Rare News Articles
Tuesday20th Sep 2022
News Footage Of Perfect Dark's Cut Feature 'Perfect Head' Emerges Online
Heads rolled
We often laud Rare's incredible library of games on the N64, and while the focus has recently been on its seminal movie tie-in shooter GoldenEye 007 over the past week, we want to turn your attention to Perfect Dark for just a few minutes. Footage of one of the game's cut features from E3 1999 has been shared online. As highlighted by...
News Nightdive Studios Was Apparently "Close" To Reviving GoldenEye 007
"We came *this* close to doing this"
Rare's iconic first-person shooter GoldenEye 007 was thought to be stuck in licensing hell, but after ongoing rumours and last week's Nintendo Direct, it was officially announced for the Switch Online N64 service. It's coming to Xbox Game Pass and Rare Replay with some minor enhancements, too. Sure, it might not...
Tuesday13th Sep 2022
News GoldenEye 007 Is Returning To Nintendo Switch
James Bond returns, finally
Nintendo has announced that GoldenEye 007 is finally coming back. During its September 2022 Nintendo Direct, the company confirmed that Rare's seminal N64 first-person shooter — which has never been officially released on any other console — is "coming soon". The Direct announcement was light on specifics, with no...
Wednesday31st Aug 2022
Random Rare's Unreleased Game Boy Rival Is A True Handheld Marvel
Meet the "Playboy"... No, not that one
British video game developer Rare is undoubtedly best known for its close relationship with Nintendo back in the '90s and early '00s, before Microsoft outright acquired it in 2002. Indeed, games like GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, and Perfect Dark have all cemented themselves as icons in the industry; games that...
Wednesday6th Jul 2022
News Microsoft Renews Trademark For Rare's Classic N64 Game Blast Corps
Viva Piñata, too
Video game trademark renewals are always happening, and while they don't necessarily mean something is on the horizon, they do tend to create some excitement whenever it's a classic game or series we haven't heard about for some time. The latest ones, as highlighted by Game Rant, are tied to iconic British developer Rare - owned...
Tuesday28th Jun 2022
News GoldenEye 007 Documentary 'GoldenEra' Is Out Now
The name's Era... GoldenEra
Altitude's documentary on the hugely popular N64 shooter GoldenEye 007 — GoldenEra — is now available on Altitude.Film! The documentary was created with the help of filmmaker Drew Roller and coincides with the game's 25th anniversary. That's 25 years of Oddjob multiplayer, Big Head mode, and some frankly awesome...
Wednesday22nd Jun 2022
News Boss Fight Announces New Documentary Book Focused On GoldenEye 007
Based on "exclusive interviews with the developers"
Boss Fight Books are known as the publisher of multiple in-depth deep-dives of beloved video games, from Metal Gear Solid to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, each one written by mega-fan authors, writers, and developers, often with interviews from the people who made the games. And Boss Fight...
Monday13th Jun 2022
News No GoldenEye 007 Announcement? 'Agent 64' Just About Makes Up For It
Shame it's only on PC for now, though
If you tuned into yesterday's Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase then you were probably hoping to catch a glimpse of the GoldenEye 007 remaster – also known as gaming's worst-kept secret. We know the game exists, but it wasn't announced during the show – b
Sunday12th Jun 2022
News Rare's Banjo-Kazooie Is Rumoured To Be Making A Comeback
"Something's happening with Banjo"
Rare's Banjo-Kazooie - starring the bear and bird who made a name for themselves during the Nintendo 64 generation - is rumoured to be making a return. In the latest episode of the Nate the Hate podcast, game developer Modern Vintage Gamer suggested a revival could be on the way, based on some things he had been...
Sunday5th Jun 2022
News GoldenEye 007's Return Could Be Close
Achievements spotted on Xbox's website
Rare's 1997 Nintendo 64 release GoldenEye 007 is arguably one of the greatest video games of all time. The Xbox 360 version, which never saw the light of day due to licensing complications, was leaked last year, and since then, there have been ongoing rumours about this classic first-person shooter returning in...
Thursday2nd Jun 2022
News Fangamer's Gorgeous Banjo-Tooie Vinyl Box Set Is Now Available
And Banjo-Kazooie is back in stock!
