Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
| Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc | |
|---|---|
| File:Rayman3Box.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Ubisoft |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft, Feral Interactive (Mac) |
| Engine | Heavily modified Rayman 2 engine |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, N-Gage, PC, Apple Macintosh, Mobile Phone, GBA |
| Release | January 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single Player |
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc is the third installment in the Rayman series. The game, unlike its predecessors, was not directed by Michel Ancel. The game also had a rare Scholastic PC version, only found in Scholastic book orders. This version used the new Ubisoft logo on the front and back covers. Groove Armada produced the theme song to the game, "Madder". The game contains more humour than the other games in the series.
Plot
The game begins with the arrival of André, a fluffy Black Lum of pure evil, to the Crossroads of Dreams. André has the power to transform Red Lums into Black Lums (Similar to Agent Smith from The Matrix) and they move through the forest stealing animals' hair to weave hooded cloaks (a hooded Black Lum is known as a Hoodlum). They plan to convert the energy from the Heart of the World into a huge army. However, in doing so, they would bring about the end of the world. Pursuing Murfy through the forest, André comes upon a clearing where Rayman and his friend, Globox, are asleep. Globox tries to wake up Rayman but is unsuccessful. In a desperate attempt to move Rayman out of harm's way, Globox grabs Rayman's hands, but they come off. As André is now very close, Globox is overcome by fear and runs away, taking Rayman's hands with him. Murfy picks up Rayman by his hair, and they fly off. After much searching, they find Globox, and he returns the hands. However, André and the Hoodlums return and disrupt the happy reunion, causing Globox to flee into the Fairy Council. André proceeds into the Fairy Council, home to the Heart of the World and currently under attack by the Hoodlums, with Rayman and Murphy hot on his heels.
Globox swallows André by accident and Rayman has to search for a good doctor to remove André, while avoiding his Hoodlum army as well as other enemies, and on top of that free Teensies from Cages throughout his world (the Hoodlums planned to imprison the Teensies because they hated the Teensies' music. Being gentlemen, the Teensies actually shut themselves up in cages so that the rather incompetent Hoodlums would not have built them in vain).
The Hoodlums did all they can to stop Rayman from reaching Otto, as they are afraid that Rayman would kill André upon removal. André makes insulting comments from time to time and sometimes forces Globox to drink fermented Plum Juice, which makes him drunk (Globox is allergic to it).
During the game, Rayman visits three doctors: Otto, who lives in Clearleaf Forest, Romeo, living in Land of the Livid Dead, and Art Rytus/Gonzo, living in Desert of the Knaaren. While searching for Gonzo, Rayman makes some powerful enemies: the Knaaren, and is finally forced to fight their mightiest warrior - Reflux.
After being expelled from Globox, André teams up with Reflux, who wants revenge on Rayman. He steals the sceptre of the child King of the Knaaren, Gumsi, which allows André to reproduce infinitely and grants Reflux massive powers. Rayman sabotages the Hoodlum Headquarters, hidden under the Summit Beyond The Clouds; as soon as he gets away, an explosion occurs which sends the black lums (along with Rayman and some of the remains of the factory) to the Tower of Leptys, with Reflux and André awaiting at the top.
As Rayman reaches the top he discovers that Reflux is mutated from the sceptre. After his defeat, he fuses with André's lums. Rayman teams up with Globox to eliminate the monster once more, and André.
The game ends with André and his forces turning to Red Lum causing an explosion sending Rayman and Globox flying to where they were first asleep at the beginning. Globox mutters he misses André. Rayman and Globox then wonder if it really is possible to scare a red lum, later Rayman's hands sneak away and scare a red lum turning him into André.
Levels
There are nine levels, separated into parts for saving.
