Rayman Origins

Lore & Background

At the beginning of the game, Bubble Dreamer, Rayman, his best friend Globox, and a couple of Teensies friends are chilling out at Bubble Dreamer's resting grounds, the Snoring Tree. However, their snoring, with the help of a strange microphone disguised to resemble a flower, disturbs an old granny from the Land of the Livid Dead, who retaliates by sending an evil army of horrendous creatures and the Darktoons across the world. The heroes, being woken up, fight back, but are defeated and captured.

Rayman escapes and finds out the Darktoons have captured the Electoons that inhabit the world, imprisoned his 'mother' Betilla the Nymph and her sisters and plunged the Glade of Dreams into chaos. This causes Bubble Dreamer to go crazy, and as a result, have nightmares. Rayman and his friends are then tasked by the Magician to gather enough Electoons to cure Bubble Dreamer and restore the Glade. Their efforts to locate the Electoons allow them to gain access to the various lands of the Glade, and rescue the Nymphs along the way.

Eventually, they make their way to a mysterious gate, which can only be opened by rescuing the Glade Kings, who have been turned into monsters as a result of Bubble Dreamer's nightmares. Upon freeing the Glade Kings, the Nymphs are able to open the stargate, granting Rayman access to a hideout in the steampunk-themed land of Moody Clouds. There, they discover that their supposed friend, the Magician, is the one responsible for all the chaos. He secretly admires Mr. Dark, the villain of the original Rayman, and he is a Teensy who was mocked by the other Teensies for his lesser magical abilities, and he was behind the events that caused the Land of the Livid Dead forces and the Nightmares to attack: with all the chaos distracting and preoccupying the heroes, and him using the Lums they had given him to power and use his diabolical machines, he would be able to dethrone Polokus and become the new leader of the Glade by controlling the Nightmares out of Polokus' control.

The Magician then sends Rayman and his friends into a pit with his mechanical monsters, but they escape and return to his office. The Magician then begins to dance and sends them into a dancing funk, using this as a good time to escape. The heroes chase after and fight the Magician in his escape airship, sending it crashing into the power source of his hideout.

Reader's Guide

Rayman Origins is a side-scrolling platformer, the same style as the original Rayman game. Rayman Origins is playable with up to four local players who may drop in or out at any time. Players can choose to control either Rayman, Globox or two Teensies, with additional costumes available as the game progresses. Players travel through each level, fighting enemies and rescuing imprisoned Electoons.

As the game progresses, players gain new abilities such as running up walls, gliding in midair, swimming underwater and shrinking in size to reach new areas. Certain segments also see players riding a mosquito, where players can shoot enemies or inhale and fire them. If a character is hit by an enemy or hazard, they will 'bubblize', or inflate into a ballooned state. To get out of this state, another player can slap, or jump on them, similar to New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Players can also collect hearts that will protect them from one hit. However, if all players are bubblized simultaneously, or if a character is hit during single play, they will explode and the play will return to the last checkpoint, normally a Darkblocker where the player had go through before, or the last place where the player broke a cage. Throughout each level, players can collect yellow Lums, which they will need for Electoons. When a character collects a Lum King, it turns all Lums red for a short time.

Red Lums are worth two yellow Lums. There are also Skull Coins placed in hidden or dangerous areas. They are worth 25 Lums if successfully collected. If the player gets harmed while collecting a Skull Coin, they will lose it and the player must try again to get the coin.

In order to progress through certain parts of the story, players need to free Electoons. The most common way to get Electoons is to free them from cages; there is one at the end of each level, with more to be found in hidden areas and are guarded by several enemies that collectively use a forcefield to protect the cage, the team must defeat every single enemy that uses the forcefield, then the cage can be destroyed by attacking it. Most of the cages are hidden away in secret passages, so once the Electoons are free, they will create a portal which leads to the outside of these passages.

Did You Know?

• The game is the first title to use UbiArt Framework, an in-house graphics engine.
• A mobile game based on Origins, titled Rayman Jungle Run, was released on May 29, 2013.
• A remastered version, Rayman Origins: Enhanced Edition, is scheduled for release on October 1, 2026.