So, only six summaries this time, despite it being almost two weeks. Ah well. This update covers all six PC 3d platformers I have physical copies of, not counting Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness because I decided to go with GameFAQs and categorize that as an action-adventure. And of these six games, only three actually function on my newer computer; for the other three I had to go to the old Win9x one. And yes, this is one of several reasons why this update took so long, I wanted to see if I could manage to get the games working. No such luck, sadly.
And that brings up quite possibly the worst thing about PC gaming, that games may not work on a newer machine, it all depends on your hardware, operating system, etc. How many people are going to have enough computers lying around to play every game on a system that can run it perfectly? Because you’d need that’; my two certainly aren’t enough. Sure, with a very powerful modern machine some of these problems may be solved with virtual machines, but those are very resource-intensive, so for a game it may or may not run playably. For DOS games DOSBox is fantastic, but for Windows stuff there is no great option. This is frustrating stuff at times, and isn’t something with an easy answer… because as computers get newer and Microsoft, NVidia, etc. upgrade their drivers and operating systems, some things break with older games that relied on things working a certain way that they don’t anymore. And just installing an old graphics card driver may not solve the problem, either. That didn’t fix any of these, certainly. Sometimes for certain titles there are fan fixes, but none of the few suggestions I saw online helped me for the Rayman games here. If you play only modern PC games this isn’t an issue, but as soon as you try to run older games, you never know if a game is going to work or not. I mean, some people with new machines apparently can run Raymans 2 or 3 just fine, but others like me can’t. Why? Who knows! Argh.
So, because I think it is worth mentioning I have covered how games run on my computers throughout this list so far, but this is something which will differ from person to person, so it may or may not be helpful to someone. For someone with a 64-bit OS for example, FAR more games will be broken unless you have a VM or something for 32-bit support! Many, and maybe even most, Win9x games have 16-bit installers, and 64-bit Windows cannot run 16-bit applications anymore. Naturally Windows 3.1 games also are a no (since 3.1 is a 16-bit OS, like DOS), unless you run 3.1 through DOSBox, which functions (I’ve tried it for some games in this list, including Arcade America and Lode Runner), but can be unstable at times. Or for another issue, controllers. Windows 9x and XP only have DirectInput controller support, which is what I use, but from Vista on Microsoft added a new type, xinput, designed for the Xbox 360 controller as a PC gamepad. Some games from the mid ’00s and beyond support both directinput and xinput, while others are xinput only. As I so far have almost exclusively used directinput controllers for PC, in this list I don’t mention when a game only supports directinput; that’s just “gamepad supported” or such. For the next section though, as we get into downloadable games, I’ll need to decide if I want to list which titles are xinput only. I might do that, as it’s annoying! Support both formats, games released after xinput game into being. Some people want to use controllers for designed for one, others the other; accommodate both. But anyway, each different computer setup comes with its own problems.
But that’s enough of that; on to the list.
Titles covered in this update:
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1B. 3D Platformers – PC Physical Copies
Croc 2 (2000, Win9x)
Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers (2000, Win9x)
Emperor’s New Groove, The — Action Game (2001, Win9x)
Frogger: The Great Quest (2002, Win9x)
Rayman 2: The Great Escape (1999, Win9x)
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc (2003, Win9x)
Summaries
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Croc 2 (2000, Win9x) – 1 player, saves, analog gamepad supported. Croc 2 is the sequel to Croc, a pretty good 3d platformer from Argonaut released in 1997. Croc started out as a pitch for a 3d Yoshi game for the Nintendo 64, but after Nintendo turned it down and cancelled Argonaut’s Star Fox 2 for the SNES, Argonaut took the game to other platforms. Croc ended up releasing on the PC, Playstation, and Saturn. I first played that game in the demo of the PC release, and liked it a lot. I also played some more of it later in the ’90s, but never did buy the game, unfortunately. I need to someday, for sure! Croc’s great. But as for this game, Croc 2 is a lot like the first game, but with more open levels, improved visuals, and some more things to do. This is a port of the Playstation original from 1999, but it’s a very good, full-featured port with good graphics for the time, support for any resolution you want to throw at it (this game looks great at 1920×1200!), and analog gamepad support with fully reconfigurable controls, which was far from a given unfortunately. The game controls quite well with an analog gamepad. It also runs great on my newer computer, which is fantastic. I imagine that like most of these games it could well have issues in 64-bit Windows, but in 32-bit it’s great. I have the Playstation version of this game as well, and this game looks a lot better on the PC, that’s for sure.