- The Fairy Council: Murfy guides the player through what is essentially a training level and gives tips on how to use powers. The player finds Globox again here, but when Andrè appears, he runs away, into the Fairy Council. André then follows. Later on, the player meets him again and destroy his Hoodlum clothes. He runs away further in and hides inside one of the fairies' little alcoves. When he's found, he leaves through a pair of rock doors (he's really strong) and everything starts to fall apart. When he's practically in the room next to the Heart, he's eaten by Globox. The player goes to the Heart and the Teensies are celebrating the death of André when they find out he's still alive. King Minimus then sends the player to a friend of his, who's a doctor called Otto and the player then rides a funkyboard in the Teensie Highway, a psychedelic wormhole full of giant flowers, hearts and peace signs.
- Clearleaf Forest: This forest used to be a pleasant place where Teensies lived in peace, at least until the Hoodlums invaded. They trapped them inside cages and started using them for shooting practice, and turned their forests into warehouses for storing plum juice and explosives. This will later be the home of the player's first boss battle against Masterkaag, a tiny hoodlum who is using two giant mechanical legs. At the end the player reaches Otto, a tall Teensie who looks like he was a German soldier before. When he starts "operating" on Globox by playing right arm like an electric guitar, André moves from Globox's stomach to a chamber near the kidneys (André seemingly hates body music) so that Otto is unable to remove André. So he sends the player to Romeo, who lives in the Land of the Livid Dead.
- The Bog of Murk: After going through the Teensie Highway once more, the path cuts off and the player lands in the Bog of Murk in an outdoor toilet belonging to a witch named Begoniax (Gilbert Gottfried). She screams at the player's arrival, leading to a boss battle later. Begoniax throws a potion that turns the player into a frog, and must redirect it at her to fight back. Later on, the player enters the house of Razoff, a very tall (not to mention vain) bounty hunter who kills all visitors and chains tiny creatures to the walls of his house. After fighting him, the player proceeds on through the mirror nearby to the Land of the Livid Dead.
- The Land of the Livid Dead: Despite its name, this is a peaceful and pleasant place, of meadows and stone ruins with Teensie carvings on them. Here the player fights a large squid-like robot named Celoche, who is again operated by another tiny Hoodlum. When the player finally meets Romeo, a quasi-hippie with a distinct "pothead" voice he plays Globox's belly like a drum but is unable to find Andrè, since he moved from the chamber near the kidneys to Globox's brain chamber, so the player is sent to Art Rytus/Gonzo in the Desert of Knaaren through the final Teensie Highway level.
- The Desert of the Knaaren: This is a scorched wasteland, home to the monsters it is named for. Zombie Chickens from Rayman 2: The Great Escape also reside here. The player will spend most of his/her time in the underground caves where they live, and will fight Reflux, the strongest of them. After defeating Reflux, Gumsi (the child king of the Knaaren) will give the player power from the god Leptys to turn Black Lums into Red Lums by scaring them. The player then reaches Art Rytus/Gonzo, who first uses his needle on Globox's head to try to "drive out a negative energy", then he summons Otto and Romeo, and they do classical style body music with Otto on Globox's arm like a harp, Romeo on his belly like a piano and Art Rytus/Gonzo conducting them. They finally remove Andrè but he escapes and heads back to the tunnels, summoning the sleeping Black Lums who are lying around under their remaining clothes. When he gets there, he tempts Reflux to join him and promises to serve him Rayman's head on a platter.
- The Longest Shortcut: The doctors leave the player in a long series of passages to chase after André. To open the doors, the player must collect all the crowns which are lying around behind gates. When the player starts collecting them, a yellow health meter, like the ones bosses have appear. When it is finally depleted, the door will open if the switch in front of it is stepped on, and Globox will think he opened it with a magic word. Also, in the last part of the level, when you come across your first bouncing platform, if the player charges up the character's fists and hit the little church window, a secret room will open up with a statue of Ly inside.
- The Summit Beyond the Clouds: This level's name is recycled from the original Rayman. The player and Globox sail to an island across the sea that the Hoodlums have taken over. The Summit is kept in a winter style, with numerous snowmen and avalanches. At the end, Rayman races against a frozen Globox on a snowboard and arrive at the Hoodlum Headquarters, hidden under the surface.
