Rayman

How it was made

What the press said at the time

Cartridge & preservation record

Cartridge ROM capacity 32 megabit (4 MB), measured from the preserved cartridge image.

Catalogue part number C3669T

Cartridge data from the No-Intro preservation database (metadata only — names, sizes and checksums, no game data).

How the Atari Jaguar version differs

Both GamePro and Electronic Gaming Monthly placed the Jaguar version below the PlayStation release, citing lower audio quality and slower control response — GamePro nonetheless called it one of the best games on the system and a showcase for the hardware.

Announced in late 1994 for a fall/December 1994 Jaguar release, then reported for June 1995. The 32X and 3DO versions announced alongside it were both cancelled.

Rayman was at one point considered as a mascot character for the Jaguar.

Also on other platforms

• Super NES. The game was being developed for the Super NES CD-ROM peripheral until Nintendo cancelled it in 1993, which is what set Rayman looking for a new home and eventually brought it to the Jaguar.
• PlayStation. Ubi Soft made it a launch title for the North American and European PlayStation releases, deliberately pairing it with powerful new hardware to compete against Japanese platformers. It is one of the twenty games built into the PlayStation Classic released in December 2018.
• Sega Saturn. Added once the team decided the more capable new hardware was worth targeting. A preview demo containing the first of six worlds was released for Saturn and PlayStation in April 1996.
• 32X. A version was reported by American magazines as due in 1995 and was cancelled.
• 3DO. Also reported as in development in 1995 and cancelled.
• MS-DOS. Released December 1995 in Europe and April 1996 in North America, and the only version to receive expansions — Rayman Designer in 1997 with a level editor and 24 new levels, and Rayman by His Fans in 1998 with 40 fan-made levels.
• Game Boy Advance. Rayman Advance, converted by Digital Eclipse, arrived in June 2001 and was praised as one of the best-looking games on the system. A Game Boy Color version in early 2000 used Ubisoft's "Ubi Key" infrared feature to share unlockable content between games.

Worth knowing

• Rayman was considered as the Jaguar's mascot. The Jaguar never had one — the console row records its mascot as none — and Rayman was once floated for the job. Michel Ancel's game reached the platform by elimination: it began on the Atari ST, pivoted to the Super NES CD-ROM, and was orphaned when Nintendo cancelled that peripheral in 1993. The team then moved production to the Jaguar specifically because they believed it could render the graphics they were aiming for. Only later, when the PlayStation and Saturn appeared, did those become targets too.
• The game that took Ubisoft public. Michel Guillemot committed 15 million francs and split production between two sites — Ubi Soft's Montreuil headquarters handled the technical work while Ancel's creative team worked from his hometown of Montpellier. It became Ubisoft's first substantial commercial success and is credited with enabling the company's 1996 stock market flotation. Magazine advertisements had promised the Jaguar version for autumn or December 1994; it did not arrive until 1995.