Developed by Digital Eclipse in collaboration with Ubisoft Montpellier, Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition celebrates three decades of the beloved 1995 classic with five versions of the game, including PlayStation, Atari Jaguar, MS-DOS, Game Boy Advance, and Game Boy Color. The game is available on Switch right now, and while it’s lovely seeing the original outing return, there’s one area in particular that fans have been pretty bummed above.
The definitive edition preserves everything players love about the original game, alongside new content, including a never-before-playable SNES prototype, 120 additional levels from bonus level packs, and a “faithfully reimagined soundtrack” by composer Christophe Héral. It’s that reimaged soundtrack that is causing a notable backlash online, and Ubisoft is actually responding to the complaints.
Over on Ubisoft’s official Discord challenge, a staffer has noted player “feelings about how the arranged soundtrack doesn’t recapture the vibe” and “how all the changes feel,” noting that the company recognizes “the suggestion of adding an option to have the old music again.” Does that mean the old tunes could make a return? The Ubisoft staffer said via Discord that “the proper team will have a look at this.”
It’s not quite sure why the original Rayman music has been replaced, but most believe it has something to do with a licensing issue. Marry that with the fact that the original composer, Rémi Gazel, sadly passed away from cancer in 2019, and you can see why negotiations for approving the original soundtrack’s return might be all but impossible.