Although their output hasn’t been as large or (in my opinion) as strong in the past few years, it is hard to deny that Rare have enjoyed a strong history in the video game industry since they developed Jetpac (As Ultimate Play the Game) in 1983. From delivering some of the most memorable platformer games in the 90’s and 00’s, to developing a large catalog of memorable retro games from past generations, they have successfully left a lasting impression on the market.
With Rare celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, its parent company Microsoft Studios have decided to release a special anniversary collection titled Rare Replay – giving players access to 30 of their older and newer games from 1983 – 2008 at a very reasonable price. Although this collection lacks some of Rare’s finer works which were created using IP currently owned by Nintendo (Eg. Donkey Kong 64) or based on other franchises (Eg. GoldenEye 007), this anthology of titles offers potentially hundreds of hours of gameplay and a whopping 10,000 Gamerscore points to unlock.
Ultimately there are some games which are better than others (although this would be a matter of perspective), and each comes with a varying play time. Those who love classic games could find themselves whiling away the hours with as many rounds of Battletoads as they desire, while gamers from the 90’s may find themselves dedicating time nostalgically collecting all 100 Jiggies and 900 Notes in Banjo-Kazooie as they may have done seventeen or so years ago in 1998. With such an array of titles on offer, you can easily jump between titles at your leisure, with some of the older games even having additional bite-sized challenges known as “Snapshots” introduced to spice things up. Especially with regard to the retro games, you are treated to an interesting variety of game styles ranging from those that are easy to approach, to some which come across as experimental/unique and do take some time to wrap your head around.
It is important to note that despite Rare Replay being released on the Xbox One, none of the 30 titles have been remade for this version, and they as they did when they were originally released (or re-released with regards to titles like Banjo-Kazooie/Banjo-Tooie). Many of the games are still presented in 4:3 with an individually themed border, while the newer Xbox 360 / Xbox Live Arcade releases are pretty much the same as when they were originally released – without any notable enhancements. While the games may have not changed, Rare Replay presents a satisfying “hall of fame”-esque user interface when scrolling through and loading the games, provides some extra content to enjoy when you seek some downtime from playing games, and introduces a couple of nifty features for older titles. These features include automated saves and the ability to rewind the game for a limited time to rectify any catastrophic mistakes made during gameplay.
Most of the games run flawlessly, and provided they are to your taste, should provide both an entertaining and trouble-free experience. It should be noted however that there were the occasional lag spikes in select games, most notably Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. Given that the Xbox 360 games seem to be running through an emulator, it could be possible that these slowdowns will be rectified or at least minimized as work continues on getting Backwards Compatibility to all Xbox One consoles this November.
In my opinion, Rare Replay is worth its $49.99 AUD price point, with each game setting you back just $1.66 each. Whether you want to experience the simpler yet still surprisingly sophisticated gameplay styles prior to your time or wish to go down memory lane and spend hours playing from decades past, this anthology offers an extensive compilation of content. It serves as a true testament to the creativity and success that Rare has presented in the past. But, time will tell if that spark will continue for another thirty years.
Final Score: A
