Rayman 2: The Great Escape

About Rayman 2: The Great Escape

Rayman 2: The Great Escape launched on October 21, 1999 as a pure adventure platformer developed by Ubisoft Montpellier for the Nintendo 64. This title features Rayman and his friend Globox as they battle an invading fleet of Robot Pirates led by Admiral Razorbeard. The story begins when the pirates destroy the world core and capture both heroes, stealing their powers until a magical silver lum restores Rayman's abilities. Players navigate a vibrant world called the Glade of Dreams filled with floating islands and colorful landscapes. The game relies entirely on single player action where you collect four ancient magic masks to awaken the spirit Polokus. It remains one of the most distinct platforming entries on the N64 thanks to its unique character designs and handcrafted 3D environments.

Gameplay

You spend your time jumping between floating platforms, smashing through enemies with punches or kicks since Rayman has no limbs to wield weapons. The core loop involves crossing large open areas via the Hall of Doors while solving physics-based puzzles to clear paths. You will frequently dodge projectiles from robotic pirates and use specific moves like wall jumping or ground slams to reach high ledges. Finding hidden Teensies is crucial as they help unlock shortcuts or grant extra lives. Combat requires timing your attacks against larger foes like the giant Grolgoth robot in the final stage. The controls feel tight and responsive, allowing for precise jumps even on narrow surfaces. You can also team up with Globox temporarily to solve puzzles that require two people, though he often leaves you to find his own family later in the adventure.

What Players Think

Data from our tracking shows this title sits at a solid 84.9 out of 100 on IGDB based on 203 ratings, while Metacritic lists it at 68. Players report an average completion time of roughly 12 hours for a full run through all levels and bosses. The community mood remains overwhelmingly positive with frequent mentions of the game's visual style and level design. Many users note that finding every collectible extends playtime significantly, pushing some sessions past 15 hours. Review snippets from our database highlight the soundtrack and the humor in enemy behaviors as standout features. Despite a lower aggregate score on one major site, the player retention numbers suggest fans keep coming back to revisit specific stages. The completion rate for main story objectives sits around 85 percent among active players who start the game.

PlayPile's Take

This game is worth your time if you enjoy tight controls and colorful world design without needing a controller with motion sensors. Rayman 2 costs very little on modern re-release platforms, yet offers over a dozen hours of content for anyone willing to hunt down every mask. You earn 50 achievements by completing the story and finding all hidden items. The difficulty spikes in later stages but never feels unfair compared to other platformers from that era. Skip this if you hate precise jumping or prefer action games with shooting mechanics. The final boss fight is long, but the reward of seeing Rayman return on a crutch makes the effort feel justified.

Storyline

Rayman 2 takes place in a world called the Glade of Dreams. An army of Robot Pirates, led by Admiral Razorbeard, invades this world and destroys the Heart of the World, the world core. This greatly weakens the resistance's power and disables Rayman's powers, leading to his capture. Globox, a friend of Rayman, is later also captured and put in the same cell as Rayman aboard the Pirates' prison ship. Globox gives Rayman a silver lum given to him by Ly the fairy, which restores his powers. Rayman escapes the prison ship, and is separated from Globox again. He learns that to stand a chance against the Pirates, he needs to find four ancient magic masks to awaken Polokus, the spirit of the world, hidden in secret and mysterious sanctuaries consisting of the four elements water/ice, earth/stone, fire, and air. He travels through the Glade of Dreams via the Hall of Doors, a magical place linked to various locations in the world, controlled by the ancient Teensies. In the course of the game, Rayman frees Globox who had been captured again, and they continue together for a short while until Globox departs again to go find his family. Later, Rayman finds Globox's wife Uglette and learns that he has been imprisoned on the Prison Ship. Rayman also encounters his friend Clark, a strongman who has stomach problems due to eating rusty pirates; to continue through the level, Rayman has to cure Clark by means of an elixir. Eventually, Rayman recovers the four masks and awakens Polokus, who makes quick work of the pirates on land. In the air however, he has no power, and Rayman is tasked to dispose of the Pirates' flying Prison Ship, where Admiral Razorbeard also has his headquarters. In a final battle Rayman fights Razorbeard, who is controlling a giant robot, the Grolgoth. Eventually Rayman destroys the robot and while Razorbeard escapes in a small escape pod, the Prison Ship explodes. Rayman is presumed dead and only one of his shoes is found, but during his funeral, he appears again, walking on a crutch.