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Oh Rare what happened? Once you’d have been described as a national treasure of gaming design, developing smash hit after smash hit. Now you’ve been reduced to releasing mediocre exclusive software for the GBA and X-box that don’t even hit the charts.
You simply cannot ignore everything this generation has thrown up from Rare. Starfox Adventures, Grabbed by the Gholies, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Donkey Kong Country (GBA), Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA), Banjo Pilot, Banjo Kazooie: Gruntilda’s revenge, Sabrewulf and (heaven forbid) It’s Mr. Pants. Some are down right awful, others are nothing more than okay and that even applies to the ports of the already established Rare classics. Nine games since RARE was sold to Microsoft. Once upon a time nine releases by RARE could generate enough revenue to cure world hunger. Those nine releases barely broke even.
I am a mega Nintendo fan. A sad obsessed loser who can’t see beyond the mushroom filled world of Nintendo. Yet it is the “other” Nintendo fans that do the crowing over how Microsoft bought a “dead weight”, not me. For I am still a little sad. There were 4 groups who lost out on the sale of RARE. Nintendo, Microsoft, Rare and us. Nintendo because they lost their link to the western world, they lost their link to the casual gamer and they lost their largest ally. Rare because they lost their mentor, they lost the guidance of Miyamoto and his crew and the creative freedom that came with being a Nintendo second party. Microsoft cause they spent $375 million on a company that hasn’t even generated $1 million. And us because we’re rapidly losing sight of what was once Britain’s premier game developer.
So what happened? The wholesale changes of staff? Perhaps, but then this is RARE and this has been going on for years. The team famous for developing the legendary Killer Instinct and Donkey Kong Country games from the SNES were not the same team that made Goldeneye, Blast Corps, Perfect Dark, Jet Force Gemini and Conker on the N64. RARE expanded, lost members, gained new ones and got bigger and bigger. And every game they released was (mostly) a new classic to add to their list (Killer Instinct Gold and Mickey’s Speedway USA aside). You see RARE demand a high standard of game development. If this game development didn’t reach their high standard then they would happily take the game away for a few years and change it (Conker’s Bad Fur Day is a prime example). And more specifically Nintendo were happy to let them do it. After all they pretty much did the same.
So you cannot blame the new staff. After all RARE’s high standards are still there. Granted the Microsoft sale shake up may have damaged a few things but nothing on the level of damage that has been done. You see RARE WARE were nothing without their big Japanese friend.
They suited each other perfectly. RARE were a niche on Nintendo’s console, their beat ‘em ups, first person shooters, third person shooters and clever little titles were something Nintendo never created themselves. Add the intensely high production values Nintendo always offered and massive development periods together and you got a company that were the top of their field. Their other games, the westernised platformers and cartoony racers were equally fantastic because their parent company were the masters of both genres. Of course Diddy Kong Racing ruled, it was published by the makers of Mario Kart!
RARE without Nintendo are nothing. The biggest 3 sellers of the last 3 years have been DKC, DKC 2 (both on GBA) and Starfox Adventures. They are also the only 3 RARE developed titles published by Nintendo. But equally Nintendo without RARE are also lacking.
Football fans may be able to understand it in relation to the Steven Gerrard saga. If Gerrard (RARE) went to Chelsea (Microsoft) he would just be another member of the dream team and would shine less than he would at Liverpool (Nintendo). At Liverpool he is the fan favourite and centre of the team. RARE were the best of the Nintendo second party bunch. Camelot, Hal and even Retro had nothing on the mighty English development studio. Nintendo without RARE is like Liverpool with Gerrard. Still a quality team but lacking their star man.
Nintendo and RARE were always a match made in heaven, one without the other just is not right. Look at Nintendo now! They’re relying on exclusive third party support from Capcom, Namco (especially), Square-Enix and their second party Retro. Some are great but none of them match RARE for their homely touches. Donkey Konga, F Zero GX, Crystal Chronicles and Starfox Assault are solid efforts at games; they just lack the soul RARE titles always used to posses.
