Xbox Studio Rare "Immensely Pleased" About Banjo-Kazooie's Arrival On Switch

It’s a reunion between two exes who had to separate even if they had a good thing together, but never stopped loving each other. Nintendo and Rare: awwww.

And celebration I've been searching up some not so clothed, or at least googling that of the bear and the bird. Quite quite quite quite interesting content!!!

I'm happy about having Banjo on the Switch, even in this form.

But boy howdy, sure would've been nice to have gotten the Rare Replay collection for those sweet XBLA visual upgrades...

Leigh Loveday, a writer and designer who joined Rare in the '90s, has used the game's Switch Online release to reflect on the company's Nintendo era - noting how Rare was "immensely pleased" that it could team up with its old once more to bring the bird and bear to a new Nintendo generation:
Old what? Partner? Master? Owner?

@Browny I’ll keep hoping for a port of that and will gladly buy it twice, maybe without the 360 exclusives.

So glad that Banjo is back on Nintendo.

Now make a new Banjo game.

Playing it for the first time, just finished the first world and it's been charming so far.

Is this a bigger deal than I thought it was? Idk. Never was a fan of the games.

These types of stories are absolutely not news anymore. Like, the console wars ended decades ago. Everyone is nice to each other and professional. I wish people would stop being surprised by this. Now get off my lawn

Glad to see Banjo-Kazooie back on Nintendo's side, especially as a fan of that series myself.

Hopefully its sequel Banjo-Tooie, as well as Donkey Kong 64 and Diddy Kong Racing follow suit later on.

I hope that Microsoft and Nintendo bring this relationship farther to the point where Rare is able to develop new and modern games for both sides.

The majority of the n64 best games is made by rare i hope theres more to come

Man its never going to happen, but I'm I the only one that wants some kind of rare replay on the switch?

I know because of some games, it might not be able to come to the system, but man I would love to be able to buy a port of both games.

Honestly I wish I could just buy it as a digital game, not a sub rental..

Back where they belong! Nintendo should’ve upped their 49% share to a majority stake in Rare when they were given first dibs to do so. Biggest blunder in their history (followed closely by Virtual Boy, Wii U, sticking with cartridges and love hotels). And what other Rare N64 games do I want on the Switch?! How bout ALL?!

They should release these old Rare N64 games on the eshop. I want to download the games onto my SD card.

Regardless of whether we see them again or not in Nintendo, I'm certainly glad to be able to see some of my favorite characters back on the family of systems that gave birth to them.

Also regardless of whether it will be used a lot or not in the future, I'm also glad the Banjo-Kazooie amiibo is part of my collection.

Love how Rare is working on Everwild a game so confused by itself it has been rebooted and even now they are stuck.

Yet they could make a new Banjo, Conker or simply just jump back into making killer FPS or 3D adventure games but don't. Such a waste of talent.

@SpacedDuck Sea of Thieves baby. It’s got 3D adventuring and first person gameplay!

I think Goldeneye and Perfect Dark have to be the ones to add. Love some retro shooter love. Add dual analogue and I’ll be happy.

But also Banjo-Tooie and DK64. Played both to death and never finished them.

Jet Force Gemini and Bad Fur Day were two of my favourites back in the day, but they’re a bit clunky to play in parts. Especially the second world of Conker.
Although it was such an influential game to me.

Diddy Kong Racing would be essential. And Blast Corps

... Erhm... No, I think Rare are still arguably still best known for developing Goldeneye, Donkey Kong Country, and Banjo.
Only worthwhile original IP they've created since acquired by Microsoft is Viva Piñata. And MAYBE Kameo.

@Dringo Sea of Thieves had so much potential. It's super fun when things are going well, sailing the seas while playing music with your buddies, shooting your dog from the cannons, killing skeleton pirates on land and sea, having an ex eagle scout crew member as the only person in your crew who can find buried treasure, and then suddenly a galleon of spawn killing griefers chase you down and proceed to kill you and your crew over and over whether you have stuff to steal on board or not and there's always one guy in your group who can't figure out how to scuttle the ship for a reset. If GTA Online can have private crew lobbies, Sea of Thieves can too. The toxic griefer mentality of most players is the reason I quit playing. Even when you play by the meta of being a passive player, such as raising your cannons, playing an instrument as they approach and offering any treasure you have on-board as goodwill, too many players find too much fun in ruining your experience.

