Rayman - Episode I - Dream Forest (Pink Plant Woods)

Let's see if I still remember how to do this.

Well, I gotta HAND it to you, Rayman...

...you sure know how to take good care of your body...

...just don't try too hard or you'll face deFEET.

Where's your head at?

Sure, smile now, because let's face it, you won't be for long in...

RAYMAN! Let's get right to it.

Some faraway stranger with binoculars is looking at us pick what level we are going to play. This is the map screen, and right now we can only go to one place 'Pink Plant Woods' in The Dream Forest.

It's pretty nice. The blue things are called 'Tings'. They act as your coins/rings for the game. Collect 100 and you get a life. You can also use them to play a mini-game, but that's something that has avoided me so far.

Right now we can only run and jump, so let's do just that.

These vines can be climbed on. This one allows us to get to a little easy to find secret...

Rayman statues are the games 1-ups. If I learned anything from playing the Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog games is that I love hoarding as many lives as possible. The red dot there (should have a 'P' in the middle, but it's in the middle of sparkling), grants you two extra hit points. See the dots underneath the life meter? Rayman can take that many hits before dying.

This handy plant will lean down when you stand on it, allowing you to move on in the level. However, it will spring back up and if you can time your jump right, you will get a nice boost into the air.

Water in this game in instant death. This was before they introduced free swimming lessons in "Video Game Character School".

Some statues will lend a helping hand to Rayman, allowing him to use them as a platform to get to high places.

These signs mark the end of the level as we know it. And Rayman feels fine.

I say 'end of the level'. that's not strictly true. Each screen of a level ends in this way, but an actual level, i.e. 'Pink Plant Woods' is made up of a few of these. Think of them more like checkpoints.

Speaking of checkpoints, some of them have a photo-op. This is a checkpoint within the level.

For future reference, most updates will feature a mash-up of playthroughs, because like I say, I love hoarding lives, I wanted to make sure I got as many as possible by the end of The Dream Forest.

After the second section of the level, we get introduced to this lady.

I like her! She makes me more powerful! So, what is this power Miss Fairy-Lady?

...apparently there was some supernatural force stopping Rayman from punching things in the face. But now we punch everything in the face. I don't care if you're an enemy, a helpful fairy, a robotic pirate or a giant plum...

I WILL PUNCH YOU ALL!

You can punch plums off of their vines and they will continuously bounce, turns out being a useful platform. You can also punch them into nearby enemies and it will land on their head. Still useful as a platform as well.

The golden boxing glove is what we want, it makes our punches go further. There is also a glove that makes our punches faster. These are permanent power-ups until you die.

To 100% the game you have to open up all of these cages. The PC version doesn't have the story from the PS1 version, but apparently the main villain of the game locked up these things called 'Electoons'. It's not mandatory to free them all, but if you want to then you will have to come back after getting some more powers.

This level actually the first with a ton of enemies at once. Too many to try and get screenshots of them all.

This is from the next level, but this is a Short Livingstone. They are good at ducking under your punches. The idea is to wait for them to turn their back to you and then punch him. The one with the plum on his head a few images back? That's a Tall Livingstone. They attack by running into you and trying to grab you. This knocks you back. Usually into water. Instant-death water. I hate these guys and will punch them all.

Taken From: The Rayman Wiki

This is actually taken from the GBA version of Rayman, but these are Hunters. Or as I like to call them "Rayman's Evil Uncles". They are very similar to our hero, except they are older and have a moustache which clearly means they are evil. They shoot bullets at you. Bullets...that look like this:

Hammer bullets. Obviously. They're actually really bloody annoying when you're me trying to get used to the controls. All you need to do is duck under the ones about to fly into your face, or jump over the ones aiming for your feets. 

And that is Pink Plant Woods over and done with. There's still two more levels in The Dream Forest, but this is long enough. Until next time, folks!

Next Time on Rayman: Let's just say I'm...buzzing...for the next episode...