News Phil Spencer Says Microsoft Had No Problem With Banjo-Kazooie Appearing In Smash Bros. Ultimate
The two companies are on "great" terms
News Grant Kirkhope Explains How He Got To Compose Banjo-Kazooie Music For Smash Bros. Ultimate
The Mario + Rabbids creative director got in contact
Talking Point Nintendo And Microsoft Working Together Isn't As Crazy As You Think
Dogs + cats living together = ?
Rare - News
July2019
News Banjo-Kazooie Composer Grant Kirkhope Doesn't Know If There's A Market For A New Game
"I just don't know"
Around the time of E3 2019, when it was revealed Banjo-Kazooie would be added as a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the composer of the bear and bird's original Nintendo 64 outing spoke with VGC about the possibility of a new entry in the series. In a more recent interview with the same website, the one and only...
Random Valve Supposedly Made Changes To Half-Life After Playing GoldenEye 007
Inspiring a generation
Reflect on the Nintendo 64 era and one game that will probably come to mind is Rare’s GoldenEye 007. It was considered to be a revolutionary take on the first-person genre in more ways than one. In fact, even the developer and publisher Valve Corporation took inspiration from Bond’s 64-bit outing at the time. As explained...
June2019
Random Rare's Logo Is Actually A Golden Toilet Roll
Can't unsee!
Despite being gobbled up by Microsoft back in 2002, Rare remains one of the most important and loved developers in the Nintendo scene to this day. For years, the studio created classic after classic - games like Battletoads, Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye 007 and Banjo-Kazooie instantly spring to mind - and the company logo was commonly...
News Phil Spencer Says Microsoft Had No Problem With Banjo-Kazooie Appearing In Smash Bros. Ultimate
The two companies are on "great" terms
Following the official reveal of Banjo-Kazooie as a DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer caught up with Kotaku to discuss how exactly the Microsoft and Rare-owned character was able to make an appearance in the popular Nintendo fighter. According to Spencer, the story isn't as...
News Original Banjo-Kazooie Team "Pleased" About Duo's Return, But Unsure A New Game "Would Sell"
Also doubts about Rare's interest
In the same VGC interview featuring the former Rare composer Grant Kirkhope, Steve Mayles and Chris Sunderland shared their own thoughts about Banjo-Kazooie being added as a DLC fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Steven Mayles, the original character designer of the bird and bear, said he was "pleased" to see...
News Grant Kirkhope Explains How He Got To Compose Banjo-Kazooie Music For Smash Bros. Ultimate
The Mario + Rabbids creative director got in contact
Not long after Banjo-Kazooie was revealed for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate during Nintendo's E3 2019 Direct presentation, VGC reached out to the composer, Grant Kirkhope, to hear his side of the story and find out what it was like create music for Nintendo's all-star fighting game. It all started...
Video Nintendo's E3 Direct Went From Pedestrian To Perfection
Getting Jiggy with it
When things first kicked off with Nintendo's Direct this year, I personally wasn't bubbling with excitement. For my sins, Dragon Quest isn't a series that has really gripped me in the past, and feeling that that was the big announcement for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate took the wind out of my sails. Oh how naïve I was. The last...
Feature Here's Why Perfect Dark Has Three Different Covers
Three regions, three covers - but why?
Perfect Dark is perhaps one of the most accomplished games in the N64 library. It built on the solid work seen in the sublime GoldenEye 007, pushing the host hardware to its limits and making excellent use of the N64 Expansion Pak to deliver the kind of visuals that rival systems could only dream of. It remains...
May2019
News The N64 Version Of Joanna Dark Joins The Totaku Collection This September
Relive the glory days
If you still have fond memories of the original Perfect Dark game on the Nintendo 64, you'll likely be interested to hear Totaku has announced a figurine based on the Carrington Institute agent, Joanna Dark. This particular figurine is expected to join the series later on this year in September and follows on from the previous...
News Former Rare Developer Shares New Details About Conker's Cancelled Sequel
The game we never got to play
Conker's Bad Fur Day designer Chris Seavor has once again taken to Twitter to share new details about the sequel that never saw the light of day. Well before the open-world multiplayer game Sea of Thieves, Rare had plans for a direct follow-up to Conker's original and mature-themed outing on the Nintendo 64. According...