Back in 2019, Fangamer launched a rather lovely-looking set of Banjo-Kazooie goodies that was hard for some of us here at Nintendo Life to resist. Within that collection was a gorgeous vinyl set for the first game with tracks curated by the composer himself, Grant Kirkhope! Further reading: Fangamer's New Range...
Monday9th May 2022
News Get Your Funky Kong On With This Donkey Kong Country Ska Album
In a ska-bound land
David Wise's work on the Donkey Kong Country series soundtracks is arguably some of the most iconic of the SNES era. The original set the tone, from the 'Main Theme' to 'Aquatic Ambience' to 'Gan-Plank Galleon'. And because of Wise's excellent work, we've all heard of 'Stickerbush Symphony' from Donkey Kong Country 2 and the...
Sunday17th Apr 2022
Random Krystal's OG Voice Actor Reprises Role For Half-Life 2 Mod
This Star Fox member is going on a new adventure
A modder known as Gagnetar previously released a Half-Life 2 mod that replaced Alyx Vance with Krystal from the Star Fox series. Now, in an update, the same individual has taken this mod to the next level - by getting the original VA of Krystal, Estelle Ellis, to re-record Alyx's dialogue in the voice...
Thursday17th Mar 2022
News GoldenEye's Trademark Has Been Updated, So Of Course Those Remaster Rumours Are Back
Never say never say never again
Welcome back to our once-monthly GoldenEye 007 update! If you think we're joking... well, we mostly are, but from February's rumour mill winding up, and Rick Astley declaring James Bond's N64 outing is his favourite video game, to the Xbox
Friday11th Mar 2022
Video This Fan-Made Banjo-Kazooie Remaster Trailer Looks Absolutely Stunning
Unfortunately, you can't actually play it...
Even if Banjo-Kazooie is now Microsoft-owned, the bear and bird duo will always have a special place in the hearts of Nintendo gamers around the world. And although Rare re-released an improved version of the original title during the Xbox 360 generation, many fans are still left wondering what a proper...
Monday14th Feb 2022
Rumour GoldenEye 007 Remaster Could Be Announced In The "Next Couple Of Weeks"
"I think that Microsoft is going to be the one to announce that first"
Remember that GoldenEye 007 re-release we mentioned a while back? Well, it seems like we could be finding out more about it officially in the next couple of weeks. That's according to VentureBeat's Jeff Grubb, who said: I think that Microsoft is going to be the one to an
Thursday10th Feb 2022
Random Rick Astley's Favourite Video Game Is GoldenEye 007
"That game was just phenomenal"
Pop legend Rick Astley has sold around 40 million records globally and has unintentionally spawned one of the most annoying memes on the planet, but the question on everyone's lips (well, maybe just ours) has to be: "what's his favourite video game?" Turns out that Rick has excellent taste because his favourite game...
Saturday5th Feb 2022
Rumour A "Certain Super Spy" Could Return Within The Next Few Weeks
The name's...
Apparently, a "certain super spy" could be making a return in the coming weeks. This is according to VGC editor and former Playtonic Games writer Andy Robinson, who shared a message over on Twitter. While it's unclear who exactly this spy could be, one obvious guess is James Bond. Some have also referenced SNK's '90s release The Super...
Tuesday1st Feb 2022
Video Ex-Rare Staffers Kev Bayliss And David Wise Are Sharing Their Secrets On YouTube
Music and art combine
Not so long ago, we reported on the news that former Rare staffers Kev Bayliss and David Wise had formed 'Salmandos', an "exciting new project" that celebrates their careers in the industry. As part of this, the pair have created DK Creations, a YouTube channel that sees them sharing their secrets and generally looking back on...
Friday28th Jan 2022
News N64 Classic 'Blast Corps' Finally Gets The Official Merch It Deserves
Clear a path to the Fangamer store!
Those of you old enough to recall the early days of the N64 may well remember Blast Corps, a unique action title by Rare that sees you clearing a path in front of a runaway nuclear missile carrier. It's one of the more unique offerings in the N64 library, but it's also a game that seems to have been cruelly...
