Top 6 Ultimate: Play The Game References
While we’re all familiar with the dropping of ‘ware’ in Rareware in the early 2000’s, the truth of the matter is that the Rare we know and love has gone through quite an identity crisis over the years. Starting off as Ashby Computer Graphics, founding brothers Chris and Tim Stamper set forth developing stellar titles on the ZX Spectrum, a home computer that could be used to make and play video games. Creating their first Space shooter fare, Jet Pac in 1983, the Stamper Brothers released the title under the trade name Ultimate: Play the Game which would go on to become synonymous with technical feats of innovation and quality entertainment. They would go on to release 22 games over the course of just four years before changing their name to Rare: Designs for the Future in 1987. While this meant the end for Ultimate: Play the Game, their legacy wasn’t about to fade into obscurity, and even today Rare continues to pay tribute to their titles from this era. We’ve scoured our cartridges and discs to bring you the Top 6 Ultimate: Play the Game Rare References.
#6. FROM THE CELLAR TO THE ATIC – BANJO-KAZOOIE (N64)
Released in 1998, Banjo-Kazooie introduced players to tropical beaches, winter wonderlands and massive haunted mansions during the course of the adventure of the titular Bear and Bird duo. While exploring these worlds would seem new to the player, the subject of a haunted house romp would seem familiar to anyone who played previous Ultimate: Play the Game title Atic Atac released in 1983 which would see players trapped inside a haunted castle tasked with finding the Key of A.C.G (Remember Rare’s founding name above). Inside one of the castles rooms was a large wine barrel inscribed with the date 1881 against the wall. For those with keen eyes, this barrel would appear multiple times within the cellar of Mad Monster Mansion in Banjo-Kazooie.
#5. SIMIAN ON THE SPECTRUM – DONKEY KONG 64 (N64)
Prior to the events of Donkey Kong 64 the cantankerous ramblings of Cranky Kong were entirely subjective; we could only imagine that the games from the ‘good old days’ were clearly better, and what it might feel like to get a cane rapping across the head. But once the Apes Expansion Packed Adventure hit shelves players were tasked with collecting 15 Banana Medals to unlock Cranky’s secret game of Jet Pac inside his laboratory, a fantastic nod to the Stamper Brothers first collaborative title released under Ultimate. The game had been slightly modified, offering up a mandatory Rareware Coin once players had surpassed 5000 points, a heady challenge that many players became stuck on. Perhaps modern gamers are as soft as year old bananas…
#4. ALIENATE 80’S SPACE JUNK – BANJO-KAZOOIE: NUTS & BOLTS (XBOX 360)
It’s quite incredible what will turn up in the dark recesses of space; an abandoned satellite for instance, or several copies of Killer Instinct III left to float around for an eternity. It should herald as no surprise then that a bunch of Space Junk from the 1980’s have reappeared in the Terrarium of Terror world of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. Specifically, if you speak to Humba Wumba in Act 2 of the Terrarium she’ll task you with flinging a heap of ‘worthless Space Junk from the 1980’s’ out the airlock. If you stop to take a look however, you’ll soon see that one games trash is another games treasure. The U1 Rocket is the assembled efforts of the player in the aforementioned Jet Pac, and the large Robot is from space survival title Alien 8 released in 1985.
#3. SABREMANS STAMP HEEDED – BANJO-TOOIE (N64)
In Ultimate’s first serial of works, the Sabreman series starred a lone explorer who must collect certain artifacts to procure an exit. The first title, SabreWulf branched off to Underwurlde, before continuing to one of the three exits leading to their own games; Knight Lore, Pentagram and the unreleased Mire Mare. The quest didn’t end there however as Sabreman soon found himself frozen in Banjo-Tooie after Sabrewulf had chased him across the Icy region of Hailfire Peaks in 2000. Once Sabreman has been thawed and revived he’ll go on to tell players that he hails from a ‘golden age’ and something about ‘riding a dolphin in his next adventure’, a cheeky aside to the cancelled game Sabreman Stampede on Gamecube.
#2. WHAT’S IN AN ULTIMATE NAME? – SABRE WULF (GAMEBOY ADVANCE)
If a man wearing nothing but a pair of bright red underpants and a bowler hat can land his own title on the Gameboy Advance, what’s stopping a classic hero like Sabreman from making a comeback? Well, nothing it would seem, as he’s got a chance to relive the golden age on Sabrewulf released in 2004. But what good is a comeback if you’re not about to rehash the past? Indeed Sabrewulf did feature a number of references that only Ultimate standbys would understand, such as the Shopkeeper named Cookie or the Mayors Atic Atac carpet. But perhaps the most notorious of these cameos are the town names, which feature eight Ultimate titles in their name, such as Underwurlde Mines, Entombed Swamp and Mount Knightlore to name a few.
#1. GHOULISH SPECTRUM GAMES – GRABBED BY THE GHOULIES (XBOX)
Following in the footsteps of Atic Atac, a proper haunted house romp can be found in Grabbed by the Ghoulies. While the scenario is similar in both titles, if Ghoulies protagonist Cooper had been an Ultimate aficionado he would never want to leave Ghoulhaven Hall. Case in point, if you reach the Game Room you’ll find a half dozen posters adorning the walls including Knight Lore, Underwurlde, Jet Pac, Gunfright, Sabrewulf, Atic Atac, Cookie and Alien 8. Further Xbox Game cases also appear in this room touting remastered ports of SabreWulf and Atic Atac while a poster for Mire Mare appears in the Kitchen with a SabreWulf skin rug in the Sitting Room. Remember the 1881 Barrel? You’d best go into the cellar to check that, won’t you?…
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