[XBOX360/PS3/WIIU] Rayman Legends Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii & Wii U

[Nighthawk]

Rayman Legends
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier
Genre: Platforming
Release Dates: 3 September 2013 (NA) / 30 August 2013 (EU)
Price: 19.99£ (Amazon)




Initially announced as a Wii U exclusive, Rayman Legends later became a multiplatform title, making its way to the Xbox360 and PS3 as well, continuing the reboot of the Rayman franchise that started with Rayman Origins in 2011. While many things have changed and improved since Origins, the core idea remains the same, putting you in the role of Rayman or one of his friends which will unlock along the way and sending you on your way to save all the captured Teensies, a concept that seems outdated at first, but made fun by its amazing presentation and attention to detail in each world that you'll visit. Same as before, there isn't an actual plot to follow, except for the well known pattern of putting you in different themed world, each one having a different boss battle at the end, and while those battles could once again use some improvements as they still rely on certain actions performed for a given number of times, the road to that battle is what matters.

Each level is unique and creates some amazing puzzles around a certain idea, hiding once again Teensies for you to find even after you've completed the first playthrough, taking full advantage of the level design as you'll have to look around very carefully in order to find all the secrets and achieve the highest score. Even better, after each boss battle a bonus musical level will be unlocked, having you perform actions such as jumping on platforms or kicking enemies in mid-air in rhythm with the music, something that creates a truly unique experience that you'll surely want to replay at least once after.

Rayman Legends isn't your classical left to right, walk and jump platformer, as you will constantly be in the lookout for bonus coins, Lums and Teensies, but there are plenty of ways to improve your overall score, and the addictive fun that each level provides in a unique way will make you want to return again and again to find everything there is and unlock the Golden Trophy for each one of those stages, especially since there are achievements that reward you for doing so. Another cool feature comes in the form of Lucky Tickets, that will be awarded to you for achieving a certain score located somewhere between the Silver Trophy and the Golden Trophy variables; those tickets can award you many different things, starting with a few extra Lums, additional Creatures that will provide you with daily rewards, Teensies that have been trapped inside the tickets or Paintings that will unlock levels from Rayman Origins. However, aside from the levels themselves there are lots of other things to do, such as tending to your Creatures, unlocking new content using Lums or playing KungFoot, a unique mini game that uses your character's ability to kick in order to play soccer.



9


Not a lot of things have changed in the means by which the game is played since Origins, but that is probably for the best, since Origins had one of the most refined control schemes seen in modern platformers, but once again the level design itself is what makes each stage unique and totally different from the previous title, so even if the control remains the same, you will never have a similar experience when you move from one game to the other. The ways in which Rayman Legends uses its own level design is absolutely amazing, creating truly unique experiences that you haven't played before, and making each level worthwhile of a replay later on, since there are so many secrets, Teensies, and Lums that you can collect with each replay, all which can later be used to unlock even more content.

The one thing that differentiate those two titles, is the feature that was originally made exclusive for the Wii U gamepad, allowing another player to use the integrated touchscreen to control Toad and move certain objects around the map in order to aid the main player. Since the Xbox360 and PS3 controllers have no such thing, the feature was integrated to use one of the action buttons to give orders to Toad and depending on your position on the map and the direction you're facing the game will automatically assume what object you want to move where, and since there will be only two or three objects that you can interact with on the screen at one time, this feature makes the whole concept work.

The problem comes when you have to perform more precise actions such as cutting a path through a piece of cake, something that could easily be done by using your finger on the Wii U gamepad, but ordering Toad to do it using the action buttons can sometimes be tricky as he will cut either too high, too low or only halfway through, but even so you will get it right eventually and those problems only occur in 2-3 levels throughout the entire game. Even if you can't have one of your friends aiding you as Toad on the Xbox360/PS3 version, you can still enjoy the amazing Co-Op experience that became popular with Rayman Origins and which is now even better in Legends and the fun all those unique levels provide will keep you and your friends inside the game for a long time, especially if you're willing to master each level and compete for the highest scores. Unfortunately, Co-Op is still limited to local only, making it impossible to play with your friends online, if you don't have the chance to gather at the same place, which is quite a shame since Rayman Legends is such an enjoyable and content-filled experience that you should be able to access from anywhere.



9


Rayman Legends keeps the magic that made Origins such a beautiful game, being based on the same artstyle, but bringing new and gorgeous themes to the game, and adding a little more detail to some areas such as landscapes. The characters look just as amazing and with each unique level they became a part of that background and blend in with the action, something that truly makes the experience unique and the game feel different from anything else you have seen before. The visual effects are just as good, always completing the level design, rather than choosing their own path and making the experience come to life in a way that makes each theme stand out on its own.



10


The soundtrack once again fits perfectly with the action and each theme has its unique set of songs that differentiate them one from another, making you a part of each one of those worlds and dragging you further into the experience. The sound effects are just as good and they give the game a little more detail to what's happening, but without exaggerating them and losing track of the amazing background theme music. Needless to say, those unique tracks that were created specifically for the musical levels are superb and combined with the gameplay they create one of the most unique and amazing experiences you have seen in a platformer.



10


There is a lot to come back to in Rayman Legends, starting with all those levels that you can choose to master and unlock their Golden Trophies, and moving on to all those Lucky Tickets that you have to collect which will unlock all of the levels from Rayman Origins, so if you're dedicated to this game and scoring high in each level you will be rewarded with the previous game in the series for free of charge.

In addition to that, you have Creatures that will reward you with Lums and Coins, which you can later spend on new characters, the KungFoot minigame and the Co-Op experience which never ceases to be fun, but unfortunately you'll have to drag all your friends to your house and ask them to bring their controllers with them since the Co-Op is local only. As a final reward, once you have completed all the levels in Legends, the Living Dead Party Painting will be unlocked, bringing a few more extra musical levels and an 8-bit remake of all the other levels featured in the previous paintings; while the extra musical levels are welcome, whoever came up with the idea for those 8-bit remakes seriously needs to ease up on all that acid, and you'll see exactly why once you get there.

8


Rayman Legends doesn't change a lot of what made Origins such a great game, but it improves on certain aspects and keeps that unique and fun Rayman experience alive, bringing new themes with brilliant level design that will once again feed you your platforming needs. In addition to that there is an astonishing amount of content to keep you around, and dedication to the game is rewarded since winning all the Lucky Tickets will award you with Rayman Origins for free, so Rayman Legends is not one game, but two.

There is so much to do and so many ways to do it, that you'll be stuck in this game for weeks, depending on how much you wanna collect and where do you wanna raise the bar, but even when you're done with all the collecting there's always more fun to be had in Co-Op, unfortunately with that comes Rayman Legend's only major problem, the fact that one of its best features, the Co-Op gameplay is limited to local play only.

9.2