Rayman: The Dark Magician's Reign of Terror: Difference between revisions

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'''''Rayman: The Dark Magician's Reign of Terror''''', abridged '''''RDMRT''''', is an [[List of notable Rayman fangames|unofficial Rayman game]] made through Game Maker Studio and first released in 2015. Its final update, version 1.2.0, was released in 2017.

The game was created by [[Ryemanni]], formerly known as "Raymanni", with the help of DromEd, Kurakao, Schutziege and Pihlajanmarja.

This game shares many similarities with {{rw|Rayman 1}}, even using many of its sprites, characters and gameplay mechanics.

It is the predecessor to [[Rayman Redemption]] and [[Rayman ReDesigner]] in most regards and some content from Rayman The Dark Magician's Reign of Terror was remade for both of these games.

The game takes place in {{rw|The valley|the valley}}, albeit in locations never seen before in {{rw|Rayman 1|the original Rayman}}.

The world was at peace and [[Rayman (unofficial games)|Rayman]] and his friends were relaxing, until one day a sinister [[Dark Storm|great storm]] spawned out of nowhere. As [[The valley (unofficial games)|the valley]]'s inhabitants waited for [[Dark Storm|the storm]] to pass, a giant red lightning bolt struck the [[Great Protoon]]. The dark power of [[Dark Storm|the storm]] caused the [[Great Protoon (unofficial games)|Great Protoon]] to create the [[Dark Magician]] who laughed and yelled he would take over [[The valley (unofficial games)|the valley]] in the name of the "[[Dark Storm|great darkness]]".

The [[Dark Magician]] started to build his kingdom, captured the [[Electoons (unofficial games)|Electoons]] and created his [[Magic Minion|evil minions]]. [[Rayman (unofficial games)|Rayman]] and his friends attempted to fight the [[Dark Magician]], but weren't strong enough to overcome his powers. [[Rayman (unofficial games)|Rayman]] was captured with [[The Magician (unofficial games)|the Magician]] and were each taken to two different prisons.

[[Betilla (unofficial games)|Betilla]], who fled from the [[Dark Magician]], came to [[Flint Jail]] to help [[Rayman (unofficial games)|Rayman]]. She tasks [[Rayman (unofficial games)|Rayman]] with rescuing [[The Magician (unofficial games)|the Magician]] in the [[Fiery Fort]] so his magic can help them defeating the [[Dark Magician]]. [[Rayman (unofficial games)|Rayman]] must go through twelve worlds to accomplish his goal of saving the world from the [[Dark Magician]] and [[Dark Storm|the storm]].

===Flint Jail===

Rayman must first escape from Flint Jail, an insalubrious grey prison and the starting world of this game. Betilla will often appear again on his way to give him advice, and so will the Dark Magician to taunt him.

Rayman will meet his first opponents in this adventure: the Magic Minions, the main forces of the Dark Magician. He will also encounter Savage Minion, a colossal minion first found sleeping on his guard duty. Rayman will have to defeat him to progress to the next world.

===Tropical Isle===

The second world of the game is the Tropical Isle, an island where many tourists and totems can be found.

At the end, he will have to face Mr Smushy, a giant green octopus-like creature who is a pet of the Dark Magician.

===Techno Towers===

The third world is the Techno Towers, a mountain of batteries and wiring built by Professor Pascal, an ally of the Dark Magician.

There, Rayman must defeat the B.A.D Machine, the latest creation of Professor Pascal.

===Flying Mountains===

The fourth world is the Flying Mountains, some mountains located in the sky and populated by living plums.

Rayman will be challenged by U.F.O, a flying saucer rode by an alien of the same race as Joe.  

===Almost Space===

The fifth world is Almost Space, one of the game's shorter locations. This place features cosmic rocky platforms and an alien base.

Inside the space station, Rayman will have to defeat an Alien Android, earning him the aliens' blue switch key and allowing him to progress further.

The sixth world of the game is the Secret Lab, Professor Pascal's hazardous domain located below the Techno Towers.

Rayman must get past the mad scientist's traps here and defeat Pascal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Eye of the Storm, Rayman gets to fight evil clouds and ultimately the Heart of the Storm, a purple core of darkness capable of shooting barrages of evil projectiles.

Rayman is victorious, but the destruction of the Heart of the Storm causes him to fall down as the sky starts to clear. The valley's atmosphere is cleaned of the dark magic and Rayman survives the drop as the world's peace and harmony is restored.

