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Ubi Soft wowed gamers when it released Rayman Advance as one of the first GBA titles available.
Rayman Advance showed off the power of the GBA early on and started the Rayman craze all over again. Rayman Advance was a great looking, fun game but some found the difficulty to be a little high. Rayman 3 comes to us alongside its console brothers to make a brilliant, fun platformer, improving everything we loved (and didn’t) about the first one.
Taking a cue from its console brothers, Rayman 3 shares the same story. As Rayman, it is your job to save your friend Globox, who disappeared after eating a Dark Lum. While cut scenes are gone, the stills used to tell the story do a great job.
Rayman 3 has plenty of levels for you to get your hands on. There are over fifty levels, which means you’ll play the game for quite a while. It is possible to get through the game in a day or two, with an extremely low percentile. If you want to get the full 100%, you’ll need to explore every nook in each level and even revisit some levels once you learn new techniques. The platforming elements aren’t very different than what you have seen before, but do a great job. Excellent level designs make the game more enjoyable and less repetitive, something many handheld platforms don’t seem to get right.
The game design, in general, is very similar to that of Rayman Advance. A vast majority of the takes place in wonderful platforming environments and Rayman constantly gains new abilities. You will have many more by the end of the game than you do in the beginning. The difficulty curve was something that plagued the original game and is definitely improved here. The first few levels are easy and you will be able to get through them without a problem. Getting 100% will only take a few tries. Gradually, the learning curve increases and since there are plenty of levels, the curve is gradual.
If you know some friends who own a copy of this game, you’ll be able to play a great multi-cart multiplayer mode. You will be able to play in bumper carts and participate in a friendly game of tag. If you don’t know buddies who own the game but do have a Game Boy Advance, you can play a toned down, single-cart version of the multiplayer modes. If you happen to own the Gamecube version of Rayman 3, the developers have included some goodies for you, as well. If you connect the handheld version with the Gamecube version, you’ll receive brand-spanking-new levels to play on your handheld. The Gamecube version of Rayman 3 features its own connectivity features, as well. Platform games usually don’t have much, if any, replay value but Ubi Soft tried very hard to add some replay value here.
Visually, Rayman 3 is a excellent platform game that shows off the power of the GBA. All the levels are colorful, large, and well-designed. The colorful stages work wonders on the GBA screen and don’t make you strain your eyes as much as other titles. There isn’t slowdown as you hop from platform to platform or take down an enemy. Backgrounds are very good and make the stages look even better. On top of the great stage design, Rayman himself looks very good. In a semi-3D look, Rayman is wonderfully animated. Attacks, jumps and just about everything else Rayman does, he does gracefully. Enemies are varied and have a great look to them as well. They are well animated and feature plenty of attacks to go at you with. The graphics can be summed up as “amazing.”
The audio fits into the game very well. While you can’t really appreciate the music through the GBA, if you have headphones, you’ll experience crisp, light, “happy” music. While not everyone will enjoy the music, they are the best for Rayman’s fun atmosphere. You’ll hear some voice samples to add some spice to the game, as well. The music is repeated a bit and you’ll hear the same tune play several times throughout the game. Overall, the audio is a solid addition to the game.
Overall, Rayman 3 for the Game Boy Advance is a great platformer. It compliments the excellent console versions. It looks and sounds great, and is tons of fun to play. Ubi Soft added great multiplayer modes and GC-GBA connectivity, to make you even happier. A must have for handheld platform gamers and worth at least a look for handheld gamers in general.
-- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Mar 26, 2003
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