Rare (UK)

Background
Rare, Ltd. formerly known as "Rareware" from 1994 to 2003, was founded in 1982 by Chris and Tim Stamper as Ultimate Play the Game. However, when it's renamed to its current name, it was known for games like the Battletoads series, the Wizards & Warriors series and other games for NES and Game Boy systems. In 1994, when the company is renamed to "Rareware", the company was experimenting with Silicon Graphics, which resulted into the Donkey Kong Country series, and the Killer Instinct series. By then, it became Nintendo's third-party developer. The later years, it was also known for the Banjo-Kazooie series, Jet Force Gemini, Blast Corps, GoldenEye 007, Conker's Bad Fur Day (which was later enhanced for the Xbox as Conker: Live and Reloaded), and other titles through the era. In September 2002, the company was acquired by Microsoft Game Studios (now "Microsoft Studios") and began developing titles for Xbox and Xbox 360 like Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Kameo: Elements of Power, and Viva Piñata. However, they still did titles for Nintendo handhelds (i.e. the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS), such as It's Mr. Pants! (originally planned as Donkey Kong: Coconut Crackers) and Banjo Pilot (originally planned as Diddy Kong Pilot). The company, then known as "Rare, Ltd." never used the logo until 1987. In 2007 the two co-founders left the company, and in 2010 the staff was heavily reduced and turned into exclusive development of Kinect titles for Xbox 360 and Xbox One, until 2014 where they phased out Kinect production after the failure of Kinect Sports Rivals and reshifted their focus of regular game development. After the release of a compilation of Rare's past games for the Xbox One, titled Rare Replay, the studio would go on to release the popular online game Sea Of Thieves in 2018.

(1983-1985, 2007)
Logo: On the game's title screen, large cyan/green text reading "ULTIMATE" can be seen inside a rounded rectangle, with the words "PLAY THE GAME" written below it in green.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Appeared on Ultimate's output on the ZX Spectrum. This logo is intact on the Rare Replay releases of their output from this era. Although Jetpac appeared as an unlockable mini-game in Donkey Kong 64, don't expect the logo to appear on that release of the game. Speaking of which, this logo made a surprise re-appearance after the 2003 Rare logo on the Xbox Live Arcade game Jetpac Refuelled.

Editor's Note: None.

1st Logo (1987-1991)
Logo: On the game's copyright screen, we see the angled rectangular shape with "RARE" in the futuristic font with its white outline around it. Next to it is "LTD.".

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare (no pun intended). Appears on Jeopardy! and its 25th Anniversary and Junior Editions, and Wheel of Fortune and its Family and Junior Editions for NES. However, the logo is not seen in other titles for NES and Game Boy.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1990-1994)
Nicknames: "The Pre-R"

Logo: We see the word "RARE" in a blue-pink gradient color on a background that varies depending on the game.

Variants:
 * On Digger T. Rock (the first game to use this logo), the logo appears on a white background alongside the copyright notice and licensing credits to Milton Bradley and Nintendo of America.
 * On the Battletoads series and Snake Rattle 'n' Roll (at least on the Genesis/Mega Drive version), the logo appears on a background of stars (in the case of the first Battletoads game on the NES) or a black background, after the Tradewest logo on the former. The Game Boy games in the former series feature the logo in B&W on a white background.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the game's opening music.

Availability: Uncommon. Seen on several games from the era, such as Battletoads, Digger T. Rock and several R.C. Pro-Am games. This would later re-appear on the Rare Replay releases of the former two.

Editor's Note: It's a decent logo, but it only gets better from here.

1st Logo (1994-1997, 2000)
Nicknames: "The Rare R", "The Golden R", "The Nintendo R"

Logo: On a black background, green lines come in and draw a rounded bordered rectangle, which has a stylized "R" and "RAREWARE" underneath it. It flashes, turning the border and "R" gold and the inside of the rectangle a black-blu gradient color. The lines fade away, and the logo moves to the bottom-right corner as we see a shining CGI Nintendo logo fade in, with "PRESENTS" in Gill Sans Ultra Bold font underneath.

Variants:
 * A CGI version appeared on the arcade version of Killer Instinct, where the logo starts as a close-up at the center of the screen with the copyright information seen over it, then when it cuts out, the logo spins (like in the next logo) and zooms out into the bottom left-hand corner. The logo flashes after it reaches the corner, where it is still for the rest of the game's startup.
 * On the SNES version of Killer Instinct, the logo appears zooming and spinning from the top-center corner and when it reaches the middle, the logo flashes. Then the logo zooms to the bottom-left corner and flashes again. Then we proceed into the game's title logo. The Game Boy version shows the logo at an angle, appearing as several lines coming together from the sides of the screen above the copyright notice.
 * On Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run, the logo appears filling in by the smoke-like effect. When the logo fully appears, the logo shines. Then the logo disappears via the iris-spotlight effect.
 * An 8-bit version of the logo described above can be seen on Donkey Kong Country for the GBC. Also, the Rare logo fades out then the Nintendo logo fades in.
 * On Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (the last game to use this logo before the next one), Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong are bouncing on the logo. Then the logo pushes them off when it reaches the center send them flying away. Then the logo zooms in as it fades out.
 * On Killer Instinct 2, the light rays travel through showing the logo in it's print style. After it's done, the logo flashes in pink.
 * A still version of the logo appears on the Donkey Kong Land games.

