Rayman: Jaguar vs Psx

[Isgoed]

This subject seems to come up, every once in a while

 

Which version is the better one?

 

Has anyone played both versions, and compared the differences?

I have, and I am curious to know what other people think

Edited March 25, 2006 by Isgoed

[The_Laird]

I had this discussion with a few people once before and it comes down to this: if you don't care about the music then Jag version beats the PS1 version hands down. It displays over twice as many colours on screen in higher resolution, its faster and has better scrolling too. The Saturn version is better than the Playstation's one.

[Gunstar]

PSX: CD music, couple more layers of parrallax scrolling

Jaguar: smoother&faster animation&scrolling, 65,000 colors vs. PSX 32,000.

 

If the Jag version was released on CD it would have had the same quality music as the PSX and the extra memory over a cart to include more parrallax scrolling. but those are the ONLY two things the PSX has better than the Jag, everything else is better on the Jag version, and quite honestly, I find the music to be almost as good quality as the PSX's anyway, so that leaves a couple more layers of Parallax scrolling; one in the back ground and on some levels a foreground mist/fog.

The Jag's color and smooth amimation more than make up for the PSX's two minor advantages though, making the Jag version the clear over-all winner.

Edited March 25, 2006 by Gunstar

[Cobra Kai]

Lack of loading times is a greater advantage than the minor upgrade in sound quality IMO. Thus, Jag > PSX Rayman.

[Atariboy]

I don't know, nor do I really care about any tecnical advantages, all I know is I had more fun with the PSX port of it. Perhaps it was because of the controller. I didn't notice better animations, more colors, etc.

[PictureElement]

I found this article which compares the Jag, PSX, and Saturn versions of Rayman. Basically the author feels that the Saturn port is best while Playstation version comes in second, and the Jag original being in last place. I've only played the GBA port, so I can't really comment for myself. Other thoughts from folks with more than one version?

[JagChris]

OK, first off there is some misinformation right off the top in that article. Rayman for the Jag does have the spark shower or whatever when you grab the crystal. Slowdown is very rare in Jag Rayman.

 

This is obviously another biased bullshit comparison and review.

Edited March 26, 2006 by JagChris

[dalton4life]

I liked the PS1 version better. However, if I was to replay it today I'd go for the Jaguar version since the load times would be quite annoying for me now.

[The_Laird]

You can quite clearly see from looking at those screens that the Jag version is better! What was that guy on?

[ARETHIUS]

Actually fun is always a point of view.

 

the Jaguar Version made me discover rayman so i'll allways prefer this one, on the other the gameplay is more challegning in the PSX verison with ll the sliding ramps but it is also very aniong. Beside even if the Jaguar version does not have those sliding ramps, the gameplay is'nt easy and the game is quite hard.

 

Beside the music in CD quality haven ot the same charm as the .mod music of the Jaguar version. The game on is slower, the graphic are ess detailled and have less colors. And some level have been cancelled in the PSX version like the shooting level when Rayman is riding the insect.

 

I have played the GBA verison is it good ?

[ZylonBane]

I have played the GBA verison is it good ?

You can't tell if a game you've played is good or not?

[Phineasfool]

Funnily enough the Jag version is the only one I haven't played of the 3. It seems like alot of people completely forget about the Saturn version though, which is the version I have now and definitely prefer it over the PS1 version. I'll eventually get a copy for the Jag and compare it to the Saturn one.

[Isgoed]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

While I like the Jaguar (a lot) more then the Psx as a console, I must admit that the Psxvers is superior.

The Jaguar control is better, and more accurate imo.

 

I had the chance to play the Psxvers for a few days, and played this (together with a Jaguarfan) with the Jaguarvers at the same time, switching from Psx to Jaguar and vice versa.

 

This way we could compare the games, playing the same levels at the same time.

 

At the back of the box of the Psxvers it states that it uses 65000 colors.

 

We've played 4 or 5 worlds and these are the biggest differences we noticed, the Psxversion has:

 

-In some levels 3 layered backgrounds, with sometimes a fourth layer in the foreground, this is cool.

-The use of colors is better, the platforms/trees etc. look as they are placed AT the background, while the Jaguar has them placed IN the background.

-In some levels, there seems to be used a higher resolution, like the butterflies, or the chrome pipes in the music levels.

-The character Rayman has more animations, and there are more different trees/plants added.

-MUCH more fx than the Jag, this raelly adds to the game.

-Of course the cd music/background sounds, it's a personal taste of which you like more.

-Some really cool effects, like dark clouds and lightning, or beautiful falling rain (Tarayzan level), while the Jaguar has nothing special added in these levels, they are just plain.

-In the music levels, you slide at the chrome pipes, and can run prettty fast and fly through the air, instead of just walking, like Jaguarvers.

 

There are a lot more minor differences, but you´ll have to see for yourself.

 

The Jaguarvers has some differences that are better/more fun (like when flying on Muskito´s back, he can shoot with his nose, while on the Psxversion Rayman himself just has his fist to punch enemies), but they are few.

