May2015
News How Some Of Rare's Leading Lights Traded Platforming For Pensions
Preciousbluedot is using game design to change the world of finance
Just in case the news relating to Playtonic's début didn't get the Rare fans among you excited enough, we've got a little update on what another group of famous ex-Rare developers have been up to since leaving the legendary UK studio - and it's probably not what you were expecting...
April2015
News Former Rare Devs Playtonic Want Donkey Kong Country Villain K. Rool In Super Smash Bros.
"Let's get another of our artists' beautiful children into the fight"
Nintendo has opened up voting to see which characters its fans want to see in Super Smash Bros., and this has predictably led to some rather outlandish recommendations. UK studio Playtonic - made up of former Rare developers - has thrown its hat into the ring by suggesting fans...
Video Donkey Kong 64 Tumbles Onto Wii U Virtual Console
Don't even think about that rap
The avalance of Wii U Virtual Console games continues with a game that is new to the Virtual Console service, having never previously received a re-release. Rare's Donkey Kong 64 has achieved infamy thanks to THAT intro song, but is the gameplay worth talking about? As someone who missed out on the game the first...
"We've worked with Nintendo on Rare IP before"
In a blow to console warriors that want the major console manufacturers to battle it out to the death, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has spoken positively about the potential for Rare IP to be featured as DLC in Super Smash Bros. on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Now that would be something to behold. This is in...
March2015
Yacht Club Games "keeping an eye out" for Nintendo possibilities
Remember when Shovel Knight was a Nintendo console exclusive? Nice, wasn't it? Those days are long past now, with developer Yacht Club Games confirming that the faux-retro platformer is headed to both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. To rub a bit more salt into the wound, it was confirmed...
January2015
Gallery Imagining What Banjo-Kazooie Might Look Like in HD
Bringing a Rare classic up to date
Rare's classic N64 game Banjo-Kazooie is a fan favourite with retro gamers for good reason; even by today's standards this early 3D game is still incredibly charming and fun to play. Still, 1998 is a long time ago, and there is always room for improvement. Enter UK based 3D artist Neil Goodman, who has tasked...
December2014
News Donkey Kong Land Rated And Ready For North American 3DS Virtual Console Release
Monkey business
After a successful 3DS Virtual Console début in both Japan and Europe earlier this year, the 1995 Game Boy title Donkey Kong Land is finally on its way to North America. Evidence of the anticipated re-release has appeared via the ESRB. Released a year after the success of the Super Nintendo original, Donkey Kong Land has the Kongs...
Video What if... Smash Bros. Had Announcers From Other Fighting Games?
Flawless Victory!
We still haven't got enough of Smash Bros. yet, but playing the game relentlessly day after day has had us hankering for revisiting old fighting games. Then, a crazy thought entered our brains — what if the cheesy Smash Bros. announcer was replaced with those of other famous brawlers? The result of this incredibly strange train...
November2014
Anniversary 20 Years Ago Today, Rare Resurrected The Donkey Kong Brand
Donkey Kong Country is now two decades old
Donkey Kong is Nintendo's first major star, having made his début in the arcade game that effectively turned the company into the global monster it is today. However, when Mario decided to become Super on the NES and take his place as Nintendo's number one mascot, DK was bumped down the pecking order and...
October2014
News You Can Now Download The Entire Banjo-Kazooie Soundtrack For Your Listening Pleasure
And we mean the ENTIRE soundtrack
Rare's N64 classic Banjo-Kazooie is one of the best 3D platformers you're likely to find on any console, and its soundtrack was also pretty swell to boot. You can now download every piece of music contained in the game — that's 164 different tracks — over at composer Grant Kirkhope's Bandcamp page. It's not...
September2014
Weirdness Modder Recreates Donkey Kong Country In Doom Engine
Scary in a different way!
Rare’s Donkey Kong Country was a huge feat in itself when it was released on the Super Nintendo in 1994. Now imagine recreating the iconic jungle-based platformer within an entirely different game engine from around the same era. Enter Doom, and insert the reminder here of just how crazy modders of the classic...
August2014
Video Turns Out Former James Bond Pierce Brosnan Isn't Very Good At GoldenEye 007
The Spy Who Karate-Chopped Me
GoldenEye 007 is arguably one of the finest video games ever made, and was a massive seller on its host platform, the N64. It recreated the events of the iconic 1995 James Bond movie of the same name, and starred a digital likeness of Pierce Brosnan (and a "square" Sean Bean, lest we forget). Just in case you're...
