost paradoxically- also feels unfinished (I remember searching every single corner of Rayman 3 because I wanted to find that giant-gorilla-beast-thing so badly. I was so curious as to what it was and assumed that it just HAD to be in the game, since I didn't have a sense of game development or cut content at the time). Only later do I realise how unique the Rayman 3 takes were on classic level tropes. I was an easily frightened child playing video games, yet simultanuously drawn to the things that terrified me. I remember the black caterpillars in Rayman 2 giving me a visceral reaction when they would endlessly spawn in some levels. In Rayman 3, I was already startled enough from many of its darker moments in the swamp, so the idea of going to a 'living dead' area scared me (story wise, I find it interesting that you enter the swamp 'on accident'. Adds to the sense that something has gone wrong and that you are really not supposed to 'be there'). I remember the great sense of relief when the level turned out to be so serene, one of my favourites of all time. But oh God, you perfectly described the feeling I got from enterting the desert of the Knaaren. It terrified me so god damn much but it felt exhilirating to beat Reflux and feel so empowered from unlocking the tongue move afterwards. You captured that sense perfectly in the video. Either way, just wanted to share some of the thoughts/reflections that you unlocked with this wonderful analysis.

[@Gonzotwotimes]

The Sly Cooper series is definitely my favorite, but there’s something about Rayman that always captured me. I played Ray 2 when I was pretty young and I loved it but I also kinda sucked at it. When Ray 3 came out, I was hooked and I played it over and over. The art style, atmosphere and music is like no other game. Love that you gave it the appreciation it deserves. ❤

[@nazeirsvibingandstuff769]

To be honest Rayman 3 feel more like crash twin sanity but makes it more of a Saturday morning cartoon vibes and make it Looney

[@onthedre]

Crash Twinsanity is also godly. Shame it was never completed and what we got was basically half of a human body.

[@batattitude]

Rayman 2 and 3's art style has a similar vibe to Wind Waker to me, where you look at it and realize the textures and models are so perfectly harmonized hand-in-glove in pursuit of a particular aesthetic that you wonder how it would be possible to do an "HD remaster" of them. The artists just got it right the first time, there's no room to really upscale anything.

[@Deadponygaming]

Bmask. Please be my best friend. You can't be the only other person in my life to praise Rayman 3 and not be. It's illegal.

[@BMask]

Buy me a drink first!

[@Deadponygaming]

​@@BMaskbet

[@MasterPringles]

This was the 1st Rayman game I had ever played, and remains my favourite 3D Rayman game (best 2D is Legends) with it's both magical, gritty and funny style. And I'm glad that similar feelings are echoed here!

[@erikbihari3625]

Basically, this franchise was"storm hawks for video games"?"Doesn't break mutch convention, but does style and execution immaculately"!

[@dilloncooper600]

I loved Stormhawks when I saw it as a kid. I wish more people knew about it

[@erikbihari3625]

@@dilloncooper600. Fun fact, many people behind that show, eventually made slugterra, then Sonic Prime!

[@dilloncooper600]

@erikbihari3625 I always assumed it was the same people working on Slugterra on account of the similar art style, but I never would've guessed they also worked on Sonic Prime!

[@erikbihari3625]

@@dilloncooper600. The studio was originally small, independant, and therefor tight knit. Once dhx(now WildBrain, people behind f.i.m.)bough them, they share crew,equipment and office space! Only personal gripe with Sonic Prime was the absent cel shading!

[@erikbihari3625]

@@dilloncooper600. Pretty obvious, given the font style, and writers appeared just before the credits. Also, never expected the people behind Ben10 along for the ride, best description;"🍫meet;🥜🧈"!

[@dastanovich2476]

Rayman 3, and by extension the series itself, really is just something special. No mainline game in it is the same, almost like each is their own pocket universe, just sometimes using the same cast, with R3 being the weirdest And the music, oh my god, the Credits theme of R3 is one of those tracks that will never leave your head unless you try and forget it. It's such a shame the franchise don't get the respect it deserves by its publisher

[@Valdetiosi]

Rayman 2 is such a fever dream. Sweet fever dream, that is. I'm glad I got to play all 3 games during childhood, but I dare say out of all 3, second one is the best for me.

