Donkey Kong Country’s original name was Monkey Mayhem, King K. Rool’s name was Kommander
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Gregg Mayles left a big mark on the Donkey Kong Country series. He served as a designer on the series, and created the likes of Diddy Kong and King K. Rool.
With King K. Rool having been announced for Smash Bros. Ultimate a few days ago, Mayles is taking a trip down memory lane. It turns out that Donkey Kong Country was going to be called Monkey Mayhem, and King K. Rool’s initial name was Kommander.
More: Donkey Kong Country, Rare, top
Rare had a cancelled Battletoads title for Game Boy, former staffer talks Banjo’s infamous Stop N’ Swop
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Did you know that Rare once had a Battletoads game in the works for Game Boy? Former Rare staffer Paul Machacek revealed that information to RareFanDaBase, who said that it was a spinoff of an arcade name of the same name. Despite being totally finished, it was cancelled due to the arcade title underperforming.
More: Battletoads, interview, Paul Machacek, Rare, top
GoldenEye 007 director on original plans for four different Bonds, how Oddjob made it in
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Often during a game’s creation, developers have to scrap various elements. It could be due to a lack of time, or a completely different reason.
In the case of GoldenEye 007, Rare originally intended to have four different Bonds included. Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan would have all been playable in the end. Unfortunately, this was left on the cutting room floor, though some elements were left behind in the original code and files.
More: GoldenEye 007, interview, Martin Hollis, Rare, top
Upcoming book will cover the history of Rare
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 16 Comments
Rare split from Nintendo many years ago, but the company is nonetheless an integral part of the big N’s history. Some of the most memorable titles came from the studio. Without Rare, we wouldn’t have Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, and many other classics.
A new book from Dark Horse will let you take a trip down memory lane. Rare Treasures, tentatively slated for the end of August, will contain “the history and highlights of the iconic studio Rare, from birth to present day”. It’ll come with art, commentary, and new insights from the team, and more.
More: Rare
Speedrunner discovers hidden coin in Donkey Kong 64 after 17 years
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
Donkey Kong 64 has been around for nearly two decades. Nintendo published the 3D platformer way back on November 22, 1999. 17 years later, a new secret has been found within the game.
Speedrunner Isotarge discovered a new coin in Fungi Forest. Previously, it went undetected in tall grass. Players can obtain rainbow coins once a slam attack is performed on dirt piles, but Isotarge came across a new pile in Fungi Forest.
As Kotaku explains:
“Isotarge first noticed something was amiss after looking at how the game formats its save data. They were looking at the flags in Fungi Forest and noticing that the information for the rainbow coin was incomplete. They used analysis tools to shoot right to the dirt patch and discover the coin.”
So Donkey Kong 64 doesn’t have 976 coins to collect as once though. Instead, there are actually 977 coins in the game.
More: Donkey Kong 64, Rare
Another pair of former Rare staffers join Playtonic
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 19 Comments
Yooka-Laylee developer Playtonic has added two new staffers who have a long history with Rare. Andy Wilson is joining the team as producer, and Gary Richards will be a part of the design team.
Wilson was a tester on Diddy Kong Racing and lead tester on Banjo-Kazooie. He eventually became a part of the design team on Donkey Kong 64, and also worked on Banjo-Tooie, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, and more.
Richards led the way on Donkey Kong Land 3. He was also the Head of Handheld department at Rare and lead design on all portable titles, such as Conker’s Pocket Tales, Sabre Wulf, Banjo Pilot and Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise.
More: Andy Wilson, Gary Richards, Playtonic, Rare
Former Rare dev on redesigning Donkey Kong, Star Fox Adventures changes, meeting Miyamoto, more
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, General Nintendo, News | 11 Comments
Kevin Bayliss left a huge mark on Rare during his nearly 20-year run at the studio. As a designer and art director, he contributed to Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong Racing, Star Fox Adventures, and much more.
UK magazine GamesTM spoke with Bayliss (who is now at Playtonic) this month, and asked him plenty of interesting questions about his time at Rare. The topics we’re mainly interested in focus on Nintendo specifically. Bayliss commented on the process of redesigning Donkey Kong for Donkey Kong Country, the initial changes that Star Fox Adventures went through, meeting Shigeru Miyamoto, and more.
We’ve included Bayliss’ comments below. You can pick up GamesTM now for the full interview.
More: interview, Kevin Bayliss, Rare, top
Video: Rare shares five things you didn’t know about Jet Force Gemini
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 5 Comments
The “Rare Revealed” video series continues, this time focusing on Jet Force Gemini. Below you’ll hear the studio share more about the classic N64 title with insider facts.
More: Jet Force Gemini, Rare
Video: Rare on the making of It’s Mr. Pants
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GBA, General Nintendo | 1 Comment
It’s Mr. Pants is a very interesting game. Banjo-Kazooie developer Rare created the Game Boy Advance title back in 2004. As some of you may know, Mr. Pants started out as the studio’s mascot on their website.
Rare recently shared a feature in which the making of It’s Mr. Pants was discussed. Check out the 10-minute video below.
More: interview, It's Mr. Pants, Rare, top
Nintendo’s stake in Rare almost went to Activision instead of Microsoft
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 12 Comments
Nintendo’s stake in Rare was sold to Microsoft in 2002. However, history almost went down a different path.
Xbox co-creator Ed Fries told IGN that Nintendo’s stake almost went to Activision. Activision outbid Microsoft originally, and it seemed like the latter company would lose the deal. Microsoft ended up increasing its offer at the last minute though, which allowed them to acquire Rare.
Fries’ full words are in the following video:
