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When looking at RARE as a development company, what do you see? A bunch of highly talented, British developers working on many Nintendo titles. But why are they so good? Why is it nearly every game they release gains such high praise? The only game on the N64 they wasn’t given a star game award was Killer Instinct Gold and even then the game was said to be “ok”. But it isn’t just the praise each game receives, it is the hype nearly every game they make picks up. Jet Force Gemini, Banjo, Conker all of these picked up a lot of excitement whilst in development, although the hype these tiles received weren’t on the same level as Perfect Dark their were no doubts that these games would be bad, the question always was how good will it be?
So why are Rare so brilliant? One thing I pick up from Rare is their ability to “copy” Nintendo. Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet is Zelda, Banjo Kazooie is Mario, Kameo: Elements of Power is Pokémon; Diddy Kong Racing is Mario Kart. But despite the obvious similarities that these titles have when compared with Nintendo’s home titles there is something different about them… they are older. Mario, despite being enjoyed by all ages, is aimed mainly at children 8 years or under, and agrees or not I see Banjo appealing to an older audience. When Bottles (the mole) died in Banjo Tooie Kazooie said: “Ah well we never liked him anyway”, you’ll never here Mario say that! Also compare Mario 64 to Banjo Kazooie; graphically Mario is much colourful and simple whilst Banjo is much more detailed again giving Banjo a slightly older look. And then there is Conker, again a platformer but I think you’ll all agree this doesn’t appeal to the same age group as Mario.
Zelda may not have a childish look but it does now, which is why Star Fox Adventures, with the Z targeting and 3D adventuring is simply and older looking Zelda. Pokémon, as brilliant as it maybe again has a very childish appeal whilst Kameo: Element of Power has updated this into a more adult adventure/battling game. So Rare seem to take Nintendo games and make them appeal to an audience they miss out, Mario Kart has a universal appeal but is only really good if you have 3 mates to play it with as the single player is duff, for those who don’t play multiplayer Mario Kart won’t be worth investing in but Diddy Kong Racing concentrates more on the single player so corners the market Mario Kart missed out. But to say Rare are just Nintendo is a little unfair, name one Nintendo game Jet Force Gemini takes after? Exactly a classic game dreamt up from Rare themselves, Killer Instinct was a 2D beat ‘em up a genre unexplored by Nintendo, and how about Perfect Dark, without a doubt one of Rare’s best titles and it has no connection to a Nintendo game (except maybe Pokémon Snap but that hardly counts). Blast Corps is evidence of Rare’s originality at its best and again there’s nothing like this anywhere let alone from Nintendo.
So what makes Rare so good? At that matter why does Metroid (from Retro Studios) look good enough to eat? Why does Eternal Darkness (Silicon Knights) look set to show Resident Evil a thing or two? What does these Nintendo second parties have over the millions of 3rd party developers? It is easy to understand why Nintendo are so good, they designed the system themselves, they know what it can do and they designed it to do what they want anyway. Unlike Playstation and X-box the console was made by game developers, the controller was designed by Shiguru Miyamoto, Star Wars developers Factor 5 designed Gamecube’s sound chip so of course Nintendo know how to get the most out of it. And again unlike the Playstation when you sign up as a Nintendo second party you are in for a lot of help. Every time Rare make a game Nintendo assist them every step of the way, a developer wanted to do this, finds it difficult to pull off so he contacts Nintendo who will help them achieve it. Metroid wasn’t doing so well, Nintendo have gone and placed them along the right track. If Dennis Dyack and his Silicon Knights team ever struggled whilst developing Eternal Darkness, Nintendo would step in and help.
What makes Rare (and any other second party) that much better than everyone else is the fact that Nintendo keep a close relationship with them and make sure everything is going ok. Sony may let Polyphony and Psygosis do what they want but is this really a good thing? Nintendo being the worlds greatest games company helping out companies like Rare ensures the success of what they develop. And Rare have been working with Nintendo for such a long time now, every time a new console comes around Rare know the console as well as Nintendo and like Nintendo can get the best out of it. And looking at Star Fox Adventures, Kameo: Elements of Power and Donkey Kong Racing it proves to me that Rare are still one of the best game companies around.