April2019
News GoldenEye 007 Nintendo 64 Demo Footage Shows What Could Have Been
'Train' wasn't the only level on-rails
For many gamers of the late '90s, GoldenEye 007 was a fixture of both solo and multiplayer gaming sessions that is burnt into their very consciousness. Watching the above clip from a contemporary promotional video will surely bring back memories, but veterans of the game will immediately notice that something's...
March2019
Feature GoldenEye Dev David Doak On Shaking (And Stirring) The FPS Genre On Console
"All we could see were the bad things"
You couldn’t escape it. It was here, rife and potent. It ploughed a path through conventional gaming conversations from the casuals to the parents of gamers that had to put up with the noise, the screaming and the not going to bed because if you didn’t kill John with thirty-seven remote mines stuck to the...
Random Were Banjo And Kazooie Named After A Nintendo President's Grandchild And Son?
Rethinking history
If you're a fan of Nintendo trivia, you may or may not have heard this one before. Apparently, Banjo and Kazooie from Rare's 1998 Nintendo 64 game Banjo-Kazooie are (at least partly) named after the grandchild and son of former Nintendo president, Hiroshi Yamauchi. This is according to some "amazing trivia" game writer and...
February2019
Talking Point Nintendo And Microsoft Working Together Isn't As Crazy As You Think
Dogs + cats living together = ?
The whispers that Microsoft is preparing to launch games and services on Switch are, in some ways, too fantastical to believe; a dream-come-true for fanboys-and-girls of a certain age. The rumoured deal suggests that the company is planning not only to launch Xbox Live and Game Pass integration, but also to publish...
Rumour French Gaming Website Suggests Cuphead Could Come To Switch
Nintendo and Microsoft collaboration rumours persist
Further to last night's rumours suggesting that Microsoft is planning to bring an Xbox app, Project X Cloud and its Game Pass service to Switch, more details have come to light regarding the possible cross-pollination. French gaming website Jeuxvideo has extra details regarding the potential...
December2018
Feature 20 Years After The Release Of Banjo-Kazooie, We Speak To The Guys Who Made It
The N64's beloved duo celebrate two decades
No, you're not suffering from déjà vu; this article originally appeared on the site in June this year, and we're republishing it as part of our 'Best of 2018' series which celebrates what we feel were our finest features of the past twelve months. Enjoy! Here is a sobering thought. It’s been twenty...
Feature The Day I Met Donkey Kong On Live TV
Alex Norton talks of TV fame and people in ape suits
No, you're not suffering from déjà vu; this article originally appeared on the site in August this year, and we're republishing it as part of our 'Best of 2018' series which celebrates what we feel were our finest features of the past twelve months. In this special one-off piece, reader Alex...
November2018
Video Family Guy Pays Respect To GoldenEye 007 On N64 With Suprisingly Accurate Skit
"Almost James Bond"
Rare's 1997 Nintendo 64 release GoldenEye 007 is considered as one of the greatest games of all-time. Not only did it provide Nintendo fans of this era with mature-themed gameplay, but it also gave the FPS genre on consoles some much-needed recognition. It was so influential, it spawned its own PC mod and has basically become...
October2018
Random This Unreal Version Of GoldenEye 007 Aims To Recreate Rare's Iconic FPS
Releasing in 2022
Rare's beloved 1997 Nintendo 64 classic GoldenEye 007 might be stuck in licensing limbo, but that won't stop the modding community from trying to revitalise the iconic first-person shooter. For years now, GoldenEye: Source - a fan mod available through Valve's Steam service - has allowed players to live out their old-school...
News Rare Is Set To Open Its Own Online Store, Banjo-Kazooie Plush Toy Among The Products Available
And there goes all our money once again
British game developer Rare has announced that it is "making plans" for its very own online store which looks set to feature merchandise based on its popular creations. The news comes from the tweet below, with the company also taking the opportunity to show off an adorable Banjo-Kazooie plush that has us...
