Rayman 3D

Rayman 3D was among the launch titles for the Nintendo 3DS, and its job was to show how stereoscopic 3D could breathe new life into an older game. At its core, it's a rework of Rayman 2: The Great Escape, a classic platformer from the late 1990s in which the limbless hero, using flying fists and a helicopter-like hair-propeller, fights his way through a dark world ruled by robot pirates who have enslaved most of his friends and shattered the world's heart into a thousand pieces of energy. The gameplay combines jumping sections with action combat and collecting this scattered energy, which gradually opens up further areas; the level structure is linear, but the environments are varied, ranging from swamps and ship decks to industrial complexes full of machines and traps.

The port to the 3DS mainly involved a new graphical overhaul of the models and textures and the addition of stereoscopic depth, which makes chasms, flying projectiles, and the architecture of individual levels stand out; compared to the original versions on older consoles, it's a noticeably sharper and smoother presentation. The sound design stayed close to the original version, with atmospheric tracks underscoring the darker tone of the story, which is considerably grimmer and more mature compared to the cheerier later entries in the series, such as Rayman Origins.

Contemporary reception was mixed - reviewers praised it as a well-crafted classic with a functional 3D effect, but also criticized the lack of new content and the fairly high price for what was essentially an old title being sold as a full-fledged new release. Today, Rayman 3D is viewed mainly as a curiosity of the 3DS's early launch lineup, interesting for fans of the series and collectors, but not a title that would define the platform or bring anything fundamentally new compared to its source. Still, for many owners of the console at the time, it was their first taste of how an older, acclaimed platformer could return in a reasonably updated form, and as such it retains its place in the memory of players who owned a 3DS from its very first day.