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Rayman Raving Rabbids

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This article is about the game on home consoles. For the game on handheld consoles, see Rayman Raving Rabbids (handheld game).

Rayman Raving Rabbids
European cover art for Wii
Developer(s)Ubisoft Montpellier
Ubisoft Sofia (PC)
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
Director(s)Patrick Bodard
Jacques Exertier
Yoan Fanise
Florent Sacré
Producer(s)Pierre-Arnaud Lambert
Artist(s)Florent Sacré
Writer(s)Jacques Exertier
Composer(s)Mark Griskey
SeriesRayman
Rabbids
EngineJade
Platform(s)Wii
PlayStation 2
Windows
Xbox 360
Mac OS X
ReleaseWii
  • NA: November 19, 2006
  • AU: December 7, 2006
  • EU: December 8, 2006[1]
PlayStation 2
  • NA: December 5, 2006
  • AU: December 7, 2006
Windows
  • AU: December 7, 2006
  • EU: December 8, 2006[1]
  • NA: December 11, 2006[2]
Xbox 360
  • EU: April 6, 2007
  • NA: April 24, 2007
Mac OS X
  • WW: November 30, 2008[3]
Genre(s)Party
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Rayman Raving Rabbids (French: Rayman contre les lapins crétins) is a 2006 party video game developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and published by Ubisoft for the Wii. It was also released for the PlayStation 2 and Windows in 2006 as well as the Xbox 360 in 2007 and Mac OS X in 2008. It is a spin-off for the Rayman series and the debut title for the Rabbids franchise.

The game was initially developed by Phoenix Interactive Entertainment naming it tentatively Rayman 4, after finishing PlayStation Portable port of King Kong. The game was intended to capture elements from Rayman (1995) with characters been self-aware of been in the video game and being controled by the player of real life. After Nintendo revealed Wii console, members of Ubisoft worried the seventh generation consoles could give negative effects to the performance of the game, making decision to restart development of the game. A source code of Rayman 4's prototype was leaked online at 4Chan, in December 2022.

The game received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its frantic gameplay, humor and implementation of the Wii's features, with the other versions being less well received.

Gameplay

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Rayman Raving Rabbids is a party video game. Players control Rayman as he must partake in a series of minigames. On the hub world, players control Rayman in a third person perspective where he is presented five minigames, consisting of three random minigames, a dancing rhythm game featuring pop culture songs, and another final challenge in order to proceed the story. Three minigames must be completed to proceed to the final challenge.

Each minigame plays differentely, and mostly focuses on using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck (Wii) in a frantic manner to achieve the required score. Minigames can range from muscle memory games to sports to puzzles. The final challenge either feautres a "bunny hunt" or a "warthog race". Bunny hunts follow Rayman in a first-person perspective to shoot Rabbids with plungers and achieve a high score while maintaining their hit points. Warthog races follow Rayman as he must races a warthog and reach first place after three laps, with a limit numbers of boosts to help.

At the end of a day, Rayman is taken into his cell with a plunger as a reward. There the player can customize Rayman, listen to the soundtrack, view records, and replay previous minigames.[4] Depending on the numbers of plungers obtained, the player can then reach the cell's window, ending the game. Ending a day also saves the progress. Some minigames support multiplayer features, where up to four players can partake in achieving the high score.

The PC, PS2, and Xbox 360 feautres button gameplay in contrary to the Wii versions. For example, the dancing minigames requires pressing the trigger buttons rather than shaking the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. The Xbox 360 also features unique minigames.

Plot

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While Rayman is having a picnic with some of Globox's children, it is interrupted by an earthquake and the Globox's children sink into the ground, only for Rabbids ( 1 male, and 2 female) to emerge. The Rabbids' commander Sergueï kidnaps Rayman and throws him in an arena with Rabbids. To survive and rescue children Globox, Rayman begrudginly partakes in their trials. After a while, Sergueï takes him to his cell and gives him a plunger. Despite initially being hostile towards Rayman, they became bored and start to root for him instead, and eventually he becomes popular among the Rabbids as they cheer him. In addition, they also make his jail cell more hospitable.[5]

Eventually, Rayman amasses a collection of plungers as rewards for completing the trials.[4] By building a ladder of his plungers to reach the window and chasing away a bird who attempted to defecate on him, Rayman manages to escape and free himself. Once liberated, he returns to the picnic site to find sheep eating the leftovers of the picnic, only to realize he forgot Globox's children and attempts to return through one of the Rabbid holes to rescue them, only to be stuck. In a post-credits scene, Rayman is still stuck in the hole through the night while the sheep lick his face.

