Muffinman

 Okay so it's been a little while since most people have heard from me, but here we go. Let's take a trip back in time, to the days of the Playstation and N64. Before the Xbox, game makers had this... creativity and ingenuity that was just mind-blowingly amazing. They came up with new and exciting concepts and challenges and they made sure you had to -try- to succeed, let alone excel. Games were challenging and colorful and fun and just plain HARD. You didn't have difficulty selectors or sliders or adjusters  No, you had to play the game the way the creators made it to be played. Puzzles were mind boggling, enemies were interesting, levels were colorful, and the quests gave you something to look forward to. The rewards felt -good- and made you more powerful for it, but you need that to be able to continue on, and the curve just kept getting steeper. You had to learn the way the game thought and flowed in order to survive. A great example of this is the game Rayman for the original Playstation console.
 So, before I get into the game, I just want to make a few points. Okay, yes, I know the dialogue feels like a three year old wrote it and there's little that helps the story along as you play it, I get that. Despite that, I still feel like this is a game that people overlook and forget about. This game is hands down fantastic, even with how many times I personally rage quit after dying twenty seven times at the exact same point. It's frustrating and annoying and HARD, but it feels fantastic when you prevail. Fairy spit gives you magic powers, your hair is a helicopter, you have no arms or legs and you can make funny faces. I mean come on.

Really Moskito? Why'd you have to do that.
Nobody likes that.
Stop it right now.

 Anyway, on to game play. There's a few points that I have to make here as well. First off is the enemies. You don't have the power to punch right off the bat - it's something you have to earn - so the only defense you have is making faces at the enemies. Silly, right? WRONG. This is how you defeat enemies in the early stages of the game. Seriously, they must be terrified of the face because they just stare, then take off running the other direction. Now, later this doesn't really do anything, but it's still kinda funny. Now, the enemies themselves are weird and different and downright strange. First few levels are alright, but then you fight a giant mosquito. You fight him again later, but the first time you fight him, he cries, you high five him, then you RIDE HIM. That's right. You ride a giant mosquito through the forest dodging spike fruit and gremlins and pirates that shoot flailing wooden mallets. Don't question it. Then you move to band land and everything just starts getting eyes. And the eyes shoot lightning. And the bombs jump in the air, then fly. And there's mirror bugs. I MEAN COME ON. Why do you not see any of this in games these days? IT'S ALL THE SAME IN EVERY GAME NOW. In Rayman, I look forward to every part of every level because I don't know what kind of new challenge is going to be presented in the form of platforming or enemy placement or just enemies in general. Every area has completely new types of enemies. None of them are the same! This is absolutely incredible! Then there's the area bosses. These are mostly optional and are not required to progress from area to area - in fact, you have to complete two extra levels in some areas to even get to them. But when you do, you better be prepared. These guys are HARD. I mean, ridiculous levels of hard. It's insane! Anyway, yeah/
 Moving on from the enemies, you have the actual platforming. These levels aren't exactly a maze, but you have to have a general idea of what's where to really make it through smoothly. Plus, depending on what actions you take or where you go, items or enemies or objectives will appear out of thin air. Obstacles, plums that you have to ride on, climbing vines, falling platforms, slippery slopes and swinging fruit; this stuff is everywhere. Almost every section of this game makes you stop and think, "Okay, how can I beat this without fucking up and dying." And inevitably, you'll be wrong, and you'll die. And die. And die. You get the point. It's not even that the platforming is clunky and unresponsive. There are just so many elements that are taken into account. Once you get the hanging ability, you have to gauge whether you want to just barely make it to the edge of the platform and hang, so you can get a better look at what's below you, or just try and make it the whole way. Enemy on the next spot? Can you make it to the ledge to hang? Then you get the helicopter hair, and the distances become longer. Slippery lines send you flying along with huge momentum, but if you latch onto the edge of a ledge all of that is lost and you may not be able to proceed. You have to duck as you're sliding, or crawl underneath deadly spikes. All of this happens multiple times in many levels and it's fucking HARD. They compensate by giving you a million and a half continues, but still. Nobody likes dying. And dying. And dy-

Mr. Sax.
...I really shouldn't have to say any more.

 Next, we have the... well, really that's all Rayman is. It's enemies and platforming. But they do it so well that you don't anything else. It flows and melds together so well, that even without the story it doesn't feel like you need anything more. It's complete. That and it's HARD. I don't think I can stress enough how frustrating a lot of this game can be. The enemy placement just pisses me off and the platforming obstacles are absurd and offensive, but you can't be mad at the game. It's done so well, if you get angry at the game, it means you suck. End of story.