Rare have gradually died a slow cancerous death since being acquired by Microsoft. It’s terminal now for them. Shame

@StephenYap3

With Banjo Kazooie now on Switch? I'm 100% certain the other ones will follow suit. It's just a matter of when

@HotGoomba There is a newer one.. Banjo Nuts'n Bolts.

@Browny Rare Replay version looks the same, it's not a remake?

@SleeplessKnight Really? Biggest blunder?

My impression is that is was timely. I'm not particularly desperate for Kameo, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Kinect Adventures or PD Zero on Switch.

Edit: Not to say I don't value their N64 contributions, Blast Corps, Goldeneye and Perfect Dark got a lot of play at our house, but after playing SoT and RR on XbOne, the post-Nintendo IP strikes me as thoroughly meh.

DK64 and Diddy Kong Racing are must haves.

Randomly, I’d also personally love THQ’s WWF: No Mercy.

Rare haven't released a really good game since they joined green team (MS). Not sure if Microsoft the best team to get Activision Blizzard back to their former glory.

@MaxPlastic Sea of thieves got 67 metascore and 5.0 (out of 10) user score so it seems like the current studio lacks the talent and passion of the guys that pushed SNES and N64 limits

@MaxPlastic Here here. I am probably just very out of touch with what is popular, but I did not know Sea of Thieves was even a Rare game.

Wonder if we will see Conkers Bad Fur Day remastered and re released on Switch?
Although all of the popular culture references that were in the game will likely be lost on anyone who wasn’t around when it was first released.

@Laxeybobby I can't imagine them putting that game on the service due to it having rather mature themes. They would have to rate the service 18+ probably, or incorporate parental controls into the N64 app so that that game specifically can't be booted up unless allowed by a parent.

The game holds up fine, only thing that annoy me is the camera. But you adjust fairly quick.

I'll wait to see if more Rare games are announced for Switch before I get the NSO ex. Updated camera controls would be nice.

Currently replaying diddy kong racing via retro arch… great that they have added retroachievementa to it..

@dimi
That had nothing to do with Microsoft, and everything to do with why Nintendo passed on buying them. The two brothers who created Rare were leaving, and they were the creative talent driving all the classics.

MS bought the company in name, but not the creative talent.

That's not to say MS hasn't mismanaged other studios (Fable devs making Kinect games) but that era seems to be over with Spencer at the helm. I have no doubt Activision titles will only get better under their ownership.

XBox is still the only platform where you can legally and permanently PURCHASE Banjo-Kazooie (via the Rare Replay collection). That entire collection...which includes ALL THREE Banjo-Kazooie titles, by the way...is roughly half the price of one year's subscription to Switch Online's "Expansion Pass". Nintendo wants you to pay $50 a year just to access a game you'll never own.

I don't think I ever did play this back in the day, but at some point, I look forward to playing this time around!

If the guys at Rare are happy about the game coming to the Switch, then that sounds like a good sign.

That's really cool for BK fans.

@AtlanteanMan Unfortunate truth.

@SpacedDuck The old Rare no longer exist, they dont know how to make a new Banjo or conker. It's better form them to find their own style instead of trying to emulate old Rare style.

@dimi People forget that Microsoft bought Mojang and now Minecraft is an even bigger success. Also, their studios such as Double Fine had been talking about all the creative freedom that Microsoft is giving to them.

@JJtheTexan It’d be great if they offered M-rated games for separate download on the eShop that then were slotted into the NSO catalogue. That way you’re choosing to put it on your system. You buy it and then the system checks to see if you’re an NSO member before letting you play.

@AtlanteanMan No Grunty’s Revenge or Pilot, though. =[

If Microsoft ever plans to make a new Banjo, it won't come to Nintendo consoles. Look at the new Perfect Dark, for example, Microsoft will probably allow the old N64 rom to come to NSO, but the new next gen game is going to be Xbox/PC/GP exclusive.

@Ventilator Don't make me throw up.

