The iconic UK-based developer Rare this month celebrates its 35th anniversary. For any Nintendo fan, arguably its best years were around the time of the N64 generation when it released one hit after another. We're talking Banjo-Kazooie, the first-person shooter Perfect Dark, Diddy Kong Racing, and how could you forget the adults-only Conker's Bad Fur Day.
To mark this special occasion, it's released a bunch of merch on its official online store (including 35% off everything until this Sunday), and special soundtracks - including a 35th Anniversary Collection, and a Snake Rattle 'N' Roll Vinyl soundtrack.
Along with this is some lovely artwork (as you can see above). Of course, if you want to join in on the Rare celebrations, you can always boot up perhaps one of its greatest games Donkey Kong Country on the Switch Online SNES service. Are you still enjoying Rare's collection of games 35 years on? What are you favourite Rare games of all-time? Tell us below.
[source news.xbox.com]
Comments 98
Give us Rare Replay, then I’ll celebrate
There's one title in particular I'll always remember: Perfect Dark. It got me into the FPS genre and me and my brother played endless hours of multiplayer death matches against each other. Good times!
My second favorite game of theirs has to be Killer Instinct Gold. Probably the only fighting game I was actually good at besides SSB.
So much love for their entire N64 collection!
Killer instinct, best fighting game ever. 99 hits combo haha, or when u kick your friends bu*tt amd you hear ULTRAAAAA COMBOOOO. and you see the guys face after hahahah priceless.
Rare used to be a company called Ashby Computers and Graphics in 1982, but was changed to Rare in 1985 after they made a deal with Nintendo to only make games for their console.
Their best games will always be their SNES/N64 works. I sure do miss their output from those days, but Rare as we knew them is pretty much gone.
Wait, they still make games?! Where have I been??
Donkey Kong Country, just the first one.
@Emperor-Palpsy I second that!
@Shulkalot same, how great these games are.
Those were the days......
Celebrate with releasing Goldeneye, DK64, Perfect Dark, Banjo on the switch
@Emperor-Palpsy I'll third that.
Need to fix my overheating XBox 360 so I can play Banjo Kazooie and Perfect Dark in HD again.
@Emperor-Palpsy They already gave us that in 2015. I bought Xbox One because of it right before release when anounced at E3. The full price were only 30 bucks, as the price had to match 30th anniversary.
@FoxMcCloud They stopped with Switch support, because a new Xbox console is coming and need to keep the exclusives.
Goldeneye is in licensing hell, and can't be released on either Switch or any Xbox console. Neither Microsoft or Nintendo own the license to Goldeneye, and Goldeneye could never be released again without permission from Nintendo.
Microsoft already tried to persuade Nintendo 10 years ago, and Nintendo refused.
Blame Nintendo and not Microsoft.
Nintendo is also the main reason why Goldeneye is not on Rare Replay.
As for Perfect Dark. It's rumoured that a brand new one is in the works at Microsoft.
With as little as you hear about them it’s surprising that they are around in any capacity.
I would love an "ULTIMATE: Play The Game" collection. I think that their 8-bit days were the best. Knight Lore, Sabre Wulf, Atic Atac, Staff Of Karnath, Nightshade, Underwurlde, Dragon Skulle...
rare Replay for Nintendo Switch would be great
Finished DK Country over 2 days this week, great great game. Never played the sequels, I hope they make it to switch online eventually!
Oh cool! Wish there were more songs on the collection though. Also wish Rare Replay was on Switch! Anyway, downloaded the album regardless.
@Ooyah Same but would need to include Lunar Jetman as well.
@Ventilator Yes i know, wishfull thinking i guess. Thinking about buying an Xbox series X (or S) on the side.
Happy to have grown playing GoldenEye, Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie, Perfect Dark, DKC1-3 and Donkey Kong 64.
I started playing Yooka Layle this week and I'm having a blast. Camera and controls don't bother me at all.
Come back to Nintendo. Give us the new Battletoads.
So many great games and soundtracks. Blast Corps, Jet Force Gemini, Killer Instinct (SNES and N64), Perfect Dark. In the absence of past gems on the Switch, a Rare mini console would be good. Capcom has released one after all. Although not so mini.
I say, it is rare to have have a rare company that is called Rare that makes Rare games rarely. Maybe if Rare release their rare games from long ago, on the switch, then Rare games wouldn't be so rare. :/
Don't forget Jet Force Gemini!
