Check out the origins of Banjo-Kazooie in RARE’s unearthed footage of ‘Dream’

Before Banjo-Kazooie ever graced our N64 consoles and consumed us with excellent platforming, there was Dream: Land of Giants, an ambitious title from RARE.

Using the graphical capabilities that RARE built for Donkey Kong Country, Dream was going to utilize those in an RPG where you'd play as a boy battling pirates. The game eventually shifted gears to N64, at which point RARE worked another 16 months on the game.

Over time, the main character started to lose relevance as the world kept changing around him, so the team put in Banjo, who initially was a rabbit, but eventually became a bear. However, before the game became what it was, the team shifted back to a 2.5D style platformer, where the level was mostly linear, however the player could also move into the foreground and background as well.

It's a really interesting look at not only the origins of Banjo-Kazooie, but also a really rare look at a game fans never really got to see before.

And hey, the pirate thing wasn't completely scrapped after all. RARE is currently working on an Xbox One exclusive titled Sea of Thieves.