Tag: Rare
Rumour Buster No, Rare Didn't Almost Make Games For The PlayStation During The N64 Era
"Our belief was that we could make better games if we focused on one platform"
Back in the '90s, Rare was a real powerhouse developer for Nintendo platforms. As one of the earliest western studios to support the NES, it produced a string of titles and would later throw its weight behind the Game Boy and SNES – culminating in the groundbreaking...
Random Recoil In Horror At The Tale Of The Troublesome QA Tester And The Soiled Rare T-Shirt
"Oh my god! There's s*** on my shirt! I can't believe it!"
Perfect Dark turned 20 recently, as you'll know if you read our exhaustive history of the game's creation. Our good friends over at Eurogamer have done a similar piece, speaking to the people who made this amazing game happen. One of those people is Steve Malpass, who also sha
"We could have dynamic responsive scores that react to the gameplay environments"
Former Rare composer David Wise is responsible for some of the best soundtracks ever heard in a video game, and for the longest time, he was the company's main resource when it came to creating music for its NES, SNES, Game Boy and N64 output. He's been speaking to US...
News Perfect Dark's Joanna Dark Was Based On Winona Ryder
"She had this great pixie haircut"
It’s been said in the past that Perfect Dark protagonist Joanna Dark was modelled on historical figure Joan of Arc, but we've been speaking to the guys behind the game and they've put us right on that score – and have revealed exactly who inspired the design of the famous secret agent. “I think that’s the...
News Perfect Dark Was Supposed To Have Push Button Cheats, But They Accidentally Got Deleted
"I’m very sorry"
If you're old enough to remember the N64 classic GoldenEye 007, you might also recall that the game featured a bunch of push button cheat codes which could be entered to change the game and unlock all of the weapons. You might also be one of the many people who were upset that its spiritual sequel, Perfect Dark, lacked this...
Feature Perfect Dark Turns 20 - The Definitive Story Behind The N64 Hit That Outclassed James Bond
"We had a lot of ideas, and lots of clever people working out how to do them"
How do you follow GoldenEye 007? In the summer of 2000 – that's 20 years ago this month – Rare presented its answer: Perfect Dark, a sci-fi spy shooter centred around an alien conspiracy. It delivered a cool, competent heroine, a single-player campaign bursting with...
Random Rare Uses Banjo-Kazooie To Remind People To Stay At Home
You can't argue with the bird and bear
For the safety of everyone, and particularly society's most vulnerable, a very clear message is being spread around the world at the moment: stay home. The coronavirus (COVID-19) is having a huge impact on all aspects of life, but game developer Rare is doing its bit to help get that all-important message...
News Go Behind The Scenes Of GoldenEye 007 With This Upcoming Documentary
"I remember saying to the team, it's all downhill from here"
GoldenEye 007 is without a doubt one of the most influential video games of all time. While it certainly wasn't the first FPS title to find mainstream success – we'd already seen DOOM by the time it arrived – it popularised the genre on consoles and added layers of depth, such as...
News Rare Developer Elaborates On Conker's 'Tonal Shift' From Twelve Tales To Bad Fur Day
From the mouth of The Great Mighty Poo himself
As many Nintendo fans from the N64 era already know, the foul-mouthed and filthy Conker's Bad Fur Day began life as a cutesy platformer before changing lanes and becoming an over-18-only affair full of innuendo, naughty words and wee. Plenty of titbits related the game have come to light over the years...
Random Storm Ciara Decapitates A Rare Video Gaming Legend
"So I got you there once more, I knew your skill was very poor!"
Those of you based in the UK will no doubt be counting the cost of Storm Ciara, which has done its best to batter the British Isles over the past few days. High winds and lashings of rain have caused disruption all over the country, from power cuts, cancelled trains,
Random Banjo-Kazooie Was Actually Named After A Nintendo President's Grandchild And Son
Case closed
Last year in March, there was a story doing the rounds about Rare's famous bear and bird from the 1998 Nintendo 64 game Banjo-Kazooie being named after the grandchild and son of the former Nintendo president, Hiroshi Yamauchi. History suggested that Banjo's name was based on a musical instrument of the same name, and Kazooie's name was...
News Rare Explains How It Worked With Nintendo On Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Banjo-Kazooie DLC
"We ended up with something that was really great"
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has given us plenty of cool surprises when it comes to DLC characters, but the addition of Banjo and Kazooie has been perhaps the most noteworthy. While the dynamic animal duo is famous for two critically-acclaimed N64 adventures, when Rare was bought by Microsoft the...
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 Rare Forgot To Remove A Shotgun From Donkey Kong 64 Before Showing Miyamoto
There was a "look of horror" on his face
Last month, Donkey Kong 64 turned 20 years old. Since then, the development team behind the game has been doing the press rounds to celebrate the anniversary. During a recent interview with Games Radar, one of the creative leads George Andreas recalled a horrifying moment when Rare was showing the game to...
