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[SmokedMeat]

SNES was Rare getting everyone’s attention.

N64 is where they became one of the best developers in the industry

 

[AJUMP23]

Rare cut their teeth on DK Country, they achieved their Zenith on DK 64.

 

[radewagon]

While I've always felt that Rare has been hugely overrated, it's pretty much a given that their N64 days were where they made their mark.

 

[Krathoon]

Rare really took off on the N64. They mastered the hardware.

I would say they used the hardware even better than Nintendo.

 

[Krathoon]

Factor 5 is another one that really knew the N64 hardware.

 

[Deerock71]

The hype for a Rare release was on par with Nintendo on the N64. Goldeneye was a MEGAHIT at 8 million copies. STILL peak Rare.

 

[Krathoon]

Rare was totally a rival for Nintendo. I remember Miyamoto getting a little pissy about it.

 

[soulbait]

Diddy Kong Racing, the best Kart racer, is so underrated. And I love their different multiplayer modes they added to the game.

Then you have Golden Eye, Perfect Dark, Conker's Bad-Fur-Day, and more, making the N64 the obvious choice, IMO.

 

[Kokoloko85]

N64. Golden Eye, Banjo, Perfect Dark.

 

[Krathoon]

Imagine if Microsoft let Rare create a gaming console. You would get something pretty neat.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

I always found the DKC series to be overrated. Technically impressive in the amount of animation and depth of color, but with ugly characters and art and generic gameplay.

I guess some of that applies to their N64 games as well but at least we have Conker and Jet Force Gemini.

Rare's best era might be before the Nintendo acquisition.

Odd, since Conker is literally “do random thing 3 times with increasing difficulty”, the game.
It’s so basic and random, they even joked on it by making it kind of the game’s trademark with the infamous “context-sensitive button” thingie. As generic as it gets, but with a coat of paint that changes every few minutes so it may seem an incredibly cleverly-designed game. Something that DKC2, at least, actually is.

 

[diffusionx]

Rare was super important to late SNES and Nintendo, really defined those years, but they were the best dev outside of Nintendo themselves on N64, actually maybe they were the best dev period. Lots of games, many of them great, huge variety, pushed the technology, etc.

 

[Xaeroxcore666]

N64. Rare masterpieces, along with Mario 64, Mario Kart 64 and the Zeldas, were enough to compete and surpass most of the PS1 bigger and more versatile catalogue....

 

[RoboFu]

Nes and by far...

Wizards and warriors series
RC pro am
Cobra triangle
Solar jet man
Battle toads

 

[scarlet0pimp]

N64 for sure. Rare on SNES was actually pretty poor in my book.

 

[TropicanaTwista]

N64 fairly easily here. Unrelated, it such a shame what rare has become. Not sure if they just lost their creative touch or MS just messed them up, but they were arguably the best developer in the biz during that N64 era, to a point where they have next to nothing of note over a 2 decade stretch.

 

[phant0m]

N64 and it’s not close.

All you need is Rare + 1P Nintendo and you have a solid, respectable library for the platform.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

n64 for me

also, arcade KI1 and KI2 were absolutely amazing for their time. only mario 64 blew me away more.
xbox KI doesnt do it for me at all.

 

[Dural]

Rare carried the N64 while they extended the life of the SNES when the 3d consoles were launching. I prefer side scrollers and the SNES, but N64 was golden Rare.

 

[drganon]

N64. If it wasn't for rare, that system would have been screwed.

 

[amigastar]

I loved Conker's Bad Fur Day.

 

[Moses85]

Rare from the N64

I miss you soooo much

 

[TheMan]

How is this even a question. N64 rare made some of the most popular games of the generation.

Shame they just couldn’t keep up after that

 

[Krathoon]

Rare always made fun games. Only some of their early computer stuff sucked.

I would highly recommend playing Rare Replay. It is a great collection of their hits.

 

[daTRUballin]

Rare was totally a rival for Nintendo. I remember Miyamoto getting a little pissy about it.

I still wonder if Conker's Bad Fur Day was low-key a "fuck you" to Nintendo lol. It came out the year before they were bought by MS. Maybe their relationship was deteriorating at that point.

