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Rayman DS

With all great handhelds come ports - some good, some bad. The Nintendo DS has already been given two ports, Super Mario 64 DS and Ridge Racers, and now Ubisoft continues the trend with Rayman DS, a port of the Nintendo 64 classic Rayman 2: The Great Escape. Rayman 2 was, at the time of its original release, a breath of fresh air into the platforming genre, as it took aim at a steady flow of varied forms of gameplay instead of focusing primarily on collecting dozens and dozens of items. However, that was then and this is now. Can it still hold up to today's standards?

As I stated before, Rayman 2 was critically acclaimed at the time for its twist on the genre rather then just exploring vast worlds collecting everything and anything. Instead, it was geared towards fast paced action. Instead of just forcing gamers to do the same thing they did in the last level but in a new environment, Rayman had gamers expecting the unexpected. One moment you'd be water skiing behind a giant sea serpent, and soon after weaving between giant rocks with the aid of a pet rocket. It was fun and something new.

However, that's not to say that there isn't any kind of collecting to be done, as each level has 50 Lums (tiny fairies begging to be rescued) scattered throughout the course, hidden literally in every nook and cranny. In case you are a victim of obsessive-compulsive disorder and absolutely have to collect everything, this is really going to bug you. Ubisoft has their hearts set on making sure you don't find these buggers, as they are almost always placed in the most random spots. You may find yourself replaying a level time and again looking for just one of these little Lums. What's worse is that Rayman DS does not feature ingame saving, so once you do manage to find the pesky thing you have to replay the whole level until the end in order to get a chance to save.

The problem with this method of saving is that it defeats the purpose of Rayman DS being a handheld game. For the most part, handheld games are meant to be played in spurts - when you have a moment on the bus, or in a boring class lecture - not for hours at a time. Because of the unwieldy saving feature it's hard to play the game at your own convenience, as each level can clock in at around 30 minutes of game time. On the bright side, Rayman DS benefits from the Nintendo DS' sleep mode, so in case you run out of play time you can at least close up the system and conserve battery life for future gameplay. Rayman DS is sure to last you a long time with its 45 levels, each of which take a fair amount of time to complete.

Naturally, that Nintendo has claimed the DS as innovative, consumers expecting something innovative for their new touch screen are hoping developers can make use of this creative little device. Not only did Ubisoft tarnish the Rayman name by porting the game over also did nothing with the touch screen. Aside from keeping a few icons from cluttering your action screen (health meters, item percentages, etc.), the touch screen is used only to control Rayman. This is not necessarily a bad idea, as Nintendo did the same with Super Mario 64 DS, but a control system like this is clunky enough to be nearly unplayable.

To some, the transition to 3D on a handheld held the promise of an analog stick as well. Unlike the Sony PSP, however, Nintendo held fast with the D-Pad and because of this it can be somewhat hard to control characters. Plenty complained with Super Mario 64 DS, and plenty are going to complain again with Rayman DS. However, if you can manage the D-Pad (and I personally don't think it's that bad), there won't be much to gripe about as it's light years ahead of the touch screen control.

Even though I hate to continue to compare Rayman DS with Super Mario 64 DS, both exemplified some of the best platforming of their time with their original releases, and now that they've been ported people want more for their buck. Super Mario 64 DS managed to woo gamers with a handful of touch screen based mini-games added to a continuation of the original game. Rayman DS, on the other hand, offers nothing. It is an almost direct port from the Nintendo 64, and aside from the ability to take it away from a television and the game's name, there's nothing new to be found.

This game gets an N-Philes score of B-.

Overall - Who could have imagined that taking such an amazing game and porting it to a handheld would be so devastating? Combine the lack of utilization of the DS' unique capabilities and any improvements over the original with sloppy graphics, horrid controls, and a dreadful save feature, and the Rayman name begins a steady decline into mediocrity with this title. On the flip side, compared to the rest of the current library, Rayman DS kills the competition in terms of longevity. The solo adventure alone will last you quite a long time. The gameplay is still as fun as ever, and if you haven't played this title before then there's no better time then now. However, for all those who played the original there's nothing here to justify $30 out of your wallet, and I can safely say passing on this one won't have you missing much.

Posted in: Reviews