The Nintendo 64 is considered to be one of the best consoles of all time, with one of the most legendary catalogs of games. Even at launch titles like Super Mario 64 showed off the new technical capabilities of the Nintendo system, and the direction that games would be headed in the future. However, Nintendo was not the only company that developed amazing games for the system.
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Rare was a game developer from Britain who had a working relationship with Nintendo. After producing games for the NES and SNES in a partnership, Nintendo even purchased a stake in the company. Rare developed what many consider to be some of the greatest games of all time during their time working with Nintendo. Rare was so good at developing games, it seems like Nintendo even had to take a step back to learn some lessons from the smaller developer.
Rare and Nintendo Used to Work Together
Nintendo Took a Big Interest in the Smaller Developer
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From the Donkey Kong Country series to GoldenEye 007, Rare became a well-respected developer for their quality and innovative games. Starting as a small company in England, Rare originally worked on games for other consoles. Seeing the popularity of the NES, Rare wanted to develop games on the console that the company saw as the future for games.
Legend has it that Rare decided to study games for the console and their code in order to reverse-engineer a development process for the NES. Rare was successful in doing so, but Nintendo believed that the console was impossible to reverse-engineer. After showing off their results, Nintendo was so impressed with Rare that the small company was given an unlimited budget to develop games for the system.
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After creating very successful games for the NES, along with developing new technology using 3D models in a 2D space, Nintendo partnered with Rare and allowed them to use some of Nintendo's IPs. This was a very uncharacteristic move for Nintendo but showed the level of trust that the typically protective company had in their partners at Rare. Rare would then go on to create the Donkey Kong Country series, which has since been considered among the best side-scrolling platformers ever made.
Rare Game
Metacritic Score
Donkey Kong Country
90
Diddy Kong Racing
88
GoldenEye 007
96
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When the Nintendo 64 released, Rare moved on to developing games for the new Nintendo console, continuing their streak of developing games to critical and commercial success. GoldenEye released to incredible success, becoming one of the pioneers of the first-person-shooter genre, particularly ones developed for consoles rather than PC. Following GoldenEye, Rare created Diddy Kong Racing, which became one of the best and fastest-selling games for the Nintendo 64.
Diddy Kong Racing also featured some playable characters that would hint at future Rare games. One of these characters would be the main star of Rare's next title, one that would become so well-loved that it caused Nintendo to reevaluate the games that it was developing.
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Banjo-Kazooie Inspired Nintendo to Make Changes
Rare's Success Caused Developers at Nintendo to Step Up Their Game
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Rare had wanted to develop a 3D platformer for a long time, but finally got the chance after the massive success of Diddy Kong Racing. Likely inspired by Super Mario 64, Rare developed and released Banjo-Kazooie in 1998. The game received worldwide acclaim, with it becoming one of the best-selling games for the Nintendo 64. Banjo-Kazooie was so well-loved that Rare almost immediately began development on a sequel, Banjo-Tooie, using many scrapped features, worlds and characters that were left out of the first game.
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It was no secret that Rare and Nintendo's working relationship was very close. Rather than let Rare do its own thing free from oversight, the two companies would take inspiration from each other. Rare would look to Nintendo for guidance and inspiration with games like Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong Racing, and even Banjo-Kazooie. However, it turns out that Nintendo also looked to Rare to inform decisions during the development of its own games.
A Famitsu article from 1998 has resurfaced and was shared on X by user @m0m0_0ssrr_ that features Shigeru Miyamoto talking about Banjo-Kazooie and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Quotes from the article was translated by user @gosokkyu and showed how Miyamoto, along with the rest of Nintendo, respected Rare and the quality of its work:
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"The Zelda delay is partially because of Banjo -- it's so amazing that we don't want to be outdone... If Mario's a makunouchi bento, Banjo's a deluxe makunouchi bento... I don't know how the art style will go over but once you're in, you'll be hooked."
Shigeru Miyamoto references "makunouchi bento," which is a type of packaged meal. Miyamoto here is directly comparing Banjo-Kazooie to Super Mario 64, and citing that he sees Banjo as the higher-quality game. It is no wonder then that he states that the delay for Ocarina of Time is in part due to the success of Banjo.
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Ocarina of Time was delayed for many reasons, not solely because of Rare's success, but it did likely have a big impact. A major part of why the game was delayed was because of the technical limitations of the Nintendo 64. Ocarina of Time was an incredibly ambitious game for its time, and much of the game had to fit on a Nintendo 64 cartridge.
Originally supposed to release in 1997, Ocarina of Time was delayed to the point where it ultimately did not release until late 1998. Banjo-Kazooie released earlier in 1998, giving Nintendo the opportunity to learn from the game. While technical limitations were the real obstacle for Nintendo, using the delay to polish other parts of the game is likely what Shigeru Miyamoto was referencing.
While Rare may have once used Nintendo as their inspiration, it eventually became the point where Nintendo was the one taking lessons from Rare. Ocarina of Time is one of the best and most influential video games ever made, and without Banjo-Kazooie, it would be hard to imagine how different the game would look without its influence.
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Banjo-Kazooie
3D Platformer
Platform(s) N64 , Xbox 360
Released June 28, 1998
Developer(s) Rare
Publisher(s) Nintendo
ESRB E for Everyone
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Zelda games were well-established before Ocarina of Time, but its the first 3D game that truly launched it into the lofty status the series holds today. It ditched the top-down perspective of previous games to give players a large world to explore, and its story was one of the most ambitious on Nintendo 64.
Action
Adventure
Platform(s) Nintendo 64 , GameCube
Released November 21, 1998
Developer(s) Nintendo
Publisher(s) Nintendo
ESRB E10+ for Everyone 10+: Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Suggestive Themes
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