But what about the actual game? Well, Croc 2 is a 3d platformer, again ported over from the Playstation. Croc is an adorable cartoony crocodile, who is friends with these cute little critters called Gobbos. You saved the day in the first game, but the evil Baron Dante is back, raised from the dead by his loyal minions! So, you set off to save the day again. As with the first game you have tank-style controls, so you move forward and rotate with the stick. You can also jump and butt-slam and have a tail-whip attack. The camera is a bit of an issue at times as it isn’t always pointing where you need, but you do have a center-camera button that is useful. Croc moves very quickly and responsively, so the game controls well. It actually almost feels like you move TOO fast at first, but I quickly got used to it. The game plays great too. You have a main objective in each stage, and then if you want more to do beyond that, if you find all five colored crystals in the stage you’ll get a gold statue. There are also 100 regular crystals in each stage, and these respawn each time you enter the level so they aren’t a limited collectible. Objectives vary, so the first level has you get a key, in the second you need to find a bunch of treasure chests, and more. There are also some side-missions, such as boat races and such. It all plays quite well, and the game is great fun to play. There is also a shop in the hub world where you can buy a few things, including some items you’ll need to find some of those colored crystals. This means that you probably won’t be able to get everything in a level the first time, which is fine; this game doesn’t have Mario 64 levels of extra stuff to do, but there is some.
The level designs in Croc 2 are limited by the games’ Playstation roots, however. Levels are larger and more open than the mostly room-based ones from the first game, though I like the larger levels too, though unfortunately this game is still Playstation-scale, and by that I mean somewhat small compared to a PC or N64-first game would be. Levels are decent-length, but very linear. You travel through narrow corridors surrounded by tall walls most of the time. And even when there are open areas, they’re not that big even compared to some other PS1 3d platformers like Spyro. But the first Croc had even smaller areas than this one and was a great game, so I don’t mind that too much; as Rayman 2 particularly shows, 3d platformers do not need huge open worlds to be great. The very fun gameplay, with enemies to whack, challenges to get past, levels to explore, and tricky jumps to make is great! Croc 2 is not on Rayman 2’s level, but it is very good regardless. This game is a lot of fun to play, and it’s really unfortunate that this was the last Croc 3d platformer. Argonaut did make more 3d platformers after this one before shutting down in the mid ’00s, including the pretty good Malice and I-Ninja for PS2/Xbox(/Gamecube, for I-Ninja), but Croc 3 never happened, unfortunately. But still, Croc 2 is a great game that I wish that any 3d platformer fan should play. Playstation port. This is the better version by far, and runs quite well.
Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers (2000, Win9x) – 1 player, saves, analog gamepad supported (if it works for you). Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers is a decent 3d platformer published by Ubisoft and Disney and developed by Ubisoft Montreal that copies Crash Bandicoot,e: but with a Disney theme. You play as Donald Duck, as the title suggests, running through levels because you need to rescue Daisy from an evil wizard. Oh come on games, quit it already with the “rescue the girl” plots! This game is very unoriginal, too; as in Crash, some stages have you running towards or into the screen, while others play like “2.5d” side-scrolling games where the graphics are 3d but gamplay is 2d. The controls are decent and gameplay is fun. However, this is, unfortunately, one of those games my newer computer will not run acceptably — it crashes constantly, gamepad support does not work at all and this is a huge problem in a game which heavily relies on analog movement, and the sound is very glitchy and skips a lot. Yeah, it’s not good. And that is unfortunate, because this game looks decent and is a reasonably fun little game to play. On my Win9x computer the game runs just as it should, though. It is a very blatant Crash clone, though; no new ideas here. Donald can jump, double jump, and attack, melee only. You defeat baddies by jumping on them or hitting them, though some will hurt you at certain times; watch for those porcupine spikes, for example. The controls are solid, and the double jump is very useful. There are also frequent checkpoints in stages, and lots of stars. Every 100 stars is an extra life and the game is generous with them. So, this is an easy game even though you die in only two hits or one fall down a pit so it’s easy to lose a life.