[@Adrian-hj7ih]

YO I definely didn't expect this one! Glad to see you elaborating on what you said in that QA video

[@BMask]

Haha glad to see people remember that!

[@alessandrorusso3822]

I remember watching the commercials for Rayman 3 on TV and, as a huge fan of Rayman Revolution, I was super excited! The mood, the artstyle, the soundtrack, the cool costumes... simply beautiful. I remember feeling weirded out by hearing all the characters talk, though, 'cause in my household the only proper way to play Rayman was by setting the language as Raymanian (bunch of nonsense sounds, iconic). Also, the case of the game was in 3D! How awesome is that? Great video as always, keep exploring my childhood!

[@TDH3407]

You released this video right in time for my birthday, thank you❤️ Always a pleasure to see your videos , what a nostalgic game

[@Rutgerman95]

I think Rayman 2 had the better moment-to-moment platforming, but Rayman 3 had the better everything else: more enemy and locale variety, more memorable set pieces, much better combat and a much-needed lack of trial-and-error sliding or rocket riding sections with extremely sensitive controls and important collectibles that are easy to miss

[@GeneralRedNortherner]

KZbin just recommended this video to me, and I'm happy it did. As someone whose favourite Rayman game also happens to be Rayman 3, your commentary here pretty much spot on captures a lot of the things I loved about this game. Much like you, for me Rayman 3 also ticked a lot of the right boxes compared to Rayman 2 (don't get me wrong, I did enjoy Rayman 2, but to me it felt like certain aspects of the second game could have been done differently). Fuggit, big comment inbound here as there's a lot I could talk about. I remember loving the sheer aesthetic variety of the worlds you visit in Rayman 3. All the worlds are visually distinct from one another and (as other commenters have pointed out) they often felt alive. This was something that I felt Rayman 2 was sometimes missing. There came a point in it where I started to feel like some of the levels were looking a bit too... samey, I guess. Then there's the soundtrack and sound design - probably my favourite of any Rayman game I've played. But above all, I absolutely loved the combat, power-up system and the enemies in Rayman 3. Rayman 3's combat and power-ups felt much more fleshed-out and interesting than Rayman 2's. The addition of the ability to launch a curving fist attack was such a simple yet brilliant idea, and the devs made use of it with puzzles where you have to hit a switch concealed behind an obstacle or fight enemies who can block/dodge basic frontal attacks. Then there were the power-ups, which give you different, zany abilities both for combat and other purposes. Rayman 2's combat, on the other hand, always just felt a bit bland to me; you just threw generic little balls of energy from your hands (no curving fist attacks), and the power-ups were very basic (e.g. unlocking Rayman's helicopter hair, unlocking the ability to swing from purple lums, unlocking the ability to charge up your shots). Then we come to the enemies themselves. The Hoodlums were great, and I loved that there was such a great variety of them both in terms of design and gameplay mechanics. In essence, playing Rayman 3, I always felt like I was fighting an enemy with an actual _army_ capable of seriously threatening Rayman's world. And on top of that, because there was a variety in their mechanics, different enemies often required different approaches. It all revealed that the devs had put some proper thought into the enemies. By contrast, I always felt that the devs could have done _so_ much more with the Robo-Pirates in Rayman 2. Here's the thing; I love the concept of the Robo-Pirates as well as some of their awesome designs (like the standard Henchman 800 grunts) - and of course the fact that they travel around in big flying pirate ships! On top of that, the Robo-Pirates are one of the only enemies Rayman has faced who actually _succeeded_ at taking over his world - the start of Rayman 2 has you escaping their prison ship and embarking on a quest to free the world, after all. And yet... compared to the Hoodlums, there isn't a great variety of them and it always felt to me like you don't fight that many of them in-game. I always felt that surely in order to take over and occupy Rayman's world they would be present in far greater numbers than they actually were. In short, I just felt like the devs could have made combat a much more fleshed-out part of Rayman 2.

