Top 5 Rare characters who stood the test of time
by Lerako on Oct 14th, 2011
Akin to the general elderly population, videogame characters are prone to losing their edge and desperately clinging to a world that sees them no longer relevant, sorry Nana. Life in virtual space is like one big race, and if you can’t keep up you’ll be left behind with the times for sure.
For some characters in the Rare universe however, the harking back to the “Good old days” doesn’t seem to apply, as these immortal icons still live on decades past their intial appearances to remain relevant in modern times, with many “Good old days” to be had, oddly enough. While they might not be as prolific as the infamous mustachioed Plumber, they’ve still got plenty of juice left and won’t let a little thing like console jumping get in the way of their remakes and reduxes – even if they’re separated by entire console generations. These guys aren’t going to let the passage of time get ahead of them, not when there’s originality and innovation still to be had we reckon! These are the Top 5 Rare Characters who have stood the test of time.
#5. MR. PANTS – RARES RUBBISH MASCOT (1997)
Back when Rare first embarked on the World Wide Web back in the late nineties to showcase their SNES and N64 titles, they were sorely lacking a mascot that they could tack on to their Mailbag features and spruce things up. Lacking support from the art staf, community manager of then-and-now Leigh Loveday created his pantschild, Mr. Pants to fill the void with his rotund frame and brilliant red underwear. While other corporations seem to change their mascots every other weekend, Mr. Pants clung on for the ride, leaving the world of cyberspace to appear as cameo in a multitude of Rare titles including Banjo-Tooie, Jet Force Gemini and Grabbed by the Ghoulies before starring in his very own rubbish adventure, It’s Mr. Pants on Gameboy Advance. Imagine being taken in at Rare as an artist, only to be told you’ll be pouring yourself into a doodle that was created over a decade ago in about 30 seconds. Loveday had his revenge that day it would seem, and his appalling use of underpants would be felt ever since.
#4. SABREMAN – TRULY FROM A GOLDEN AGE (1984)
Everyones favorite lovable lycanthrope, Sabreman would go onto appear in the first and only serial of works by Ultimate: Play the Game. Released through 1984 to 1986, the Sabreman saga consisted of four titles, namely Sabrewulf, Underwurlde, Knightlore, and Pentagram with another in the works called Mire Mare. Things looked rather grim after Ultimate was sold to U.S Gold spelling the end of the saga and seemingly the future appearance of the isometric icon. While Mire Mare would never see the light of day, Sabreman soon found himself pawing his way back into the hearts of a new generation of gamers with his appearance in Banjo-Tooie. While his true comeback was planned for the ill-fated Sabreman Stampede on Gamecube, the ancient explorer saw his adventuring roots rekindled on Sabrewulf for the Gameboy Advance, which was released precisely 20 years after his first adventure of the same name.
#3. DONKEY KONG – ANIMAL ANTIQUES (1981)
Everyone knows that Donkey Kong started off with the Great Girder Grapple with Mario back in the Arcade days, but as the Ape was neglected for the young upstart that dodged his barrels he was essentially abandoned for seven years before Rare was tasked with rebuilding the Kong, bigger, faster, and stronger than before! Thus the world was turned on its side for Donkey Kong Country a visual splendor with impressive audio that thrust the Ape back into public view. After a successful string of sequels for the SNES, and Gameboy the Ape took an impressive leap to the Nintendo 64 where a new generation of gamers would be introduced to the DK Crew. Although Donkey now resides with Nintendo, this didn’t stop Rare from remaking their original Donkey Kong Country trilogy on Gameboy Advance. Donkey Kong lives on to this day, with the burly Ape appearing in Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii. Shine on you crazy Donkey!
#2. JAMES BOND – THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN RUN (1997)
Arguably the best title for the Nintendo 64 outside of Rare’s other lineup of stellar hits, Goldeneye 007 defined what made up the First Person Shooter and we can attest to many a sleepless night up with friends touring the Facility and swearing at Oddjob. For such a celebrated hit, it’s certainly met a lot of pitfalls once the license had left Rare’s hands. While the lackluster followup Tomorrow Never Dies failed in its execution, other titles hoped to cash in on the Goldeneye name alone with the appallingly awful Goldeneye: Rouge Agent. While Rare was hard at work with their own XBLA enhanced port of Goldeneye legal issues prevented them from releasing the nearly finished game and for the time it would appear as though the hopefuls would be shaken, but never stirred. Fortunately, an updated remake of Goldeneye was released on the Wii in 2010 with a further enhanced remake for PS3 and Xbox 360. Incredible how Rares original still manages to hold up and deliver today!
#1. JETPAC – REFUELLED AND READY TO GO (1983)
Before Sabreman had even began as a thought, Chris and Tim Stamper worked laboriously on their first title called Jetpac which would become the first in a long line of incredibly innovative titles from Ultimate. While Jetpac did garner a sequel in the same year dubbed Lunar Jetman, the U.S Gold Buyout seemed to put Jetpac in a similar ship with Sabrewulf and continuation of the series seemed unlikely. Things would begin to look up however, as Donkey Kong 64 saw the original Jet Pac title in its entirety ported as a minigame that could be played at any time. While the reintroduction of the title after 16 years absence was well received by fans, it was only a taste of untold things to come. As a testament to solid programing and untouched design, Jetpac Refuelled was released in 2007, showcasing a brilliant new body, but still recognizably retro underneath all the newfangled bells and whistles. Celebrated as Rares first title those many years ago, Jetpac has remained timeless nearly a quarter century after its conception.
/a other lineup of stellar hits,
Categories: Top 5 Lists
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