The digital delights of Sony’s scrumptious PlayStation Network service know no bounds. Aside from letting punters compete in online gaming, stream films, browse the Internet and more, its premier attraction rests in the copious supply of downloadable games ripe for the picking. From PSN exclusives to PSOne Classics, minis and plain old add-on content, Sony’s online space is chock full of goodies battling it out for your hard-earned digital dollars.
Welcome back to another installment of Inside PlayStation Network, where every Monday – Friday we’ll pluck a PSN release—be it new or old—and put it in the spotlight for a thorough dissection. Fancy getting a new PSN game but don’t know what one to plump for? Perhaps this feature will help. Didn’t realize that a game was available in your region until now? We’ve got you covered. Or, perhaps you were musing over what those lucky Japanese folk were tucking into over in the Land of the Rising Sun? You can be sure our coverage will extend to those rare regional exclusives as much as those firmly embedded on the public consciousness.
Today, we turn our attention to the classic PSOne platformer, Rayman.
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Developer: Ubisoft
Region(s) available: North America, Europe
Players: 1
Originally released at a time when side-scrolling platform outings were rapidly going the way of the Dodo, Rayman arrived on scene to prove that 2D games weren’t quite ready to concede the crown to the third dimension just yet. Although this retro-flavoured paradigm has since experienced a massive resurgence over the past few years, back in the mid-90s, it was all about fancy 3D efforts like the then-fresh Super Mario 64 and Tomb Raider. Compared to them, Rayman was a dated relic; though looking back, it’s obvious many were perhaps too quick to dismiss its inherent charms.
Playing as the eponymous cartoon hero, Rayman has gamers embarking on a quest to stop the nefarious Dr. Dark. Apparently, the super villain has nicked the Great Protoon, a device which maintains the planet’s equilibrium, and it’s up to Rayman to plough through six realms, duff up Dark and save the world. All in a day’s work, in other words. Throughout his journey, our her must rescue six Electroons in each sub-stage, as well as battling Dark’s multitude of pesky minions. You can only confront Dark when you have freed all Electroons, as his hideout remains otherwise out of bounds.
As your bread-and-butter 2D platformer, Rayman is full of pickups, including Tings, which reward Rayman with an extra life if he obtains 100 of them. Furthermore, they can also be utilized to pay the Magician, who then grants you access to the bonus stage where additional lives can be gathered. Take a battering and die, however, and you’ll lose all the Tings you grabbed up to that point. Other items include a golden punching fist, health-restoring power pickup, as well as blue elves that shrink our hero down to size.
Of course, no hero would be complete without an obligatory set of iconic manoeuvres, and Rayman’s got more than a few tricks up his sleeves. Aside from his infamous telescopic fist, he can also dangle from ledges, monkey swing over flying rings, take flight with his helicopter hair and dash about the place with his running ability. Indeed, if you fancy an early slice of PSOne platforming, you could do a lot worse than Rayman. Get stuck in.
Join us again tomorrow for another peak Inside PlayStation Network.