Rayman (character)

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> *This article associates with the character of the series, Rayman. For the franchise of the same name, go here.*
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## Rayman

### Relationships

* PAC-MAN (companion)
* Mr. Game & Watch (companion)
* Cuphead (companion)
* Olimar (companion)
* R.O.B. (companion)
* Monika (close friend)
* Sayori (close friend)
* Natsuki (close friend)
* Yuri (best friend)
* Ice Climbers (friend)
* Ness (friend)
* Lucas (friend)

## Physical description

### Eye color

* Black
* Indigo

## Appearances

### Appears in

* Tonic Trouble (cameo)
* Rayman (SNES protoype/cancelled)
* Rayman 2: The Great Escape
* Rayman (GBC)
* Rayman 2 Forever (GBC)
* Rayman Advance
* Rayman Arena
* Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
* Rayman DS
* Rayman: Hoodlums' Revenge
* Rayman Raving Rabbids
* Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
* Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party
* Academy of Champions Soccer/Football
* Rayman (DSi)
* Rayman 3D
* Rayman Origins
* Rayman Legends
* Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U
* Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
* Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope (DLC)

### Debut

September 1st, 1995

**Rayman** (レイマン, *Reiman*) is the titular main protagonist of the eponymous video game series of the same name, being created by the game designer of *Ubisoft*, Michel Ancel.

Rayman is notorious for being a strange, limbless birdlike-and-humanoid hybrid of various origins, who fights to save the Glade of Dreams from a variety of antagonists, performing a flurry of long-ranged punches and kicks for considerable melee-oriented range of offense/defense. While nominally a platform-based series, the games are known for never sticking to a gameplay-based kind or setting for more than a game or so, with each title reinventing the series in some major manner. He made his first appearance in 1995 on the Atari Jaguar, Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and MS-DOS. Due to his trademark lack of limbs and using his hair as a helicopter, Rayman has become a popular and recognizable video-game character, and the series has continued to grow and develop across numerous platforms up to the present day.

Rayman was voiced by Steven Perkinson (*Rayman, English with Rayman* and *Rayman Junior*), Emmanuel Garijo (*Rayman 2: The Great Escape, Rayman M, Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, Rayman Origins, Rayman Legends, Rayman Adventures* and *Rayman Mini*) in French, Billy West (*Rayman: The Animated Series*), David Gasman (*Rayman 2: The Great Escape, Rayman M, Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party* and *Mario + Rabbids: Spark of Hope*) and Douglas Rand (*Rayman Origins, Rayman Legends, Rayman Adventures* and *Rayman Mini*) in English.

## Physical appearance

Rayman is a limbless, tall, light-skinned and birdlike-humanoid hybrid who has a huge round nose, and strawberry-blonde hair, similar to Sayori, which he divides into two fronds (three in the original game). He has the ability to use his hair as a helicopter, which lets him glide across large spaces and make soft landings. His eyes are dark blue in colour, though in most official artwork they are coloured black; a pair of pictures in the original game showed him with lighter blue eyes. While Rayman is unique in most of the games, other members of his unknown species are seen in the original game, notably the Magician, Tarayzan, the Musician and the Musician's wife and child. In addition, Rayman is the second-tallest character of the Indie Cross team, after R.O.B.; when factoring Yuri in Doki Doki Literature Club, Rayman is the third-tallest of the crew, only being 5cm and 10cm shorter than Yuri and R.O.B., respectively.

Rayman is almost typically seen in white gloves and a purple torso with a mysterious white ring on the chest, through which he gains new powers from Betilla the Fairy. The symbol on his torso can also absorb the Silver Lums created by the fairies, and magically open the pillars containing the Four Masks of Polokus in *Rayman 2*. Up until *Rayman 3*, he wore a red neckerchief, which was then replaced with a red hood. He also wears shoes that are typically yellow and white, though the actual designs have changed throughout the series. *Rayman Raving Rabbids* is where he is seen wearing different clothing that has raised a few questions about his ‘limblessness’, as he sometimes looks as if he has knees, such as the disco costume with its trousers/pants. In *Rayman Origins*, his attire from *Rayman 3* has been reprised, but his hood and shoes are a little different. In *Rayman Adventures*, he wears a new attire. He wears a red bandanna around his hair, a sleeveless brown coat unbuttoned around the bottom alongside his red hood, revealing a white shirt, and has a brown belt around his waist with a gold buckle. His gloves are now brown and fingerless, and his shoes are the same kind Assassin Ray wears.

Originally, Rayman was designed to simply be an athletic character with a full body, but because of complications rendering on game consoles, he was left without arms, legs and a neck – his hands, feet and head float around his body. The manual of *Rayman Origins* gives out a new explanation for Rayman's limblessness: the lack of Lums had the consequence of preventing the creation of his limbs.