[@soupbutreal5056]

House MD reference in a Rayman video is not what I was expecting lmao

[@PlanetKhaos]

I don't think there's been a mainline Rayman game that's been less than excellent, the consistency is so impressive.

[@michaelgiesbrecht9452]

Rayman 3 holds a very special place in my heart. My brother was able to play and beat Rayman 1 but I was too young and inexperienced to get much of anywhere in it, but that didn't stop me for watching and wishing I could. It wasn't until Rayman 3 (never played 2 because I don't think it ever came out on PC) that I got to experience the wacky wonder that is a Rayman game for myself. Only now as a much older man do I really appreciate just how fantastic and unique Rayman is. The visuals and style are evocative and unlike anything else, the characters are animated and lively,and the score! I think the music might be my absolute favorite thing in the whole series. From the first game all the way to Origins and Legends the soundtrack for these games are among my all time favorites. So happy to see Rayman 3 getting some much needed love! Appreciate you B!

[@Xarviz01]

It's very rare for me to have any prior knowledge about the things you make your vidoes on B, but this game IS my childhood, it was one of my firsts of all time, and also favourites. I love to see you put it on a spotlight, and really highlight what makes it magnificent. And for me it's also really good to understand through this video, that you really do manage to do justice to all the things you create content about! Keep up the amazing work B, I have been anticipating this video for about three years, and I LOVE to finally see it too! And this time not just as an entry on Fish People Friday!

[@reddinator2640]

You just made me live trough a big part of my childhood all over again. Getting into this video and remembering the soundtrack when i last played it 15 or more years ago made me happy and sad at the same time. Thank you for that.

[@kaelisprime9087]

This was a fantastic video on a subject and game I feel so strongly about. The themes and tone of Rayman 3, along with it's art design and vibe really scratched an itch I still have going. I wish there were more games and projects like Rayman 3, and it's disheartening that ehile the new stuff is fun, there's not a whole lot of it and it's not the same. Especially with what you said - it kind of being muddy with it's ideas. Maybe some day we'll see Rayman 4, but I hope said project and other ones will finally scratch that itch.

[@GlitchBadassery]

Though we grew in different continents, separated by an ocean, listening to you, i feel like you've experienced the same things i did with Rayman. That it impacted you in the same way. You talk about it with an endearing passion that i connect with. Rayman 1 & 2 were the first video games i played and they made exploring nature magic as they colored my imagination and grew a love for nature in me. They're a part of me as much as they seem to be for you.

[@ph0nez]

Amazing video on what is still one of my favourite games of all time. I watched my dad play it when I was little, and he couldn't beat the Reflux bossfight. Our PS2 copy of the game then broke and he never managed to play again. When I tracked down a copy of my own some years later (I've got like 3 now, on a number of systems), beating Reflux and seeing the rest of the game was a magical moment. Such a fun, well-realised world. The gameplay is tight, the music is amazing, and it's just so colourful and charming in a way you don't often see in games anymore. This is making me want to boot it up again...

[@ombrenoirdekiri7274]

French guy here and you are absolutly right for the translation and adaptation bit. Its like night and day in terms of humor (like the colessum bossfight when you take control of these giant "feets" well the comentator does a parody of how french football comentator does comentary) + there are a tons of joke that are litteraly french oriented one, so i guess it was hard to adapt to these in the English dub

[@MrSkerpentine]

“Spit in his eyes!” “Skin him!” “MAKE HIM WRITE BAD CHECKS!!“ I don’t know why but that joke made me legitimately laugh

[@jurtheorc8117]

There's some other threats the Knaaren can make: "Let him run! Meat better with salt." "Shove bamboo under his nails!"

[@Nugget111uh1]

These remarks, especially the bamboo one, scared me so much as a kid and feel so iconic. I did not realize they would make me write bad checks though, I wish enemies like the Knaaren still existed 😢

[@Spikereviewsgames]

"hey...my dad's stronga than yoa dad...."

[@nnirr1]

For a moment I thought he said: "Make him write regex". Truly evil bastards.