The game is also quite short: there are only four worlds, each with 4 main levels, a bonus boss-ish level, and a world boss level. They pad this length with a second time-trial mode available for each stage, but the game is short. In each world, two of the main levels have you running forwards in a narrow 3d path that, like Crash, only goes ahead, and the other two are 2.5d side-scrolling stages. Boss and bonus levels are varied, but bonus stages often have you running towards the screen, away from a large monster chasing you, again much like some stages in the Crash games. Each boss is different, though. This game is simple, but plays well. These late ’90s to early ’00s Disney platformers often play pretty well, really, low difficulty aside! For the four main levels, you’ve got three objectives per stage: find the three toys, find the hidden boss-door part, and finish time-trial mode for the stage. You do the first two objectives and the last one separately, and can only do the time-trial in a stage after you’ve beaten it normally. Finding the boss-door parts is your most important objective, as that is how you progress though the game. Finding the toys is second, as this unlocks the bonus stage. For each, you find a book, hit it, then get to the nearby toy before the timer runs out. Fortunately toys are visible before you hit the book, you just can’t collect them yet. As for time-trial mode, you’re racing against Gladstone’s best time, but all you need to do is finish before the timer runs out, there is no ‘beat this time to win’ indicator. I’d have liked that, but I guess this works. The toys do not appear in time-trial mode.
Overall, Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers is a fun part-2d and part-railed-path-3d platformer. The game is a shameless clone of Crash Bandicoot, and is very short and easy and I wish it had more content, but it’s a fun little game while it lasts, worth a try if you like the genre or Disney, or are a younger or less experienced player who wants a fun but not too tough platformer to play that stars a familiar character. Fun little game. Also available on the Nintendo 64, Playstation 1, Playstation 2, Dreamcast, and Gamecube. Unless you have a Win9x computer you might want to get one of the many console versions of the game, though this one does support higher resolutions than any of them if you can get it working much better than I can on a newer machine.
Emperor’s New Groove, The — Action Game (2000, Win9x) – 1 player, saves, analog gamepad supported. The Emperor’s New Groove Action Game is a 3d platformer from Argonaut and published by Disney. This game is from the same studio as the Croc games and is also a PC/PS1 dual-format release, but while quite fun this licensed game isn’t quite on their level. In 2000 Argonaut made two 3d platformers for Disney, this game and Aladdin in Nasira’s Revenge. I’ve never played that one, but this game is good fun and shouldn’t be quite as forgotten as it is, compared to Argonaut’s top 3d platformers like Croc or I-Ninja. This is a pretty easy game aimed at a younger audience, but it is good. This game is a simple and fun straightforward 3d platformer where you explore through largely linear worlds as the teenage Incan emperor-turned-llama Kuzco from Disney’s animated movie of the same name as this game. The movie was fun stuff, and this game has the films’ sense of humor. Kuzco is kind of a jerk, you see, and needs to learn a lesson in humility, so he’s turned into a llama. Well, he does not learn his lesson easily, as his adventures in the film and this game show. Story-wise, the game is fully voice-acted and has some clips from the movie in it, so it’s retelling the movies’ story but in expanded videogame form. The game runs just fine on my newer computer as well, and allows you to use any resolution supported by your PC. You can fully remap the gamepad controls in-game also. Good job there, particularly compared to Donald Duck above, a release from the same year as this!
