Hoodlum Havoc

Lore & Background

André, supposed to have grown out of pure evil, appears and transforms Red Lums into Black Lums to join him. The group eventually gains enough hair from various animals throughout the forest to dress themselves as scarecrow-like Hoodlums. In the middle of the process, Murfy, one of the residents and workers of the Fairy Council, discovers them. André later finds him hiding nearby, and he and his Black Lums pursue him.

Murfy is chased to a small clearing, where Rayman and his friend Globox are sound asleep. Just after Murfy reaches them, Globox is awakened by the commotion. Now aware of the situation, Globox helps Murfy to get Rayman, who is still asleep, to safety. In the process, Globox accidentally removes Rayman's hands, forcing Murfy to pick Rayman up by his hair and fly him away from the clearing himself.

In an attempt to save himself, Globox runs to safety, taking Rayman's hands along with him. As time passes, more Hoodlums invade the forest. After Rayman wakes up, he and Murfy reach the entrance to the Council and discover Globox hiding in a barrel. Just as Rayman gets his hands back from Globox, André and a few of his minions appear, following Globox as he flees into the Council.

As Rayman and Murfy pursue them, they learn of André's evil plan: to taint the world's heart so he can create an army of Hoodlums. Eventually, André catches up with Globox, who accidentally swallows the evil creature. Afterward, Rayman attempts to seek out a doctor who can rid André of Globox's insides, and Murfy departs from the team, warning Rayman the Black Lum may force Globox to drink plum juice despite the latter's allergy to it. Rayman meets up with three doctors: Otto Psi, Romeo Patti, and Art Rytus.

After all three doctors make independent attempts at purging André by using various parts of Globox's body as musical instruments, they get rid of him after collaborating in Art Rytus' clinic room. Refusing to admit defeat, André teams up with Reflux, a member of the Knaaren race that Rayman had defeated to get to Art Rytus. Reflux steals the scepter of the Leptys – a god worshiped by his people – from the child king of the Knaaren and uses it to increase his power, which in turn will allow Andre to reproduce infinitely.

With Globox's help, Rayman climbs to the top of the Tower of the Leptys and faces Reflux and André as the former transforms into a giant winged monster.

Reader's Guide

Rayman's controls are similar to that of Rayman 2: The Great Escape, albeit utilising long-ranged punches (and kicks at some opportunities), instead of throwing Energy Spheres. Rayman can restore health by picking up Red Lums. Instead of permanent upgrades to his abilities, Rayman can find special 'Laser Detergent' cans (used by the Hoodlums to turn their clothes into combat fatigues) containing one of five temporary power-ups. The Vortex allows Rayman to fire mini-tornadoes instead of punching, the Heavy Metal Fist increases Rayman's strength and allows him to break down certain doors, the Lockjaw gives Rayman extendable claw weapons that can be used to latch onto and electrocute enemies or swing across gaps, the Shock Rocket allows Rayman to fire a remote controlled missile, and the Throttle Copter provides Rayman with a special helmet that allows him to fly vertically for a limited time.

After a certain point in the game, Rayman gains the ability to pull a face similar to the original game, which allows him to turn Black Lums left behind from defeating Hoodlums into Red Lums. Unlike most entries, Rayman 3 features an arcade-style scoring system that tallies points from the player's actions. Whenever points are scored, this system switches to a 'Combo mode' that adds additional points acquired from the player's actions to a separate counter, though if the player's scoring stops after a short time, the Combo mode ends as well; any points earned while the Combo mode was active are added to the score when it ends (i.e. if the player scores 50 points while the Combo mode is active, another 50 will be added to the Combo mode counter and then added to the total score once the mode ends).

If Rayman takes damage, one point is deducted from the score. Points earned over the course of the game can unlock hidden content and, in some levels, allow access to hidden areas in later sections, therefore it is imperative to get as high a score as possible. If points are scored while using a power-up acquired from a Laser Detergent, all point values are doubled, but this also applied to the penalty upon taking damage. Until the release of Rayman Raving Rabbids, players could enter their final overall game scores in a worldwide score ranking on the RaymanZone website.

Did You Know?

• The game had a marketing budget of $4 million.
• By the end of March 2003, Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc had sold more than 1 million copies.
• Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc received generally positive reviews from critics.