[@charlesman8722]

“Hey… hey, don’t you guys feel bad picking on a guy who’s all alone?” “… No, why? Do you??” “O-of course not! Of course, of course…”

[@ApahtieParty]

This game is like 10% of my childhood 😂😭 Thanks for making such a good video on it! 💚👍🏽

[@Allstarknight]

I also have the shared experience of Rayman 1 being one of the first games I ever saw, and I think you really hit the nail on the head here. In spite of its slightly janky game feel (Some in-engine animations don't look particularily nice, Globox VA being different in pre-rendered cutscenes, etc), I always thought Rayman 3 combined the best parts of 1 and 2 in a very inspired way. It really felt like a step in the right direction at the time. I suppose being just the right age at the time of release to appreciate the change in tone certainly didn't hurt either. Bumper car shoes sticks with ya.

[@piplup2009]

This was my favourite childhood game, i like how the combat was simple yet you do a lot of different things in it

[@kevincullen13]

28:18 "Especially the fact that it, unlike so many other Rayman sequels, actually exists." Brilliantly said. Regardless of your thoughts on something, if it doesn't exist it can't even be part of the conversation. Speculating on what could've been or what still could be in the future is all well and good but the stuff that was completed and released into the world should clearly always dominate the discussion and analysis.

[@jumpkicking]

Rayman 2 had the pinnacle of all rayman games which was the cave of bad dreams. It was mysterious, it was spooky, the music slapped, and the boss was such a good villain. Also the fact you have to go there to save your dying friend makes it such a dark and wild experience. The ice boss in rayman 2 was really clever. And the magical girl makes me think of chocolate eclairs (the sweets).

[@BennXYZ]

The cover for Rayman DS might just be the biggest "f*ck you" move. like, what is the Rayman 3 design doing on the cover of a rayman 2 remake? Yes, I'm still mad(der) about buying a game that I already owned.

[@SilasSeiler]

I remember playing Rayman 3 on pc back in the day, it was so wild and strange but so addictive

[@OLDSACKS]

1:15 As a Francophone kid, I asked myself "Maybe it's super meaningful in English" when first seeing the Grolgoth's name. Ultimately, it's a reference to the Saucer Beasts in the Grandizer anime (named Golgoths and Goldorak respectively in France).

[@Thorcar123]

Golgoth ça veut aussi dire quelqu'un de super fort en argot, et puis c'est mixer avec gros, donc ça va ya un sens je trouve.

[@OLDSACKS]

@@Thorcar123 Aussi ! Mais maintenant je me demande si l'argot à inspiré l'anime ou si l'anime à inspiré l'argot.

[@Thorcar123]

@@OLDSACKS C'est l'anime qui a inspiré l'argot mais l'animé etait inspiré par la colline Golgotha, qui est la colline ou Jésus à été crucifié, pis les goths aussi tavu

[@DioDeiMari16]

the rayman 3 soundtrack is still a favorite of mine to this day, it just goes so hard

[@shoogles_]

I've been waiting for this one! Had you asked me a few years ago I'd have told you Rayman 3 was one of my all-time favourite games, for all the reasons you mentioned. It really had all the best of 1 and 2, the disparity working through its weird dream logic, where the serene turned to silly turned to menacing. A great climax, too! It came out at just the right time for me to get it for the PC bundled with a controller that never bloody worked. And I played and replayed it over and over and over. For the first time I cared about score, I cared about minigames, I cared about going for 100%! I made myself sick playing it - literally, I started taking dizzy spells that only stopped when I was forced to put it down for a few days. A few years back I decided to play it through on stream. And... I kind of couldn't stand it. The gameplay was just as tight and the art just as captivating, but nobody would, for a single second, shut the fuck up! It felt like they had a list of jokes, but rather than pick one or randomly select them, the characters would just rattle through them with nary a pause for breath. It's not like none of them were funny! And most of them didn't upset me (although that gag when you beat Bégoniax... I know it's French but Jesus Christ!) It was just the sheer frequency of them. A real shame because the rest of the game is SO GOOD, I'd agree it was better than 2 otherwise!