Development

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In 2005, Phoenix Interactive Entertainment, a studio who also developed King Kong for the PlayStation Portable initially began development of Rayman 4. The game was intended to capture elements from the 1995 video game Rayman and the characters are self-aware that they exist inside a video game and being controlled by players from the outside world. The game used Pixar as the main source of inspiration for the plot. During development of the game, Nintendo unveiled their new Wii console, which members of Ubisoft worried the seventh generation consoles could give negative effects to the performance of the game, and made the decision to restart development.[6][7] A source code of Rayman 4's prototype was leaked online at 4Chan, in December 24, 2022.[8][9][10][11][12][13]

Reception

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Rayman Raving Rabbids received mixed reviews from critics. IGN writer Matt Casamassina complimented the game's impressive sense of humor and a heavy emphasis on fun, as well as the design of the Rabbids and the game in general. Reviewers in general found these versions to play at an inferior level to the Wii version due to the game's controls having been optimized with the Wii in mind.[19][20] GameSpot also echoed these thoughts, praising the game's creativity, implementation of the Wii's features as well as the game's soundtrack, though they admitted that the Xbox 360 version was inferior due to its controls.[21][22]

Future

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In October 2017, series' creator Michel Ancel posted on Instagram that he wants the game to happen.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Release Dates - 2006". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 6, 2006. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "Rayman Raving Rabbids Invades Stores". IGN (Press release). Ubisoft. December 11, 2006. Archived from the original on December 14, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  3. ^ Cohen, Peter (November 30, 2008). "Rayman's Raving Rabbids game comes to Mac". Macworld. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Rayman Raving Rabbids - Manual (Wii) (in German), German: Ubisoft, December 2006, p. 10, retrieved May 24, 2025
  5. ^ Rayman Raving Rabbids - Manual (Wii) (in German), German: Ubisoft, December 2006, pp. 7–8, retrieved May 24, 2025
  6. ^ Mejia, Ozzie (August 12, 2015). "Unseen64 docu-video reveals the Rayman 4 that never was". Shacknews. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  7. ^ Whitehead, Thomas (August 12, 2015). "Video: Learn More About the Experimental Rayman 4 That Got Dropped in Favour of Raving Rabbids". Nintendo Life. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Ferguson, Liam (December 27, 2022). "Rayman 4 Leaks Explained". Game Rant. Retrieved May 24, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Noren, Krista (Chary) (December 24, 2022). "Alpha build of the canceled Rayman 4 and its source code leaked online". GBAtemp.net - The Independent Video Game Community. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  10. ^ Silva, João (December 26, 2022). "Early build of Rayman 4 leaks online with source code and level editor". KitGuru. Retrieved May 24, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ Foster, George (December 24, 2022). "Rayman 4's Source Code Has Leaked Online". TheGamer. Retrieved May 24, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Levine, Alex (December 28, 2022). "Report: The Rayman 4 Source Code Has Been Leaked". Mxdwn Games. Retrieved May 24, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Bari, Muhammad Ali (December 26, 2022). "Rayman 4 Early Build Leaked For PC, Shows Initial Look At Rabbids". TwistedVoxel. Retrieved May 24, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ "Rayman Raving Rabbids for Wii Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  15. ^ "Rayman Raving Rabbids for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  16. ^ "Rayman Raving Rabbids for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  17. ^ "Rayman Raving Rabbids for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  18. ^ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Rayman: Raving Rabbids". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  19. ^ Casamassina, Matt (November 16, 2006). "Rayman Raving Rabbids Review". IGN. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  20. ^ Casamassina, Matt (January 11, 2007). "Rayman Raving Rabbids Review". IGN. Archived from the original on March 16, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  21. ^ Navarro, Alex (December 11, 2006). "Rayman Raving Rabbids Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 10, 2024. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  22. ^ Navarro, Alex (April 27, 2007). "Rayman Raving Rabbids Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  23. ^ Pramath. "Rayman Creator Michel Ancel Discusses Desire To Make Rayman 4". GamingBolt. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
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