In early stages of the game, Rayman has the ability to walk, crawl and make silly faces. The player comes across a variety of other power-ups and bonuses, such as a golden fist (which increases punch strength), a speed fist (which increases the speed of Rayman's punches), a power to restore Rayman's lost life energy, and flying blue elves whose touch shrinks Rayman down in size so he may access new areas. At the end of each world, Rayman must defeat a boss enemy. Rayman's 'telescopic fist', an ability gained early in the game, allows him to punch enemies from a distance most enemies can be defeated with a certain number of punches. Tings can also be used to pay the Magician, a character found in certain levels, to enter a bonus stage, where Rayman can win an extra life. If the player loses a life, any Tings collected are lost. The player gains an extra life for every 100 Tings picked up (50 in the DSi version). Scattered around each level are small, sparkling blue spheres called Tings. If the player loses his last life, the 'Game Over' screen will appear, and the player can continue or quit. The player is given a certain number of lives, which are lost when Rayman takes too many hits or falls into water or a pit.

Each level is divided into several maps, each of which is completed when Rayman reaches the '!' sign at the end. Only when all the Electoons are freed will Rayman be able to reach and confront Mr Dark at his lair in Candy Château. The player character is the titular Rayman, who must travel through six worlds (The Dream Forest, Band Land, Blue Mountains, Picture City, The Caves of Skops and Candy Château) to free all of the caged Electoons, six cages of whom are located somewhere on each level. Rayman is a side-scrolling platform game. Band Land is the second of six worlds in the game.

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