My thoughts on the Rareware news, and well, basically my philosophy regarding them and the B-K franchise, for what? 15 years now? (That doesn't mean I won't make snarky remarks about videogames lol)
For anyone wanting a longer explanation: I don't really care, they haven't been the Rare I loved for over a decade, 15 years ago maybe. A lot of the brains that made Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong Country, Perfect Dark, Conker, and Battletoads. They are all gone, they worked in other studios, they formed their own brands, or they moved on from videogames all together. Platonic tried to be a replacement for Rare with ex-employees. And even tho I love Yooka-Laylee, they fucked it up, they don't even have what it has to make a good Banjo-Kazooie game anymore. Some Rare ex-emplyees left again this new studio, some remained. They made Yooka-Laylee and The Impossible Lair. It was a great game, the true DKC4 for me, but it didn't sell enough, so even more brains left, and the new team left? They aren't the same Rare at Playtonic. They then remade Yooka-Laylee, they gave up with Banjo-Kazooie and made it a Mario Odyssey clone instead. They gave in to the new tropes of gaming even if that meant losing their identity again. So even at Playtonic, I won't find what made Rare special.
Rare at Microsoft? It's was conducted by people who didn't care about the past. They refuse again and again to make a new game with their old IPs, at most giving smaller ones to other teams but now we know, that they refused to let anyone touch Banjo-Kazooie because they knew they would never escape the shadow of that franchise, because it was Rare's magnum opus and they hate that. They hate that they never managed to make something bigger and better than the older staff did, even the director of the original B-K, Gregg Mayles, refused to make another one, to not live in its shadow, but it's that shadow what had allowe Rare to continue to exist for more time than it should now under Activision's umbrella, because you know well it's because they want a hold on those IPs.
Perhaps my recounts have wholes in them, I am mostly a Banjo-Kazooie fan, I am not a Rareware / Playtonic hystorian. But that'w what I remember so far for how things have gone down for Rare up to this point.
Now, Activation? Yeah, they are evil, we all know it, but they do make games, and they do push for new entries, of course not for love, but to make money. They did it with Crash and Spyro less than a decade ago, so... Will they do a Banjo-Kazooie game? Yes, will there never truly be a suitable sequel or remake to Kazooie? Naturally: No. Will I care? No, I am not even sure I will buy it, most likely not (Since I expect it to have a similar case to my reaction to Bananza).
But Rare for me is what it was. It was my childhood, the original teams built something I hold dear to my heart. It's the games I have played the most in my entire life, and I am thankful for that. I am glad I got to experience those games at their age and their prime. I love Rare for what it is. I love Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong Country and Conker for what they are, not what they aren't or won't be. I learned to move on, and as the gaming world continues to shift, entertainment in general really, I suggest people to do the same, and maybe, instead of holding onto past grudges or letting them leave a bitter aftertaste, it is better to cherish those memories and revisit those old games whenever nostalgia strikes; but more importantly, it is about moving forward, embracing new experiences, and appreciating them for what they are. I have found my own niche in indie games—titles created by people who clearly love these games, and many others, just as much as I do.
Will I continue to mock games like always? Hell yeah, because to me, it's both a way to show I love those games, and to the ones I don't, my way to show my criticisms, because I am a human being, I feel, I learn and I share my feelings when I want to, however I want to, but that doesn't mean I will be stuck just complaining, because when I am not making dumb content here? I am reliving the best moments of my childhood every now and then, and creating new moments for myself, moments worth continue to live for.
(Gaming news are too fast to keep on with drawings lol)
![Classic Blaze Outcome Memories - 2026 [C]](https://sf.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/6171/6171127_CABEZILLA142_classic_blaze_fire.jpg "Classic Blaze Outcome Memories - 2026 [C]")
