Rare Reveals Cancelled “Dream” Gameplay

"Dream" Eventually Led to "Banjo-Kazooie"

By Bryan Smith on December 22, 2015 at 8:04pm

Rare has released a video showcasing their cancelled game "Dream," which we now know led to "Banjo-Kazooie" being made.

"Dream" was supposed to be about a big epic about pirates with a boy named Edison. This game was being made for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System that used similar graphics to that of "Donkey Kong Country." An isometric view was also used to give the game a bit of perspective. Eventually the game was made so that it could run both on the SNES and the Nintendo 64. During development, a dog companion was also added.

"Dream" eventually became too big for Rare and they eventually had to scrap the project and try to rework what they had to something else. This led Rare to use a more cartoony-styled design where some of the characters from the original "Dream," such as a bear resembling Banjo, were used to make "Banjo-Kazooie." At some point, an unnamed bunny character was going to be the protagonist once Edison and the pirates were removed. Soon Banjo was made as part of the two main characters.

What helped shape "Banjo-Kazooie" into a 3D game was "Super Mario 64." Even though "Dream" was completely retooled, the isometric design was still in place, still looking like "Donkey Kong Country." When Rare saw "Super Mario 64," they drew inspirations and made "Banjo-Kazooie" the 3D platformer that is loved to this day.

It's interesting to note, however, that "Dream" may not be completely dead. Back at E3 2015, Microsoft revealed, along side "Rare Replay," a new game from Rare called "Sea of Thieves." While much is still unknown, the game is an adventure game about pirates. Perhaps "Sea of Thieves" is the spiritual successor to "Dreams" and we may see a return of Edison, Captain Blackeye, and the rest of the cast? Maybe this will be what Rare had envisioned all those years ago. We'll have to see when we get more details on "Sea of Thieves."