Here’s to the future
Dringo.
So why are Rare so brilliant? One thing I pick up from Rare is their ability to “copy” Nintendo. Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet is Zelda, Banjo Kazooie is Mario, Kameo: Elements of Power is Pokémon; Diddy Kong Racing is Mario Kart. But despite the obvious similarities that these titles have when compared with Nintendo’s home titles there is something different about them… they are older. Mario, despite being enjoyed by all ages, is aimed mainly at children 8 years or under, and agrees or not I see Banjo appealing to an older audience. When Bottles (the mole) died in Banjo Tooie Kazooie said: “Ah well we never liked him anyway”, you’ll never here Mario say that! Also compare Mario 64 to Banjo Kazooie; graphically Mario is much colourful and simple whilst Banjo is much more detailed again giving Banjo a slightly older look. And then there is Conker, again a platformer but I think you’ll all agree this doesn’t appeal to the same age group as Mario.
Zelda may not have a childish look but it does now, which is why Star Fox Adventures, with the Z targeting and 3D adventuring is simply and older looking Zelda. Pokémon, as brilliant as it maybe again has a very childish appeal whilst Kameo: Element of Power has updated this into a more adult adventure/battling game. So Rare seem to take Nintendo games and make them appeal to an audience they miss out, Mario Kart has a universal appeal but is only really good if you have 3 mates to play it with as the single player is duff, for those who don’t play multiplayer Mario Kart won’t be worth investing in but Diddy Kong Racing concentrates more on the single player so corners the market Mario Kart missed out. But to say Rare are just Nintendo is a little unfair, name one Nintendo game Jet Force Gemini takes after? Exactly a classic game dreamt up from Rare themselves, Killer Instinct was a 2D beat ‘em up a genre unexplored by Nintendo, and how about Perfect Dark, without a doubt one of Rare’s best titles and it has no connection to a Nintendo game (except maybe Pokémon Snap but that hardly counts). Blast Corps is evidence of Rare’s originality at its best and again there’s nothing like this anywhere let alone from Nintendo.
So what makes Rare so good? At that matter why does Metroid (from Retro Studios) look good enough to eat? Why does Eternal Darkness (Silicon Knights) look set to show Resident Evil a thing or two? What does these Nintendo second parties have over the millions of 3rd party developers? It is easy to understand why Nintendo are so good, they designed the system themselves, they know what it can do and they designed it to do what they want anyway. Unlike Playstation and X-box the console was made by game developers, the controller was designed by Shiguru Miyamoto, Star Wars developers Factor 5 designed Gamecube’s sound chip so of course Nintendo know how to get the most out of it. And again unlike the Playstation when you sign up as a Nintendo second party you are in for a lot of help. Every time Rare make a game Nintendo assist them every step of the way, a developer wanted to do this, finds it difficult to pull off so he contacts Nintendo who will help them achieve it. Metroid wasn’t doing so well, Nintendo have gone and placed them along the right track. If Dennis Dyack and his Silicon Knights team ever struggled whilst developing Eternal Darkness, Nintendo would step in and help.
What makes Rare (and any other second party) that much better than everyone else is the fact that Nintendo keep a close relationship with them and make sure everything is going ok. Sony may let Polyphony and Psygosis do what they want but is this really a good thing? Nintendo being the worlds greatest games company helping out companies like Rare ensures the success of what they develop. And Rare have been working with Nintendo for such a long time now, every time a new console comes around Rare know the console as well as Nintendo and like Nintendo can get the best out of it. And looking at Star Fox Adventures, Kameo: Elements of Power and Donkey Kong Racing it proves to me that Rare are still one of the best game companies around.
Here’s to the future
Dringo.
Page:
Or†ega wrote:
> Although Nintendo working closely with RARE could be a bad thing if you look at
> in a different way.
Nintendo are said to be owrking closely with Rare on
> Perfect dark zero right? Well, anyway you must have heard the stories of
> "lack of organisation" on the part of Nintendo on the development of
> this game. And we are getting rumours of the game not being ready until
> 2003/2004 which is bloody crap!