As expected from Argonaut, this game looks decent, controls well, and has solid level designs which are fun to explore. This game has full areas to explore and is not railed like Donald Duck, but it is quite linear. I don’t mind that, though. Environments are a mix of areas in narrow walled ‘canyons’ and areas on cliffsides, so the games’ PS1 roots show, but it’s decent enough to do and I do like the art design, it represents the film well. This game is set in a fantasy version of pre-Western-contact Peru, so the many tall mountains explain the numerous cliffside paths. The art design is inspired by Indian art, though just like in the film and TV series there are many random anachronisms done for the sake of comedy; as a history major this annoys me a bit, but it works I guess. Some things do look a little odd because of the low-poly nature of games of the day, but it’s good enough, and looks nice at higher resolutions. The gameplay is simple fun. This is mostly a platformer, but the game does have some variety, as you’ll have some segments with stealth, racing, and more. Switch puzzles are also common, though rarely complex. You are a llama most of the time, so you can run, jump, and do a roll attack to damage enemies. You can also do a butt-slam attack, necessary against certain foes, and pick up objects on your back, such as rocks or pots to drop on switches. You move quickly, and levels are not complex so you can move though this game at a decent pace. Combat works, though the hit detection is a little too sensitive sometimes; for this one tree I had to knock over with a charge, I had to run at it a few too many times before I hit it. It’s also easy to fall off of those numerous cliffsides, though you will respawn nearby, with a hit to your health of course. Still, this is an easy game. There is replay value however, if you want to find all of the hidden stuff in each stage. You’ll need to search each level well to find it all, which can be fun. And on the whole, that’s what this game is: a simple, fun little 3d platformer, well worth playing for a few hours sometime if you like the genre and find it cheap. This PC version is better, but there is also a Playstation 1 version of the game.
Frogger: The Great Quest (2002, Win9x) – 1 player, saves, analog gamepad supported. This terrible game was Konami’s first attempt at a new Frogger game since the early 1980s. After licensing Frogger out to Hasbro for their popular Frogger revival games of the late ’90s to early ’00s, Konami took the license back in ’02 for Frogger: The Great Quest, which was developed by an internal American Konami team. Instead of a traditional grid-based adventure like all previous Frogger titles, and most since, this one is a 3d platformer sort of in the Rayman 2 vein. Switching genres like that isn’t a terrible idea, it just didn’t work, unfortunately; this atrocious game is probably the worst title covered on this list so far. This was made as a kid-friendly 3d platformer, but it’s too broken to be recommendable to anyone, child or otherwise. So what’s so wrong with this game? It starts out from the beginning. First, there are absolutely no graphics options in this game. Even though this game released in 2002, it has no resolution options, and instead runs in only a very low resolution I have to assume is probably 640×480. Preset resolutions were common in 2d games back in the ’90s, but for a fully 3d game to not let you change resolutions, in 2002, is very surprising and disappointing, particularly when the resolution it choses is so low. There are also zero graphics options whatsoever beyond a brightness slider. As a result, this Playstation 2 port looks terrible, almost more like something that could have run on the PS1 or N64 than a game comparable to other titles of its time. The art design is a mixed bag as well, with awful anthropomorphized characters for Frogger and others, with full, awful English voice acting, and some average-looking backdrops. This game was the first time Frogger spoke, and looked like he does here, and both of those decisions were mistakes. Frogger now is human-sized, wears clothing, and acts like an annoying kid. This is not the Frogger I want! This failed attempt at a Frogger redesign was a big mistake, both here and in Frogger Beoyond. Frogger Beyond does have far better gameplay, as it’s a 3d Frogger game in the Frogger 2 vein, but it has this games’ same character and story design problems. The story is slightly unique in concept, but poorly presented. See, our new “cool kid” version of Frogger wants to find a princess to kiss, so he can turn into a prince like the frog in The Frog Prince. So, he sets off onto this easy and broken adventure. It’s not the worst idea for a plot, but it feels disjointed as cutscenes do not always flow well at all.
Things get even worse once you start playing. Just like the unconfigurable graphics, you also cannot reconfigure the controls. You can jump, punch or shoot (this is context-sensitive, theoretically), strafe and center the camera (yes, this is one button), talk/interact (with a button), open a pause or item menu, and use items, a standard selection of moves. Frogger can grab on platform edges as well, sometimes, though it’s unreliable. At least there is gamepad support, but you only have two movement speeds, walk or run, so you don’t have the smooth speed-change controls of most 3d platformers. Control is jerky and frustrating, and I quickly found myself very often walking off of platforms and struggling to manage to get close enough to collect items because of how hard it is to line yourself up with anything in the air or water; judging depth is near-impossible for anything not on flat ground. Grabbing onto platforms is also so unreliable that you’ll have to find a point where you can jump up to the above platform, provided that the glitchy graphics, terrible camera that swings around hopelessly, and bad jumping controls allow you to make it up there, that is. And you can’t just hold that center-camera button to help either, considering that is also is the strafe-lock control! The level designs are poor as well. Unlike a Rayman 2, this game has mostly somewhat open stages. Don’t expect the scale of a Mario 64, Banjo, or even Spyro, though; this may be a PS2 game, but stages feel small. They are open enough to get lost in, until you learn the layouts, but it’s not too bad. The tedious gameplay is worse, as you go back and forth across stages doing things for people. Levels are loaded with stuff to collect, but with these controls and depth-perception issues I didn’t want to get all the stuff. And beyond that, there isn’t much here. Enemies are few and far between, and obstacles that can actually hurt you are even more uncommon than that. It IS possible to die, if you’re not paying attention, but you just respawn nearby so the game barely punishes you for it if it does happen. So, this is a pretty easy game, save for the challenge of not turning the game off before you’ve even finished two levels of the thing! And that can be tough, in a game as boring as this one. The game is supposed to be quite short, but why waste even that amount of time on something this awful? Overall, Frogger: The Great Quest is an awful game. Stay away, stay far away. Also available on Playstation 2.