Random Banjo-Kazooie And Conker Are Being Added To The Totaku Collection
Retro-inspired
If you were around during the years of the Nintendo 64, you'll no doubt remember Rare's foul-mouthed squirrel Conker and the beloved bear and bird duo, Banjo-Kazooie. To help you remember the glory days of these iconic characters, the Totaku Collection is adding the characters to its officially licensed figurine line. Both the...
August2018
Exclusive Here's What King K. Rool's Creator Thinks Of His Appearance In Smash Bros. Ultimate
"I couldn’t have done a better job myself!"
Nintendo stunned everyone when it revealed that Donkey Kong Country villain King K. Rool would be part of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster, but it might come as a surprise to learn that the man who created this iconic baddie was just as shocked as the rest of the world. Former Rare designer Steve...
News Was Playing As Oddjob In GoldenEye 007 On N64 Cheating? "Definitely", Says Rare
Rare's word goes
Oh, GoldenEye 007. The memories of that music, the "pew pew pew" of the gunfire, that bit where you brutally murder someone sitting on the toilet, and that one friend who you wanted to throw out of the house for playing as Oddjob over and over again. Wonderful times. Yes, if you spent many an evening playing this N64...
Random Perfect Dark Speedrunner Matches Air Force One World Record
Less than a minute
The speedrunning community is known for supporting classic games over a prolonged period of time. To this day, there are still many people worldwide actively playing older games in a competitive fashion on a daily basis. Twitch speedrunner, Kevin “KevinDDR” Birrell is one of them. Kotaku UK reports h
News Donkey Kong Country Designer Shows Off Early King K. Rool And Kremling Art Concepts
A much more serious design
Rare employee Gregg Mayles is at it again, giving us even more tasty insights into the makings of the Donkey Kong Country franchise. Earlier today, Mayles shared a list of the original names for Donkey Kong Country's characters and even the game itself, including the recent addition to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate...
Random Rare Employee Reveals Original Name Of K. Rool And Donkey Kong Country
"Slightly rubbish"
After what feels like forever, the king of the Kremlings is finally coming to Super Smash Bros. Following King K. Rool being officially revealed for the
Feature Take A Peek Behind The Curtain At Rare With This New Exhibit
"That’s what gaming has gone through to get to where it is now"
You're probably sick to death of us mentioning Rare on Nintendo Life – especially since the company has long since parted ways with Nintendo itself and is now firmly ensconced as a Microsoft studio. Still, we have our reasons – Nintendo Life Towers is located in the English...
July2018
Random Mexican Speedrunner Completes Turbo Tunnel In Battletoads With Bag Over His Head
Superhuman
The NES classic, Battletoads, is notorious for being a tough game. Despite this, that hasn’t stopped Piotr Delgado “The Mexican Runner” Kusielczuk from becoming an expert at it. He’s previously completed the game with one hand, and for this particular run, his goal was to complete the legendary turbo tunnel with a bag over his...
News Super Battletoads Is A Cancelled Game Boy Game That Was 100% Finished And Ready To Go
The game that never was
Hearing the name 'Rare' likely makes you instinctively jump towards nostalgic thoughts of games like Banjo-Kazooie, GoldenEye 007, and Donkey Kong 64; the studio's partnership with Nintendo throughout the '90s generated some truly classic titles that are still adored today. Another iconic franchise from this era is...
May2018
Random Childish Gambino Sampled Donkey Kong Country And David Wise Definitely Approves
Aquatic Ambiance is still relevant
Childish Gambino's latest track might have captured the zeitgeist in 2018, but back in 2012 the man otherwise known as Donald Glover took inspiration from a very different source. Much to the delight of veteran VGM composer David Wise, who recently discovered the track 'Eat your Vegetables' uses a looped sample...
April2018
Events Birmingham City University To Celebrate The Impact Of Rare And Other Midlands Games Studios
A certain bearded Nintendo Life staffer is going to be there, too
The Midlands might not be the most exciting area in the UK but it has a rich video gaming history; not only is it the birthplace of Rare, one of the most iconic NES, SNES, Game Boy and N64 developers of all time, but it is also home to the likes of Codemasters, US Gold, Core Design,...
Random Here's What Donkey Kong Country Would Have Looked Like With Classic Kong
Alternate timeline monkey business
When Rare was given the chance to work with one of Nintendo's most famous intellectual properties, it created one of the SNES' truly classic 2D platformers. However, Donkey Kong Country not only gave Kong a new lease of life; it gave him an entirely new look which has become the accepted template ever since. What,...