I look at RARE this Christmas and I hope. I Hope Kameo: Elements of Power, Perfect Dark Zero and even Donkey Kong Country 3 will find our beloved developer back on their feet. But Kameo has a Starfox style “let down” vibe about it. Perfect Dark Zero (like the issue with most of RARE’s current games) is too busy enjoying past glories rather than progressing into the future. And DKC3 is almost certainly going to lack that little something missing in the previous 2 titles.
Both Nintendo and RARE have their backs to the walls. No one cares for RARE on the X-box anymore and Nintendo’s beloved fanbase is, one by one, shaking its head and turning away. And if you visit their headquarters at night, you are sure to see the chief executives of both companies staring out the window… wondering what went wrong.
Dringo.
You simply cannot ignore everything this generation has thrown up from Rare. Starfox Adventures, Grabbed by the Gholies, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Donkey Kong Country (GBA), Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA), Banjo Pilot, Banjo Kazooie: Gruntilda’s revenge, Sabrewulf and (heaven forbid) It’s Mr. Pants. Some are down right awful, others are nothing more than okay and that even applies to the ports of the already established Rare classics. Nine games since RARE was sold to Microsoft. Once upon a time nine releases by RARE could generate enough revenue to cure world hunger. Those nine releases barely broke even.
I am a mega Nintendo fan. A sad obsessed loser who can’t see beyond the mushroom filled world of Nintendo. Yet it is the “other” Nintendo fans that do the crowing over how Microsoft bought a “dead weight”, not me. For I am still a little sad. There were 4 groups who lost out on the sale of RARE. Nintendo, Microsoft, Rare and us. Nintendo because they lost their link to the western world, they lost their link to the casual gamer and they lost their largest ally. Rare because they lost their mentor, they lost the guidance of Miyamoto and his crew and the creative freedom that came with being a Nintendo second party. Microsoft cause they spent $375 million on a company that hasn’t even generated $1 million. And us because we’re rapidly losing sight of what was once Britain’s premier game developer.
So what happened? The wholesale changes of staff? Perhaps, but then this is RARE and this has been going on for years. The team famous for developing the legendary Killer Instinct and Donkey Kong Country games from the SNES were not the same team that made Goldeneye, Blast Corps, Perfect Dark, Jet Force Gemini and Conker on the N64. RARE expanded, lost members, gained new ones and got bigger and bigger. And every game they released was (mostly) a new classic to add to their list (Killer Instinct Gold and Mickey’s Speedway USA aside). You see RARE demand a high standard of game development. If this game development didn’t reach their high standard then they would happily take the game away for a few years and change it (Conker’s Bad Fur Day is a prime example). And more specifically Nintendo were happy to let them do it. After all they pretty much did the same.
So you cannot blame the new staff. After all RARE’s high standards are still there. Granted the Microsoft sale shake up may have damaged a few things but nothing on the level of damage that has been done. You see RARE WARE were nothing without their big Japanese friend.
They suited each other perfectly. RARE were a niche on Nintendo’s console, their beat ‘em ups, first person shooters, third person shooters and clever little titles were something Nintendo never created themselves. Add the intensely high production values Nintendo always offered and massive development periods together and you got a company that were the top of their field. Their other games, the westernised platformers and cartoony racers were equally fantastic because their parent company were the masters of both genres. Of course Diddy Kong Racing ruled, it was published by the makers of Mario Kart!
RARE without Nintendo are nothing. The biggest 3 sellers of the last 3 years have been DKC, DKC 2 (both on GBA) and Starfox Adventures. They are also the only 3 RARE developed titles published by Nintendo. But equally Nintendo without RARE are also lacking.