FX/SFX: Depends on each variant.

Music/Sounds: Depending on variant:


 * On Donkey Kong Country, an 8 note horn fanfare plays, followed by a crescendo of horn notes and drumroll, with the last horn note being held. Composed by David Wise.
 * On Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, a majestic-sounding synth horn fanfare plays throughout. Also composed by David Wise.
 * On Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, only bouncing sounds play through the logo, while the game's title theme comes in near the end.
 * All of the other games have either the game's theme playing over, or complete silence.

Availability: Quite common. First seen on the arcade version of Killer Instinct, and later appeared on the SNES port of that same game. It can also be seen on the Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land games, along with Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run. The logo made its final appearance on Donkey Kong Land III, although it would later appear on the Game Boy Color port of Donkey Kong Country in 2000.

Editor's Note: This is a favorite of many, especially for fans of Rare's 1990s output.

2nd Logo (November 1996-September 12, 2003)
Nicknames: "The Rare R II", "The Golden R II", "CGI Rare "R", "CGI Golden R", "The Spinning R", "The Nintendo R II"

Logo: On a black background, we see the Rareware logo like before, but it's subtly tweaked a bit, and it's shown spinning.

Variants:
 * Since 1997, the "TM" symbol is added to the top-right of the logo.
 * The early days of the logo is where the inside part is plain blue and the border is less thicker. This version was used on KI: Gold and Blast Corps.
 * On Killer Instinct Gold, the logo appears filling in through smoke like the Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run variant from the 3rd logo. Then the logo rotates away to the right. Under the logo is the copyright notice.
 * On Blast Corps, the logo zooms in and spins the whole time.
 * On GoldenEye 007, the logo fades in spinning.
 * On Diddy Kong Racing, the logo spins against a sky background as the camera pans up from below.
 * On Banjo-Kazooie, the logo pops up, without spinning, after the N64 logo walks past. A Buzzbomb that had flown past the N64 earlier now flies towards the screen and crashes headfirst into it, causing the logo to fall forward and the Buzzbomb to fall backwards.
 * On Donkey Kong 64, the logo zooms in and its spinning. Plus, there are a few shines traveling through. A longer version of this variant appeared in the game's kiosk demo.
 * On Perfect Dark, the logo appears and disappears via the spotlight-like transition and is rotating backwards.
 * On Conker's Bad Fur Day, the Nintendo 64 logo appears under a light. The light goes out, and the logo shrieks when it hears the noise of a chainsaw. A chainsaw then cuts the logo in half as it is shaking. When the logo splits, it reveals that Conker was the wielder of the chainsaw. As he pushes the two halves out of sight, he yells, "Stupid logo!" He then throws the chainsaw and says, "Yes, that's better." Finally, he pulls the Rareware logo out of his pocket, rubs his finger on the "R," making it shine, and says, "Marvelous!" as he leans on the logo and winks at the camera while a circle closes on his face Looney Tunes-style.
 * On Jet Force Gemini and Mickey's Speedway USA, the logo is in its CGI animation style and there are sparkle-effects. On the former, the copyright is under the logo. On the latter, two cars fly by the logo, causing a ripple effect, just like the preceding Disney Interactive Studios and Nintendo logos. This variant also appears on the prototype version of Diddy Kong Pilot for GBA.
 * On the prototype of the unreleased Dinosaur Planet, the logo appears still on the left of the opening screen with  R A R E W A R E  in yellow spaced-out text below it.
 * There is a still artwork version of the logo that appeared on Star Fox Adventures.
 * On the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country, the logo takes place on a jungle background and the logo is in the gray stone-style. Plus, the pieces of the logo fly in to form the logo. Then the logo fades away.

FX/SFX: Depending on each game, but generally, the logo spins.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the game. Sometimes none.

Availability: Common. The logo made its first appearance in Killer Instinct Gold, the N64 version of Killer Instinct 2. It later appeared on all of their subsequent games in the N64 era, most notably GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark, Banjo-Tooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day. The still version appeared on Star Fox Adventures, which was the last game Rare released before being purchased by Microsoft. The logo made its last appearance on Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge for the Game Boy Advance. The logo can still be seen on the Rare Replay releases of Killer Instinct Gold, Blast Corps and Jet Force Gemini, but don't expect it to appear on the compilation's release of Conker's Bad Fur Day, as it starts with the "For Mature Audiences Only" text, followed by the game's logo, and then goes straight to the main menu.

Editor's Note: Like the previous logo, it is a favorite of many.

1st Logo (October 21, 2003-2010)
Nicknames: "The Rare R III", "The Golden R III", "The Microsoft R"

Logo: We see the same gold "R" shape from before, except this time it has the gradient effect. Under it is the word, "RARE" and there's the "TM" symbol on the top-left of the logo.