## Personality

Little about Rayman's true personality is explored deeply in the series, though most of the time he is a cheerful character with a good sense of humor, yet also a heightened level of optimism. He is also a helpful and kindhearted soul, and is willing to take on whatever challenges face him for the sake of the safety and harmony of his world. Despite his tall height, he can sometimes be a little childish and mischievous, especially in the original game, as he often pulls grimaces as a form of defence and ridicule. This means his tall height does not reflect the personality of maturity, unlike Yuri. According to the "Rayman's World" defunct website, he is brave, humorous and also entertained with nature for most of his lifetime, but his features and limblessness also makes him rather romantic and have a heightened level of fantasia, which is often cited as the reason Yuri befriends him the most; romance and fantasy is her most interest.

Beginning from *Rayman 2* onwards, Rayman expresses more maturity, able to perform more things, and loves a good fight. In later games, Rayman becomes somewhat self-absorbed, especially in *Rayman Raving Rabbids*, as the Rabbids start to treat him like a celebrity during his captivity, though he is seen remembering and concerning about the baby Globoxes that he left behind. That, however, seems to be put behind him as the Rabbids continue to harass him in *Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party*.

However, in *Rayman Origins*, Rayman seems to have recovered part of his childish personality; he bears a more joyful, careless and impulsive attitude, though he retains the heroic spirit that characterized him in previous games. Rayman appears to be entertained by good humor, as the description of Raybox states he painted his skin with the assist of Voodoo Mama to prank Globox.

Rayman also appears to like several sports, such as basketball. In *Rayman 2*, he will occasionally take his body off and play with it like a basketball whenever he is left idle. Additionally, in the Game Boy Advance version of *Rayman 3*, if the player decides to continue at the "Game Over" screen, Rayman will throw his body through a basketball net and catch it. In *Rayman 3*, he seems to also show interest in football, as when he is left idle, he kicks his body around and can also kick turtles and plums. Alternative kinds of sports that Rayman appears to like are golf, bowling and karting, as *Rayman Golf*, *Rayman Bowling* and *Rayman Kart* suggest. One of Rayman's hobbies is painting, which was revealed at a later point in the original game and in *Rayman Junior*.

Upon his introduction in Doki Doki Literature Club, Rayman reprises his maturity from *Rayman 2* by a considerable degree, reflecting his tall height to fit the epitome of his personality. Although he retains a relative degree of his humorous personality from *Rayman 2*'s predecessors, Rayman expresses maturity, a polite, eloquent and generous demeanor with high level of intelligence and bravery and passion, in addition to showing an atmosphere of charisma and romance. Although his heightened level of confidence and optimism leaves him oblivious to the fact that DDLC shifts from a lighthearted dating simulator to a psychological horror experience with high usage of breaking the fourth wall, Rayman solves whatever problems the club members respectively endure in the literature club, and performs all in his full power to retain a relaxing atmosphere within the Literature Club, like PAC-MAN, such as assisting Natsuki in transporting her manga collection alongside PAC-MAN and Mr. Game & Watch.

*DDLC Plus* exhibits more of Rayman's positive and personalities. Despite lacking as much as the perfect representation like PAC-MAN and Mr. Game & Watch, Rayman is nevertheless willing to assist all of the club members in the Literature Club throughout conflict in the side stories. In the side story "Flat Understanding," Rayman comforts and sympathizes for Yuri, alongside Sayori and Mr. Game & Watch. As a penultimate cherry on top, Rayman and the Indie Cross reconciliate with the Literature Club in the epilogue side story "Retro Equals."

## Powers and abilities

* **Athleticism**: Rayman is very athletic and shows great gymnastic skills, especially since being given the power to run in the original game, and from *Rayman 2* onwards. He is able to scale wall sides, kick antagonists and performs monkey bars, and some of his gymnastic skills include handstands, somersaults and back flips. Rayman also boasts enough strength to carry things such as baby Globoxes, Magic Spheres, plums and kegs. He can run while carrying an object in *Rayman Revolution* if he purchases an optional upgrade at the Magic Well.
* **Melee-oriented range**: Because of his limbless nature, Rayman has the ability, known as the telescopic fist, to shoot his fists as a projectile. The power and range of his punches can be increased by charging them. Rayman can also do this with his feet and throw his torso downwards with the bodyshot. His body parts appear to be sentient, since his fists can move and think on their own, as shown in the endings of *Rayman 2*, where his shoe gravitates towards him, and *Rayman 3*, where his hands wander off to scare a red Lum.
* **Levitation**: One of his most iconic powers is his helicopter hair which allows him to glide short distances. Although he cannot fly on his own, Rayman can ascend upwards if he glides on an air current. A temporary upgrade called the Super Helicopter allows Rayman to fly indefinitely for an entire level.
* **Supernatural magic**: Rayman has magic abilities as well. He can shoot orbs of energy out of his hands with the magic fist, and comparatively to his regular fist, it can be charged to increase the power output. By hitting a purple Lum with either his magic fist or telescopic fist, he can create a tether of energy with his grappling fist. In the DS version of *Rayman Raving Rabbids*, while Rayman does not have access to the magic fist, he can shoot yellow Lums as an attack after collecting them.
* **Swimming**: Rayman begins as a poor swimmer; in the original game, he loses a life the instant he falls into any body of liquid. By the time of *Rayman 2*, he has developed this new skill – although all he can perform in this game is a simple dog-paddle. In *Rayman Revolution*, he is taught to swim by Murfy and a baby Globox at the beginning of the game. In *Rayman 3*, he is a far more capable swimmer; he can now use his helicopter hair to propel himself through the water, he can perform athletic underwater backflips, and he no longer seems to require any Blue Lums or air bubbles to breathe beneath the surface. In both *Rayman Origins* and *Rayman Legends*, he can swim without requiring air like in *Rayman 2*, and without use of his helicopter hair like in *Rayman 3*.
* **Unique weapons and abilities**: In *Rayman in the Phantom Show*, the third DLC of *Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope*, Rayman is equipped with the Blaster and Plunger Guard weapons, and possesses the dash ability.

