Average Customer Review: ( 46 customer reviews )
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I'm still on the first level but I don't see how this could be rented only-- there's much to do and see. This game is a keeper, in the class of Banjo-Kazooie and GoldenEye.

32 of 32 found the following review helpful:

Simply wonderful.Dec 06, 1999

I don't know how to aptly describe this thing. First off -- if you have an N64 and have even the REMOTEST interest in platform games or cartoons, you have to buy Rayman 2.

It looks gorgeous on the N64 -- with the expansion pak (for very crisp medium-high res graphics) it's easily the best looking thing on the platform, and soundly proves that the N64 can do a heck of a lot more than most people have demonstrated. As peerless as the technology is, though, it's not about the technology.

What Rayman has is perfect mechanics and perfect art. It's more or less a fixed-path platformer in play -- you can go wherever you want to, and there's plenty of wide open spaces and different ways to go, but the bulk of each level follows a more-or-less restricted and obvious path. The structure works perfectly, lacking both the disorientation of Mario or Banjo and the monotony and un-imersiveness of Crash. This form is handled so inventively that running and jumping could never get old. For example, there are numerous "mine car" segments (in which you're carried along a fixed path by some sort of vehicle or slide, and have limited mobility to avoid obstacles), but they're all completely different (unlike Crash's pig vs. Crash's jetski): when you're riding a rocket-on-legs, or skiing, or sliding, or whatever, that's what it feels like and the challenge is appropriate to the situation. Rayman's like an enormous fantasy playground.

I can't say enough about the art, either. The worlds don't feel like some abstract scenery-on-a-path, they feel like worlds, and if you're like me you'll make little squeaking noises the first time you stumble upon a rocky cove with a pirate ship docked and the moon lighting the sea, or see the forest alive with butterflies and fish and little squeeze-toy clattering orphaned creatures. The environments are like beautiful cartoon art, with something clever and stylistically consistent around every corner -- they don't look 3D in any way except that you're able to run around them, and ever so occasionally you'll see a straight line or a polygon face. But not often. The architecture is Seusslike, the colors are chosen and managed with Disney-like effect. All the same merits apply to the characters, except that they're also treated as characters, with real honest to god quality character animation, personality, and these little gibberish voices (they're subtitled) that convey character, emotion, and the situation better than most real voice actors for video games or cartoons. You have to hear the voices to understand, but it sounds exactly like they're speaking their correct lines, just in a different language -- they even say each others' names and certain key words correctly.

Rayman 2 is, simply put, the perfect platformer. Beautiful worlds, wonderful characterization, and so much continuous, fast-paced fun that you could easily play it over and over again even if it weren't for the beauty of it all, like in the olden days of Super Mario Brothers (before you could save your game, before the long, exploration-oriented affairs where value resides in length and size at the cost of pace). And it's pretty dang long as well...

23 of 23 found the following review helpful:

awesomeNov 25, 1999

This game is awesome, from the opening sequence to the end, this game is gogeous. The graphics are on par or surpass anything on the system previously. Gameplay is unique and is very challenging for all ages, but it is addictive, so parents make sure your kids do their homework because then you'll have more time to play

16 of 18 found the following review helpful:

Rayman 2Jan 17, 2000

I'm not a big fan of platformers but this is without doubt the best one I have ever played bar none. It's hard to know where to begin but the graphics immediately come to mind. I can't recall a better looking Nintendo 64 game. Vibrant colors, realistic textures and backgrounds are the norm. The water looks beautiful and while swimming gives off a very realistic appearence. The sound is excellent. The characters speak in gibberish but some how it fits, if you can believe it. Reading text isn't fun (it never is) but didn't detract from the game at all. There is a definite strategy to the game and you have to put your thinking cap on but its not overly hard. My only negatives are that I personally thought the camera was a pain and seemed out of position to me. Example: when you jump and turn to face a different direction the camera takes a few seconds to align correctly. I found this to be the case frequently. It's not enough to ruin the game and is really the only blemish other than swimming, which I thought was a little hard to do. There is enough fighting to keep the game intersting but not too much. This game is definitely a platformer and excels at that. I try not to gush about games but I would consider this to be a must buy. I sure would hate to admit to my friends that I didn't have it. The overall presentaion and package is close to a masterpiece in my opinion.

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Trust me: you'll love it!Mar 18, 2000

I'm a 16-year-old gamer who has been pretty disappointed with the overly cutsey offerings on the N64. However, when my younger brother bought this game and I saw it in action, I knew I had to get into it. First-off, the graphics are top-notch, especially with the Expansion Pack, and they rival the best on the N64. Whether it's bright and colorful or dark and spooky, the levels all convey the same wonderful sense of being immersed in a cartoon. What really sets this game apart from all the rest, though, is the exciting gameplay. The different levels are well balanced between combat, jumping, puzzles, and "riding" sections, where you jump on an object and ride it or slide down a slope. There are quite a few of these "riding" parts, and each offers a fun, unique challenge, be it hanging on to a rocket or directing a plum - yes, a plum - down a lava river. One of my personal favorites is the level where you must run along the crumbling platforms to avoid the rapidly approaching pirate ship, which fires at you all along. It's truly exhilerating! Bosses are tough and require more than a fast trigger finger to beat. Most of them are, in fact, an exercise in puzzle solving and manipulation of the level itself, rather than mindless blasting. Oh, and the final boss battle is one of the most exciting, challenging, and unique experiences I've ever played. In short, Rayman 2 is an absolute gem and should not be missed under any circumstances.

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