Variants: Depending on each game, there is a different variant of the logo:


 * Grabbed by the Ghoulies: The logo is revealed on a blue book as dust is blown off of it.
 * Conker: Live and Reloaded: The logo rotates into position a la the United Artists "turning UA" logo, then zooms in and fades to a roll of toilet paper, leading to the game's main menu.
 * Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA): The logo is hoisted up on a blue flag with the backdrop of a pirate ship.
 * Donkey Kong Country 3 (GBA): The logo is seen through scuba goggles. Bubbles and small fish pass by the logo, before a submarine comes and destroys the logo.
 * It's Mr. Pants!: The logo is in a crude sketch style (and appears as if it was cut out of a sheet of paper) on a sky background, with a pair of red pants on the top of the 'R'. The logo wiggles around (similar to the style of Ed, Edd n Eddy). Mr. Pants welcomes you and says 'Smile Baby' in blue can be see below.
 * Jetpac: Refueled: The logo slowly zooms in on a black background.
 * Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts: A car (in reference to the game's prominent vehicle customization mechanic) resembling the Rare logo and driven by the titular Banjo drives onto the screen, backing up a bit before coming to a halt. Kazooie pops out of Banjo's backpack and the two jump out of the vehicle, leaving a plush version of them in place. Banjo runs off the screen, and the car crossfades to the Rare logo.
 * Kameo: On a black background, screenshots from various Rare games fall down the screen. They flash into an white line, which zooms out to form the golden "R" letter sliding from the right as the text and trademark symbol slide in from the left. The logo shines, with a light going from left to right on the background. The logo then slides to the right and slowly fades out.
 * Perfect Dark Zero: We start on an early times arcade game (which is the footage from the game, Jetpac), where a white sprite man on a jetpack (Jetman) moves shooting and collecting things. The arcade game shifts and goes off to the left and we see the highly pixelated man flying and shooting above the swinging Rare logo. After a few seconds he disappears and the Rare logo sets solidly in place. The man then flies to the left, bringing the "RARE" name, which glows green.
 * Viva Piñata: We see a confused pinata horse hanging on a wire against the wall. The wand appears, driving the animal into anxious panic, and strikes it to pieces, which fall to the ground with sweets and golden "R" letter. Another game animals pass and collect the sweets, leaving the shards to explode. The word, "RARE" pops under the single remaining fragment - the golden letter.
 * Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise: On a white background, the entire screen is filled with pinata animals, zooming out to reveal them stacked in the shape of the Rare logo.
 * GoldenEye 007 (Unreleased 2007 Xbox Live Arcade port): Similar to the Rare logo from the original game, a 3D version of the logo fades in spinning.

FX/SFX: Depends on each variant.

Music/Sounds: Depends on the variant. The Kameo variant features an orchestrated fanfare that syncs with the animation. This theme was composed by Steve Burke and played by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Availability: Uncommon. This logo first appeared on Grabbed by the Ghoulies for the original Xbox, and appeared on subsequent games from the era, such as Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero, the Viva Piñata games, and the Game Boy Advance versions of the second and third Donkey Kong Country games. This replaced the previous logo on the Xbox Live Arcade versions of Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie and Perfect Dark, and was planned to appear on such a port of GoldenEye 007, but the port was canceled due to licensing issues. The logo made its final original appearance on Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, and its last appearance overall on the Xbox Live Arcade version of Perfect Dark.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (November 4, 2010-April 8, 2014)
Nicknames: "The Rare R IV", "The R in the Shape", "The Microsoft R II"

Logo: We start by zooming through many shapes (colors may vary) Then one shape lights up, and we zoom to it. Then we see the word "Rare" next to a shape with the "R" trademark from the previous logos in white in it. For example, these shapes are:


 * Green circle
 * Orange circle
 * Bright-purple circle
 * Pink circle
 * Green diamond
 * Orange diamond
 * Bright-purple diamond
 * Pink diamond
 * Green octagon
 * Orange hexagon
 * Bright-purple hexagon
 * Pink octagon

Variants: The shape and the color of it may vary each time you play the game. For example, on Kinect Sports 2, it was a pink octagon.

FX/SFX: TBA.

Music/Sounds: Several wooshes, and then a "ding" followed by a few piano chords.

Availability: No pun intended, but it's rare. This logo only appeared on the Kinect Sports series.

Editor's Note: It may surprise some who were used to seeing the previous logo, but the music is quite calming.

3rd Logo (August 4, 2015-)
Nicknames: "The Rare R V", "The Golden R Returns", "The Golden R IV", "The Microsoft R III"

Logo: We see the Golden R from the previous logos, with some blue filling on the left. The word "RARE" also in blue is on the bottom and is spaced-out.

Variants:
 * Rare Replay: We fade in to a starry sky background. A "moon" drops from the background, followed by the Rare logo. The letters below the logo are then revealed in time with the music.
 * Sea of Thieves: The logo is still.

FX/SFX: None for the Sea of Thieves variant.

Music/Sounds: None or the game's opening music.

Availability: Current. First seen on Rare Replay for the Xbox One.

Editor's Note: An excellent return to the classic "Golden R" logo.