## Trivia

* According to **MickMick247**, Rayman is believed to be the tallest member of the Indie Cross. However, Rayman is the second-tallest character in Doki Doki Literature Club, with Yuri being only 5 centimeters taller, which makes her the tallest character of the Indie Cross, and Rayman is the second-tallest. In addition, Rayman's tall height and lack of limbs, as well as his high level of maturity and politeness, is what interests Yuri in possessing a bonding friendship with Rayman the most out of all of the club members.
	+ Despite Rayman's tall height, Rayman being the tallest member of the Indie Cross has controversially brought a high topic of debate since R.O.B. is 10 centimeters taller than Rayman (ever surpassing Yuri's height by 5 centimeters), which makes him the tallest member of the Indie Cross. However, due to R.O.B.'s shorter and bulkier/thinner frame and size in comparison to most of the other members, R.O.B. seems to have a shorter height in comparison to his actual height.
* Due to a reaction during an activity in *Rayman Premier Clics* and due to the cover picture in a Joystick's magazine about *Rayman 3*, it is presumed that Rayman loves chocolate.
* Rayman can play the harmonica and the ukulele, as shown in *Rayman Activity Centre* and *Rayman Jungle Run*, respectively.
* With the exception of the third volume, Rayman makes appearances as a cameo in all volumes of Thitaume and Pujol's Rabbids comic books.
* Rayman was parodied in a comic strip in the second volume of Joueur du Grenier, with the main character being dressed like him. The joke poked fun at the limbless attributes of Rayman.
* Despite lacking a anthropomorphic neck, Rayman is still able to eat and swallow. This is seen in the opening cutscene of *Rayman Origins*.
* Rayman was about to be redesigned with legs during the development of *Rayman 3*, but this idea was immediately scrapped.
	+ Rayman was originally designed to simply be an athletic character with a full body, but because of complications rendering on game consoles, he was left without arms, legs and a neck – his hands, feet and head float around his body.
	+ Due to his limblessness, Rayman was titled the "Best New Character" award of 1995 by *Electronic Gaming Monthly*. Since his debut in 1995 on the Atari Jaguar, Rayman has become a well-received fan favorite and recognizable video game character by countless players and was known for his lack of limbs.
* In *Rayman Legends*, it seems that Rayman did not age at all after the 100-years nap. The same distinction holds for all other returning characters from *Rayman Origins*.
	+ However, his voice-clips have been altered from *Rayman Origins*.
* Rayman, Globox and Barbara appear as collectible trophies in *Super Smash Bros. for Wii U*, with models supplied by Ubisoft.
* A recurring gag is that Rayman is typically seen sleeping in the beginning of all of the franchise's main installments, with the exception of *Rayman 2*.
* The first *Rayman* game is the only main game in the series to not see a release on a Nintendo home console.
* In *Just Dance 2015*, in the music titled "**Love Is All**," composed by Roger Glover & The Butterfly Ball, there's a background based on Rayman Legends filled with characters of that game; although Rayman himself himself does not make a presence, the character titled "Sir Rayelot" (which is modeled after Rayman's body) makes an appearance.
* Raymesis can sometimes be referred to "Bad Rayman" or "Dark Rayman," which those names have been originated from the original *Rayman* game.
* In several *Just Dance* titles, Rayman and his friends have availability as unlockable avatars.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.raymanpc.com/wiki/en/Rayman\_1
2. ↑ https://www.deviantart.com/mickmick247/art/Flat-Understanding-981117662
3. ↑ https://www.deviantart.com/mickmick247/art/Lending-a-hand-974216434
4. ↑ https://www.deviantart.com/mickmick247/art/Flat-Understanding-981117662
5. ↑ *L'Histoire de Rayman*, Chapter 4 - Rayman 3 : Hoodlum Havoc, Rayman without Michel Ancel

Monika • Sayori • Natsuki • Yuri • MC