Two years ago, Rayman hit the scene with one of his most inspired adventures yet. It took series staples and wove them into one of the most beautiful and interesting platformers I’d ever seen. Well, Rayman Legends is now here and it somehow manages to surpass Rayman Origins in every way imaginable. It applies the same great platforming to gorgeous new inspired worlds and even manages to make it enjoyable for more than one concurrent player this time around.
Just like the last time, each world in the game is themed and offers a healthy selection of levels to fully realize that theme. Rather than continue with the basic elemental-rooted worlds, Legends opts for a more diverse repertoire. Medieval castles, Dia de los Muertos (complete with Luchadores), and an extensive underwater complex are just a sampling of the environments realized in Rayman Legends. They’re bursting with so much life and humor, you can’t help but smile as you make your way through each level.
The presentation of these levels is equally as inspired. Instead of the typical world map, levels are represented as paintings in an extensive gallery. As you traverse the gallery and complete the levels, more doors and new areas open up. While only a minor and insignificant part of the game in the grand scheme of things, it’s a showcase of the level of work that went into every small detail. These details come together into an extremely immersive experience where hours will melt away as you play.
Of course, Rayman Legends isn’t just style with no substance; au contraire – the substance is possibly even greater than the style. The silky smooth platforming you remember from Origins is back and even smoother here, which is a necessity. Legends offers up a stiff challenge with levels that require absolute precision. You’ll often find yourself running up walls, making perfectly-timed jumps, and exploring every nook and cranny of every level to uncover the ten hidden Teensies and a plethora of Lums to achieve a gold medal.
The precision necessary is amplified in the new Invasion and musically themed levels that punctuate each world. In both instances, you need to execute at the highest level and in perfect sync to make it to the end in the prescribed time limit. The musically themed levels are an absolute joy and one of my favorite parts of the whole game. Running, jumping, and attacking to the beat of the music is the core function, but like everything else, there’s so much personality woven into it, you can’t help but smile.
Perhaps equally as impressive are the new Murfy levels, specifically on the Wii U with another player. If you remember the brouhaha that stirred up earlier this year, you’d remember that the game was delayed so it could release not only on the once exclusive Wii U, but across the other platforms as well. After playing through the game, it’s quite clear that Rayman Legends is not only best on Wii U, but designed to be played there. The GamePad’s touch screen plays a vital role in these new levels and playing them without that function would revoke much of the charm and magic that makes them special.
Part of the beauty of the touch screen function is that anybody can pick it up and play it. You don’t need another gamer in the house -- no matter who grabs the Wii U GamePad, they’re going to have a blast working together to best the challenges presented by Rayman Legends.
Players can take up the role of Murfy in just about every level in the game, but there are certain ones that absolutely require his assistance. Using the touch screen, you’ll move impediments out of the way, carve a pathway through a solid wall for traversal, drag items towards the character on the screen so they can be retrieved, and even act as the propulsion and navigation during pseudo-shoot-‘em-up segments. As the game progresses, the touch screen player needs to become more and more proficient and observant to conquer the mounting challenges. On the other end of the equation, the platforming players need to implicitly trust their partner and constantly communicate as they rush through the levels. The feeling of moving in tandem to accomplish these feats is unrivaled. It’s one of the most thrilling cooperative functions I’ve experienced in a game yet.
Augmenting this already healthy helping of content are retooled levels from Origins, Kung Foot, and constantly revolving challenges with worldwide leaderboards. At first, I felt the inclusion of the levels from Origins was an odd choice, but the added collectibles make them a worthy retread for veterans of the original release. For newbies, this is a ton of extra content that nearly matches up to the new content featured in Legends.
Kung Foot is a surprisingly great multiplayer romp, allowing for players to compete head to head in a soccer-like game. In a single “room” players are dropped with a bouncing soccer ball that they must hit into the opponents goal, while defending their own. With the ability to also smash your opponents, there’s some great competition and hilarious antics to be had in this mode. In a college dorm setting, I could see this mode receiving hours of play despite its simplicity.
After you’ve exhausted everything else in Rayman Legends, new challenges will be available on a daily and weekly basis. These test not only your platforming mettle, but demonstrate how you stack up against the whole world’s population of Rayman players. They’re a great way to keep you coming back for more, even after you’ve completed all of the traditional content in the game.
I find myself continuously impressed with Rayman Legends. It has singlehandedly provided some of the best platforming and best cooperative modes I’ve experienced in years, all with a ton of character. I wholeheartedly recommend you grab this game on the Wii U and rope in a family member or friend to tackle this joyous experience.
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