 

The heads-up display is mostly the same as in the original Rayman, using blue text instead of pink. It shows how many lives and units of health Rayman have, and how many Tings as well as cages and coins he has collected in total.

Rayman starts with five lives and three units of health which can be increased to five by collecting a Big Power until he loses a life. Rayman can gain an extra life by collecting 100 Tings or picking up a life statue. Damage can only take away one unit of health at a time, and the player is sent back to the title screen if Rayman loses all his lives.

Many unique collectibles can be found in the game, some of which are requested by some characters who can reward Rayman with coins and extra lives.

All levels can be replayed and already defeated bosses can be skipped. However, due to a mistake, attempting to skip the first Dark Magician battle will send the player back to the title screen. Cages that have been broken are replaced by golden empty ones during subsequent playthrough, rewarding Rayman with four Tings and a coin. Lives and most coins that have already been collected do not respawn, however, making it difficult to keep a high and steady supply of lives.

It will become necessary to backtrack to past levels in order to unlock the true ending of the game, as the space key and the green cloud allows Rayman to find cages in previously unreachable areas.

 

Rayman starts the game with all of his powers from Rayman 1, excluding the grimace and the ability to hang to ledges. However, he can unlock permanent access to some platforms which are unavailable at first, and some temporary power-ups are necessary to progress in certain locations.

 

* Telescopic fist: Rayman's mean to attack enemies by punching them. It can also be used to activate mechanisms, and Rayman is able to break some otherwise indestructible obstacles if he charges his fist long enough. Rayman's fist can be temporarily enhanced through power-ups such as the Golden Fist.

* Crawling: Rayman can crawl to go into some narrow places.

* Running: Rayman can run to move faster and jump further than usual.

* Helicopter: Rayman can use his hair as a helicopter to glide. Unlike the original Rayman's ability, Rayman can glide for as long as he likes.

* Grappling fist: Rayman can use his fist to grapple onto flying rings and use them to swing in the air and reach further and higher places.

* Space key: A key that gives Rayman the ability to activate blue switches, spawning some clouds so he can reach new locations. Also counted as a collectible.

* Cage detector: An upgrade Rayman can purchase in the Magician's shop. It detects cages in the levels and points at them with an arrow.

* Collectible detector: A purchasable upgrade in the Magician's shop, allowing to detect collectibles in levels by pointing at them with an arrow.

 

* Power Jump Shoes: Also known as the "Super Jump", this power allows Rayman to jump very high.

* Flying Cube: A mechanical contraption which Rayman can summon in some levels by hitting a lever. Rayman can control it while standing in the same spot to hit objects in unreachable locations.

* Ice Fist: Allows Rayman to extinguish enemies and obstacles on fire.

* Fire Fist: Enables Rayman to break ice cubes.

* Life: Gives Rayman an extra life.

Rayman meets various characters throughout his adventure, either friendly or hostile.

* The Magician: He introduces the game's story and plays an important role. He is imprisoned in the Fiery Fort where the Dark Magician later steals his wand. Once freed, he will give Rayman access to his game shop where Rayman can purchase some items and play minigames which can earn him some rewards such as Tings, coins and collectibles. He appears on the roof of the Dark Stronghold to tell Rayman about the Dark Storm, and then to tell him peace has been restored once the Heart of the Storm is defeated.

* Betilla the Fairy: A benevolent fairy who escaped the Dark Magician's reign of terror and helps freeing Rayman. She will appear very often throughout the game to give useful information, advice and warnings to Rayman.

* Clock: A character acting as a checkpoint. Should Rayman lose a life, he will return to the last clock which he activated.

* Shopkeepers: Characters met in the game's shops and who share the same appearance. They sell some items to Rayman against coins, including lives, small powers, and collectibles required for other characters.

* Tourist: A friendly Livingstone on a vacation first encountered in Tropical Isle, in need of a bottle of sunscreen. He will reward Rayman with 15 coins. Rayman meets him again in Freezy Freezer where he is nearly frozen due to the cold. Rayman must bring him a mystical ice stone he's looking for, which will reward him with an extra life and 30 coins.

* Unit Number Y: A friendly robotic moth requesting a new battery. If given the battery collectible, it will reward Rayman with an extra life and 20 coins.  

