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With the Xbox One’s Rare Replay collection, Rare was able to share making-of videos that offered new insights into the creation of classic games. When it comes to Banjo-Kazooie, the developer said there were additional facts about the creation of the game that didn’t make it into the release. To help educate fans and share these extra stories, Rare has released a video that goes over five things people probably didn’t know about Banjo-Kazooie.

The twelve minute video covers a number of topics, starting with a discussion as to how Banjo-Kazooie’s musical intro was created. It also talks things carried over from Dream, offers information about the character’s voices and audio, a lost adventure starring Tooty, and how in-jokes ended up influencing the game.

Rare Replay is immediately available for the Xbox One.

The post Rare Shares An Anecdotal Banjo-Kazooie Video appeared first on Siliconera.

In Rare’s latest edition of Rare Revealed, the developer talked about Dream, a SNES RPG that could have been. The concept later led to the studio developing Banjo-Kazooie for the Nintendo 64. During this nine and a half minute video, however, Designer Gregg Mayles, Artist Ed Bryan, and Engineer Paul Machacek talk about their experiences working on Dream and Banjo-Kazooie, while preliminary footage from the project is shown.

Dream would have been an isometric RPG using Donkey Kong Country's technology and inspired by JRPGs and LucasArts' adventures. It would have followed a boy named Edson and Dinger, his pet dog. The duo would travel the world, trying to keep pirates from collecting “Floaty,” a material that would essentially allow them to create a fleet of airships. Both Edson and Dinger had their own abilities, with Edson wielding a sword and attacking and Dinger being able to dig up objects and do his own things.

However, the switching of attention from the Super Nintendo to the Nintendo 64 meant Dream dying. Development continued on it for 16 more months, during which time it evolved. Edson was replaced with Banjo, who started out as a rabbit, and eventually something the developers considered “too ambitious” to with which Rare was more familiar. Eventually, Dream became Banjo-Kazooie.

More information on Banjo-Kazooie’s creation is talked about in Rare Replay, which is immediately available for the Xbox One.

The post Dream Would Have Been Rare’s Super Nintendo RPG appeared first on Siliconera.

At the end of last week, rumors suggested Rare Replay could find a new home. The collection resides on Microsoft’s Xbox One, but on December 7 the Microsoft Studios Twitter said to ask Rare for a port for the Nintendo Wii U. Rare has come forward to squash the thought.

On Twitter, the official statement from Rare said, “Lots of Qs about Wii U! But #RareReplay’s exclusive to Xbox One, and we’re hard at work on Sea of Thieves. Appreciate the enthusiasm though!” The announcement confirms the collection will remain a Xbox One exclusive, as originally intended.

Rare Replay is a collection of 30 Rare games. Of those, 16 originally appeared on Nintendo consoles.

Rare Replay has been available for the Xbox One since

The post Rare Replay Won’t Come To The Wii U appeared first on Siliconera.

Each year, Microsoft releases holiday console bundles to give shoppers looking for a new console a chance to get a system and some games. This year, one of the Xbox One holiday bundles is a 1TB system that includes the Rare Replay collection.

The Xbox One 1TB Holiday Bundle comes with a system that includes a 1TB hard drive and a wireless Xbox One controller. It also comes with Rare Replay, a collection of 30 Rare games, and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition on a disc. A of Ori and the Blind Forest rounds out the bundle.

The Rare Replay Xbox One 1TB Holiday Bundle s the Rise of the Tomb Raider bundle, which includes a 500GB system, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, and Rise of the Tomb Raider as part of Microsoft’s holiday bundle lineup.

The Rare Replay Xbox One 1TB Holiday Bundle will be released on October 27, according to the Microsoft Store, and will cost $399.

The post Rare Replay Is Part Of The Xbox One 1TB Holiday Bundle appeared first on Siliconera.