Happy birthday!
Second reason I bought an Xbox one Rare Replay, alot of tat on there but Perfect Dark and Killer Instinct still hold up well.
@Emperor-Palpsy It wouldn't even need to be the Xbox version. Give us a version for Switch with more of the Nintendo-era games like Conker's Pocket Tales, Diddy Kong Racing, the other Killer Instinct games, the DKC Trilogy, some of the other NES/SNES games, and we're gold.
@TG16_IS_BAE @ritouf Are you two being sarcastic? There is this little game called Sea of Thieves...maybe you have heard of it?
Also Rare is working on a game called Everwild which was shown during the recent Xbox Series X Showcase.
Plus the new Battletoads game (coming out this month) is being co-developed with Rare.
Many of the key developers from Rare's "golden era" are working at Playtonic - hence why the Yooka-Laylee franchise seem so...familiar.
R.C. Pro Am brought many hours of joy and frustration. It was my first Rare game and probably my favorite.
@TG16_IS_BAE soma rare xbox exclusives lol. Sea of theives was last game. water looks amazing and mmmmmmmmmm water looks nice
Can someone name all the characters in the drawing for me? Joanna Dark, Banjo & Kazooie, Conker and one of the Pin~atas from Viva Pin~ata.... Is Kameo the flying lady? and Spinal on drums? (Don't remember his jacket)
No clue about the robot.
Dear Microsoft,
Every single Nintendo fan wants Rare Replay on Nintendo Switch. (Heck, keep the 360 games and slap the Nintendo IP games on instead!)
Regards
Every single Nintendo fan
Yeah the maker of RC Pro-Am, Battletoads & Double Dragon, DKC, Golden Eye 64 and it's Mr Pants!
I have every single one Nintendo 64 game, produced for them.
And many gems on the Nes, Snes and Game boy.
I hope the Switch get Rare Replay, one day....
@Anguspuss Oh, I didn’t know they did sea of thieves. Neat!
@GamingFan4Lyf I have never played sea of thieves, and other than knowing the title, I have zero knowledge of it.
@FoxMcCloud Rare Replay works on all Xbox One's, and the upcoming SX.
If you buy one, also get the Game Pass sub. Saves you lots of money. Rare Replay is included on the sub.
You gotta play Rare's "Kameo" Xbox 360 game in Rare Replay.
Originally for GameCube, but cancelled when Microsoft bought Rare. Released in 2006 and were one of the most gorgeous games last gen, wonderful music and unique gameplay.
If I got the DKC trilogy alone I’d be happy. If I got that plus all the Rare games from NES to N64 I’d REALLY be happy!
Though it might be a bit strange when both Perfect Dark and Conker will be mature games in a package with family games, so it may need to be sold separately.
@Severian Both were included in the "family package".. Rare Replay.
Rare hasn’t been the same since Nintendo days.
@Ventilator Thanks for the tip!
@Ventilator Yes, I know on the Xbox...but if it comes out on Nintendo's platforms, this will be an issue for Nintendo and will need to repackage it.
Nothing to celebrate. By the way: I think Everwild will just be a boring online multiplayer "game as a service" thing.
Every time I see rare characters, it brings me sadness
Rare are like Atari, a completely different company to the one they once were...
I was gutted when Nintendo sold them to MS but turns out that was a good deal, especially for $400m!
@Emperor-Palpsy @GrailUK Do you have an Xbox?
@Ventilator I think you’re confusing this board for a Microsoft one? I think the points our colleagues are making is that we want Rare Replay on the Switch. That’s when the hardcore Nintendo fans will actually celebrate. And no, we don’t blame Nintendo for a re-release block of GoldenEye. We want it released on a Nintendo platform more so the other ones, and I think Nintendo is still hoping one day for a similar exclusive. Wishful thinking, I know.
Still hoping one day we get that Rare Replay game. At least half the company’s history is based on the Nintendo platforms.
Playtonic and Team 17 have hired former Rare programmers, right?
I would love to be able to play some more of their older games on the Switch. Hopefully we at least get all the DKC games.
Still wonder where we'd be if Nintendo had bought out Rare. Maybe we wouldn't have gotten the Retro Studios Donkey Kong Country games, though I do think it's possible Nintendo would've pushed Rare to largely work on their original IPs and then still have Retro bring the series back. Who knows?