* Friendly Alien: An annoyed extraterrestrial from the same race as Joe and the other aliens met in this game. He has crashed his UFO and some of its important parts fell down to the planet. Rayman can help him by bringing the space junk collectible, which will earn him an extra life and 20 coins.

* Explorer: A tall Livingstone from the original Rayman, except friendly and found in the Desert of Despair. He remembers Rayman and hopes he isn't mad at him any more for his attempt at capturing the limbless hero. He requests a cool drink and will reward Rayman with an extra life and 25 coins if he brings him the proper collectible.

* Musician: A returning character from the original Rayman and found in the Brutal Burialground, looking for a rare mushroom to make an "elixir of some sorts"...

* Dark Rayman: While originally an evil version of Rayman created by Mr Dark, Dark Rayman is a playable character in this game, although he plays no part in the game's story.

* Mr Dark: Rayman's mysterious arch-nemesis, returning as a playable character in this game, although he plays no role in the game's story. He uses magic projectiles to attack instead of the telescopic fist and they can also change colours depending on what fist power-up Mr Dark has collected.

* Savage Minion: The first boss of the game which appears as a muscular and oversized Magic Minion. He is first found sleeping on guard duty and is blocking the path, forcing Rayman to wake him up by causing a boulder attached to a chain to fall. His strength his immense and he can create some dark projectiles and some Magic Minions. He is fought both in Flint Jail and in the Dark Stronghold.

* Mr Smushy: A massive squid using his tentacles to attack Rayman. He is the boss of Tropical Isle and a pet of the Dark Magician.

* B.A.D Machine: A gigantic machine created by Professor Pascal appearing in the background as two giant angry eyes, first found sleeping, before activating to fight Rayman. It is the boss of Techno Towers.

* U.F.O: The boss of the Flying Mountains, an alien riding a flying saucer shooting electric bolts at Rayman.   

* Alien: An unnamed alien guard denying Rayman access to the space station's core and telling him to leave. He cannot be attacked and so Rayman must find a way to get around him.

* Alien Android: An alien cyborg who is the boss of Almost Space, shooting energy projectiles through an arm cannon.

* Professor Pascal: An ally of the Dark Magician and the creator of the Techno Towers and Secret Lab. Fought in the latter area in a floating machine armed with toxic turrets and defeated using the flying cube.

* Mr Cactus: An angry tall cactus creature of the Desert of Despair and the boss of the same location. First appears in a cavern to throw projectiles at Rayman who is intruding on his territory.

* Reaper: The ghost king and the boss of the Brutal Burialground, who was told by the Dark Magician to kill Rayman. Before his battle, he will appear at times inside his castle to attack Rayman with his scythe.

* Multi Minion: A ball-shaped Magic Minion with a big eye capable of splitting into smaller versions of itself and which attack by bouncing on any wall or surface. It is the boss of the Freezy Freezer and the second boss of the Dark Stronghold.

* Dark Magician: The titular main antagonist who is battled twice. The first battle in the Fiery Fort acts more as a chase where Rayman pursues the Dark Magician while avoiding his attacks. The final battle takes place in the Dark Stronghold where the Dark Magician wields both the Magician's wand and his own, granting him a magic barrier and powerful evil attacks. He will also appear many times throughout the adventure to taunt Rayman, and in the Dark Stronghold to attack him.

* Dark Storm: The true main antagonist and the mysterious "great darkness" which created the Dark Magician through the Great Protoon. Its heart is battled in the Eye of the Storm.

The Dark Magician's Reign of Terror features 12 worlds with a hub, and 32 levels in total.

 

Shops are also available in the hub of most worlds, and the Magician's features three bonus minigames: Whack an Antitoon, Yin Yang Boing and Rigatoni's Circus.

The game's soundtrack was made by Ryemanni, Pihlajanmarja and Schutziege using Magix Music Maker.

In 2023, Ryemanni released a high-quality version of the soundtrack in stereo format on the game's Game Jolt page.

It also features three unused tracks, including an early version of the boss theme for Mr Cactus, music intended for Picture City which was used for a teaser, and a cut track with an unknown purpose titled "Hall of Doors".

The game was very well received when it released, with many players considering it one of the best unofficial Rayman games, although some noted the rough difficulty.

After Rayman Redemption and Rayman ReDesigner's release, the game received harsher criticism for its gameplay outclassed by its successors, and for its amateurism and lack of polish compared to those two and some other games.