[@BMask]

It feels like it's a unifying aspect among all the games- all missing or lacking something the other one has, and I can't decide if that's a problem or a really tight long term strategy that has you always playing one only to go 'Now I kinda wanna switch to the other'. Fiendish.

[@shoogles_]

I guess that's the downside of it throwing everything out on a game to game basis. No chance for it to develop.

[@vinnythewebsurfer]

It really is commendable how much more thought was put into the combat system for Rayman 3. It’s hard to think of many platformers that improved that aspect of their games so well and even games who were meant to be combat focus just couldn’t get it right (IE Vexx for all 5 other people that have every even heard of the game).

[@BMask]

Ahhhh Vexx. The lovechild of Wolverine and Hugo.

[@hypolyxa7207]

It's such a good feeling when B-Mask uploads a new video. Still amazed you do not have 100k subscribers. Be assured, however, that those of us who are here thoroughly enjoy your work.

[@cameronjohnson918]

I remember loving this as a kid, although stopping somewhere halfway through despite multiple attempts. You do such good work B-mask, you really capture the joy and feeling of engaging with something you genuinely like.

[@badlydrawnrayman]

yeah! it was quite weird seeing people hating on rayman 3 in my childhood since i didn't see anything wrong with it as a kid! i get that people really liked rayman 2 and lore heavy story but rayman 3 was still a good game that i and many other people remember fondly! it still holds up quite well as a platformer after 21 years! i myself didn't get to experience the english dubbing of the game as a kid but i LOVED the polish dub! and to this point this is the only game that i prefer playing in the polish language instead of usual english

[@dynamics7094]

There are no bad mainline Rayman games. Even that rabbids DLC of all things was great expanding on the cool combat fatigues 3 started. I’d imagine a lot of pressure making 4 now. I’d love to see him return one day though, clearly people love the man.

[@STANNco]

i flippin love rayman 3

[@GreysToons]

Always the highlight of a day when ol’ B-Mask muses on a platformer/beloved platforming series. Like, I’m a huge Rayman 2 fan, if it ain’t in my top 5 it’s sittin’ comfortably at number 6, but your reasonings for why Rayman 3 pushes more of your buttons are very intelligible/coherent. And yeah that Razoff mansion encounter is absolutely brilliant, the level of bold creativity + tight execution on display is nuts! Btw, 13:00 please never stop the “YOU HAVE ANGERED THE GODS InsertWhimsicalCartoonGameCharacterHERE!!”, it’s the best 💀

[@BMask]

I'm glad people are picking up on that! So many small gremboblin men angering inhuman demons

[@jorgerosado2087]

Another platformer video yay! Rayman’s always been a favorite of mine. I actually played the games backwards, starting from Legends and ending with 1 (couldn’t beat it so I played Rayman Redemption, a fan game that improves the controls with added challenges). Always felt the sense that Rayman had both no style and every style at once. Not a bad thing, just a varied one. Anyways cool vid can’t wait for the 45 minute dissection of Gex next.

[@alexfanet]

You seems to always talk about the games from my childhood. Love seeing these pop up in my feed!

[@voxshrapnel]

thank you for this! I've waited forever for a thoughtful piece of writing/video on this game, which had a huge impact on my childhood. I still don't think there's anything like it - so it puts a smile on my face to see that you feel the same.

[@CallMeElwis94]

It's always a joy to see a new video about Rayman. He deserves all the love and attention he can get, especially since he ain't getting any from Ubisoft, nor they plan to do so in the future.

[@dracomundo1498]

Goddamn man. KZbin took your channel off my recs for a year, and I forgot your channel name due to some mental issues. And now here you are! God bless. I've got a lot of catching up to do

[@NintendanGX]

And with last year's Sparks of Hope DLC, we're bound to see that fated Rayman 4 any time now, aren't we? Aren't we...? I'm well aware how crap Ubisoft have been as a company for the past 10 years, but like Mario + Rabbids, I'm holding out SOME hope that a new Rayman game will be the exception to their underwhelming rule. As much as I enjoyed Origins and Legends in spite of their plain conformity, I really want a follow-up to Rayman 3.