March2018
Soapbox With Microsoft Playing Ball, It’s Finally Time For Banjo-Kazooie To Return To Nintendo
And we know just the studio that could pull it off...
Soapbox features enable our individual writers to voice their own opinions on hot topics, opinions that may not necessarily be the voice of the site. In today's article, editor Dom tackles a subject very close to his heart - his rabid love for a certain seminal platformer from Rare, and...
News Xbox's Phil Spencer Is Still Open To Banjo And Kazooie Appearing In Super Smash Bros.
Rare is also open to giving IP to third parties
As we all know, Rare used to be a solid partner for Nintendo. During the N64 years, Nintendo held a significant stake in the UK firm, which created seminal games like Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye 007, Blast Corps, Perfect Dark and Donkey Kong 64. It was also the company responsible for the N64...
February2018
News Rare's Local Video Game Store Is Closing Its Doors After 24 Years
The changing nature of games retail claims another victim
The way we buy games is changing, with digital sales slowly but surely taking over from physical. That means the landscape of games retail is gradually shifting, and all stores - from the big to the small - are feeling the pinch. With that in mind, we're sad to report that UK store Extreme...
January2018
Movie Review King Of Kong Meets Spinal Tap In Going For Golden Eye
"Rule no. 1: Absolutely no use of Oddjob"
Video games and movies often make uncomfortable bedfellows; just look at the Super Mario Bros. movie from 1993 and Jean-Claude Van Damme's equally risible Street Fighter flick. However, sometimes the combining of these two mediums can yield positive results; King of Kong is one notable example. Jim...
Random GoldenEye 007 Mockumentary Aims To Be The Spinal Tap Of Video Games
Focuses on "deluded, cringe-inducing elite GoldenEye players"
An indie British film company is aiming to create the video game equivalent of Spinal Tap with Going For Golden Eye, which is described as "a love letter to the heyday of the N64 and the rivalries of couch multiplayer". Created by Woodhouse Pictures, the film focuses on the...
Rumour A New Perfect Dark Game Is In Development, But Rare Isn't Involved
And it's not for a Nintendo system, obviously
Reports are surfacing online about a potential new entry in the popular Perfect Dark series, which began life on the Nintendo 64. According to the rumour, Gears of War studio The Coalition has been tasked with reviving the franchise, which is now owned by Microsoft following the purchase of IP holder...
News GoldenEye 007 With Mario Characters Is The Crossover We Never Knew We Wanted
It's-a-me, a-Bond!
Official development for Nintendo 64 may have ended over 15 years ago, but that hasn't stopped the impassioned modding community from keeping its library of memorable 64-bit hits alive with new updates and improvements. Rare's influential shooter, GoldenEye 007, remains a huge fan favourite, so of course one talented user has...
Feature Rare's Local Game Shop Faces An Uncertain Future, Like Many Indie Retailers
"It can only continue with local support"
Those of you with long memories will recall that we ran a feature some time ago about Extreme Gamez, a small UK indie video game store. This particular shop might not seem especially noteworthy at first glance, until you realise that it is situated in one of the most historically important towns in the UK,...
News N64 Classic Diddy Kong Racing Gets Unreal Engine Makeover
CryZENx once more gives us a look at an alternate reality
In a parallel universe where Nintendo didn't sell Rare to Microsoft, the Twycross-based industry giant would have continued to fully support Nintendo's hardware generations up to current day. In such a reality, perhaps Nintendo would be teasing us with a full remake of Rare's beloved...
December2017
News This Playtonic Art Could Be The Closest We'll Get To Seeing Banjo-Kazooie And Switch Together
Former Rare artists celebrate their Nintendo past
To celebrate the long-awaited release of Yooka-Laylee on Switch, Playtonic's artists have been paying tribute to their past connection with Nintendo. As you know, Playtonic's core team is made up of former Rare staffers who worked on some of the company's most famous NES, SNES and N64 era titles...