Football fans may be able to understand it in relation to the Steven Gerrard saga. If Gerrard (RARE) went to Chelsea (Microsoft) he would just be another member of the dream team and would shine less than he would at Liverpool (Nintendo). At Liverpool he is the fan favourite and centre of the team. RARE were the best of the Nintendo second party bunch. Camelot, Hal and even Retro had nothing on the mighty English development studio. Nintendo without RARE is like Liverpool with Gerrard. Still a quality team but lacking their star man.
Nintendo and RARE were always a match made in heaven, one without the other just is not right. Look at Nintendo now! They’re relying on exclusive third party support from Capcom, Namco (especially), Square-Enix and their second party Retro. Some are great but none of them match RARE for their homely touches. Donkey Konga, F Zero GX, Crystal Chronicles and Starfox Assault are solid efforts at games; they just lack the soul RARE titles always used to posses.
I look at RARE this Christmas and I hope. I Hope Kameo: Elements of Power, Perfect Dark Zero and even Donkey Kong Country 3 will find our beloved developer back on their feet. But Kameo has a Starfox style “let down” vibe about it. Perfect Dark Zero (like the issue with most of RARE’s current games) is too busy enjoying past glories rather than progressing into the future. And DKC3 is almost certainly going to lack that little something missing in the previous 2 titles.
Both Nintendo and RARE have their backs to the walls. No one cares for RARE on the X-box anymore and Nintendo’s beloved fanbase is, one by one, shaking its head and turning away. And if you visit their headquarters at night, you are sure to see the chief executives of both companies staring out the window… wondering what went wrong.
Dringo.
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Hedfix wrote:
> * The big Rare games are coming on 360.
And DS :D
*crosses fingers*
> * The big Rare games are coming on 360.
And DS :D
*crosses fingers*
Oh FFS not another thread about Rare.
Gameing drought? Yeah! So let's whine on about Rare leaving!
* Conker's great, although they could have fixed the stats better.
* Rare have basically skipped a generation whilst making a few token efforts - games now take more time to make.
* The big Rare games are coming on 360.
Get over it.
Gameing drought? Yeah! So let's whine on about Rare leaving!
* Conker's great, although they could have fixed the stats better.
* Rare have basically skipped a generation whilst making a few token efforts - games now take more time to make.
* The big Rare games are coming on 360.
Get over it.
I'd say there were plenty of games for Gamecube owners to enjoy.
But I'd say there were only what... 12 must have exclusives. It is the same for any format really... just from now on in I don't get the fluff and I'll get the 12 must haves on the X-box and the 12 must haves on the Revolution... and perhaps a few "what the hell" buys as well.
But I'd say there were only what... 12 must have exclusives. It is the same for any format really... just from now on in I don't get the fluff and I'll get the 12 must haves on the X-box and the 12 must haves on the Revolution... and perhaps a few "what the hell" buys as well.
Dringo wrote:
> I've come to realise from Nintendo, that bar their big releases
> (Metroid, Mario, Zelda, Pikmin) I really don't like the other stuff
> they produce. It is either too small, or too over-stretched...
> rushed... short. I mean if I have to confess what first party titles
> made me smile on the Gamecube I'd say Pikmin 2, Paper Mario 2, Smash
> Brothers, Double DAsh, Sunshine, Wind Waker and Metroid Prime. You
> may think that is loads but that is 8 titles out of a console that
> has been out for 3 years.
I've come across the same thing. When I first got my Gamecube I wanted to get my money's worth so I tried to accumulate a vast collection. The problem there was that I found myself buying a lot of third party titles, and I was only buying them for the sake of getting some use out of my Cube. I could easily have bought them for my PS2.
What I'm trying to say is, out of the 25 or so Gamecube games I've owned, maybe only 4 were Cube exclusives. That basically means I bought a console and only ever had 4 games for it. The other 21 I could have bought for my PS2 and I would have saved the £180 I paid for my Cube.
