Somebody call for an exterminator? Once upon a time, colourful cartoon mascots were the video game industry’s lingua franca, and yet only one has a history as colourful as Ubisoft’s very own pal in purple - Rayman! In advance of the big guy’s 30th anniversary, Sam and David welcome Pitch Please’s very own Alexander Gaither to the fray, cross-examining a seemingly ‘armless individual with quite the array of skeletons in his closet. There’s also our preserved-in-amber Nintendo Switch 2 Direct predictions, and a surprisingly spirited discussion on Netflix games (of all things!), all while we skirt closer and closer to the line for what counts as an acceptable French accent. YAHOO!

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Topics discussed: Rayman, Rayman 2: The Great Escape, Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc; “Rayman 4” / Rayman Raving Rabbids, Rabbids Go Home, Rabbids Invasion: The Interactive TV Show, “Killer Freaks From Outer Space” (ZombiU); Rayman Origins, Rayman Legends, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle / Sparks of Hope

Also mentioned: Powerwash Simulator, Gangs of London; The Behemoth (studio), Bloons Tower Defence, Netflix Games; The Smurfs: Mission Vileaf, UFO 50 (Caramel Caramel); Ubisoft Montpelier, Atari Jaguar, Tonic Trouble, Gameloft; Beyond Good and Evil 2, UbiArt Framework, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I; Google Stadia, Ouya, Captain Laserhawk, Connie and the Essence of Chaos

Music used:

• Opening / World Map / The Band Awakens [from “Rayman”] - Rémi Gazel, VA
• The Walk of Life (Reprise) [from “Rayman 2: The Great Escape”] - Eric Chevalier
• The Hunt is On! [from “Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc”] - Plume, Fred Leonard, Laurent Parisi
• Phantom Returns (Act 1 Overture) [from “Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope”] - Augustin Chemelle, Grant Kirkhope
• World Map ~ Sea of Serendipity [from “Rayman Origins”] - Christophe Héral, Billy Martin
• Making Fun (Of Everyday Life) - The Raving Rabbids

Further reading:

• “Rayman (SNES)” - The Cutting Room Floor: https://tcrf.net/Rayman_(SNES)
• “Rayman 4 - Unseen 64” (Liam Robertson, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CvVT8cWWUY
• “Rayman 4's Prototype was COMPLETELY Different” (FrameRater, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_X5iKoz6Bk
• “Freaks and tweaks: ZombiU’s winding path to launch” - Polygon (Andrew Hayward, 2012): https://web.archive.org/web/20121116061603/http://www.polygon.com/2012/11/13/3592140/zombiu-path-to-wii-U-launch