News Sean Bean Declares His Head is 'A Bit Square' in GoldenEye on N64
But he's Bean a fan for a long time
In a recent 'ask me anything' (AMA) on Reddit, Sean Bean confessed his admiration for the N64 classic Goldeneye 007, but also made reference to how polygonally-handicapped his head appeared. Oh, it's good, it's great! Especially because it's so popular, it's like, quite unique really. It was such a big hit. But...
July2014
News Rare Co-Founder Tim Stamper Is Back In The Games Industry
Listed as a director of UK studio FortuneFish
As any self-respecting Nintendo fan will know, Chris and Tim Stamper are the siblings who formed famous UK studio Rare. Once part of the Nintendo family and responsible for such hits as Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye 007 and Banjo Kazooie, Rare is now under the wing of Microsoft — and the Stampers have...
April2014
Weirdness Vital Information Emerges On Why The Klobb Was Rubbish In GoldenEye 007
It was "the runt" of the gun group in the game
GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64 remains an all-time classic, often referred to as the title that revolutionised the idea of the FPS genre on home consoles. As an iconic Rare release it is, unfortunately, locked in licensing limbo, meaning that to play it you need to fire up the cartridge on the...
March2014
News Game Boy Classic Donkey Kong Land Is Coming To The Japanese 3DS Virtual Console
You'll go bananas about this news
Fans of the naked ape wearing only a tie will be pleased to hear the 1995 Game Boy title Donkey Kong Land is being released in Japan on the 3DS Virtual Console early next month. Released a year after the success of the Super Nintendo original, Donkey Kong Land has the Kongs recapturing their banana hoard when...
Month Of Kong What Donkey Kong Country Means To Me
Dave Letcavage on growing up with Kong as company
We know what you're going to say. Our Month of Kong celebration should have ended with the close of February, and we're now two days into March. However, in very much the same way that Nintendo refuses to be tied down by conventional calendars when it comes to plotting The Year of Luigi, we're...
February2014
Month Of Kong Whatever Happened To Donkey Kong Racing?
Former Rare man Lee Musgrave talks about a lost GameCube smash hit
E3 2001 was a joyous occasion for Nintendo fans. The GameCube was nearing its release in Japan and North America and Nintendo had a lot to say and show about it. Super Smash Bros. Melee, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and Luigi’s Mansion were just some of the games...
Month Of Kong The Making Of Donkey Kong Country
Behind the scenes on the game that spawned a million-selling series
This month has seen the launch of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, a superb platforming romp starring one of Nintendo's most iconic characters and coded by a western development team, Retro Studios. These days, the notion of an American company doing the heavy lifting on one of...
News Donkey Kong Country's Fate Was Determined By A Risky Rare Investment
"The rendering of each 3D model would take ages"
With Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze currently entertaining Wii U owners, it's only natural for those with long memories to cast their minds back to where the franchise began. Donkey Kong Country on the Super NES remains one of the 16-bit system's most iconic games, and sits at the forefront —...
Month Of Kong Meet Donkey Kong's Extended Family
The gang is all here
As you're probably aware by now, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze hits the Wii U on February 21st. To mark this momentous occasion, we're running a month of Kong-related content on Nintendo Life — the first of which is this intriguing look at the famous simian's extended family. Grab some bananas, set your phone to "do not...
December2013
News Rare: Relationship With Nintendo Was Built On Mutual Respect And Benefited Both Parties
Also, explaining Cricket to Shigeru Miyamoto isn't as easy as it sounds
Earlier today we reported on a Red Bull feature regarding the history of UK games studio Rare — the creator of such classics as GoldenEye 007, Banjo Kazooie and Killer Instinct — which revealed that the firm almost released a Game Boy rival
November2013
News Rare Originally Conceived Dinosaur Planet As A Racing And Adventure Crossover
Until Miyamoto had his say, of course
If you're familiar with Nintendo's history then you'll know that Star Fox Adventures on the GameCube actually began life as Dinosaur Planet on the N64. Created by UK studio Rare — then a first-party Nintendo developer — the game had progressed quite far before Shigeru Miyamoto decided that it would make a...
October2013
News A Decade After Being Bought By Microsoft, Rare Still Wants To Channel The Spirit Of Nintendo
UK studio wants Kinect Sports Rivals to emulate Nintendo classics
As we all know, Rare used to be one of Nintendo's most valuable development studios, but was acquired by Microsoft in 2002 to work on its Xbox console. As the years have passed the company has seen staff come and go, and few remain who can remember the days of the SNES, N64 and...
August2013
News Killer Instinct's Music Gets the Cover it Deserves
Supreme Victory
We often share some of the best fan content that we find, whether they're short films portraying scenes from games, memorable pieces of art or top-notch music covers. The band On Being Human brings us the latter, and last year we shared a terrific Super Metroid rock cover that seemed like the perfect alternative soundtrack to the...
