Rayman: Hoodlum's Revenge

Rayman: Hoodlum's Revenge is a spin-off isometric platform game based on Rayman 3 that was released exclusively for the Game Boy Advance in 2005. It is the first and only game in the Rayman series to be played from an isometric viewpoint in what appears to be a 2D environment, while using 3D sprites.

Rayman: Hoodlum's Revenge
File:65553 front.jpg The direct sequel to Rayman 3 that was forgotten.
Genre(s): Platform Platform(s): Game Boy Advance Release Date: PAL: March 18, 2005 NA: March 30, 2005 Developer(s): Digital Eclipse/Backbone Entertainment Publisher(s): Ubisoft Country: United States Series: Rayman Predecessor: Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Successor: Rayman Origins

Plot

Taking place supposedly a short while after the events in Rayman 3, the game begins with Rayman and Globox sleeping in the Fairy Council, when Globox's dreams are disturbed by the memory of him swallowing the Black Lum André. He is awakened by a strange sound, and goes off to search for its source. Later, Rayman awakens up to find that Globox is missing, and goes off to look for him.

Good Qualities

1. It is a direct sequel to Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, and because of this and the fact that it is an isometric platformer, it is the closest to a new 3D platformer after that game release.
   • It could also be technically be considered to be a Rayman 4 but it isn't the closest to that because of the GBA version of Raving Rabbids.
   • It also feel like a true Rayman 3 because the actual GBA version of that game was more based on Rayman 2, but here it had not only the design and characters from the 3th game but also it had a similar gameplay.
2. The gameplay is well done for an isometric platformer and is pretty fun, not to mention that unlike a ton of isometric platformers on this console, here it is easy to play and thus it make it one of the most playable isometric platformer of the console library.
   • Speaking about the gameplay, it even had the score mechanic from Rayman 3, which was really well received, here it is just as fun to score a lot of points and this doesn't make the game feel repetitive, even if it obviously not as amazing as in Rayman 3.
3. The story, while not perfect and not as amazing as in Hoodlum Havoc, is pretty fun because of the fact that André is once again the antagonist and that Rayman had to found a way to stop André from taking control of Globox, and the story still had plenty of humors, even if it isn't as present due to lack of voice acting because obviously it would not fit the cartridge and also, the GBA could not had full voice acting for the dialogues.
4. Tight and responsive controls, and they are rather easy to get used to for an isometric platformer.
5. Amazing soundtrack that fit the overall atmosphere of the game and they are very catchy to listen to, despite not having a lot of songs composed, such exemples would include "The Fairy Council", "Clearleaf Forest" and even "Begoniax Bayou".
6. Once again, cool box arts for both regions, especially the NA one, which had a dark background with the hoodlums and Rayman doing a pose when escaping, which might hint that the game is dark (although it isn't as much as in Rayman 2 and 3).
   • The PAL cover art is also good and is similar to the NA cover art of Rayman 3, and is still epic, despite being a bit of a rehash.
7. Decent graphics for a early 2005 GBA game, as they are colorful and the sprites make the characters look how they did in Rayman 3.
8. Globox is playable, a first for the series. And here it is puzzle mixed with beat em up gameplay since when the enemies show off, Globox run away, with the exception of when he's drunk, and it's pretty decent despite that the Rayman levels being more fun than those of Globox.
9. A decent numbers of humorous quotes that doesn't make the game feeling too different from Rayman 3, despite obviously not being as funny as that game.
   • It also still poke fun at the platforming genre, which is entairtaining even if it's not the same as the previous game.
10. A decent numbers of levels are present and the number of levels is similar to that of Rayman 2, which is cool despite that the game can be finished in only 2/3 hours.
11. It is overall a good way to bring Rayman in the isometric platformer genre because despite not being the best Rayman game, it still a decent game on it's own and is still better than other mediocre Rayman games such as Rayman Rush.

Bad Qualities

1. The bosses are mediocre and close to almost impossible to lose at them because not only they are defeated in only a minute or even shorter, but their paths are incredibly easy to learn and the bosses attacks are not that hard to dodge, in a similar vein to Kao the Kangaroo on Dreamcast/PC.
   • The final boss is also terrible despite being Reflux, the final boss of the previous game where he was very badass and you might think that he will be just as awesome as he was in Rayman 3, wrong! Here he is just as bad as the other boss because of not only the music that doesn't fit a final boss, but also because his attacks are way too easy to dodge and you can defeat him in only a minute or less, which is extremely dissapointing and make you wonder if this boss was even finished.
2. While André is present in this game, we doesn't see him anywhere in the game and is not as funny as he was in Hoodlum Havoc, nor as great as a character, despite still being decent and being a treat to Globox.
3. The game difficulty is completely unbalanced because sometime the levels are way too easy (for the most parts), but some of the levels are very frustrating and are very tedious to finish, in fact it is even worse than Rayman 3 GBA port because here for the most parts, the game is way too easy.
   • It is too easy because not only there's checkpoints everywhere (which is an improvement over Rayman 3, but still there's too much of them), but also the continues are unlimited, not to mention that the enemies are barely a treat and can be defeated easily, at least for most of them.
4. Some of the puzzles are annoying and require way too much skills to discover how to get them right.
5. Despite the good number of levels, the game is still rather short, as it last only for 2 to 3 hours.

Reception

Hoodlum's Revenge received mixed or average reviews, with Metacritic scoring a 61/100, and GameRankings with a 59%. It also got a 6.5 from IGN and a 7.3 from GameSpot. Gamepro magazine gave the game a score of 3/5 praising the game music and sound effects although criticizing the linear and repetitive gameplay and the isometric camera angle making it difficult to navigate through the levels. Critics appreciated the new isometric play-style, but criticized the game for being too short.

Trivia

• On the North American box art of the game, there is a typographical error whereby the apostrophe is placed between the word ‘Hoodlum’ and the letter ‘s’, making the subtitle seem as if there is only one Hoodlum rather than a group of them.
• Although this is not a Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3 (but rather, a direct sequel), it does mark many Rayman 3 characters' first and only appearance on handheld, many of which were absent from the actual Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3. These characters include Reflux, Roméo Patti (referred to as Doc), and Bégoniax (though there was a level in the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3 called Swamp of Bégoniax but the character never actually appeared). It is possibly André's first appearance in a handheld game, although the Black Lum swallowed by Globox in Rayman 3 may be him, simply unnamed and with a smaller role. André does not strictly appear in this game, as he merely possesses Globox.
• There is an inconsistency in Roméo's appearance in this game. He gives his name as "Doc", not Roméo, and Rayman does not appear to recognise him, despite meeting him in Rayman 3.
• In the first level, Rayman tells Murfy that he has been able to use his helicopter power all his life. However, he did not have that ability at the start of the first game.
• At one stage in the game, Globox (or, rather, André controlling him), mentions the Titanic, a real-world ocean liner which sunk after a collision with an iceberg between Southampton (United Kingdom) and New York (United States) in 1912. This is one of the few occasions when real-world events are referenced in the Rayman series.

Videos

<youtube width="320" height="180">https://youtu.be/p5EzpUu-qQA?si=bAkSCdFsPHgc480w</youtube> <youtube width="320" height="180">https://youtu.be/tT9wEIz1T5M?si=qC2jdAyvSBKgteCY</youtube> <youtube width="320" height="180">https://youtu.be/ML9BjfKEacg?si=PKcMQBFyzQVmKjqQ</youtube>

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