Rayman 2: The Great Escape (1999, Win9x) – 1 player, saves, analog gamepad supported. One of the greatest 3d platformers ever made, Rayman 2 is an exceptional classic. This game is easily the best 3d platformer I have ever played for the PC, and it’s better than most console-exclusive 3d platformers as well. While I have issues with the first Rayman, graphics aside, Rayman 2 is the total package: it has outstanding gameplay as well as great graphics! Originally developed for the Nintendo 64 and PC simultaneously, this is the original release of Rayman 2. Later versions of the game add some additional features, including real voice acting, a hub, and more, but the original version is the best. I got this game in 1999 or 2000, not too long after its release, and I beat the game sometime after that. I have loved it ever since. Rayman 2 has fantastic graphics, music, controls, and gameplay. Visually, this game is extremely impressive. This game has some of the best graphics and art design on this list, and playing the game now it still looks fantastic. They put a lot of work into this games’ art, and it really pays off. The cartoon style looks unique and really good, and each area is distinct. While this is mostly a gameplay-focused game, Rayman 2 does have an amusing story. This is a cartoon-style game, and Rayman has got to save the world from evil pirates! You start out kidnapped, in jail on the pirates’ flying ship, but your friend Globox is tossed into the cell with you and he has a hidden Silver Lum that powers Rayman up, so you can break free and start your quest to save the day. Despite that intro this is mostly a light-hearted game, as fitting its cartoony world, and that’s great. All characters talk in cute nonsense sounds, as in games like Banjo-Kazooie, and I think this works perfectly for the game. And as for those visuals, Rayman 2’s art design is just fantastic. This is a whimsical world of curving vines, puffy clouds, and colorful swamps. The robotic villains invading this area are clearly out of place, which fits with the ‘robo-pirate invasion’ theme. It’s all amazing work. The games’ soundtrack is also really good; every track fits the location very well, and they all sound great.
The game controls great, too, with a controller, provided you get it working; a patch may be needed, depending on which version of the game you have. Unfortunately gamepad controls are NOT reconfigurable, which is a problem sometimes depending on your controllers’ layout, but it’s much better than nothing. Keyboard controls are not too good, as you lose the analog movement control that is so important to 3d platformers, but Rayman moves around well with an analog pad. It only uses one analog stick, with the strafe button functioning as a center-camera button as well. The camera here is pretty good though, so it rarely is a problem. The designers often cleverly hide secrets in areas the camera doesn’t move towards, though, so explore all of the nooks and crannies of each area! It’s good stuff. For actions, you can jump and shoot much like in the first game, and the controls are very good and responsive. As this is a 3d game though, now you have a strafe button, to make dodging enemy fire easy. Your shots will home in on enemies, too, thankfully. This time you only shoot energy blasts, though, not your fists like in the first Rayman, so you can have more than two shots on screen at once. As before you can swing on rings once you get the right powerup, but there are other new powers here as well including being able to jump between walls in places.