Conker the Squirrel, one of Rare’s many mascot characters, has only received four official games. Not including the Conker’s Big Reunion Pack for the Xbox One’s Project Spark, the squirrel has starred in Conker’s Pocket Tales, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, and Conker: Live & Reloaded. But now, Rare has revealed he almost also appeared in Conker: Gettin’ Medieval.

As part of the Rare Replay follow-up, Rare has released a Conker: Gettin Medieval Concept Showcase video that takes about five minutes to look at an online multiplayer game that might have been. It would have been a cooperative, competitive game with teams where Death was going to be the main character. The Future War characters would have received medieval counterparts and appeared in the game, with much of the video devoted to concept art.

Conker: Gettin Medieval isn’t available, but the Rare Replay collection is. It is immediately available for the Xbox One.

The post Rare Releases Conker: Gettin’ Medieval Concept Showcase Video appeared first on Siliconera.

The Rare Replay collection isn’t only a grouping of 30 games from the developer for the Xbox One. It’s also a historical piece offering insight into the studio. As people play, they can unlock supplemental content, with some being Previously Unseen documentaries highlighting games that were never created.

The Rare Replay videos feature one of the of Rare describing the project while concept art and prototype videos roll.

XCageGame has unlocked all of the Rare Replay videos, so people who don’t have the time to accomplish such a goal don’t have to.

Black Widow

The Fast and the Furriest

Kameo 2

Sundown

Tailwind

Rare Replay is immediately available for the Xbox One.

The post See Rare’s Unreleased Kameo 2 And Sundown appeared first on Siliconera.

Rare Replay has plenty for Battletoads fans to be excited about. "We got the NES version [of Battletoads], but we also have an arcade version that was never released on consoles before. It was released quite widely in the arcades in Europe, but very limited in the US. It's a virtually unseen game," said Drew Quakenbush, Studio Operations Director, in an interview with Siliconera. Unfortunately, Battletoads in Battlemaniacs and Battletoads & Double Dragon, a crossover game developed with Billy and Jimmy Lee, are not included.

The NES version of Battletoads has a couple of tweaks in Rare Replay. Quakenbush showed us a rewind feature that rewinds the game back seven seconds or so with a VCR-like effect. This should make some of Battletoads most difficult parts such as the dreaded Turbo Tunnel easier to complete. "For these older games, they're really difficult," Quakenbush added. "You forget how difficult these games are to play. Your reactions have to be so quick, so we put in the rewind feature in some of the older games so you can rewind and have a go again." Battletoads also has options for a faux CRT display or uprezzed sprites. Moving the right analog stick up or down toggles between these modes.

"We also created snapshots, what we think are the best moments of the earlier games. For Battletoads we made a snapshot of the Turbo Tunnel, so it's an infinite turbo tunnel, a turbo tunnel that never ends. We made 64 of those. It's good for one refreshing your memory on how to play these games and two to challenge yourself."

Another Rare classic included in the collection is Conker's Bad Fur Day, a Nintendo 64 title with a fluffy squirrel mascot character and The Great Mighty Poo. Quakenbush confirmed the version in Rare Replay is uncensored and they did not take out anything from the original release. Conker: Live & Reloaded, a remake for the original Xbox, is not included.

Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie are included in Rare Replay. Players will be able to choose to play the original Nintendo 64 releases or the remastered versions made for Xbox 360. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts which Rare made for Xbox 360 is also in Rare Replay.

Rare Replay also has a DVD-like extra with an hour of behind the scenes video footage with past and present developers. This featurette has never before seen artwork and a look at some prototypes Rare developed. Some videos are unlocked right away and others are unlocked later on.

Rare Replay is scheduled to come out on August 4 for Xbox One.

The post Battletoads Has Instant Rewind, Infinite Turbo Tunnel Mode In Rare Replay appeared first on Siliconera.

Rare Replay, a compilation of 30 Rare games, will be available for Xbox One on August 4th, Microsoft announced this morning at their E3 2015 conference. Rare Replay will cost $30, and you can watch a trailer for it below.

The post Rare Replay Collects 30 Rare Games For Xbox One appeared first on Siliconera.