Tag: Rare - Page 3
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
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
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 a rhythm...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