News First 4 Figures Is Working On Banjo-Kazooie And Conker Collectables
A Rare collaboration
First 4 Figures has revealed that it is collaborating with Rare to produce a series of figures based on Banjo-Kazooie and Conker. No shots of the actual figures have been shown so far, but the company has stated that it is an "honour" to be working with these two highly-esteemed gaming legends. There's no release date for...
November2017
Music Rare And iam8bit Are Releasing Battletoads And Conker's Bad Fur Day Soundtracks On Vinyl
Preorders opening soon
Rare may not be under Nintendo's wing anymore but the UK studio is responsible for some amazing 8, 16 and 64-bit titles such as Battletoads, Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie, to name just three. Now, the company is teaming up with iam8bit to produce vinyl soundtracks for three of its classic games: Battletoads in...
September2017
News Donkey Kong Country on SNES Gets the MSU1 Digital Audio Enhancement Treatment
It's on like hi-fi Donkey Kong!
Rare's phenomenal Donkey Kong Country was quite the game changer in late 1994, not only giving an extra edge to the Super Nintendo in the 16-bit console war but also becoming one of the most cherished games in the entire SNES library. Despite the fancy ACM graphics, one of they key features that still resonates with...
News The Latest Game From The Stamper Brothers Feels Like A Donkey Kong Country Sequel
And it could be coming to Switch
FortuneFish - the studio founded by former Rare owners Tim and Chris Stamper, along with Tim's son Joe - has released a test version of its new music-based platformer on iOS which calls to mind the classic days of the legendary Donkey Kong Country studio. Kroko Bongo: Tap to the Beat! is billed as...
July2017
News Hey! Pikmin Shows Nintendo Still Has A Soft Spot For Rare
A tribute to an "Enduring Partnership"
Rare and Nintendo enjoyed a particularly profitable relationship back in the '80s and '90s, with the UK-based studio creating hordes of titles for the NES, Game Boy, SNES and N64. So close was the connection between the two companies that Nintendo eventually purchased a large stake in Rare and made it a...
May2017
News Rare Treasures Aims to Chronicle the History of Rare
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Rare was a prominent part of Nintendo’s history in the 90’s, responsible for major games such as Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie, and GoldenEye 007, though it rather famously departed from the Big N in 2002 for supposedly greener pastures with Microsoft. Still, the company holds a special place in the heart of...
March2017
Video Get Green With This Complete History Of Battletoads
Remembering Rash, Zitz & Pimple
Battletoads - along with Rare's back catalogue - may be owned by Microsoft these days, but NES owners will always have a special place in their hearts for Rash, Zitz & Pimple, three radical amphibians with plenty of attitude. Created at a time when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dominated TV, gaming and toy aisles,...
September2016
Feature Pay A Visit To Rare's Local Indie Video Game Store
"They used to come in to buy their latest game to go in their vault"
The English market town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch can chart its history as far back as the 11th century and owes its rather unusual name to the Norman Conquest of England around the same time, when the settlement - then known as plain old Ashby - became the property of the La Zouche...
August2016
News A Group Of Fans Are Resurrecting Lost Rare N64 Title Dinosaur Planet As An Animated Series
Special trailer airing today
Dinosaur Planet was supposed to be Rare's swansong on the N64, a 3D action platformer which would create a brand-new IP and push the console to its very limits. As we all know, that never happened - Dinosaur Planet was re-tooled at Nintendo's behest as Star Fox Adventures and would be released on the GameCube. It was...
Video Digital Foundry Puts GoldenEye and Perfect Dark to the Test on N64
Also dabbles in cleaning up the visuals
Digital Foundry is one of the premier online teams for technical analysis of games and hardware, often focusing on current-generation gaming to assess performance, frame rates and more. It's now turning its eye to some retro games, too, which provides some interesting context on classics from past generations...
Video Rare Reminisces on the Development of It's Mr. Pants
"We decided to have a menagerie of animal and bird noises to reward you"
Rare is a studio that's always been known for being one of the most prolific and beloved developers on Nintendo consoles during the 16 and 64 bit eras. Responsible for classics like the Donkey Kong Country series, Banjo-Kazooie, Goldeneye 007, and more, the studio's resume is...