[@Kriss_ch.]

Someone will want to do another one, but who knows what it'll look like, right? Afaik the Origins and Legends team just made Prince of Persia the Lost Crown - not the most amazing game I've played, but still fun, and it definitely carries a little of the dna from those titles with it.

[@jtlego1]

​@@Kriss_ch. Wait, that's made by the Origins/Legends team? Fuck I've been meaning to grab that for a while now, that might just bump it up to the next game I purchase.

[@Infimusoma]

I have bad news, the director of the Mario + Rabbids games left Ubisoft this year, which is a shame, the Sparks of Hope DLC was clearly a love letter to Rayman and he said that he would love to work on a new Rayman, but sadly that won't happen. Ubisoft Montpellier, the studio responsible for Origins and Legends, is still around and made the great Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, but Ubisoft is falling apart right now and there are no signs that things will improve.

[@oevandrorealconfia4762]

Michel Ancel said that after Beyond Good and Evil 2 and Wild, he would work on Rayman 4. And then he retired.

[@DJLizardon]

@@oevandrorealconfia4762 Beyond Good and Evil 2 probably had such a disastrous development he just said fuck it, and gave up on games completely, which sucks because I want rayman 4 😔

[@PerhapsVivy]

Wow what an amazing video, Rayman 3 is one of my biggest childhood games and I'm very nostalgic towards it. I love your decision for the ending music, it is by far the best song of the OST

[@joshuareesor1756]

Rayman 3 will always hold a special place in my heart, with the various times I replayed it as a kid, got too scared to get past the Desert of the Knaaren, and then restarted from the beginning just to play more without having to confront them or the Zombie Chickens. Each game in the series was different; each giving me unique memories to cherish.

[@Omnicide101]

Oh man, most I remember of this game is seeing that giant spider robot in the distance, having to fight it, being too scared and bailing. Thanks for the showcase on how wel this held up :)

[@FcProduction15]

To add to the translating the dialogues for French to English, a lot of them were censored in English As a French guy, I was really surprised when I first listened to an English walkthrough of the game !

[@jurtheorc8117]

On the same day as Corkben posts a Rayman video himself. This will be fun and interesting! Good to see this game/series on your channel already. Discovered you through Herdy Gerdy, found the Psychonauts video interesting, greatly enjoyed your Sly series, and now i'm curious of Kya: Dark Lineage may ever warrant a place in this series. (or perhaps even Blud or Cookie Cutter or the Zeno Clash games.)

[@oskarsiwik3517]

One of the best on the platform making a video on my most cherished childhood game? Let's go!

[@weegeesoul]

As different as the Rayman games were, they all were a work of art.

[@lyndo64]

Rayman 3 is one of my favorite games ever, nice to see someone who loves this game! Great video!

[@connorottem5767]

Rayman 3 is a criminally underrated game in the series, and it's always nice when I see other people giving it its due. I especially like that you point out the frequent callbacks to Rayman 1 since it makes the trilogy feel more complete as a statement. Rayman 1 and 2 are such vastly different games yet 3 manages to make it feel somewhat cohesive (at least by this series' standards).

[@pestergeist]

Everybody loves Rayman (now on CBS)

[@JCOdrjones]

You know what's really madder? Crash: Mind over Mutant on Nintendo DS

[@OtterloopB]

"I miss Ray." -All of us, because current Ubisoft is a disaster

[@averagefez]

Nobody understands Rayman.

[@Impbrush]

I wasn’t expecting a Rayman review, but a good get for my first week back in Uni. A good video as always and good luck on the thunderbolts editing B.

[@jurtheorc8117]

Wish you good luck, strength, wisdom and fun in university, to receive, find, make and share alike.

