Rayman Legends Review

Can you teach an old gaming icon new tricks? No, but as it happens, in this case you wouldn't even consider it.
What with the rise of new and regular annual franchises such as Call of Duty, FIFA and Assassin's Creed in recent years, the quest for video gaming fans to continuously recall the iconic original stalwarts who kick-started our industry in the beginning is becoming ever more challenging. Judging by Rayman Legends, though, those aforemtioned initial protagonists are commencing a momentous comeback to centre-stage before they're lost and forgotten, bringing visual spectacle and innovative gameplay mechanics with them.

First and foremost, Legends is most certainly a looker. UbiArt Framework have had two years since their impressive platforming reboot Rayman Origins (8/10) to upgrade the visual engine of their latest franchise and the benefits of that additional time are beautifully demonstrated. The layered character models, the intense and shocking depth of the 2D locales in each level and the diverse range of vivid graphical setpieces blazing with colour, there's so much to compliment here that a reviewer such as myself barely knows when to stop. Any holders of current-generation consoles who have been left in doubt as to the future aesthetic potential of their hardware with oncoming next-gen consoles can rest easy, this masterfully animated follow-up serving as immense evidence of the 360, PS3 and WiiU's capabilities.

A similar case of visual prowess came about in Origins, of course, but whereas in that title elements such as unbalanced checkpoint systems and overtly taxing level progression requirements worked to the detriment of the overall product, such qualms have been eliminated on this second attempt. Ubisoft have clearly taken what worked in Legends' predecessor while simultaneously dealing with its shortcomings, implementing checkpoints more regularly without becoming too generous and allowing players a swift progression through the easier stages. The five main worlds offered at launch open up rapidly, yet there's still plenty of extra content for hardcore fans to strive towards including fourty upgraded levels from Origins, multiplayer and championship modes and a tough-as-nails final world to be unlocked.

That aforementioned climactic series of levels does bring with it a caveat that affects the experience as a whole, though. Titled 'Party of the Living Dead', the final world tasks those brave enough to participate with completing seven musical sequences, in each case requiring the player to navigate their obstacles without a single demise. If it hadn't already become apparent in the teaser videos released by Ubisoft, those melodic escapades are an absolute joy to play. They render hit rock tracks including Black Betty, Woo Hoo and Eye of the Tiger in particularly dazzling setpiece missions which base themselves around the beats and rhythmic quirks of each song. Quite bizarrely, 'Party' then instigates a difficulty spike, retaining the previous focus on honed timing, but all the while throwing in additional visual obstacles (such as a blurred or cracked user interface) to enable a greater challenge. While by no means a game-breaker, this is Legends' single and most notable flaw that narrowly restraints it from Game of the Year 2013 consideration, along with this sixth world's denouement proving anti-climactic.

In spite of that drawback, Ubisoft's extra six months of development on the product since its multi-platform-driven delay have done nothing but helped, seeing as the content thrown into the mixture since March is more than exemplerary. Once this reviewer had experienced the five major end-of-world boss sequences available, the concept of Legends existing without them simply seemed inconcievable, the quality of each duel between the variety of protagonists and the fantastical antagonists remaining consistent throughout. Metallic serpents, Lucha-Libre wrestlers and other memorable villains await at the penultimate stage of each land and it's testament to the innovative minds at the development team that every sequence eclipses its predecessor in scale and ambition, more than matching up to the musical levels which succeed them.

Few would contest that at the time of Rayman Legends' delay, fans and the developers alike felt short-changed by the marketing decision to forego a Spring release in favour of garnering further sales on platforms other than the WiiU. With hindsight, though, the choice seems an inspired one- Legends should fare far more successfully without Gears of War: Judgement, Tomb Raider or BioShock Infinite to deal with, as well as shipping with a healthy margin of time before the oncoming Autumn onslaught of AAA video games. Its longevity as an experience isn't perhaps quite as extensive as Super Mario Galaxy 2, nor is its resolution quite as fulfilling, but it remains the best platforming title to be recieved since the Italian plumber's finest hour in 2010. Much as we gamers are prone to neglecting the iconic protagonists who defined our industry in its inception, Ubisoft have boldly reaffirmed their intent to keep Rayman a thriving presence in the 21st Century. On the basis of this refined follow-up, their justification for doing so couldn't be stronger.
9/10