Rare will design this one on their own, the game is in fact a Rare game, Nintendo will make sure things are running smoothly but Rare are the guys behind it, Nintendo are making a more active roll in dinosaur planet.
I'd like to see Rare games different from the normal Nintendo style.
> We need variation. Maybe on thier own, without Nintendo's help, RARE could
> produce some more original games. Games which brake out of this shell where they
> have to cover a certain genre, as ninty dont like going down new routes these
> days really do they?
Pikmin, Perfect Dark, Eternal Darkness... all new areas... in fact i cant think of a game Genre Nintendo and their second parties aren't covering...
> Although Nintendo working closely with RARE could be a bad thing if you look at
> in a different way.
Nintendo are said to be owrking closely with Rare on
> Perfect dark zero right? Well, anyway you must have heard the stories of
> "lack of organisation" on the part of Nintendo on the development of
> this game. And we are getting rumours of the game not being ready until
> 2003/2004 which is bloody crap!
Rare will design this one on their own, the game is in fact a Rare game, Nintendo will make sure things are running smoothly but Rare are the guys behind it, Nintendo are making a more active roll in dinosaur planet.
I'd like to see Rare games different from the normal Nintendo style.
> We need variation. Maybe on thier own, without Nintendo's help, RARE could
> produce some more original games. Games which brake out of this shell where they
> have to cover a certain genre, as ninty dont like going down new routes these
> days really do they?
Pikmin, Perfect Dark, Eternal Darkness... all new areas... in fact i cant think of a game Genre Nintendo and their second parties aren't covering...
Good topic, nice tagline. :D
Is this another kiss bottom topic? Just asking before i start reading ;-)
Although Nintendo working closely with RARE could be a bad thing if you look at in a different way.
Nintendo are said to be owrking closely with Rare on Perfect dark zero right? Well, anyway you must have heard the stories of "lack of organisation" on the part of Nintendo on the development of this game. And we are getting rumours of the game not being ready until 2003/2004 which is bloody crap!
And I wonder whose idea it was to take the camera feature out of Perfect Dark. Thats gotta have been an Nintendo Idea, keeping to the family image idea. BUt this game was rated 18 so why does matter at all?
I'd like to see Rare games different from the normal Nintendo style. We need variation. Maybe on thier own, without Nintendo's help, RARE could produce some more original games. Games which brake out of this shell where they have to cover a certain genre, as ninty dont like going down new routes these days really do they?
Nintendo are said to be owrking closely with Rare on Perfect dark zero right? Well, anyway you must have heard the stories of "lack of organisation" on the part of Nintendo on the development of this game. And we are getting rumours of the game not being ready until 2003/2004 which is bloody crap!
And I wonder whose idea it was to take the camera feature out of Perfect Dark. Thats gotta have been an Nintendo Idea, keeping to the family image idea. BUt this game was rated 18 so why does matter at all?
I'd like to see Rare games different from the normal Nintendo style. We need variation. Maybe on thier own, without Nintendo's help, RARE could produce some more original games. Games which brake out of this shell where they have to cover a certain genre, as ninty dont like going down new routes these days really do they?
Good topic, great post! Definitley worthy of a GAD, maybe something by Rare??
I hope that Rare stick with Nintendo only and don't go of making too much for the others. I just don't think they'd be able to work well with others, and PS2 and X-box fans would only really by more Perfect Darks and Goldeneyes, not the Banjo Kazzoies and Donkey Kongs!
I also hope to work for Rare when i'm older, using my graphic designing talents for the better of future Rare games!
I hope that Rare stick with Nintendo only and don't go of making too much for the others. I just don't think they'd be able to work well with others, and PS2 and X-box fans would only really by more Perfect Darks and Goldeneyes, not the Banjo Kazzoies and Donkey Kongs!
I also hope to work for Rare when i'm older, using my graphic designing talents for the better of future Rare games!
