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[Shig]

No one voted Nuts & Bolts just to be a contrarian? I'm so proud of you GAF

Nuts & Bolts is still the best LEGO game.

 

[Randall365]

Goldeneye changed console gaming. After that you had Halo, GTAIII - so many more great 3d games.

 

[glimmerman]

Jetpac. Still play it today!

 

[goldenpp72]

Banjo-Kazooie and DKC2 are their greatest triumphs, I say.

 

[Archtreyz]

Out of curiosity, when was the last time you played that game? I'm wondering if it still holds up. I tried giving it many shots in the past but it just got too dull for me.

Anyway, my personal pick would have to be Banjo-Kazooie. I still play this game once every couple of years when I get that 3D platform itch and it's just so charming and fun to play. Its secrets with Stop 'n Swap obviously made it stand out against other games at the time, but it really is a top-tier effort from Rare. It's a collect-a-thon but it doesn't overwhelm you with it being one. It's just right.

I actually found the game in my parents attic about two weeks ago and beat it earlier this week. It's actually what inspired me to make this thread.

 

[Saganator]

All of their N64 games.

 

[RobRivers]

Absolutely, by far Rare best selling games ever (in million of units):

(Second list are the games Rare fully owned the license after the split with Nintendo).

No game on the list after microsoft adquirance? :/ i thought games sold well too, maybe not as n64 or snes era, but nos as bad as for not appearing on the list :S

 

[Professor Renegade]

Banjo-Kazooie, easily. It was completely on point for the time and it's still fun to play today. Star Fox Adventures was good, but there were parts of that game that felt like they ran out of time during development.

 

[Ravelle]

Viva Pinata.

Why we still haven't gotten a new one for PC and/or Xbox One is beyond me.

 

[Travo]

Goldeneye and Conker.

 

[Celine]

No game on the list after microsoft adquirance? :/ i thought games sold well too, maybe not as n64 or snes era, but nos as bad as for not appearing on the list :S

No, sorry it's shipment data by Nintendo (and only million-sellers).
The other games aren't presented however with the exception of Kinect Sports (which shipped about 6 million units) all the other Rare games under Microsoft struggled to reach much more than 1 million units (Perfect Dark Zero being probably the best selling game only because it was a launch game in a genre strong on Xbox).

 

[Space_nut]

So many amazing games! Can't pick one

 

[PantsuJo]

This.

But we should post the Japanese cover, honestly. (can't do it, on mobile)

 

[Transistor]

Donkey Kong Country 2. There's no other answer

 

[sleepnaught]

Goldeneye or Perfect Dark. Banjo and DKC are right up there though.

 

[dietdracula]

This.

But we should post the Japanese cover, honestly. (can't do it, on mobile)

I got you.

 

[Zelmardonpoktendo]

Banjo-Kazooie and DKC2 are their greatest triumphs, I say.

YUSSSS

 

[Servbot24]

Donkey Kong Country 2 and there's no competition. BK is nice but I never really synced with the vibe of it. Goldeneye just outright sucks, the popularity of that game is one of the strangest things in gaming to me.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

 

[batman2million]

Perfect Dark. So much time playing the mutliplayer.

 

[Piers]

Donkey Kong Country 2 and there's no competition.

DKC1 gives it some pretty good one for me. I don't personally like the stage designs or flow in the sequel compared to the first.

 

[Firebrand]

Snake Rattle n Roll.

 

[t1gerjaw]

Hard to choose, but my favorite is Conker Live and Reloaded. I really like Star Fox Adventures followed by Perfect Dark, Goldeneye, and both Banjos too.

 

[Baraka Obama]

Banjo Kazooie and perfect dark at a close second

 

[Cleve]

Viva Pinata easily, the only rare franchise I care for at all.

 

[Archtreyz]

Donkey Kong Country 2 and there's no competition. BK is nice but I never really synced with the vibe of it. Goldeneye just outright sucks, the popularity of that game is one of the strangest things in gaming to me.

At the time, Goldeneye was fantastic. But that game by no means holds up today.

 

[ASaiyan]

It's an improvement on the Banjo formula and I will gladly die in battle for that claim, lol.

