Rayman Raving Rabbids
A party game that launched the Rabbids franchise.
Rayman Raving Rabbids, a 2006 party game from Ubisoft Montpellier, launched the Rabbids franchise as a Rayman spin-off. It began development as a 3D platformer called Rayman 4, but after the Wii was announced, the team scrapped that plan and rebuilt it around minigames. Critics praised the Wii version for its chaotic humor and motion controls, while other ports received less enthusiasm.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Ubisoft Montpellier; Ubisoft Sofia (PC)
- Publisher
- Ubisoft
- Director
- Patrick Bodard
- Jacques Exertier
- Yoan Fanise
- Florent Sacré
- Producer
- Pierre-Arnaud Lambert
- Artist
- Florent Sacré
- Writer
- Jacques Exertier
- Composer
- Mark Griskey
- Series
- Rayman; Rabbids
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- Two sequels followed: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 in 2007 and Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party in 2008.
- In October 2017, series creator Michel Ancel posted on Instagram that he wants Rayman 4 to happen.
Plot
Rayman is having a picnic with some of Globox's children when an earthquake causes the Baby Globoxes to sink into the ground, and three Rabbids emerge. The Rabbids' commander Sergueï kidnaps Rayman and throws him into an arena, where he must partake in trials to survive and rescue the Baby Globoxes. Initially hostile, the Rabbids later become bored and begin to root for Rayman, making his cell more hospitable. After fifteen days, Rayman amasses enough plungers to build a ladder to his cell's window, chases away a bird that tried to defecate on his nose, and escapes. He returns to the picnic site to find sheep eating leftovers, then realizes he left the Baby Globoxes behind. He attempts to return through a Rabbid hole but gets stuck. In a post-credits scene, Rayman remains stuck in the hole through the night while sheep lick his face.
Development
In 2005, Phoenix Interactive Entertainment began developing Rayman 4 after finishing the PSP port of King Kong. The game was intended to capture elements from the 1995 Rayman, with characters self-aware of being in a video game controlled by real-life players, and took inspiration from Pixar for the plot. Development for GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox lasted ten months before Nintendo announced the Wii. Ubisoft members worried that seventh-generation consoles could hurt sales, so they restarted development. A source code of the Rayman 4 prototype was leaked on 4chan on December 24, 2022.
Reception
Rayman Raving Rabbids received generally positive reviews. IGN's Matt Casamassina praised its sense of humor, emphasis on fun, and the design of the Rabbids. Critics found the non-Wii versions inferior due to controls optimized for the Wii. GameSpot commended the game's creativity, use of the Wii's features, and soundtrack, but noted the Xbox 360 version suffered from its controls.
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