Great topic, mate. I can see what you're getting at, i think. Are you trying to say that Nintendo, unlike Sony, Mocrosoft, are like a big brother to their 2nd party developers, the watchful eye of Nintendo.
Hope you win a well deserved GAD for it.
RiCkOsS
Hope you win a well deserved GAD for it.
RiCkOsS
When looking at RARE as a development company, what do you see? A bunch of highly talented, British developers working on many Nintendo titles. But why are they so good? Why is it nearly every game they release gains such high praise? The only game on the N64 they wasn’t given a star game award was Killer Instinct Gold and even then the game was said to be “ok”. But it isn’t just the praise each game receives, it is the hype nearly every game they make picks up. Jet Force Gemini, Banjo, Conker all of these picked up a lot of excitement whilst in development, although the hype these tiles received weren’t on the same level as Perfect Dark their were no doubts that these games would be bad, the question always was how good will it be?
So why are Rare so brilliant? One thing I pick up from Rare is their ability to “copy” Nintendo. Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet is Zelda, Banjo Kazooie is Mario, Kameo: Elements of Power is Pokémon; Diddy Kong Racing is Mario Kart. But despite the obvious similarities that these titles have when compared with Nintendo’s home titles there is something different about them… they are older. Mario, despite being enjoyed by all ages, is aimed mainly at children 8 years or under, and agrees or not I see Banjo appealing to an older audience. When Bottles (the mole) died in Banjo Tooie Kazooie said: “Ah well we never liked him anyway”, you’ll never here Mario say that! Also compare Mario 64 to Banjo Kazooie; graphically Mario is much colourful and simple whilst Banjo is much more detailed again giving Banjo a slightly older look. And then there is Conker, again a platformer but I think you’ll all agree this doesn’t appeal to the same age group as Mario.
Zelda may not have a childish look but it does now, which is why Star Fox Adventures, with the Z targeting and 3D adventuring is simply and older looking Zelda. Pokémon, as brilliant as it maybe again has a very childish appeal whilst Kameo: Element of Power has updated this into a more adult adventure/battling game. So Rare seem to take Nintendo games and make them appeal to an audience they miss out, Mario Kart has a universal appeal but is only really good if you have 3 mates to play it with as the single player is duff, for those who don’t play multiplayer Mario Kart won’t be worth investing in but Diddy Kong Racing concentrates more on the single player so corners the market Mario Kart missed out. But to say Rare are just Nintendo is a little unfair, name one Nintendo game Jet Force Gemini takes after? Exactly a classic game dreamt up from Rare themselves, Killer Instinct was a 2D beat ‘em up a genre unexplored by Nintendo, and how about Perfect Dark, without a doubt one of Rare’s best titles and it has no connection to a Nintendo game (except maybe Pokémon Snap but that hardly counts). Blast Corps is evidence of Rare’s originality at its best and again there’s nothing like this anywhere let alone from Nintendo.
So what makes Rare so good? At that matter why does Metroid (from Retro Studios) look good enough to eat? Why does Eternal Darkness (Silicon Knights) look set to show Resident Evil a thing or two? What does these Nintendo second parties have over the millions of 3rd party developers? It is easy to understand why Nintendo are so good, they designed the system themselves, they know what it can do and they designed it to do what they want anyway. Unlike Playstation and X-box the console was made by game developers, the controller was designed by Shiguru Miyamoto, Star Wars developers Factor 5 designed Gamecube’s sound chip so of course Nintendo know how to get the most out of it. And again unlike the Playstation when you sign up as a Nintendo second party you are in for a lot of help. Every time Rare make a game Nintendo assist them every step of the way, a developer wanted to do this, finds it difficult to pull off so he contacts Nintendo who will help them achieve it. Metroid wasn’t doing so well, Nintendo have gone and placed them along the right track. If Dennis Dyack and his Silicon Knights team ever struggled whilst developing Eternal Darkness, Nintendo would step in and help.