June2016
News Activision Was Closer To Owning Rare Than You Might Think
Xbox co-creator Ed Fries says it was a close-run thing
UK company Rare is responsible for some of the best games of the past 30 years, and was once a Nintendo second-party studio thanks to the Japanese giant purchasing 49 percent of the firm. Nintendo and Rare's alliance resulted in titles like Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong Racing, GoldenEye 007,...
Video Unseen64 Discusses the Perfect Dark Sequels That Never Were
Hello darkness, my old friend
Back in the glory days of Rare, the studio released the cult classic GoldenEye 007, and while it's perhaps a bit dated by modern standards, the game was wildly fun. Though the studio wished to produce a sequel to the shooter, it lost the rights in a bidding war, resulting in Rare choosing to create its own game as a...
April2016
Exclusive Martin Hollis Talks GoldenEye 64 Development In This New Interview
Taken from the forthcoming N64 Anthology
Geeks-Line's N64 Anthology has 17 days remaining on its Kickstarter campaign and has raised 45,000 Euros of its 50,000 Euro target so far. If you needed convincing that this is a project worth backing, then cast your eyes on the exclusive interview excerpt we've been granted below. It's a chat with the one...
"SGI very nearly did another spin of the hardware to fix the issue"
The N64 was, for the time, a formidable piece of kit. Its chipset was developed in conjunction with Silicon Graphics and provided the console with power that put rivals like the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation in the shade. However, the complex nature of the chips involved resulted...
March2016
News Were It Not For Rare's Tim Stamper, Wave Race Would Have Featured Boats
Water difference that would have made
Back when Rare and Nintendo were partners, it seemed as if the two companies shared an almost unspoken rivalry, competing for recognition as the premier developer of the day - especially during the N64 era. In the latest issue of Retro Gamer magazine, several former Rare staffers have spoken about this glorious...
February2016
Weirdness This Is Conker As You've Never Seen Him Before, And Won't Ever Want To Again
Say hello to "Young Conker"
Conker is one of Rare's most iconic characters, largely because he's a complete subversion of everything a cute, platforming mascot should be. Originally conceived as your typical fluffy hero, Conker only really found fame when Chris Seavor - he of Rusty Pup fame - took the character and turned him on his head, creating...
Oh, and David Wise is doing the soundtrack. Excited yet?
Rhys Lewis might have "indie game developer" on his business card these days, but his career has been anything but small-scale. Lewis has held roles at Rare, Confounding Factor, 3D Realms and Retro Studios, and can list titles like Banjo-Kazooie, Duke Nukem Forever, Metroid Prime 3, Donkey...
January2016
News Unreal Engine GoldenEye 007 Tech Demo Gains The Approval Of Game's Designer
He loves only gold!
Rare's prolific N64 output is the stuff of legend, but one title tends to stand out from the rest, primarily because it was such a curve-ball at the time that it took the entire gaming world by surprise. Prior to the release of GoldenEye 007, two things were true: licenced James Bond games had been pretty forgettable and...
News Rare Wanted To Do amiibo-Style Toys During The N64 Era
Ahead of the curve
UK studio Rare has always had a habit of being ahead of the curve. The company - founded by Tim and Chris Stamper in the '80s - was one of the first western developers to work on the NES hardware, and in the '90s the firm would pioneer the use of CGI graphics in 2D games with the likes of Donkey Kong Country and Killer Instinct...
December2015
Video Rare Shows Off Footage of Dream, The Banjo-Kazooie Predecessor That Never Saw Release
No, you're not dreaming
Though it's now owned by Microsoft and far removed from its days of dominance developing exclusives for SNES and Nintendo 64, Rare has a special place in the hearts of many Nintendo fans. It's an iconic studio and, as a result, its story has various facets and mysteries that remain the talk of retro gamers. One game that's...
News Microsoft Gets Cute About Possible Rare Replay Release On Wii U
"Suggest it to the great folks at @RareLtd"
As we all know, Minecraft on Wii U is no longer a fantasy - it's real. And, as many have pointed out, that means that Microsoft is releasing a game on a Nintendo system. Wonders never cease, right? This event has predictably triggered a frenzied response online, with some incredibly optimistic individuals...