Odd, since Conker is literally “do random thing 3 times with increasing difficulty”, the game.
It’s so basic and random, they even joked on it by making it kind of the game’s trademark with the infamous “context-sensitive button” thingie. As generic as it gets, but with a coat of paint that changes every few minutes so it may seem an incredibly cleverly-designed game. Something that DKC2, at least, actually is.

I usually like your posts and find them interesting, but Conker's a great game.

Except for the nightclub level where you have to piss on the rock monsters. Fuck that level. So annoyingly designed. At least the Xbox version fixes it.

 

[stn]

Rare was a 10/10 for both SNES and N64, they killeeeeeeeed it. I probably give my vote to SNES because of DKC 1 and 2. Also, I feel like their best SNES games aged a bit better than some of their best N64 games. As an example, Perfect Dark is still amazing as hell but the aiming controls are archaic.

 

[Krathoon]

I remember Miyamoto making some snarky comment about Rare. I think it was about Donkey Kong Country.

 

[amigastar]

I remember the DKC promotion VHS tape in the 90s. Those were awesome.

 

[Tg89]

DKC2 is peak Rare but Banjo+DKR+Goldeneye is a great trio.

 

[Bankai]

I need an option "playstation era of RARE", now that Sea of Thieves is coming.

 

[SF Kosmo]

Odd, since Conker is literally “do random thing 3 times with increasing difficulty”, the game.
It’s so basic and random, they even joked on it by making it kind of the game’s trademark with the infamous “context-sensitive button” thingie. As generic as it gets, but with a coat of paint that changes every few minutes so it may seem an incredibly cleverly-designed game. Something that DKC2, at least, actually is.

I'm not saying Conker is one of my favorite games either, but it had some personality and looked good at least. Most of Rare's characters looks like rejected generic brand cereal mascots. I don't think I've ever forgiven them for changing Donkey Kong's design to that abomination

 

[Codes 208]

N64 because banjo kazooie and conker are hands down two of the best 3D platformers/collectathons

Then you also have diddy kong racing, perfect dark, killer instinct and golden eye.

Theres also dkc64 but lets be real: thats one of the weaker dkc games

 

[Boralf]

This one.

 

[ReyBrujo]

Voted for SNES because DKC was a bold push, not even Miyamoto trusted it would work. By the way, when did Killer Instinct became so sissy you can combo with any button combination.

 

[daTRUballin]

I remember Miyamoto making some snarky comment about Rare. I think it was about Donkey Kong Country.

The supposed quote was "Donkey Kong Country proves that players will put up with mediocre gameplay as long as the art is good." To this day, nobody really knows whether that quote is actually real or not. Kind of hard to believe he would just bash DKC like that publicly.

On the other hand, there were other interviews from back then of him praising Rare. He was especially impressed with Banjo Kazooie.

 

[Krathoon]

The supposed quote was "Donkey Kong Country proves that players will put up with mediocre gameplay as long as the art is good." To this day, nobody really knows whether that quote is actually real or not. Kind of hard to believe he would just bash DKC like that publicly.

On the other hand, there were other interviews from back then of him praising Rare. He was especially impressed with Banjo Kazooie.

I like to think that he did say it.
The man can't be a saint.

 

[amigastar]

The supposed quote was "Donkey Kong Country proves that players will put up with mediocre gameplay as long as the art is good." To this day, nobody really knows whether that quote is actually real or not. Kind of hard to believe he would just bash DKC like that publicly.

On the other hand, there were other interviews from back then of him praising Rare. He was especially impressed with Banjo Kazooie.

But the gameplay is awesome in DKC.

 

[Sojiro]

Nes and by far...

Wizards and warriors series
RC pro am
Cobra triangle
Solar jet man
Battle toads

Their NES releases definitely deserve to be in the conversation, I would still vote for N64, but their NES output would rival their SNES output imo. However, how the hell are you going mention Rare on the NES and not list their GOAT NES game Snake Rattle n Roll? Shame on you! Lol

 

[daTRUballin]

I like to think that he did say it.
The man can't be a saint.

But the gameplay is awesome in DKC.

He also wanted Rare to make James Bond shake the hands of all the enemies he's killed in the hospital at the end of Goldeneye.

No doubt the man's a genius, but he can be a bit off his rocker at times.