What makes Rare (and any other second party) that much better than everyone else is the fact that Nintendo keep a close relationship with them and make sure everything is going ok. Sony may let Polyphony and Psygosis do what they want but is this really a good thing? Nintendo being the worlds greatest games company helping out companies like Rare ensures the success of what they develop. And Rare have been working with Nintendo for such a long time now, every time a new console comes around Rare know the console as well as Nintendo and like Nintendo can get the best out of it. And looking at Star Fox Adventures, Kameo: Elements of Power and Donkey Kong Racing it proves to me that Rare are still one of the best game companies around.
Here’s to the future
Dringo.
So why are Rare so brilliant? One thing I pick up from Rare is their ability to “copy” Nintendo. Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet is Zelda, Banjo Kazooie is Mario, Kameo: Elements of Power is Pokémon; Diddy Kong Racing is Mario Kart. But despite the obvious similarities that these titles have when compared with Nintendo’s home titles there is something different about them… they are older. Mario, despite being enjoyed by all ages, is aimed mainly at children 8 years or under, and agrees or not I see Banjo appealing to an older audience. When Bottles (the mole) died in Banjo Tooie Kazooie said: “Ah well we never liked him anyway”, you’ll never here Mario say that! Also compare Mario 64 to Banjo Kazooie; graphically Mario is much colourful and simple whilst Banjo is much more detailed again giving Banjo a slightly older look. And then there is Conker, again a platformer but I think you’ll all agree this doesn’t appeal to the same age group as Mario.
Zelda may not have a childish look but it does now, which is why Star Fox Adventures, with the Z targeting and 3D adventuring is simply and older looking Zelda. Pokémon, as brilliant as it maybe again has a very childish appeal whilst Kameo: Element of Power has updated this into a more adult adventure/battling game. So Rare seem to take Nintendo games and make them appeal to an audience they miss out, Mario Kart has a universal appeal but is only really good if you have 3 mates to play it with as the single player is duff, for those who don’t play multiplayer Mario Kart won’t be worth investing in but Diddy Kong Racing concentrates more on the single player so corners the market Mario Kart missed out. But to say Rare are just Nintendo is a little unfair, name one Nintendo game Jet Force Gemini takes after? Exactly a classic game dreamt up from Rare themselves, Killer Instinct was a 2D beat ‘em up a genre unexplored by Nintendo, and how about Perfect Dark, without a doubt one of Rare’s best titles and it has no connection to a Nintendo game (except maybe Pokémon Snap but that hardly counts). Blast Corps is evidence of Rare’s originality at its best and again there’s nothing like this anywhere let alone from Nintendo.
So what makes Rare so good? At that matter why does Metroid (from Retro Studios) look good enough to eat? Why does Eternal Darkness (Silicon Knights) look set to show Resident Evil a thing or two? What does these Nintendo second parties have over the millions of 3rd party developers? It is easy to understand why Nintendo are so good, they designed the system themselves, they know what it can do and they designed it to do what they want anyway. Unlike Playstation and X-box the console was made by game developers, the controller was designed by Shiguru Miyamoto, Star Wars developers Factor 5 designed Gamecube’s sound chip so of course Nintendo know how to get the most out of it. And again unlike the Playstation when you sign up as a Nintendo second party you are in for a lot of help. Every time Rare make a game Nintendo assist them every step of the way, a developer wanted to do this, finds it difficult to pull off so he contacts Nintendo who will help them achieve it. Metroid wasn’t doing so well, Nintendo have gone and placed them along the right track. If Dennis Dyack and his Silicon Knights team ever struggled whilst developing Eternal Darkness, Nintendo would step in and help.
What makes Rare (and any other second party) that much better than everyone else is the fact that Nintendo keep a close relationship with them and make sure everything is going ok. Sony may let Polyphony and Psygosis do what they want but is this really a good thing? Nintendo being the worlds greatest games company helping out companies like Rare ensures the success of what they develop. And Rare have been working with Nintendo for such a long time now, every time a new console comes around Rare know the console as well as Nintendo and like Nintendo can get the best out of it. And looking at Star Fox Adventures, Kameo: Elements of Power and Donkey Kong Racing it proves to me that Rare are still one of the best game companies around.
Here’s to the future
Dringo.
Page: