The alleged prototype of Project Dream was posted online - Banjo-Kazooie grew from it

A build has been posted online that is being described as an early SNES prototype of Project Dream, a canceled RPG from Rare.It was from this project that Banjo-Kazooie grew, after several revisions.

Rare and Microsoft have not yet confirmed the authenticity of the file.Former studio composers Grant Kirkhope and David Wise said after viewing the materials that the assembly looked real.But without confirmation from Rare, the origin of the file still remains unconfirmed.

Dream started out as an RPG for the Super Nintendo

Rare worked on Project Dream in the mid-1990s.The main character was the boy Edson, who fought with pirates.Visually, the project used an isometric camera and pre-rendered sprites, an approach familiar from Donkey Kong Country.

Development was later moved to the Nintendo 64. Dream was intended to be a larger adventure RPG, but the team changed direction again and gradually abandoned the original idea.

How Banjo came from Dream

During the rework, Edson was replaced with a bear.This character eventually turned into Banjo, and the project itself moved away from RPG towards a three-dimensional platformer.

Some Dream tracks survived cancellation.The pirate Captain Blackeye later appeared in Banjo-Tooie and complained that the bear had stolen his glory - an apparent joke from Rare about the fate of the old project.

What is in the posted assembly

According to VGC's description, this is a very early test version.In it, you can move between multiple screens and attack enemies with a sword, and a second controller allows you to control your opponents.There is no full game here.

We are not providing a link to the ROM: the origin of the file is unclear, and the rights to Rare's materials have not disappeared.But the story itself is already interesting without downloading the assembly: Banjo-Kazooie grew out of an RPG about a boy and pirates, which changed the platform, hero and genre several times.

If you like stories like these from old games, we have material about Darkwing Duck on Dendy and news about the return NeoGeo AES+.

Would you like to see Project Dream officially as part of a Rare archive or museum?

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