- Hoodlum Headquarters: The HQ is filled with dangers. It's kept in industrial style, with numerous devices. When the player defeats "The Horrible Machine", Andrè floods the HQ with lava to kill Rayman, but the lava reaches the core, causing it to heat up and explode, sending the Black Lums and Rayman to the Tower of Leptys, with Andrè and Reflux awaiting at the top. Also, in the level with crates on lava (this level is called "The Foundary, the Black Lums' h-h-hot spot"), when the player climbs up the platforms up to the second conveyor belt, if the player jumps into a little door in the side of the giant pipe, statues of villains from Rayman 2 can be seen, including Razorbeard.
- The Tower of the Leptys: This place has been abandoned for centuries, so a few Teensies turned it into their home, and lived in peace before being captured by the Hoodlums. When the player is climbing the tower, if he/she has sufficient points, a secret passage will appear, full of rare animals. One of them is the blue version of the animal the Hoodlums used to create their clothes. Another is a tiny pixie which hops around. The last is a huge animal walking on a treadmill (whom you can see on a hand drawn wanted picture at Clearleaf Forest, where you meet Masterkaag). Upon reaching the top of the tower, Rayman fights Reflux. The duel has 4 phases, and when Reflux is defeated, the player will land on a place in the sky called the Leptys, with André at the player's mercy. The player can walk around and André will follow. Since the player can turn black lums into red, this special power can be used to turn André back into a red lum. This will cause the place to explode and Rayman and Globox will land back in the spot in the forest where they were sleeping in the beginning of the game. Globox makes a remark about missing "Andy", and Rayman and Globox fall asleep. The scene shows the two moons of Rayman's world shifting backwards (this was confirmed to be a flashback in a chat with developers of the game). Rayman's hands detach themselves from his body, and wander off into the forest. They stumble across a red lum, and begin to perform various hand-puppets using the moonlight. These increase in scariness until the red lum is terrified, upon which it turns into André, who flies towards the camera with his mouth open. This brings the end of the game neatly back to the beginning of the very first cutscene.
Power-Ups
Throughout the game, there are several power-ups (Often called Laser Washing Powder) in the game for short use (these are timed) available to help Rayman advance through the game. Appearing in floating cans, Rayman can touch these items and use the power-up available:
- Vortex - Green - Rayman can send out whirlwinds when he throws his fists, allowing him to lower some high platforms. Rayman is wearing this about 25 seconds.
- Heavy Metal Fist - Red - Rayman's fist is much more powerful, allowing him to punch down some wooden boundaries and defeat hoodlums easier. Rayman is wearing this about 17 seconds.
- Lockjaw - Blue - Rayman throws out chains by jaw traps on the end, allowing him to grab onto silver lums and electrocute hoodlums. This power-up will last the longest of the five, because it has 50 seconds.
- Shock Rocket - Orange - Rayman's hand is transformed into a rocket, which he can fire and direct to hit a target. Rayman is wearing this about 7 seconds.
- Throttle Copter - Yellow - Rayman can fly for a short period using this power-up. This power-up will last the shortest of the five, because it has only 3 seconds!
Also, Hoodlums with the $ sign above their head will drop a similar item, allowing Rayman to shrink and ride in his shoe, similar to a bumper car to access certain places.
Game Boy Advance version
Unlike the console versions, the GBA version is a 2-D sidescroller like the original games in the series. It also has a different plot, which mixed elements from Rayman 2 and Rayman 3 (console), having both Razorbeard and the Hoodlums as Rayman's enemies. The plot involved Razorbeard searching for Globox, so he could extract the Black Lum from his stomach and use its powers to his advantage. André isn't present in this version, as Globox merely swallows a random Black Lum.
This version of the game does not include power-ups from the console version of the game.