No arms. No legs. Huge features. (Rayman)

[MapleSyruphox]

The Rayman series, originally created by Michel Ancel and developed at Ubisoft Montpellier, follows the titular Rayman, a blonde, purple-wearing limbless hero as he platforms through scenic and landscapes freeing the imprisoned residents of the world from the cages they've been crammed into, and delivering long-distance beatdowns to whatever antagonists are trying to put a stop to him, be that Mr. Dark and his minions in 1, Captain Razorbeard and his robo-pirate army in 2, or André the dark lum and his army of hoodlums in 3.

The original is a sometimes brutally difficult 2D sidescroller originally released on the Atari Jaguar, Playstation, Sega Saturn and MS-DOS in the mid-90s. It subsequently spawned a number of questionably-designed educational games, and there's a fan-made remake out there named Rayman Redemption that introduces some quality-of-life and balance changes.

Rayman 2 sees the series step into 3D at the turn of the century on the N64, Windows computers, Dreamcast, and Playstation. Alongside a swath of ports, it later got an "enhanced" version on PS2 that makes large changes to the game like a hub world instead of other versions' Hall/Isle Of Doors level select, or having to buy upgrades instead of unlocking them at set points in your adventure.

Rayman 3 is another 3D platformer that strikes a balance between the whimsical and colorful landscapes of 1 and 2's grimier but nonetheless magical-feeling world, as Rayman & his best friend Globox get passed around from one doctor to another after Globox accidentally swallows the game's main antagonist, a red lum turned evil named André, when he's inches away from enacting his plan and bringing about the end of the world.

Without getting into any of the handheld ports or other side games, after this came the long era where Rayman's own series was hijacked by the Raving Rabbids - literally "cretinous bunnies" in French - and condemned to Minigame Collection Hell™ for a while. We would eventually see a return to the series' 2D platformer roots with Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends, but 2006 to 2011 was a rough time for fans of the series, and we still haven't gotten another 3D platformer in the style of 2/3.

I only really covered the mainline entries here, I don't wanna yap your ear off about all the intricacies of the ports, spinoffs, and Tonic Trouble here in the initial post of this megathread, but I know I can't be the only critter on here with fond memories of the series, and wanted to make a space to be able to share that love and passion!

[Enbyeon]

I've never beaten the original, but I did manage to complete the Rayman Redemption fangame, which is pretty damn brutal as well. I always kind of liked the 2D games more than the 3D ones, because I enjoyed the drawn style more than the 3D models. Origins was absolutely gorgeous as well.

For a fun challenge, I believe the European PS1 demo discs that have Rayman 1 have a really strict time limit on them, barely enough to even beat a single stage. If you ever wanted to see how fast you can go, try those out.

[Beancatte]

[MapleSyruphox]

I always kind of liked the 2D games more than the 3D ones, because I enjoyed the drawn style more than the 3D models. Origins was absolutely gorgeous as well.

Perfectly valid! At least some of this is definitely my nostalgia speaking, but there's just something about the combination of 2's artstyle and still rather pointy/angular 3D models that fascinates me. Though, the 2D titles aren't slouches at all either, that I could never deny. The swimming levels in Origins captured my heart with their vibes.