Without reservation, I submit Rare Replay is the most important bundle of all time. The 30 games released over the past three decades illustrate how Rare Ware has refused to be pigeon-holed at any point in time. From basic retro/arcade games like Jetpac to substantially more complex opuses such as Kameo. You may not enjoy every game and you likely won’t finish most of them but the narrative and archival nature of this package, coupled with its undeniable value through dozens of top-tier games, make this the easiest purchasing recommendation I’ve ever given.
Admittedly, a few of these games are quite tough to stomach and you’ll probably skip a few. Yet, Rare doesn’t shy away from the titles that didn’t age well. In fact, Snapshots highlights every game in bite-sized portions through mini-game challenges. It is thanks to Snapshots that I can play levels of Battletoads I’ve never seen before. If you’ve played NES Remix on WiiU or 3DS, you get an idea of what to expect from Snapshots. It’s a brilliant addition and actually how I prefer to play most of the older games.
As you progress through Rare Replay, you’ll conquer “Milestones” which are like in-game Achievements. The only difference is the Milestones are used to unlock behind-the-scenes Featurettes to dive even deeper into the history of how the games were made. One of my favorite was the piece about Battletoads Arcade and how the developers programmed the final boss. I won’t spoil it but the way Rare has found a way around technological limitations has acted as a springboard for creative solutions over the past 30 years.
From the main screen, you can sort all 30 titles alphabetically in ascending or descending order. But I highly recommend sorting by release date and sampling each game for at least 10 minutes. With each passing experience, you’ll discover that every game has traits or mechanics that iterate upon experiments in a previous game, regardless of genre. This is the source of my fascination with Rare Replay. Learning how Jetpac influenced Solar Jetman and discovering the similarities between Jet Force Gemini and Perfect Dark make this bundle as wonderful to play as it is to discover.
Rare is such a prolific developer, as I’ve learned, that Rare Replay has at least one game that would singularly justify the $30 price of admission – no matter what type of game you like. Shooters, adventure, arcade, fighting, and platforming. Sure, RPG’s are a little under-served but the entire package is like a giant meta-game. Milestones, Stamps, Snapshot Galleries and Playlists, and let’s not forget 10,000 available Gamerscore all make for an enormous world in which to spend hundreds of hours.
We also get a glimpse at how the Xbox 360 backwards compatibility works on Xbox One. Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark Zero, and Viva Piñata are among a few that are actually the Xbox 360 games running in backwards compatibility. This is a clever roll-out of the impressive engineering feat and establishes confidence for any non-Xbox One Preview Members that it actually works.
Unfortunately, it fragments the Rare Replay experience a little and I particularly had problems with Jet Force Gemini. For the older games, pressing Menu for a few seconds prompts the Rare Replay menu and allows for easy navigation in and out of each title. But for the newer games, the OS actually changes to the Xbox 360 operating system and the same button commands will shut the game down and you’ll lose your progress. With Jet Force Gemini, there are alternative control options within the Rare Replay menu which override the in-game options. This isn’t an insurmountable obstacle but I found it to be a little cumbersome.
This would have taken away from the overall presentation, and likely would have meant missing the glorious Snapshots, but pinning each title to the Xbox One home-screen would be a nice touch. You can pin the Xbox 360 titles (you’ll need the Rare Replay disc if you’re running the retail version) but I’d actually prefer that option for the smaller titles to quickly jump into without the bundle’s introduction. Again, this is an extremely minor gripe and actually speaks to how well everything else is handled, I can hardly think of an ything else that should have been done differently.
Final Verdict
Rare Replay exemplifies the studio’s ability to translate raw, creative talent into charming, addictive, and innovative gaming experiences. When text-based games were the norm, Jetpac gave us “incredible graphics” and when 2D meant side-scrolling, Rare went isometric with Gunfright.
In a time where studio closures seem to be announced every other day, this is a wonderful celebration of a long-successful developer. Unless you dislike video games, I suggest you run out and grab Rare Replay immediately. For a quick glance at my thoughts on each game, check out my review-by-tweet Rare Replay Review: 30 Hit Games in 140 Characters.