 

[Keinning]

It's an improvement on the Banjo formula

"You know all those collectibles? Wouldn't be fun if you needed to change characters every five minutes to get them for arbitrary reasons"

 

[Zenner]

The best surprise for me on the Rare Replay collection was Kameo: Elements of Power - really liked this one.

Over their lifetime, though, going with Donkey Kong Country.

 

[HF2014]

Golden Eye. This game made me want a N64. Simple as that.

 

[HF2014]

I got you.

First time i see this cover. Its seriously fuckin amazing.

 

[ASaiyan]

"You know all those collectibles? Wouldn't be fun if you needed to change characters every five minutes to get them for arbitrary reasons"

I know everyone on the planet disagrees with me, lol. But the characters are great and their different mechanics add depth to the game. Switching between them is easy enough when the barrels are everywhere. And more importantly, they don't talk, and they can remember all the jiggies they've collected instead of having to get them all in one go!

Spoiler

I can't wait to get an Xbone and play the version of Banjo that fixes that.

 

[VanCityGamer]

I was super excited to play Rare Replay...it was my chance to finally play the games from the renowned Rare. And then I sampled every single game in the collection. Didn't enjoy a single one of them. I guess Rare isn't for me.

 

[fhqwhgads]

It's Donkey Kong Country 2 and it's absolutely no contest. As someone who adores Rare's output, from the 2d platformers to the 3d platformers, fighting games to shooters, racing games and everything else, DKC2 is IMO a flat out perfect game.

 

[daninthemix]

The fact that there are so many candidates in this thread speaks volume about how great that studio was.

 

[Shil Pencer]

Donkey kong country changed everything

 

[ForkNetwork]

Tooie has the scope, controls and level design. Its a masterpiece.

 

[Machina]

Conker's Bad Fur Day

Refined everything in the two Banjo games plus it was Rare's last Nintendo 64 game, was one of the console's last games to be released and was Mature rated which at the time was rare for Nintendo and it's console's. Awesome game and love the intro. Stupid logo!!! LMAO!!!

The only answer. Conker is infinitely better than Banjo. More refined, more focussed, much less busywork and just all round more fun to play

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

Nuts and Bolts for me without a doubt.
Most of their games have aged pretty badly imo. Probably not a popular opinion but I just can't get into their other famous games. I have not played Viva Pinata though.

 

[fabricated backlash]

This for me is one of the best sequels ever made. It's basically Goldeneye 2 Blade Runner Boogaloo.

It's incredibly packed with content, amazing ground breaking ideas like having a full coop and counter op mode for the campaign, bots with various behaviours... it was unbelievably ambitious, maybe even too much given how it performed.


Also it had a black US president which at the time seemed insanely optimistic to young me.

 

[1morerobot]

OP, interesting choice with SFA. I played it at release but just couldn't finish. I think I was pretty close. Some day I will try to finish that game. There were things I liked, but overall it got too bland iirc.

Perfect Dark for me. The multiplayer options were mind boggling and some of the ideas in that game still haven't been surpassed. Loved it.

Runner up, DKC.

 

[Synth]

Viva Pinata


I don't feel much of Rare's classic output has held up very however. For their time, I would probably nominate GoldenEye or Banjo Kazooie.

 

[tesqui]

Conker! because that's the only one I played when I was younger.

 

[120v]

Goldeneye was pure unadulterated fun. can't really say that about most games Rare or otherwise

missed out on Perfect Dark unfortunately.

 

[Phediuk]

Jetpac or Knight Lore.

 

[stn]

My picks in no order:

Perfect Dark (N64)
Goldeneye (N64)
Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
Donkey Kong Country 2 (SNES)
Banjo-Kazooie (N64)

Rare in its prime was something else.

 

[Tarextherex]

Toss up between Banjo Kazooie and Tooie for me

 

[lakester]

conker bad fur day absolutely

runners up banjo-kazooie and perfect dark

 

[Diddy Kong]

Donkey Kong Country 2 , Banjo-Kazooie, Diddy Kong Racing

 

[kc44135]

The original Banjo-Kazooie.