But as great as Rayman 2’s presentation is and as good as the controls are, the gameplay is the main reason this game is so, so good. After all, Rayman 1 looked pretty good, it’s the gameplay that was its downfall. This time, though, everything about the game is fantastic. First, the game is much easier than the first one, and I like this change. This game is still a moderate challenge, but it’s no crazy nightmare like the original Rayman. As before, this game has a world map where you choose which level to enter. This also shows how much stuff you’ve gotten in each stage. The game is a somewhat railed platformer, so in each stage you follow a linear course through a series of challenges, instead of having large levels to wander around as Mario 64 did. This isn’t just a railed-course game like Crash Bandicoot, though; you have 3d levels to work your way through and explore that are made up of rooms, corridors, and open areas. Levels are incredibly fun to explore, and are filled with challenges and variety. The main path forwards is usually obvious, but optional hidden areas are common; you will not get everything in a stage in your first try, so completionists have plenty of replay value here. Combat in this game is shooting-based, as you shoot with one button while strafing with another. It works fine, though the controls can be a problem depending on your gamepad. The game has variety too, with segments that go beyond the standard platforming and shooting, including fast-moving avoidance-heavy scenes, such as controlling Rayman while he water skis, on a near-uncontrollable rocket, and much more. There are also puzzle elements where you need to hit switches, figure out what to do with explosive barrels, and such. You’ll juggle bombs while enemies attack you as you try to get to a target, for example. Boss fights usually have a trick to them as well, and those can be fun to figure out. The game has both variety and depth! There are also a lot of Lums to collect and cages to break in this game, for the games’ variant on stars in Mario. There are many standard ones, plus some cages to find in each level as well, if you want to find everything. You don’t need all the lums, really, but there is a counter there for hopeless collectors. Finding all the cages is worthwhile, though. Between its great controls, great level designs, variety, and many secrets, Rayman 2 is one of the best. This game shows how to make a really good linear-path 3d platformer. I really like how despite having a great base concept, Rayman 2’s designers keep things interesting by constantly throwing new challenges at you. It’s really good work and keeps you engaged.
There is one big downside to this game, though: currently I can’t get it to run at all on my newer PC. I think it used to work, but somehow it won’t anymore… bah! The game is still for sale on GOG, and checking there some people seem to be able to run it and others can’t. Maybe it’s a NVidia driver-version issue? Does it work better on AMD? I don’t know, but this is a problem I want fixed, because Rayman 2 is amazing. The game does run fine on my older computer, and runs completely smoothly at the highest resolutions, but still, it’s more convenient to have everything working on one machine. This all-time great is an absolute must-play game on some format; do avoid the bad PS1 version, get any other version instead. The Dreamcast version may be best, but this one when it works is also great. Also on N64. There is also an enhanced version on Dreamcast with some exclusive minigames added. There is also a downgraded Playstation 1 version with worse graphics and smaller areas but new voiced speech, and a Playstation 2 version which is based on this one, but that unwanted voiced speech again, a few new areas, and a 3d hub world to run around in instead of this games’ level-select screen. There is a Nintendo DS version as well, Rayman DS, which has weaker graphics than the console versions and not as good analog controls. And last there is a Nintendo 3DS version, Rayman 3D, which looks good, though I haven’t played it. The game is also available digitally on the PC on GOG; hopefully it works better for you than me, though a Win9x or such virtual machine (and a powerful enough PC) should fix such issues. If you can get it working with full analog gamepad support this might well be the best version of the game, considering it has the highest-resolution graphics support and I don’t think the additions of later versions actually improve the game much if at all, so I hope others have more luck with this game on newer machines than I have!
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc (2003, Win9x) – 1 player, saves, dual analog gamepad supported. Rayman 3 released several years after its exceptional predecessor. This time the Hoodlums are invading Rayman’s world, and you need to stop them! And because of them Globox accidentally swallowed a Dark Lum, so you’re on a quest to both stop the Hoodlums and get the Dark Lum out of Globox. I was looking forward to it at the time, and picked it up sometime after launch. The game is very good to great, but is very much like its incredible predecessor, and does not quite match that all-time classic. So, as good as it is, the game disappointed me a bit at the time. Still, this is a well-made game that’s a lot of fun to play. Also available on 6th-gen consoles, I got the game on PC and not Gamecube because this version was cheaper and has higher-resolution graphics. Rayman 3 is a fairly derivative title which basically tries to be Rayman 2, again, with new environments and some new powers. As before, levels are linear corridors of rooms of various sizes. The gameplay styles of the previous game return as well, with few significant additions. The controls do have some additions, though: the game uses dual analog now, with the left stick for movement and the right for the camera. A dual analog controller is highly recommended for this game, if you can get it working. And while I like the game, “if you can get it working” is a problem.
