Ubisoft’s classic platforming series Rayman celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this month. The developer confirmed the next mainline entry is in the works, but it sounds like it’s a long ways off. While that’s probably not what fans wanted to hear, at least you can buy a brand-new version of Rayman for Game Boy Color. That sentence sounds odd, but it’s true: Ubisoft partnered with ModRetro to rerelease the GBC version of the original Rayman. An actual GBC cartridge, in fact, and it looks lovely.
Rayman is the latest addition to the ModRetro Chromatic Classics Collection. If the words ModRetro Chromatic don’t mean anything to you: ModRetro is a retro gaming hardware manufacturer and software publisher; the Chromatic, an exceedingly impressive recreation of the Game Boy Color, was the brand’s debut product last year. Check out our in-depth Chromatic review published at launch. Just a heads up, though: The Chromatic we reviewed now retails for $299, and the $199 model has slightly different components. That said, you can still get the GameStop-exclusive gray launch edition bundled with Tetris for $199.
It’s important to note that even though ModRetro carts have Chromatic branding, all of them work on original hardware and other FPGA handhelds like the Analogue Pocket. ModRetro sent me a Rayman demo cart, and I tested it on Chromatic, Pocket, and an original Game Boy Color. It played perfectly on all three.
The Chromatic edition of Rayman is largely the same as the original, but it does include a great new soundtrack. Like many GBC games, Rayman had a clear cartridge, whereas the Chromatic edition matches the hero’s purple shirt. The box and label art match the original North American release. The glossy cardboard box has a removable plastic tray that holds the cart in place and an instruction booklet, just like the old days. When you remove the cart from the tray, you’ll find the small Rayman charm shown below. Every ModRetro game includes a charm themed around the game, which is a nice little touch.
Rayman remains one of the better platformers on GBC. It’s one of many Game Boy games that is based on a console edition, yet is essentially a new game. It shares the same overarching plot, but the levels are different and many of the characters from the 1995 original aren’t present. This is by no means a barebones experience, though. Rayman on GBC has over 30 levels spread across seven main biomes and endgame challenge worlds. The colorful sprites and environments still hold up, too. It’s definitely worth playing, and if you have access to a device that plays GBC carts, ModRetro’s rerelease is an ideal choice.
It would’ve been easy to mistakenly think you already played this game on PlayStation, Sega Saturn, or Atari Jaguar. Everyone played Rayman on Jaguar, of course. It probably didn’t help matters that a real port of Rayman launched on Game Boy Advance barely over a year after the GBC release. Rayman Advance, by the way, is one of the prettiest Game Boy Advance games ever made, which is quite impressive since it was a launch title. In short: Early Rayman handheld games were awesome and remain awesome today.
Outside of the Chromatic edition of Tetris, which is bundled with the handheld and isn’t sold separately, Rayman is the “biggest” game in ModRetro’s Classics Collection. It joins Toki Tori Ultimate Edition, Sabrina: Zapped, Baby T-Rex, and Project S-11.
About The Author
