How British software legend Rare Ltd. went from adored Nintendo second-party developer to sitting duck at Microsoft is a question many have wondered. Outside of the Xbox's inability to crack Japan two console generations in a row, Microsoft biggest failure is getting Rare to publish high quality games like Donkey Kong Country and GoldenEye on Nintendo's console years ago.
Instead, its stuck creating lukewarm Kinect and Viva Piñata games. This week, Phil Spencer of Microsoft said that Rare would be rebooting one of its classic franchise on the Xbox One along with the possibility of an E3 showing. Many have looked toward Killer Instinct as a sure thing since the release of 1996's Killer Instinct Gold, a watered down yet still enjoyable Nintendo 64 port of Killer Instinct 2. Looking over Rare's complete body of work over the decades, there are many legendary franchises that it could revive. Here are five:
Battletoads (The Arcade Version)
Not only an incredibly difficult and visually stunning game released on the original NES, Battletoads has been dormant for almost 20 years. The series has garnered some interesting sequels including a crossover with Technos' Double Dragon series but there's one that stands out like an incredibly sore thumb.
1994's Super Battletoads
Not only is Super Battletoads a precursor to the dark humor that wouldn't be displayed by Rare until Nintendo's N64 late release of Conker's Bad Fur Day but it's still a blast to play till this day (thanks to some emulators). It's brutally violent, crass and all wrapped in Rare's superb art design. Wouldn't it be great for Rare to release a "AAA" co-op fighter staring the awesome Rash, Pimple and Zitz? Of course it would.
Jet Force Gemini
Without Jet Force Gemini, many contemporary third-person shooters of today wouldn't have made the hip-to-aim transition a mandatory standard. The "save all the Tribals" thing and the peppery difficulty put a dent into what's essentially a phenomenal experience but it also shows something that Rare could accomplish with Nintendo that it couldn't through Microsoft. It was the ability to create original games that were incredibly mature in design but accessible enough to be loved by everyone.
Conker's Bad Fur Day
There isn't a game that blended smart yet boorish comedy with gameplay as perfectly as Conker's Bad Fur Day. Who remembers the "Mighty Poo" song. Microsoft had Rare remake it for the Xbox in 2005 with Conker:Live and Reloaded but, it lacked the punch of the 2001 original. It's been more than ten years since the original was surprisingly released under the censored umbrella of Nintendo. Considering an industry that's starting to tackle seriously mature themes and philosophies, it's be nice to have some classic satirization.
Captain Skyhawk
BattleToads was beautiful but Captain Skyhawk was unparalleled on NES. At times, it looked like an early Mode 7 SNES game. Between this and Donkey Kong Country, Captain Skyhawk proved that Rare could squeeze a console's graphic ability to an unnatural limit. If Rare is given the time and energy, Microsoft could have its own answer to Ace Combat.
Cobra Triangle
Outside of Midway's Hydro Thunder games, there hasn't been a truly amazing boat racing game or sim that's caught the masses like its four-wheeled counterparts. While many developers are looking to how to make humans look more realistic in both Xbox One and Playstation 3, there hasn't been any talk of how next-gen water is going to look. So what if Cobra Triangle is just R.C. Pro-Am in water, it was awesome in every way imaginable.
What else could Rare premier at E3? Let us know.