Random If Cranky Kong Was Once Donkey Kong, What Does The Future Hold For Funky Kong?
DK devs weigh in
With Donkey Kong Country turning 25 last week and soaking up the lion's share of the anniversary headlines, we thought we'd give its younger sibling a chance to shine. Donkey Kong 64 celebrated its 20th birthday on 22nd November and we caught up with Mark Stevenson and
Poll Box Art Brawl #18 - Donkey Kong 64
Walnuts, peanuts, pineapple smells
He-he-here we go! It's time for Box Art Brawl, our weekly look at which region got the best box art of a particular retro release. Last week the North American version of Ninja Gaiden on the NES absolutely trounced the competition, with the Japanese variant a distant second and Europe left stumbling in a daze...
Feature Donkey Kong 64 Devs On Bugs, Boxing And 20 Years Of The DK Rap
Put your hands together if you want to clap
In the last few days we've had a spate of video game anniversaries with Pokémon Gold and Silver, Super Smash Bros., Donkey Kong Country and
News Playtonic's Steve Mayles Releases Special Donkey Kong Country Artwork To Mark Its 25th Birthday
As other staffers share mementoes from the period
Donkey Kong Country turned 25 yesterday, an event which is sure to have made many of us feel very old indeed. To celebrate the anniversary, Playtonic's Steve Mayles – who worked on the game during his tenure at Rare – has posted a special piece of artwork showcasing the game's heroes: Mayles...
Anniversary Feel Old Everyone, Donkey Kong Country Turns 25 Today
And the birthdays keep on comin'!
Hmm. It's almost like video games themselves are conspiring to make us feel our age recently. Earlier this week Super Smash Bros. turned 20 in the PAL region, and today we posted about Pokémon Gold and Silver re
Poll Box Art Brawl #16 - Banjo-Tooie
Bear-and-Bird-based brawling
Come one, come all - we're about to begin the Box Art Brawl! Yes, welcome back to the weekly battle where we throw three versions of box art from the same game into a ring to determine which one wins the beauty pageant and which one(s) deserves to be boxed up forever. Last week Super Mario took on his continental...
"What’s changed? So far as I can tell, not a lot!"
Earlier this week, Playtonic Games announced that veteran character artist Ed Bryan was joining the team behind Yooka-Laylee on a full-time basis. The ex-Rare man has been away from the games industry since leaving Rare eight years ago, but now reenters the fray as Playtonic enjoys the success of...
Feature 25 Years Ago, Nintendo Took On The Might Of Street Fighter With Killer Instinct
Ultra combo!
The technological sands may have been shifting dramatically back in 1994, but the ripples from the groundbreaking impact of Capcom’s Street Fighter II were still being felt in the games industry. While the 32-bit era was looming and sophisticated new games machines were introducing players to the immersive thrills of 3D worlds, the...
Random Rare Expands Its Official Banjo-Kazooie Swag Collection With A Colourful Keychain
Feast your googly eyes on these
After many years stuck out in the video gaming wilderness, the return of mighty duo Banjo-Kazooie had one or two of us at Nintendo Life Towers shedding a tear when they were revealed to be joining the fray with the other Smash Bros. fighters. IP owners Microsoft might not be doing anything Rareware's bear and bird,...
Fancy listening?
Reflect on the glory days of Rare and a few names you might remember include graphic designer Kevin Bayliss and composer David Wise. Both of these talented individuals helped shape a number of the developer's titles over the years. While they've both moved on, it appears they'll be collaborating on an "exciting new project" that...
Random Sakurai Tells Nintendo Fans To Check Out The Original Banjo-Kazooie On Xbox One
Seriously.
During the special Banjo-Kazooie presentation today, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai explained how Microsoft was more than happy for the bear and bird to join Nintendo's all-star brawler. Sakurai himself was "extremely grateful" and also noted how Rare welcomed the idea with open arms. With the iconic duo now...
Exclusive Check Out Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair's Most Amusing New Tonic
"We've got a bit of a reputation for putting googly eyes on everything"
Yesterday, we reported on the news that the upcoming Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair will employ over 60 'tonics' to change the way the game looks and plays. Tonics were a part of the original Yooka-Laylee, too, and it's great to see them return in this new title.
News Conker's Creator Doesn't Think There Would Be As Much Noise For Other Rare IP On Switch
The bear and bird are the favourites
Conker’s creator, Chris Seaver, recently shared his thoughts about Banjo-Kazooie being announced as a playable DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Switch. While he believes it was a “significant” moment, he doesn't think there would be as much interest in the return of other Rare IP: It is...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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