It all comes down to the "was it worth it for the fantastic Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, Luigi's Mansion etc" question. Whether or not you think it is, Nintendo should be offering a LOT more exclusive's. If not, then the average gamer will see that the small sparks of brilliance that Ninty can offer will be far outweighed by the roaring inferno of near-brilliance that Sony and Microsoft can offer.
Only the die-hard Ninty followers will think it's worth it to buy a Revolution for the sake of Zelda, Metroid, Mario etc. Most will see that it's not worth buying a console just for a few games when they can get the likes of GTA and Halo and still have all the other titles (e.g. Tony Hawks) that they would have wasted their money on if they had bought a Nintendo console.
I know I've gone a bit off topic but hopefully you'll see where I'm coming from.
> I've come to realise from Nintendo, that bar their big releases
> (Metroid, Mario, Zelda, Pikmin) I really don't like the other stuff
> they produce. It is either too small, or too over-stretched...
> rushed... short. I mean if I have to confess what first party titles
> made me smile on the Gamecube I'd say Pikmin 2, Paper Mario 2, Smash
> Brothers, Double DAsh, Sunshine, Wind Waker and Metroid Prime. You
> may think that is loads but that is 8 titles out of a console that
> has been out for 3 years.
I've come across the same thing. When I first got my Gamecube I wanted to get my money's worth so I tried to accumulate a vast collection. The problem there was that I found myself buying a lot of third party titles, and I was only buying them for the sake of getting some use out of my Cube. I could easily have bought them for my PS2.
What I'm trying to say is, out of the 25 or so Gamecube games I've owned, maybe only 4 were Cube exclusives. That basically means I bought a console and only ever had 4 games for it. The other 21 I could have bought for my PS2 and I would have saved the £180 I paid for my Cube.
It all comes down to the "was it worth it for the fantastic Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, Luigi's Mansion etc" question. Whether or not you think it is, Nintendo should be offering a LOT more exclusive's. If not, then the average gamer will see that the small sparks of brilliance that Ninty can offer will be far outweighed by the roaring inferno of near-brilliance that Sony and Microsoft can offer.
Only the die-hard Ninty followers will think it's worth it to buy a Revolution for the sake of Zelda, Metroid, Mario etc. Most will see that it's not worth buying a console just for a few games when they can get the likes of GTA and Halo and still have all the other titles (e.g. Tony Hawks) that they would have wasted their money on if they had bought a Nintendo console.
I know I've gone a bit off topic but hopefully you'll see where I'm coming from.
I'm very bored this week. Hopefully it'll all pick up soon.
Dringo, you type too much.
Bye!
*runs*
Bye!
*runs*
Using the name Neal threw them off the scent...
Dringo wrote:
> Edgy wrote:
> N64 Fan wrote:
>
> crap analogy I know
>
> Aye, for pickle is yukky :P
>
> Yeah Edgy prefers Notable brains.
>
> *Don't worry Edgy I didn't tell the police it was you that burnt down
> the barn trying to burn Goatboy at the stake.*
My cue to leave!..................
> Edgy wrote:
> N64 Fan wrote:
>
> crap analogy I know
>
> Aye, for pickle is yukky :P
>
> Yeah Edgy prefers Notable brains.
>
> *Don't worry Edgy I didn't tell the police it was you that burnt down
> the barn trying to burn Goatboy at the stake.*
My cue to leave!..................
Edgy wrote:
> N64 Fan wrote:
>
> crap analogy I know
>
> Aye, for pickle is yukky :P
Yeah Edgy prefers Notable brains.
*Don't worry Edgy I didn't tell the police it was you that burnt down the barn trying to burn Goatboy at the stake.*
> N64 Fan wrote:
>
> crap analogy I know
>
> Aye, for pickle is yukky :P
Yeah Edgy prefers Notable brains.
*Don't worry Edgy I didn't tell the police it was you that burnt down the barn trying to burn Goatboy at the stake.*
N64 Fan wrote:
> crap analogy I know
Aye, for pickle is yukky :P
> crap analogy I know
Aye, for pickle is yukky :P
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