Saturday22nd Jan 2022
News Xbox Studio Rare "Immensely Pleased" About Banjo-Kazooie's Arrival On Switch
We've waited almost 24 years...
It was a bittersweet moment yesterday when Banjo-Kazooie arrived on the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack service. As fantastic as it is to see the UK developer's iconic duo return to a Nintendo platform after so long. It's now been nearly 20 years since Rare was acquired by Microsoft, and almost 24 since the...
Friday21st Jan 2022
News Banjo-Kazooie Is Available Now On Switch Online's Expansion Pack
Rare's iconic duo return
Update [Fri 21st Jan, 2022 01:45 GMT]: Banjo-Kazooie has now been added to NSO's N64 Expansion Pack service. Enjoy! Original article [Wed 19th Jan, 2022 01:30 GMT]: Xbox isn't the only one that has some exciting announcements to share this week. Nintendo (with the cooperation of Rare and Microsoft, we guess...) has just...
Thursday20th Jan 2022
Video Here's A Graphics Comparison Of Banjo-Kazooie Running On Switch, Xbox And Nintendo 64
The bear and bird are back!
Banjo-Kazooie is being added to Nintendo's Switch Online 'Expansion Pack' service this week, and if you were wondering how it compares to past releases, YouTube channel GameXplain has uploaded a side-by-side comparison of the Xbox, Nintendo Switch and original Nintendo 64 version. Although there are fewer differences...
Saturday1st Jan 2022
News GoldenEye 007 Is Getting A Digital Release On Xbox
Could a Switch release be happening soon?
It looks like Rare's seminal N64 shooter GoldenEye 007 is finally getting a digital re-release - but sadly not on a Nintendo system. True Achievements has picked up a new achievement list for the game, with 55 achievements adding up to a 1000 gamerscore. Some of the achievement images have leaked, too:...
Friday10th Dec 2021
News Banjo-Kazooie Is Getting Jiggy With Nintendo Switch Online In January
That's it, that's the tweet
Update: Nintendo of Europe and Nintendo of America have now tweeted the news, too. Guh-huh! Nintendo's official Japanese Twitter account has confirmed that Rare's N64 classic Banjo-Kazooie is joining the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack in January 2022. There's no exact date giv
Thursday25th Nov 2021
News NES Classic Battletoads Is Getting A Physical Re-Release, But Only In Japan
Columbus Circle is launching a new version today
Battletoads is one of Rare's most beloved games from the NES era. An attempt to create a media brand that could rival the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Battletoads mixed platforming with side-scrolling combat, and is famous for its unforgiving difficulty level. It spawned several sequels (including a...
Friday19th Nov 2021
Random Forget Sealed Retro Games, It's Empty Boxes That Are The Hot Ticket Item Now
"Flat GoldenEye boxes could be the next form of currency"
There's been a lot of drama surrounding graded retro game sales recently, with many people claiming the whole thing is an elaborate scam. However, it would seem th
Saturday30th Oct 2021
News N64 Classic GoldenEye 007 No Longer "Banned" In Germany, Could A Re-Release Be Coming?
Review process actively requested by "one of Nintendo's European partners"
Rare's legendary Nintendo 64 shooter GoldenEye 007 is believed to be stuck in licensing hell, but there's been a very exciting development in Germany that has now got fans wondering if it could finally be making a return. According to a number of sources, the game is no...
Friday29th Oct 2021
News Guh-Huh! Grant Kirkhope Has Released A Banjo-Kazooie Remix Album
And you can stream it right now
Banjo-Kazooie composer Grant Kirkhope has revisited the score for the N64 classic in a new album entitled Banjo Kazooie Rejiggyed. Comprised of 10 tracks, the album puts a new spin on classic tunes from Rare's 1998 3D platformer. You can listen to it on Spotify, Deezer,
Friday24th Sep 2021
News Banjo-Kazooie Is 'Coming Home' To A Nintendo Console Via Switch Online
Bayonetta's great and all, but B-K's back baby!
You could be forgiven for missing the biggest news buried in the latest Nintendo Direct — the real megaton that turned it into the finest 40-minute presentation Nintendo has ever assembled. No, we're not talking about a gameplay reveal for the elusive Bayonetta 3 or the long-awaited
