Summary
A company that was originally established to support French and British farmers, Ubisoft is now one of the biggest video game publishers/developers in the entire world, being home to almost 50 individual studios, and over 20,000 employees. While a lot ofUbisoft’s original developershave naturally moved on from the company, many of their original studios still remain today, and Ubisoft Montpellier is one of those. Established in the mid-1990s, Ubisoft Montpellier - which was originally known as Ubi Pictures - has been responsible for some of the best games in Ubisoft’s long history, and that includes the recently releasedPrince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
But Ubisoft Montpellier’s impressive track record dates much further back thanPrince of Persia: The Lost Crown, with the studio being responsible for the creation ofBeyond Good and Evil, and more importantly,theRaymanfranchise. A fifth-generation 2D platformer with outstanding animations and a vibrant art style,Raymanbecame an immediate hit upon its 1995 release, but the franchise’s best days are long behind it. But ifPrince of Persia: The Lost Crownis teaching the video game industry anything, it’s that even forgotten franchises can have a comeback.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Should Pave the Way for a New Rayman Game
Rayman Has Seen a Lot of Change Over the Years
TheRaymanfranchise has undergone more than its fair share of reinventions since its debut in 1995. As mentioned up top,Raymanmade his debut in a 2D side-scrolling platformer, but despite this being a major selling point of the first game among critics,Raymanwould make the monumental shift to 3D with just its second entry, which released in 1999. Then, just two years later,Raymanwould receive another huge genre shift, withRayman Arenabeing a multiplayer party gamethat saw players race each other on-foot and battle it out in 3D arenas.
Then came the dawn of the Rabbids, which somehow overshadowed Rayman himself for a little while. But in 2011, fans finally got the reprieve they were waiting for, withRayman Originsbeing a return to the series' 2D platformer roots. And just two years later,Rayman Legendswould release, a direct sequel that earned universal acclaim. But that was almost 11 years ago now, and theRaymanfranchise hasn’t seen much more than a flash-in-the-pan mobile game, or a solid but underwhelmingDLC forMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope.
It Might Be Good for Rayman to Change One More Time
Rayman is Ubisoft’s oldest and most enduring mascot, and it’s about time he got a comeback he’s actually worthy of. It might be time forRaymanto make another big leap, andPrince of Persia: The Lost Crownseems to be the perfect evidence for that. A game that both hearkens back to its earliest predecessors while also pushing the franchise forward in a monumental way,Prince of Persia: The Lost Crownhas set a new standard for a franchise revival. Much likeRayman,Prince of Persiawas also a dormant Ubisoft franchise, with its last mainline entry releasing all the way back in 2010, butThe Lost Crownhas breathed new life into the series by doing something bold and genuinely innovative.
It’s obviously easier said than done, butRaymancould have a similar revival. While it wouldn’t necessarily need to become a Metroidvania likePrince of Persia, a newRaymangame could make some kind of innovative leap forward for the series while retaining its original 2D roots. To be fair, many fans would also just love a fully-fledgedsequel toRayman Legends, with it still being regarded as one of the best platformers in recent history.
