RARE was once the staple company for Nintendo. Having such classic hits on their resume as Jetpack, Donkey Kong Country and Goldeneye, the company has a history of success. Despite their vast history, ever since being bought out by Microsoft, they are pretty much non-existent and their titles are lackluster. They have potential for such hits, but have thus far simply not made them. If they desire to become relevant in the gaming industry once more, these 3 titles could push them up to new heights and get them recognized once more.
After Goldeneye was a huge success on the Nintendo 64, they followed up with a successor called Perfect Dark. Taking what Goldeneye offered, but expanded upon with a brand new franchise, new characters, much more in depth game play and more immersive multiplayer that included co-op. The game was an instant hit that turned shooters into more than just a game of shooting everything on the screen, but also included espionage, a list of gadgets, and allowed friends to work together towards a collective goal or fail together. The series then sat silent until the release of the the Xbox 360 prequel. The prequel gave more life to the franchise but was a huge disappointment to the fans of the series due to its poor choice of graphics style and choppy gameplay. They managed to turn a highly hyped game into a barely passable game. What they did manage to do though was to get a small online presence and expand the universe. Shooters have also come a long way since then, so it only makes since for them to come back with a good follow up to the original N64 classic. The remake was good, now it is time for a new game that takes those elements with brand new graphics, and multiplayer elements that have made other games so sought after.
Conker is another game that first debuted in the N64 era. Since its release, the squirrel has gone to nothing but a remake and some vague mentions in side games. Platformers still have a place in the gaming community, as demonstrated by Nintendo’s success. The company is even allowed making games for the handheld devices, so it is time to perhaps scale back the ridiculous and not funny british humor and harmful substance references and take the fun platformer aspects of the game and make a true sequel. Even a side scroller in 3-d could probably see success and give RARE at least one recent hit.
Viva Pinata was a creative attempt to build an entirely new franchise. Having seen 2 attempts in the current generation to have some success, but not exactly seeing it pay off, perhaps a 3rd attempt is due. The first two had redeeming elements as the player took control of an empty yard and proceeded to landscape it and then attract new creatures in the form of pinatas. These games offered new unique aspects to sandbox games, but the excessive push for being involved too much and being able to too easily get things out of control, the game lost many who would normally enjoy such a game. Open world games are popular and looking at Pokemon, games with such characters are popular. What isn’t popular is taking those elements and adding in a complicated control scheme with no real defined objectives. A new entry of the series that uses these ideas but expands upon the game play in a more simple but goal oriented manner could attract an audience and even lead to a toy and collectible marketing push.
