Rayman

The Good
It was graphically stunning! Animations were the best you could get for that time
The various worlds in which you evolved, while classic, were used very good. In the musical world, for example, some platform were made of percussions and jumping on them would produce a percussion sound. And there are plenty of similar pleasant details
The controls were more than decent
It's long, with plenty of levels


The Bad
The worlds were maybe a little bit too classic
There is no real innovative concepts
The game was way too hard, especially for its most probable audience : kids ! Reaching the middle of the game is already a kind of miracle, and after that, the game will probably kill you in frustration


The Bottom Line
Rayman would have been one of the best platform games for the PC if it wasn't so frustrating. I doubt many people will ever make it to the last level.
Do not (I repeat : do not!) give this game to a violent kid or he'll probably destroy your computer, yelling nasty words you didn't know he was aware of and leaving him in a nasty mood for months because he'll be dead frustrated.

The Good
Rayman has been a huge accomplishment from Ubisoft. There have been many Rayman games, but this one stands out.

Rayman Advance truly takes the Gameboy Advance and turns it into a real blaster with graphics. RA's bright colours and textures(well...not really textures) really make the game look great.

The level layout was amazing too, as all the levels are reasonably big, and it's fun guiding (the huge) Rayman across them.

Sound was no problem, the music and sound effects are good.

The game plays very well. The controls are quick and responsive, and the controls have been mapped out nicely.

The Bad
Nothing.

The Bottom Line
Rayman delivers a well fulfilled promise of enhanced pocket gaming to it's greatest. I give Rayman Advance a well deserved 5 / 5 .

The Good
In the classic console war of PlayStation vs Sega Saturn, the Saturn always came out as having the more vibrant colours and running faster (at least concerning 2D games) – this game is very much the living proof of that. Rayman looks so stunning, it holds up to today’s standards with no sweat. The graphics are simply phenomenal, with a huge colour palette and very nicely done animations (some of which the PlayStation version lacks). The music in Rayman is also very good, being on par with the graphics in what concerns the overall “pretty” look the game has to offer. It has a wonderful array of instruments at its disposal, and the arrangements are lovely. The gameplay is quite adequate for the game type, and the use of newfound powers to overcome obstacles is nicely done. The bosses are also entertaining and varied, which is a plus.

The Bad
There is only one flaw I’d point to this game – the (sometimes) utterly unfair difficulty. Some areas of the game are just plain simply frustrating, to the point of making many-a-gamer to simply give up on the game. My personal advice? Don’t do it – playing the game ends up being a rewarding experience.

The Bottom Line
Rayman is a game that at first glance seems very appealing (and it is), but which also possesses the capability to steer gamers away due to its frustrating difficulty. If you are able to persevere, you will find yourself immersed into a true fairy-tale world, filled with beauty and awe-inspiring sets and music.