 

The Psxvers is much more polished and worked out, however the Jaguarversion seems to be earlier and has limited storage on cart, so this might be the reason?

 

Despite the fact that I would´ve liked to see that the Jaguar is the better version, I´ve made the comparison with an unbiased mind.

 

Jaguar Rayman is still one of the best games for the system imo.

[Michael_]

Rayman is a decent (not great, mind you) game on all console versions. It´s not an important game as such, so why people would want to play it (or indeed buy it) for more than one platform is somewhat of a mystery.

 

It´s a platformer but we´re not talking Super Mario Bros 3 territory here guys.

[Atariboy2600]

Dont forget the Saturn verson cuase I like the fact that use can play the sound track right off from the Saturn cd game of Rayman on any CD player. Cant do that with PS1 alot of the time and ofcouse never with the Jag cart.

 

But back to PS1 vs Jag, Its true.

PS1 for Music.

Jag for the Looks.

 

To see more Rayman games go to Mobygames.com

Edited March 26, 2006 by Atariboy2600

[Atariboy]

"You can quite clearly see from looking at those screens that the Jag version is better! What was that guy on?"

 

After looking at those screenshots, and having played them, I wonder if you're not just a little bit biased?

 

How was your PSX and Jaguar hooked up at the time? Perhaps you used a rf connection for your PSX, and the s-video connection for the Jaguar, explaining why you think one looks so much better than the other.

[ZylonBane]

Jaguarvers

Worst. Neologism. Ever.

[JagChris]

I think Rayman is damn good as a platformer. I don't see why it isn't as good as a Super Mario game.

 

As for the PSX version being harder, my friend told me the same thing as well. But considering the Jaguar was the first version made, the later versions had the benefit of hindsight and new ideas. Hell, I think by the time they started the Playstation version the Jaguar version was nearly done wasn't it?

 

Because I believe there isn't anything in 2D the Playstation could do that the Jaguar couldn't womp on. The Jaguar may not be able to do the 3d anywhere like the Playstation but when it comes to 2D I'm sure the Jag could put the Playstation in a chokehold.

 

Edit: Wasn't there a 32x version of Rayman coming out as well? I wonder how that would of been?

Edited March 27, 2006 by JagChris

[Michael_]

I think Rayman is damn good as a platformer. I don't see why it isn't as good as a Super Mario game.

 

One is a game tweaked almost to perfection, the other is not. There´s absolutely nothing wrong with Rayman as such, it´s just the little things, the details, that reveal little flaws in the design. Things like occasionally having to leap without knowing where you´re going is one.

[Isgoed]

ZylonBane, thanks for the compliment!!

 

It's always an honor to receive a compliment from the one and only ZylonBane!!

[Michael_]

Edit: Wasn't there a 32x version of Rayman coming out as well? I wonder how that would of been?

 

Yup. Got canned somehow though. Happened to a lot of games when focus was shifted to the Saturn.

[raina]

Beside the music in CD quality haven ot the same charm as the .mod music of the Jaguar version.

I seriously doubt the music of Jaguar Rayman is modules. It sounds a lot more like FM (frequency modulation) synthesis, like the Yamaha's (in)famous OPL chip. And if the Jag's sound chip is just a dsp not incorporating a synth (like I remember reading), I'd say they either wrote a software synthesizer or put a synth chip on the cart in order to output the Rayman score. And here's what I base this on: (And all of this is in turn based on my memory. Haven't played the Jaguar for a little while but I should finish Rayman, because I just bought the sequel for the PC.)

• The music has greater than 4-channel polyphony and the majority of Jag soundtracks are 4-channel Amiga standard .mods. I know this isn't a Jaguar restriction but I guess developers in general felt mixing more than 4 sample channels would have taken too much juice away from visuals. Also, multichannel trackers were only just starting to appear on the Amiga and PC and their player code wasn't up for grabs. The OPL chip has polyphony starting from 9 channels and it only requires instument and note information as input to output music.
  
• Sound is far too crisp and smooth for .mod. It would take CD-quality samples, and long ones too, to sequence the Rayman music, something the format can't handle. And how much room did you say there was for those on a cart?
  
• Can't stress this enough: the sound is very, very close to OPL. Especially the drums have the wimpy characteristics of FM synthesis.
  

Ok, although FM isn't the most CPU intensive thing there is, software synthesis still sounds a bit far fetched considering the age of the platform. On the other hand, OPL chips were cheap. So I guess I'm going with the synth-chip-mounted-on-a-cart theory of mine. What do you think? Anyone with me? Anyone care to pry their copy open to check?

[Isgoed]

I don't know anything about this technical stuff, but I have an extra Rayman with a damaged label.

 

For your theory's sake, I will open it up today, and see if there's an extra chip mounted

[raina]

Are you sure you don't want to wait for more replies from people who might actually know which technology was used? Although, it's not like it'll die when you open it.

[Isgoed]

I just checked, and there's NO extra chip inside, only the usual stuff.

 

Now what was that other theory of yours raina??