[@Nyponyt]

new video from my favorite channel about one of my favorite games (that no one ever talks about) this is truly a day

[@TheIncredibleMasterA]

This game was a truly magical and wondrous experience as a kid! I hope that kids growing up with video games today also get to have these nearly trippy/mystical world building, characters and feel (not just Fortnite and League lol)

[@jaoblia]

So happy to see such in depth analysis on the most overlooked Rayman game! I'm still more of a Rayman 2 kind of guy, I wasn't a fan of 3's beat-em-up base game but it's so unique and deserves a lot more eyes on it in general.

[@NickBaysingar]

Man, this video unlocked some core memories of my childhood and made me realize that I have not played through Rayman 2 or 3 in several years. I need to change that. I absolutely love Rayman 3, but Rayman 2 was what introduced me to the series and it's probably one of my favorite 3D platformers ever. I remember leaving my N64 on for three days straight until I beat it because I didn't have a memory pack and wasn't able to save my progress. Miraculously, my brothers actually waited for me to beat it instead of cutting me short so they could play Perfect Dark and Mario Kart. Also, the music for Land of the Livid Dead in Rayman 3 is god tier.

[@Muds33]

Rayman 3 was my introduction to the series as a kid and I fell in love with it from the get go. Thank you for this wonderful video it feels like years of my hype for this game crammed into a short and sweet video. I adore rayman 3!!!

[@alexandreturcotte6411]

3 weeks since the "Thunderbolts need you" video, might be the quickest B-mask turnover I ever saw, and never expected. AND we have Rayman?! Dope! Excellent job! One day, I'll find the time to play Legends with my friends with my Switch version, I swear.

[@BMask]

Thank you! I promise this was cooking in the oven for a long time, it just happened to fall into place as a finished draft last month for some reason!

[@007order007]

I just really wish they revisited this type of game again. The new platformer one is fun, but it never gave me the same sense of immersion that 2 and 3 did. By far the artstyle of both is absolutely beautiful in my opinion and I wish more games had this artystle and type of story.

[@Tynrova]

Onto the Beyond Good and Evile 2 we're never getting now...

[@retromastery7010]

17:50 As a "native" french speaker myself (I'm from Quebec), I can tell you for a goddamn fact that the french dub of Rayman 3 is, by far, the BEST out of all the dubs. It's actually insane how good it is, with Murphy's and André's performance being the highlight for me personally. As a matter of fact, I recently felt the urge to play the game again, but this time, in english. However... the dub just felt off to me, it didn't "sound" like the Rayman 3 I played all those years ago. So, just to confirm my suspicions, I went ahead and watched some old 2012 french playthrough of it on KZbin... Needless to say, it wasn't even close, the french dub felt a lot more dynamic and well paced, and the jokes... my god the jokes, they're outright hilarious when you can understand what's being said. Of course, it's not to say that the english dub is bad, but it's clear that the game's script was made with french humor and dialect in mind.

[@pearsareawful9006]

Rabbids go home is a game I love, but constantly forget about until someone somehow finds a reason to bring it up. I feel everyone else forgets about it too, especially for how surprisingly good it is. I spent hours in that Rabbid creator as a kid. Good to see it get some acknowledgement.

[@stonesoupstudio2348]

You are a true gamer. A genuine love for classic games and an ability to articulate why! Great video!

[@TheHourglassoftime]

10:06 that level literally made me have nightmares for weeks as a kid and i had to never play the game again "(

[@daviddragoon82]

Rayman 3 on Dreamcast was a beautiful game, such a shame the Rabbits stole the spotlight great video Mask!

[@deemster4249]

Rayman 3 on Dreamcast? You mean Rayman 2?

[@anonymoweb]

makes me amazed there is still to this day new videos about this series and game

[@thomasgerdingh]

Man, I got the most amazing chills while watching this. Absolutely great video

[@awora_nanne]

as someone who played the game in for the first time in Czech translation, I completely agree about the english translation of the game. it might be nostalgia, but it might also be the incredible voice acting in czech but it always felt like the english translation never hit as hard as the jokes in the czech version great video!! its great to see someone talking about this incredible game in 2024 : ) personally, its one of my favorites and its one of those titles that made me realize I want to pursue an art career in game development. the hand painted visuals of these older platformers just cannot be beat