The moment that Rare Replay was announced at E3 2015 during Microsoft’s press conference, I immediately lost my mind. Not only was Rare studios my favorite developer as a child, they still remain one of my favorites as an adult. With titles such as Perfect Dark, Conkers Bad Fur Day, Banjo Kazooie, Battletoads and many others, this composition of 30 games over 30 years seemed like a dream come true for a gamer like me.
The install process was very strange. After I popped the game into my console, I was greeted with install prompts for the actual Rare Replay game, along with many other installs, most of which were for the larger, more modern titles. Unfortunately the full install totals at 50 GB of hard drive space.
I decided to manually raise install priority to the actual Rare Replay install while others were in queue including Perfect Dark Zero, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts and a few others. This allowed me to play some other Rare titles as the other, more lengthy games, were pending in queue.
As the main menu loads, players are greeted with a silly, yet completely corky showtunes intro song. Commemorating 3o years in the industry, the intro number features some of our favorite video game characters in classic Rare style which is silly, yet somehow still adult.
As a huge fan of the series, I decided to try my luck with Conkers Bad Fur Day. I was aching for its inappropriate humor and beer guzzling, sexual innuendoes. After it loaded, I received a prompt warning for its sexual and suggestive themes, with a chuckle and a grin, I proceeded further.
Although I love Conkers Bad Fur Day, I was disappointed to see that I was limited to inverted camera controls. I also felt distracted with the Rare border surrounding the game’s frame. This extremely limited me from enjoying the full widescreen experience.
Unfortunately, just like Conkers Bad Fur Day, all of the games in the Rare Replay collection are framed with Rare themed borders which limit the size of the screen and can be somewhat distracting at the game’s start up. This along with the large install size is a large setback for players.
One game I was extremely aching to play was Conker: Live & Reloaded and I was extremely disappointed to find that this game was missing from the collection. I had hoped that I would be able to jump back into those hilariously fun matches with my friends, playing dinosaurs versus teddy bears, kicking ass and taking names.
Other than a few minor setbacks, the overall collection is extremely fun to play and rings in an extreme amount of nostalgia for fans of the studio. While most things have been catered to fit the streamline style of the collection, most elements to the games have remained the same and are simple to jump back into with save slots available for each title.
The most impressive attribute to Rare Replay by far is its overwhelming value. For only $29.99, players have access to 30 amazing games. This is great for new Xbox One owners and those who are looking for something to get lost in. If you’re looking for something enjoyable, affordable and nostalgic, look no further because Rare Replay is just for you.
This review of Rare Replay is based on a digital review copy for the Xbox One which was paid for out of pocket.