Yes, sadly, just like Rayman 2, I can’t get the game to start at all on my newer computer. Sure, it runs okay on my Win9x machine, but I’d really rather play this on the newer computer, it’d run better! The old machine can’t run this game well at the games’ max resolution and framerate (even though the game only supports up to 1280×1024, that machine’s poor old GeForce2 chugs at that resolution, though it runs well at 800×600, which is still higher than the console versions’ resolution. Still, the game would run better on a newer machine, if you’re lucky and it works for you. For me it won’t, sadly. And checking the GOG Rayman forum, many people are unable to get Raymans 2 or 3 to work on modern PCs, so unfortunately this is far from a rare issue. I haven’t seen any single prospective cause or solution either, and the few suggested do nothing for me. So, I can only run this on my old PC… ugh. I do have a few other early ’00s games that won’t work in Vista for various reasons, including Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance and Medieval: Total War, but it’s always very frustrating, since you’d think things should still be compatible, and most games work. And on my older computer? Sure, it runs, but this game hates my dual-analog gamepad for some random reason. I remember it working fine with the gamepad I had back then, but with this very similar model the gamepad doesn’t respond correctly and constantly stops responding entirely. Basically I’m forced to either use the keyboard or an old digital-pad-only gamepad, as it works just fine with my old Sidewinder Gamepad, no issues there, but neither of those solutions are good; you really, really need analog movement in a game like this, and this game expects you to have an analog stick for looking around as well! I did play the game some on the Sidewinder, but it’s not ideal. For people who can run this on newer OSes there is a fanmade patch which may help get Vista or better working with pads, but it doesn’t work on 9x, and it won’t help the game run either so it’s of no use to me.
But if you are one of the lucky ones for whom the game actually works, or if you buy a console version of the game, Rayman 3 is a very good linear-path-style 3d platformer. The game controls just like its predecessor, and looks VERY similar. The graphics are better this time as this is a newer game designed for 6th-gen consoles, not 5th-gen like Rayman 2 originally was, but comparing the two PC versions, this is just a small-ish step up; there are more polygons on screen for sure, but everything else is similar. The great art design returns but with new settings, so again I love the art design and visuals. The many new locations all look great, though I do like the original a little more overall — it feels more original. The music is good too, but sound is perhaps a bit worse, as in the PS1 or PS2 versions of Rayman 2 all characters speak in English this time, but I kind of wish they didn’t; I liked the squeaking noises and bits of intelligible language, with text boxes, of the original. That’s all that is really needed for this kind of game. Cutscenes are also entirely unskippable, which can be annoying at times. Still, the game does look good, and plays well if you can get dual-analog gamepad support working. The game is also again lots of fun to play, as you explore mostly-linear levels, fighting enemies, solving simple puzzles, and doing Rayman 2-style activities such as more auto-moving speed sections, beam-riding levels a bit like Sonic Adventure, and such. The main gameplay addition are some costumes Rayman can find in specific powerups that give him new abilities such as upwards flight, shooting missiles, and such. These are fun, but you only use them in one area to solve that areas’ puzzle, you can’t keep the outfit. It’s a small addition, but does add to the game.
Still, there just aren’t many improvements here, and I like Rayman 2’s levels, music, and art design a bit more than this games’; Rayman 2 does just about everything Rayman 3 does, but better. So, while I liked it, back in 2003 I lost interest in the game midway through and didn’t finish it, quitting at an underwater boss. I still have that save file and got past that boss for this summary, but I quit a bit after that because playing without analog controls is frustrating. Still, Rayman 3 is a great game with good level designs, controls, and graphics. This is one of the better linear-path 3d platformers around. I love Rayman 2, and this games’ design concept of “more Rayman 2” is a good thing. It is an unoriginal game that doesn’t match Rayman 2’s exceptional level of quality, though. Still, overall Rayman 3 is very good, and series and genre fans certainly should play it. Also on Playstation 2, Xbox, and Gamecube, and digitally for PC on GOG. Save yourself the frustration of trying to get it running on PC and buy one of the console versions; they will cost more, but will actually work for sure. I keep meaning to buy this on Gamecube sometime so I can actually play it again with good controls… I should do that.
