Ubisoft’s basic platforming sequence Rayman celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this month. The developer confirmed the subsequent mainline entry is within the works, but it surely sounds prefer it’s an extended methods off. Whereas that is most likely not what followers needed to listen to, at the least you should buy a brand-new model of Rayman for Game Boy Colour. That sentence sounds odd, but it surely’s true: Ubisoft partnered with ModRetro to rerelease the GBC version of the unique Rayman. An precise GBC cartridge, actually, and it appears beautiful.
Rayman is the newest addition to the ModRetro Chromatic Classics Assortment. If the phrases ModRetro Chromatic do not imply something to you: ModRetro is a retro gaming {hardware} producer and software program writer; the Chromatic, an exceedingly spectacular recreation of the Game Boy Colour, was the model’s debut product final 12 months. Try our in-depth Chromatic evaluation revealed at launch. Only a heads up, although: The Chromatic we reviewed now retails for $299, and the $199 mannequin has barely completely different elements. That stated, you may nonetheless get the GameStop-exclusive gray launch edition bundled with Tetris for $199.
It is essential to notice that regardless that ModRetro carts have Chromatic branding, all of them work on unique {hardware} and different FPGA handhelds just like the Analogue Pocket. ModRetro despatched me a Rayman demo cart, and I examined it on Chromatic, Pocket, and an unique Game Boy Colour. It performed completely on all three.
The Chromatic version of Rayman is basically the identical as the unique, but it surely does embrace an incredible new soundtrack. Like many GBC video games, Rayman had a transparent cartridge, whereas the Chromatic version matches the hero’s purple shirt. The field and label artwork match the unique North American launch. The shiny cardboard field has a detachable plastic tray that holds the cart in place and an instruction booklet, similar to the outdated days. Whenever you take away the cart from the tray, you may discover the small Rayman allure proven beneath. Each ModRetro recreation features a allure themed across the recreation, which is a pleasant little contact.
Rayman stays one of many higher platformers on GBC. It is considered one of many Game Boy video games that’s based mostly on a console version, but is actually a brand new recreation. It shares the identical overarching plot, however the ranges are completely different and most of the characters from the 1995 unique aren’t current. That is on no account a barebones expertise, although. Rayman on GBC has over 30 ranges unfold throughout seven important biomes and endgame problem worlds. The colourful sprites and environments nonetheless maintain up, too. It is undoubtedly price taking part in, and in case you have entry to a tool that performs GBC carts, ModRetro’s rerelease is a perfect alternative.
It will’ve been straightforward to mistakenly assume you already performed this recreation on PlayStation, Sega Saturn, or Atari Jaguar. Everybody performed Rayman on Jaguar, after all. It most likely did not assist issues that an actual port of Rayman launched on Game Boy Advance barely over a 12 months after the GBC launch. Rayman Advance, by the best way, is likely one of the prettiest Game Boy Advance video games ever made, which is sort of spectacular because it was a launch title. In brief: Early Rayman handheld video games had been superior and stay superior in the present day.
Outdoors of the Chromatic version of Tetris, which is bundled with the hand held and is not offered individually, Rayman is the “largest” recreation in ModRetro’s Classics Collection. It joins Toki Tori Final Edition, Sabrina: Zapped, Child T-Rex, and Challenge S-11.
