Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc

Ultimate Powers, Ultimate Enemies, Ultimate Havoc

• EU release: 21st February 2003
• NA release: 4th March 2003
• JP release: N/A
• Developer: Ubi Pictures
• Publisher: UbiSoft
• NGC Magazine: 84%
• Mods Used: None

With platformers taking an “edgy” turn in this generation of consoles, Rayman also followed suit. Thankfully, he didn’t go too far, and it’s still a fairly cheerful game with lots of whimsy. The darker environments are done extremely well, with some absolutely gorgeous looking locations that feel magical, with great use of lights and reflections to complete the look.

While Rayman 3 feels even more linear than Rayman 2, there’s plenty of great sections and large rooms where you’ll need to figure out how to progress. A lot of this involves collecting power-ups which give Rayman an ability like knocking down doors, flying for a short time or grabbing onto rings. His main attacks feel much more impactful than the previous game, as his actual fists doing the hitting this time and you can arc Rayman’s punches left and right, with you having to do this for certain enemies, or charge up shots.

The platforming feels very precise, as well, and the camera is good most of the time (there are still a few annoying camera turns every now and then). Each level has its own unique gimmick, as well as some set-pieces to keep it varied. It’s a blast to go through the game. There’s also a combo system, which I really didn’t like, as the game doesn’t seem set up to take advantage of it. As a result, only really experienced players can really make use of it. This wouldn’t be an issue, but at the end of every section you’ll get a ranking, and it’s a bit of a downer when you collect everything and then get told that you did poorly for every single section of the game.

I also found the voice acting to be off-putting, as it was often hard to make out what was being said, largely due to the lack of subtitles – I even turned down the sound and music to try and help. The voices aren’t what I’d expect the characters to sound like, so during gameplay I often didn’t realise who was talking, which in turn made it difficult to follow the story. It’s a shame, as it seems well written and entertaining, it just needed a bit of clarity.

But, Rayman 3 still feels great to play. You still want to collect everything and always look forward to what’s coming up. And, on top of that, there’s 12 minigames as well. None of them are bad, but I just wanted to focus on a couple.

2D Madness

A 2D platformer, consisting of a single level and reminiscent of Rayman 1. It’s simple, but good fun. The GameCube version also has a second level of this type called 2D Nightmare, with lots of spikes and Rayman dying in one hit.

Razoff Circus

A target-shooting minigame which isn’t just a light-gun style game, but a full first person shooter with movement and aiming. Simple, but fun, and more than you would expect from a bonus.

Mad Trax

This was the main minigame I wanted to talk about, and one that’s exclusive to the GameCube version. It uses Rayman’s crazy shoe power-up from the main game (which shrank Rayman so he could drive around in his shoe) and, instead of just making a simple racing minigame, they went for something much more interesting, one involving a second player using a Game Boy Advance.

While the object is to get to the goal in the fastest time, the track also needs to be built. The GBA player has to build it by playing a Tetris-like minigame, creating a track that will twist around obstacles. Both players have to be quick, as the bits of track will fall if Rayman is on them for too long. It’s a great example of asymmetrical gameplay and a concept which is good enough for its own game – it would have worked especially well on the Wii U. It seems strange that it’s buried away as a Rayman 3 minigame. There’s also a 2-vs-2 version (needing two GBAs) that can also be unlocked.

—

Rayman 3 is a great platformer, but just needed a few alterations to be truly spectacular.

Great

Playing Rayman 3 is something else. It’s got a dose of the X-factor: the immeasurable, almost indescribable quality that washes over you an hour into the game – the slow-dawning feeling that you’re playing something a bit special, a bit magical.

Neil Randall, NGC Magazine #78

Remake or remaster?

This, along with the second game, definitely needs a well-made remaster.

Official Ways to get the game

The old PC version is available on GOG and the Ubisoft store, and there are fan patches for it. The HD version is available on Xbox and runs on Series consoles, but that version had a load of issues and bugs.

Europe

Japan

North America

GameCube Games by Date

2001: Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

2002: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

2003: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

2004: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

2005: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

2006: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

2007: Mar, Jun, Aug

3D platformer gamecube platformer Rayman ubisoft