Xbox is sure a heck of lot nicer than anyone else in the industry. You're crazy if you think Nintendo would allow Fable to be re-released on Xbox in any form if they purchased it, and the same goes for Sony. And about Rare Replay on Switch: Lets do it! In-turn, let the Rare DK Country's be on Xbox. If you don't agree to that, then don't expect Xbox to bend for Nintendo. Fair is fair, and if Nintendo wanted Rare, they shouldn't have sold them to Microsoft.

If only Nuts and Bolts had been better. If only Rare would be allowed to bring us a new Banjo game in the same vein as the first two.

Hopefully now that Microsoft owns Vicarious Visions, they will be allowed to remake Banjo-Kazooie and Tooie to the same excellent standards they remade Spyro and Crash.

@Wilforce
i would definitely buy the likes of rare replay if it hit switch.

My main issue i have with the NSO games is something i mentioned in other discussions, and that is mainly that there is no option to buy the games themselves, i love the idea of legacy content on a system, its why i loved things like the virtual console, the psone classics line on ps3/psp/vita and the various game compilations over the years, however im not really keen on the service model that NSO has, though i wouldnt mind if it was something similar to what xbox has where you can subscribe to a service and have access to the games but also have a "buy and keep" option.

Finally, something good came out of the N64 NSO.

Meh, just give me a retail-version of Rare Replay on Switch!!

Everyone who can will still play it on Xbox though (it's on Gamepass).

Nostalgia aside, there aren't that many N64 games that are still really good games today. Banjo Kazooie is one of them though!

@Browny I'm not so sure. I always say that there are now two definitive versions of every game: the original and the best remake. I'll use Sonic as an example. It was remade with 60 frames per second and widescreen support. However, good these changer are there a few things the irk me about it. The first boss fight was changed so you couldn't kill him as quickly. When Sonic use to "look up" the move the camera would pan instantaneously, now it's virtually useless because there is a two second delay. Also, I actually prefer the 4:3 aspect ratio for the game! But I like some of the enhancement of the new one, like the added spin dash, and bonus characters to play with. That's why there really is no "best version" of the game.
One last example, Resident Evil. No matter how many times you remake, some people are going to miss the unintentionally funny dialog and silly voice acting.

I mean, I can't buy it separately, so...

I'm really happy this is available on Switch, even though I have Rare Replay itself. Now I just wish those N64 controllers would come back in stock...

@Sveakungen As soon as the N64 controllers are available again I'm getting one though. Wielding the camera with the right stick isn't cutting it when it was built for C-Buttons. I think the XBLA version reworked the camera, but I hate the font they used in that one so this is still my preferred way to play now.

@UnseatingKDawg Been trying to figure this out but is Rare Replay something I can play if I get a new Xbox? I know it isn't on PC for some stupid reason, but I've thought about getting an Xbox series S just to play some of the games Xbox now has but I cannot seem to confirm if this one is something I can play.

@Shredderlovespizza: Yep! It's backwards compatible like just about all Xbox One software. When you download it, you get the main game itself which has the smaller/simpler games like Battletoads, and then 9 Xbox 360 games, which includes the ports of Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie.

@UnseatingKDawg Thanks!

Love that so many new Nintendo fans get to enjoy this game. It truly is one of the best.

I gladly grant them the pleasure of putting Rare Replay on my Switch. They don't even have to pay for it, purely out of grace, and joy in someone else's harmless joy.

This is the mentality that makes me think we’re getting goldeneye

I want the Ultra 64 Killer Instinct arcades.
Or at least Killer Instinct on SNES and KI Gold on N64.

For me, the real key to whether I invest in the EP for NSO will come down to how many more Rare games come to N64. Once you burn through the first party games, and a small handful of worthy third-party games, the N64 Library gets pretty thin. I'm watching Nintendo, Rare, and Microsoft...

@Clyde_Radcliffe
Isn't it the XBLA version of the game originally released on Xbox 360? I could have sworn it was that version of the game, and not the original N64 emulation.

But then again, I haven't ever had a chance to see the game in action myself.

@DiamondJim Except they’re bigger now than they were under Nintendo

@Troll_Decimator Nah. Toys 4 Bob would be a better fit

@jorel262 They are! Spencer would love them to. But Greg Mayles isn’t interested

@LUIGITORNADO Hm… so you saw a game that is obviously beloved & connected to a lot of nostalgia for many people… and thought you’d get co-signers for saying you never liked it? Intriguing.