Amazing back in the day but the only think thats RARE about them now is the amount of origional staff working for then. Some of my most memorable gaming has been with RARE's N64 games tho.
My favorite genre is the platformer and Rare has made a ton of fantastic ones. And I don't care for FPSes much at all; I play about one a generation. So when I say Perfect Dark is my favorite Rare game, I think it really says something about how well-made it is.
Give us Rare Replay already!
I just want Rare Replay on Switch.
My fav Rare game has to be a tie between Perfect Dark and Banjo- Tooie. There are no words to describe how much I love those 2 games and what they mean to me.
Perfect Dark is Forever.
@TG16_IS_BAE technically the team split up, the rare team currently with Xbox is not the same quality team as the 64 era. The team members that left however were supposively the better ones from those 64 days and reformed a new team called playtonic. Which brought us yooka-laylee the banjo spiritual successor.
I love the fact that Kameo is featured in the art! That was one of my absolute favorite Rare games period. I may have to check the merch out!
@datamonkey *****..I'd probly sellout for 400mill too even split amongst 12 ppl etc.
Spoiler alert: Rare Replay is not coming to Switch. Ever. Not in a million years. It will never happen.
@Ventilator source? I’ve never heard Nintendo has to do anything with Goldeneye.
What have they done that's worthwhile in the last two decades?
@Travisemo007 Ah, got it! I’m still happy with Mario 64, so I never bothered looking elsewhere lmao
My first Rare game was Snake Rattle 'n' Roll for the NES. I've loved the company ever since. I'm still holding out a little hope that we'll get Rare Replay on Switch. At the very least the rest of Rare's DK games should make it.
And being crushed under the weight of Microsoft's hindquarters since 2002.
If you're asking for Rare Replay, just get an XBox. It's what Mickrosoft wants you to do.
@Shulkalot Perfect Dark was easily the best 3D FPS of its console generation. All comes down to the multiplayer bots, gave it endless replay value.
I would love some form of Rare Replay on the Switch someday! If it were to happen, I would guess pretty late in the console's cycle. Hoping to see the day where Rare makes it onto Nintendo consoles again.
@Emperor-Palpsy
I would like that as well to be honest.
@boredlizard yup. I remember that well....beautiful packaging, I can even smell the manuals
Sabre Wulfe and Underwurlde (with quality if life additions) please and thank you.
Using that image of their old ip is a disgrace. Use those franchises then. Rare haven't done anything even mediocre in more than a decade. They are an absolute embarrassment. I'm sorry but the only reason I'm emoting is because I care about the company. But they are an absolute joke nowadays.
Goldeneye. Loved it. To date, the only FPS where I've bothered to unlock absolutely everything.
2 reasons why I want to live in another universe:
1. Covid-19 never happened
2. Nintendo buying Rare
@fafonio It were in news on this site back then, so it's here somewhere.
@Magrane No Switch owner can demand anything from Microsoft at all.
Microsoft released several games on Switch, and Nintendo ported Zero games to Xbox One. Can you blame them?
It's Nintendo's turn to port something to Xbox to someting to show some goodwill. Basically it's all in Nintendo's hands now. Blame them for no more ports.
@Ventilator That's not how publishing games works.
Banjo-Kazooie will always hold a special place in my heart. What a phenomenal 3D platformer that was. Up there with Legend of Zelda as my favourite gaming series and that says a lot!
Also enjoy DK64 a lot even though it gets a lot of stick.
Goldeneye was just class, really captured the feeling of the franchise like nobody expected.
Really loved Rare as a company they had some great personalities working for them and their charm really comes across in interviews. Reading about them in gaming mags was such a pleasure and it was so sad when Microsoft bought Rare, always felt like the wrong move for the company (although I guess not for the owners as they got a massive payday!)
Sad to see what Rare has become, I think they would have made some great games on the GameCube, Donkey Kong Racing looked like it had so much potential and imagine a proper Banjo Threeie!
@PcTV It does when it's a competitor.
How many Sony games is on Switch?
@Dawve30 and Jetpac 👊
I consider Rare to be dead. The talent that once made up the company is mostly gone. They have not produced anything I found remarkable since 2005, that's 15 years ago. I had high hopes for Sea of Thieves, but ... it was just not for me unfortunately. Maybe Everwild will be a return to form, I hope so, but I am sceptical to say the least.