October2015
News Nintendo Wanted A GoldenEye Sequel On N64 But Rare Turned It Down
And Nintendo gracefully accepted the decision
1997's GoldenEye 007 was a massive commercial and critical success for Nintendo, selling 8 million copies worldwide and generating an enormous amount of revenue. Unsurprisingly, Nintendo wanted a sequel and even asked developer Rare to make one - but the UK company, which was at the time a second-party...
Weirdness Miyamoto Wanted A Murder-Free GoldenEye Where You Made Friends With Enemies At The End
"Close-up killing - he found it a bit too horrible"
In your average James Bond flick the suave British secret agent dispatches countless goons and bad guys without batting an eyelid, but if Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto had had his way, the best Bond video game of all time wouldn't have contained a single death. Speaking at the ongoing GameCity event...
News Lost Game Boy Color Banjo-Kazooie Game Unearthed In Design Documents
An early look at the game which would become Grunty's Revenge
When Rare was purchased by Microsoft many assumed that there would be no more titles from the famed UK developer on Nintendo formats, but such fears proved unfounded - Rare continued to release titles on both the Game Boy Advance and its successor, the Nintendo DS, although in recent...
September2015
News Donkey Kong Country Almost Had A Zelda-Like Key System
"Is this too Zelda(ish)?"
Retro fans will be pleased to know that Rare's Gregg Mayles has continued uploading behind-the-scenes info relating to Donkey Kong Country. After revealing that Shigeru Miyamoto was the one behind DK's tie, Mayles has offered up some more concept material, including a hand-written document which shows that at one point, the...
News Rare's Gregg Mayles Reveals It Was Miyamoto Who Suggested Donkey Kong Should Sport Neckwear
Rare staffer reveals the pre-history of Donkey Kong Country
Gregg Mayles is one of Rare's longest-serving employees and can list some of the firm's most famous titles on his impressive CV. He's currently hard at work on the studio's next offering, Sea of Thieves, but has taken the time to post some interesting info relating to the SNES classic...
August2015
Video Here's What Rare's Final GameCube Title Should Have Looked Like
Very early prototype for Kameo unearthed
As we all know, Rare was once a second-party Nintendo studio but was purchased by Microsoft over a decade ago. When the acquisition took place, the UK company was working on several GameCube projects, including Donkey Kong Racing and Kameo, the latter of which would eventually appear as a launch title for the...
Witness the Mario Kart killer that never was
Given the amount of love and attention we've bestowed Xbox One title Rare Replay recently, you'd be forgiven for thinking that you'd logged onto our sister site Pure Xbox by mistake. Still, Rare will forever be a major part of Nintendo history, and there's a lot of bonus content in this collection which...
News Rare Co-Founder Has No Idea Why Nintendo Didn't Buy The Studio Outright
"I thought we were a good fit"
Rare co-founder Tim Stamper recently won the accolade of Development Legend at this year's Develop awards - along with his brother, Chris - and has now given his first interview since 2007. Stamper - who has recently returned to the games industry with mobile studio FortuneFish - talks about the origins of Rare, its...
Soapbox It's A Tragedy That Rare Replay Isn't On A Nintendo Console
Rare's latest has filled Damien McFerran with delight, but there's a catch
Rare is one of the UK's most respected and adored software houses, with a lineage that goes back more than 30 years. While the company is now wholly owned by Microsoft, for a large part of its lifespan it was closely affiliated with Nintendo - initially as a third party...
July2015
News Rare's Gregg Mayles Shows Off The Scribbled Origins Of Banjo-Kazooie
Work in progress
Banjo-Kazooie is one of Rare's most beloved properties, and while the series is now firmly entrenched on Microsoft hardware following the company's purchase of the famous British developer, Nintendo fans will always have a soft spot for the bear-and-bird duo thanks to the fact that they made their official début on the N64. Over...
News Playtonic Happy to Move Away From "Box-Ticking" Culture At Microsoft-Owned Rare
Creative lead Gavin Price talks about fresh beginnings
Yooka-Laylee has been hailed as a platforming rebirth created by some of the UK's most talented developers, and has recently become one of Kickstarter's most acclaimed success stories. Developer Playtonic - which is made up of former Rare staffers and, in recent months, has added more in the...
