Rare News, Rare Features

Is the Conker creator working on Nintendo's console?

Chris Seavor — otherwise known as the man who created Conker's Bad Fur Day — has already stated that Wii U development interests him a great deal. However, he's now given his most convincing indication yet that he has something in the works for Nintendo's system. When asked on Twitter if he...

Guh-huh!

It’s hard to believe now, but before 31st May, 1998, no one believed that a bear in yellow shorts and a bird in a backpack could ever make an effective team. A spunky little Twycross-based company called Rare, however, set out to prove the world wrong, and did so with quite admirable results. Today marks the 15th anniversary of the North...

A Rare treat

Rare is a company that is fondly remembered by many Nintendo fans. While it had success on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System with the Donkey Kong Country series, it was during the years of the Nintendo 64 that the development studio truly came into its own. It produced hit after hit, arguably saving the 64-bit system from the...

Time to get jealous?

In case you hadn't noticed, Microsoft lifted the lid on the Xbox One this week. The new system is the successor to the popular 360 console and will be getting plenty of support from the company's stable of internal developers — one of which is former Nintendo partner, Rare. The UK-based studio was purchased by Microsoft over...

Explains why Rare chose to make Nuts & Bolts

Banjo-Kazooie is revered by many as one of the best games to ever grace the N64. The platformer, which starred a docile bear and a wise-cracking bird, could have ended up being something completely different as it was originally set to be a highly ambitious venture known as Project Dream. Speaking as a...

Rare staffers put it together right at the end

In 1997, Rare released GoldenEye 007 on the N64 and it became an absolute classic that arguably redefined the first person shooter genre and revolutionised the way multiplayer was done on home consoles. It all nearly never happened though as according to Grant Kirkhope, the composer behind the game's...

New instalment in development at Rare?

Although it's not something that is likely to impact the production of a new Killer Instinct title for Nintendo consoles - the IP is owned by Rare (and, by extension, Microsoft) so that's not going to happen any time soon, sadly - but interesting news has filtered through about a possible new entry in the...

Chris Seavor spills the beans on Conker, the chances of Killer Instinct 3 and why he left Rare

Conker's Bad Fur Day is famous for its bad language, adult themes and profusion of poo, but it didn't start life as a mature-rated piece of software. Originally intended as a direct sequel to the cute and cuddly Game Boy Color title Conker's Pocket Tales,...

It's a stitch-up

Remember the music for the opening level on Donkey Kong Country? Do you recall how it moves from one musical style to another, almost as if it's three different songs that have been fused together? That because it is. In an interview with CVG, former Rare composer David Wise reveals the truth behind the track: I was on holiday in...

All hope is not lost

Nothing puts a frown on a Nintendo fan's face like mentioning Rare. The company that once brought Perfect Dark, Donkey Kong 64, Banjo Kazooie and GoldenEye 007 are currently working on the Kinect Sports series for Microsoft. While most gamers have given up on seeing a new "proper" Banjo Kazooie sequel from Rare, a new glimmer of...

Former employee admits that Microsoft sale has changed the company

In September 2002, Microsoft purchased UK developer Rare for $375 million, effectively ending the firm's long-running association with Nintendo - a relationship which resulted in some of the best games ever created. Fast forward a decade, and Rare is a very different beast. Many key...

Martin Hollis talks about creating the perfect Bond game

Famed developer Martin Hollis may have gone on to other projects at the now-defunct Zoonami - creators of the WiiWare classic Bonsai Barber - but he started his career at Rare, where he worked on titles such as Killer Instinct, Perfect Dark and - possibly most famously - GoldenEye 007. Hollis...

Warning: poo references

Although Nintendo systems are notorious for censoring and toning down adult or vulgar content, there have been various mature games released on its consoles. A recent example, to name just one, is Madworld on Wii, which had enough violence and bad language to keep any mature gaming fan happy. If you want to go back to retro...

Secret agent

Of all the cheats and secrets tucked away in GoldenEye 007, we never suspected Rare's N64 classic harboured a fully functioning ZX Spectrum 48k emulator. Rare began a coding experiment to see if the N64 could support a Spectrum emulator, even embedding old-school Rare games Sabre Wulf, Jetpac and more in the code. Clearly the experiment...

Going places

Many long-standing Nintendo fans have a special place in their hearts for Rare, the British developer responsible for Banjo Kazooie, GoldenEye 007, Jet Force Gemini and more. In 1994 Nintendo bought a 49% stake in the developer, guiding it to create hit after hit, but in 2002 the studio was bought outright by Microsoft, spelling the end...

Banjo-Kazooie 3D a possibility

The rumour mill has been churning up some pretty exciting stuff lately, and here's a bit that seems plausible considering that Microsoft saw no problem with Rare working on DS games like Viva Piñata and Diddy Kong Racing. Supposedly, the company is in talks with Nintendo to develop games for the 3DS platform,...

What could have been...

N64 adventures Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo Tooie made plenty of fans back in their 64-bit heyday, but they never appeared on the GameCube. A threequel was planned but never released, but now unreleased game-finders par excellence Unseen 64 have posted a short video of the project. Shown off at Spaceworld 2000 before the...

Is now the right time for Rare to come back home?

Last week wasn't the best of times for the UK games industry. We reported that indie dev The Code Monkeys shut its doors after 23 years and on Friday Bizarre Creations – who produced the brilliant Project Gotham Racing for Microsoft, as well as the criminally underrated Blur – finally closed...

Though developer Eurocom is in his good books

Whether Activision is all about the money isn't really for us to say, but one thing most will agree on is that it has several franchises in its pockets into which at any given time the company can reach, pulling out a sequel or spin-off. So with the upcoming revival of the GoldenEye name, the publisher's motivation is being questioned by one of the..