Rayman 2: The Great Escape (N64)

Could this be the "definitive" Nintendo game...

Game of the Day

Name: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

Released: 1999

Developer: Ubisoft

Platform: Nintendo 64

The transition from 2D to 3D gameplay is always challenging and despite both the Mario and Zelda franchises excelling in that transition, that didn't necessarily ensure that would apply to all games. Fortunately for the Rayman franchise the change from 2D to 3D was a hugely successful one that came in the form of Rayman 2: The Great Escape. In this game, you play as the titular character (no surprise there) Rayman, who has to save his home world from robot pirates by collecting four magical masks. There are many aspects of this game that make it worthy of being the definitive Nintendo game. Firstly, from a visual point of view, it has without a doubt some of the best graphics to be found on the 64. Not only that but the controls are quite straight-forward and easy to use, the music playing in each of the levels are unique and catchy, the use of the different powers makes for engaging gameplay and the environment is so big and vast, you can easily spend hours just walking around without having accomplished anything. This game is Ubisoft at its finest.