News Rare Founders To Be Honoured At The Develop Industry Excellence Awards
Tim and Chris Stamper are this year's Development Legends
Rare founders Tim and Chris Stamper will be honoured as Development Legends at this year's Develop Industry Excellence Awards, which take place in Brighton, UK on July 15th. The Stampers established Ashby Computers and Graphics Ltd in 1982, the company that would eventually become Rare. One...
June2015
News Rare Replay on Xbox One Will Include 30 Games, Including Classics from Nintendo Systems
$30 for 30 games, sad face time
The Microsoft ownership of Rare can be a sore spot for Nintendo gamers, and the announcement of Rare Replay for Xbox One will sting. Incorporating some games previously available as downloads but many that haven't been, it's a compilation of 30 Rare classics that'll sell for $30 from 4th August. Games highlighted as...
News Rare Co-Founder Tim Stamper Is Tweeting Some Crazy Stuff About Project Dream On The SNES
A gaming legend finally speaks
Rare co-founders the Stamper brothers have always been famously reclusive when it comes to interviews - they've given very few over the past couple of decades and since selling Rare to Microsoft have drifted from the public eye altogether. However, Tim Stamper appears to be moving back towards the games industry. Last...
May2015
News Unseen64 Uncovers Concept Art Of Rare's Perfect Dark Project For GameCube
What could have been
Rare’s 2005 first-person shooter, Perfect Dark Zero, didn’t exactly match the legacy of the original game on the Nintendo 64. Development of the title began on the GameCube and was completed on the Xbox 360 when Microsoft acquired Rare and all of its licenses in 2002. The question that has since played on the minds of both...
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 Playtonic Releases First Animated Footage From Banjo-Kazooie Successor Project Ukulele
As a "Thank You" for reaching 30,000 followers on Twitter
Playtonic Games - a UK studio made up of former Rare staffers - has released the first footage from its Banjo Kazooie "spiritual successor", Project Ukulele. The short clip - posted via Vine on Twitter - shows a minion character from the game hopping from foot to foot. It's a good i
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...
"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
News First Screens From Banjo-Kazooie Spiritual Successor Are Revealed, Kickstarter Coming In May
Former Rare developers considering amiibo-style NFC figures
Last month we reported on the news that a group of former Rare developers had formed their own company - Playtonic - and were looking to create a "spiritual successor" to the Banjo-Kazooie series. During this week's EGX Rezzed, Playtonic showed off the first screens from the new game -...
February2015
News Former Rare Developers Will Show Off Their New Game In March
Playtonic Games to present their first project at this year's EGX Rezzed
Earlier this month, we reported on the news that fledgling studio Playtonic Games - made up of former Rare employees - is currently hard at work on a spiritual successor to the Banjo Kazooie series. It has now been confirmed that the as-yet-unnamed release will be getting its...
News Meet Playtonic, A Studio Of Ex-Rare Staff That Wants To Work With Nintendo
"Spiritual successor" to Banjo-Kazooie on the way
A group of former Rare employees has banded together to establish a new studio which is now working on a spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series. Speaking to EDGE magazine, the core members of Playtonic - Gavin Price, Chris Sutherland and Steve Mayles - have explained how they recently...
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...
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
Nintendo 64x64 Conker's Bad Fur Day
One mean %&*@% Squirrel…
Only Rare could have taken the cutesy adventure platformer genre and so masterfully warped it into such an hilariously offensive and beautifully vulgar gameplay experience. Enter Conker, a binge-drinking squirrel, whose walk home from the pub quickly turns into an adventure of inappropriate and scatological proportions...
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...
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...
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...
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 The Making Of Diddy Kong Racing
How a diddy development team made a huge impact on the kart racing genre
Donkey Kong has had a long and vibrant history on the video game scene. To honour his most recent Wii U adventure, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, we've declared February to be the Month of Kong, a celebration of DK and Co.’s impressive journey from their arcade roots...
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
News Rare Nearly Took On The Nintendo Game Boy With Its Own "Playboy" Handheld
Before they were bedfellows, Rare and Nintendo could have been rivals
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Rare's first game, Jetpac. OK, technically speaking Jetpac was created by Ultimate Play the Game — the company founded by the Stamper Brothers which eventually spawned Rare — but most fans consider the two studios to be...
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...
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