I will always love their N64 output though, and even some NDS games, Kameo on the 360 and such. Rare Replay is a gorgeous blast from the past and I am more than excited to see Banjo Kazooie in 4K + HDR with the new Series X, that is going to ... something very special to me, I feel.
Bought myself an N64 mostly for Diddy Kong Racing.
You had to be around in the SNES and N64 days really to appreciate how good Rare were with those respective machines.
Donkey Kong Country and Goldeneye were the pinnacle of gaming back in the golden age.
Current output like Sea Of Thieves is pretty dire but I imagine most of the original staff moved on to the other things.
I'ts great and all but the original team has been gone for years.
Ah great, I was really missing the Viva Piñata soundtrack After they decided to pull it from digital stores.
@Ventilator None, again, why would that matter? Sony does have a handful exclusives on PC, though.
I'd love a chance to replay Banjo-Tooie one day.
Ahh Rare, I miss what you once were.
Yes to Rare Replay on the Switch.
My first game of yours was Snake, Rattle n Roll.
My favorite is DKC3.
Cheers!
@PcTV Sony only have one exclusive on PC and it released this week. Thats 1 finger. Not a hand.
PC is neutral. Switch, PS4 and Xbox One isn't.
If you badly want Xbox exclusives, then why don't you buy Xbox One?
After all, it's the cheapest console this gen.
@Ventilator Street Fighter V, Death Stranding, Nioh, and I'm sure there's others out there. Plus PS Now being available.
Your perspective on PC being neutral is kinda confusing given it has more in common with consoles than the Switch.
I have an Xbox One, although I don't know what that has to do with this particular discussion.
@Ventilator It can be easily seen that way: tit for tat. MS knew going in with their gesture of money-making goodwill that Nintendo wouldn’t cede their IP showing up anywhere else. But I do commend MS for laying the groundwork for future collaboration based on these initial releases (way....future...).
That being said, it would only be a proper fit some day for that collection to appear on a Nintendo console based on what I’ve stated.
@BanjoPickles Never say never..... unless the MS execs mentioned the same thing. Money talks.
@HexagonSun Captain Skyhawk and Marble Madness were mine. Rare was pushing the programming envelope even back then.
@Magrane I loved Marble Madness. I never actually owned it, but I rented it often. I think I missed Captain Skyhawk. Maybe I'll look into picking it up for my AVS.
@PcTV Sorry.
Street Fighter V, Death Stranding and Nioh were all anounced for PC, and were never a Sony exclusive. They were multiplatform from the start.
PC is neutral because no company owns PC. Anyone can make a PC and sell it. It were never in competition with anything since Commodore Amiga in 1990's. There is no licensing need to release anything on PC. Also. PC have optional OS'es.. Windows, Linux, Chroms OS, QNX +++
@Magrane
I wish that I could believe that, but there are simply too many things working against it:
1). It would make sense for games such as RC Pro Am, Slalom, and the N64 games to see release, but would games such as Viva Piñata and Grabbed By the Ghoulies be included?
2). What would be the point of MS buying Rare for $270 million only to turn around and give every game from the company’s golden days back to Nintendo?
3). With the upcoming release of Series X, I think that’s where MS’s priorities lie.
4). Would the library be retooled?
5). Would the sales numbers make it worth their while?
@BanjoPickles
1. Agreed, it would have to be NIntendo-focused, so it wouldn’t be the same game but maybe a new type of compilation.
2. $$$ - and also, they’re not giving it back but rather distributing to a fan-base that’s a strict Nintendo audience. Case in point, Banjo-Kazooie in Super Smash Bros.
3. That’s what they hinted at last year, but that doesn’t mean it will ever see the light of day when they’re finished with that inaugural year.
4. I bet it would, like your first point suggested!
5. If both the demand is high enough and releasing a compilation title isn’t that expensive, I believe it’s worth a shot!
@Magrane
That’d be nice. I’ll be honest, my friend. I have had zero interest in Xbox One since it was first announced, but Rare Replay alone almost convinced me to rush out and buy one. It’s sickening to think that if Nintendo had held on to them, the collection would have been OURS!
Then again, apart from Viva Piñata, they haven’t done anything that has been of much interest to me since the sale.
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