Wozza's Blogs

Rare Where?

Published: Sun 27 Jul, 2008 | 9 Comments
Tags: Rare, Nintendo, Microsoft, 64, Perfect Dark, Kameo, Goldeneye, Banjo, Viva Pinata, Taboo, Sesame Street, Digger T Rock, Wozza, F

 

Remember back in the days of the Nintendo 64? If you were a Nintendo fan boy at the time (I know I was), Rare was pretty much the most important company in videogames. Every game by Rare was lapped up eagerly by fans, and fair enough as many of the best games available for the system were indeed developed by Rare.

 

Then suddenly, disaster! Nintendo sold Rare, and then the unthinkable – Microsoft bought them! For Nintendo fans this was a catastrophe, how could they remain loyal to their beloved Nintendo and still play games from Rare?

 

 

 

 

Rare’s last game under the Nintendo banner, their only game for the GameCube had obviously been through development hell. It seemed unpolished in places and the game world felt empty. This combined with the fact that some of the team behind Goldeneye had left to form a new company made it slightly less painful for Nintendoites to disown their former favourite developer.

 

Had Rare lost its spark? Had all their talent leaked to Free Radical (Time Splitters series)? I’d hate to think so.

 

Rare were ultimately (see what I did there?) a victim of their own success. Gamers expected every game they were behind to change the world. How could any company (besides EAD) live up to such hype? Fans suffered from selective memory. All through their history Rare have released below par games. On the NES for example, for every Snake Rattle n’ Roll or Digger T Rock, there was a Taboo or Sesame Street ABC.

 

 

 

 

In all fairness, Rare didn’t make any actual stinkers on the N64, but did release a couple of not quite AAA titles such as Donkey Kong and Mickey’s Speedway. So far the company’s efforts on the 360 have included Perfect Dark and Kameo – both good games but nothing to write home about. However, their only Xbox game, Grabbed by the Ghoulies I think showed that the old Rare isn’t dead yet. Viva Pinata is another game that tips its cap towards old Rare fans. Neither game has the mass appeal of say Goldeneye, but both show that their brilliantly wicked humour is still intact and that Rare can indeed still make a game which is all about fun.

 

Stay tuned for my next blog on the return of Banjo!

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