Released under ModRetro’s Classic Collection label, Rayman is back, celebrating one of Ubisoft’s most iconic characters in what is a surprisingly faithful rendition of the classic cartoon platformer.
Based on the 1995 classic, Rayman also found its way onto the Game Boy Color, which brought with it a mostly authentic recreation of the console platformer. Flash forward to 2025, and Ubisoft and ModRetro have partnered up to re-release an enhanced version of the GBC Rayman game, making it the definitive release for Game Boy and ModRetro enthusiasts.
Outside of a DLC pack for the Raving Rabbids spinoff series, sadly, there hasn’t been any new Rayman content in quite some time. For those who may not be familiar with the franchise, Rayman is a platforming series that focuses on tight controls, a vibrant cartoon aesthetic, with an over-the-top and animated melee system that ditches appendages for free-floating fists that pack a punch.
“Rayman, under the ModRetro label, features a brand new soundtrack…”
Like its 1995 PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Jaguar original, Rayman on the ModRetro Chromatic features the same simple but effective setup, with Rayman set to rescue the Electoons from the aptly named Mr. Dark. This results in a classic collect-a-thon of a platformer on the go. Unlike the original Game Boy Color release of the game, Rayman, under the ModRetro label, features a brand new soundtrack, which not only sounds great on the ModRetro Chromatic hardware (and my GBA) but far eclipses the quality of the grating chiptunes of the original game.
Another welcome quality of life change for the ModRetro release of Rayman is its built-in save system. This still gives you a password system, but it will also remember the level you are currently on and enter the code for you upon boot. It takes away the cumbersome monotony of having to manually enter a long string of characters on the screen of the Game Boy/ ModRetro Chromatic.
As far as the game itself, Rayman does suffer from some understandable cutbacks, primarily due to the cramped screen real estate that the game adheres to. Additionally, some obtuse level designs can sometimes get in the way of progress, particularly in regard to sudden shifts in direction and hidden switches that can occasionally be hard to discern. Thankfully, the improved sound quality of the ModRetro re-release of Rayman makes it somewhat easier to detect audio cues that help with finding hidden areas within the level.
Graphically, Rayman looks quite stunning for a handheld release, with its brilliant use of colour looking especially sharp on the ModRetro Chromatic’s Sapphire LCD screen. Combined with the updated and superior soundtrack, Rayman on the ModRetro Chromatic is the best version of the Game Boy classic. Of course, it’s 2025, and playing even the console version of the game is now possible on most devices, not to mention the efforts made by fans to fix the Rayman Forever PC port. However, there is something to be said about the novelty of playing a bite-sized 8-bit rendition of a recognizable icon like Rayman, perfectly presented in its 10:9 aspect ratio.
“Rayman looks quite stunning for a handheld release, with its brilliant use of colour looking especially sharp on the ModRetro Chromatic’s Sapphire LCD screen.”
Rayman features 30 levels spread across seven worlds, which is quite a bit for a handheld release, made better with the auto-save feature. This is a worthy consideration for platformer fans, despite some of the uneven level design frustrations that still plague the mostly untouched release of the Game Boy Color Classic. Actually playing Rayman on the ModRetro Chromatic is a solid experience, with the simplicity of the two-button layout working in its favour, making each jump and attack feel precise and deliberate, making it a far more comfortable experience than Rayman GBC’s last release on the Nintendo 3DS virtual console.
At the end of the day, Rayman on the ModRetro Chromatic, like the hardware itself, won’t be for everyone, but if you’re already an owner of the fantastic Game Boy Color successor, or are simply an enthusiast who likes to collect for the handheld, this game is a worthy addition to add to your library. Furthermore, like all official releases from ModRetro, Rayman should work just fine on legacy hardware, making it worthwhile for those who want a complete version of the game without resorting to online auctions.
Rayman is now available through the ModRetro Chromatic website.
