N64 Week Day 3: The Games of Rare

In yesterday's blog, I mentioned Nintendo's "Dream Team" of developers, which was most likely a way of them putting a positive spin on the fact that only a handful of developers had started working on the Nintendo 64. Today I'll talk about the most important of those developers, Rare.

A Brief History

Rare, a company founded by the Stampers brothers in England, started off primarily in the PC market. The Stampers were amazing programmers who had a talent for understanding the computer technology they were programming for like no other, and as such were able to do the most amazing things with computers. Their biggest hit on the NES was the game Battletoads, whose characters play off the popularity of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Their hit game on the SNES however is what gave their company name recognition, Donkey Kong Country. With this game Nintendo was successfully able to extend the life of the Super Nintendo another year and a half while they got the N64 prepped for launch. It was the DKC games that made Nintendo decide to buy stock in Rare and get them as an exclusive 2nd party developer. Rare's games during the Nintendo 64 era had their ups and downs, not to mention some great sleeper hits.

Goldeneye 007

This is the game that made first person shooters popular on the consoles. It's also notable as a movie-licensed game that doesn't actually suck, a rarity even today in the realm of videogames. One of the things that I always loved about this game were the various tasks you had to complete in each level. Whereas most FPS games before this simply had you killing anything that came at you, this one had you locating scientists, getting info off of a computer, etc which made it seem like you were there for a reason. Of course, the big selling point of this game, and something that still keeps gamers coming back to it, is the excellent four player mode. Anyone who has played Goldeneye multiplayer knows how much Facility rocks.

Banjo-Kazooie

The easiest way to sum up this game is Rare's answer to Super Mario 64. Back when it released a lot of reviewers raved, saying it was way better than Mario 64, but I don't hear too many people saying that today. That's not to say this isn't a great game, because if you like Mario64-like platformers, this is still an excellent time. The graphics, a Rare staple, are wonderful, the levels are bright and exciting. Flying around the beach level was something I would do just for the fun of it back in the day. And the "Halloween"-themed level was a nice break from the usual beach, forest, desert, blah blah of all platforming games.

However, I feel that Rare pushed their luck too far with the sequel, Banjoo-Tooie. They boasted that the smallest level in the new game was larger than the largest level in the previous game. Unfortunately what that really equated to was long, boring treks to get just about anywhere in the game and ample opportunities to get completely lost. Add on the fact that the game "boasted" over 20 moves and you've got a game that just had too much of everything seemingly for the sake of having a whole bunch of stuff. Most of those moves you'll never use, and then when you need them you'll forget you have them.

Diddy Kong Racing

Just as Banjoo-Kazooie is Rare's answer to Super Mario 64, Diddy Kong Racing is their answer to Mario Kart 64. And also much like BK, DKR is still plenty of fun thanks to the numerous things it does above and beyond Mario Kart 64. Instead of a straight-up racing game, this is more of an "adventure racing" game. You have the main hub, which has different paths to other places, most of which when you start are blocked until you can get a certain number of balloons, which are earned by beating various races. Also new to the kart racing genre is the inclusion of bosses at certain points in the game which provide a slightly different challenge than the usual races. Throw in the multiple vehicles you can use (hover craft, kart, airplane) and you've got a game that has enough unique elements to really set it apart from the game that inspired it.

Blast Corps

This is without a doubt one of my favorite games to come along during the Nintendo 64 era of videogames. Simply put, it reminds me of the great games I used to play on the NES; no crazy involved story, no long cinema scenes, just a ton of crazy fun. In this game there's an out of control nuclear carrier and it's up to you to get in various vehicles and clear a path for it buy completely demolishing everything in its way. The level designs were brilliant, forcing you to make quick decisions on the best method of destroying what was in your way with what you had, all the while the truck is slowly getting every closer. If there is anyone reading this who owns a Nintendo 64 and had not played this game, please go do yourself a huge favor and find a used copy of this game and give it a try, you'll be very glad you did.

Jet Force Gemini

Another lesser-known title from Rare. This one feels almost like Mega Man in 3D, only the way you'd want that title to play in 3D (as opposed to the Mega Man Legends games). The graphics are good, and the action is frantic and fun. If you're into shooter games like Mega Man, this is one to look out for, and finding it used normally means finding it dirt cheap, too!

So there you have it, some of the more memorable of Rare's N64 offerings, and two which never got the recognition they deserve (seriously, go out and find Blast Corps!). Tomorrow the week of N64 love continues with a look at some of the vaporware of N64. Alas, Robotech, we hardly knew ye. In the meantime, which N64 Rare game is your favorite, and why?