Highlights
- Davide Soliani, Creative Director of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, expressed interest in developing a new Rayman game, bringing the beloved character back into the spotlight after years of being overshadowed by Rabbids.
- Soliani’s passion for Rayman stems from his experience working on the original Rayman game in 1995, and he hopes to rally the Rayman fanbase to support the character’s return.
- While Soliani would love to see Rayman as a guest character in Super Smash Bros. or Mario Kart, the decision ultimately lies with Nintendo. However, the release of Sparks of Hope’s latest DLC may help reignite interest in the limbless hero.
The creative director of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, Davide Soliani, has expressed significant interest in returning to the Rayman franchise with a brand-new game. Sparks of Hope‘s third and final DLC, “Rayman in the Phantom Show,” launched at the end of August 2023, where the titular DLC character finds himself transported into a new dimension based on various movie genres. The DLC features the former Ubisoft mascot in a starring video game role for the first time in over a decade, with fans glad to have Rayman in the spotlight, even if it’s via a crossover like Mario + Rabbids.
The last franchise entry in the series was 2013’s Rayman Legends, along with its definitive edition re-release on Nintendo Switch in 2017. While Rayman himself is a rather recognizable character for longtime gamers, nowadays he has been pushed away in favor of the more recognizable Rabbid characters. He’s been relegated to occasional cameo roles ever since the Rabbids ostensibly took the spotlight from the former Ubisoft mascot. Despite the character’s lack of popularity among modern gamers, the director behind Mario + Rabbids wants to bring the limbless wonder back to the spotlight with a new game.
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This desire was expressed in an interview between NintendoEverything and Soliani, where the director was asked if he was potentially working on a new Rayman game. Soliani said if he had the opportunity, he would go for it. He notes that since Rayman isn’t tied to any sense of realism, the team could go wild with designing the environment or enemies in creative ways. He notes that their experience working on Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope allowed them to go crazy and create their own creative enemies and artistic environments.
Soliani has an intense passion for the Rayman character, as the first game he ever worked on at Ubisoft was the original 1995 Rayman. Soliani hoped that with the release of Sparks of Hope‘s latest DLC, he could rally the Rayman fanbase to bring back the character into the spotlight after all these years. He also previously teased that a secret message could be found at the end of the DLC if players went the distance to reach 100% completion for said DLC as well.
Soliani has also previously mentioned that he’d love to see Rayman in Super Smash Bros. or the Mario Kart spin-offs as a guest character, though notes that the decision would need to be entirely up to Nintendo and not solely him. While the character would get a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS along with being represented as a Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he still remains unplayable in the crossover series. Hopefully, the new DLC for Sparks of Hope helps re-ignite passion for the limbless hero.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is available now for Nintendo Switch.
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Source: NintendoEverything
