Project Dream, a role-playing title developed by Rare and codenamed as such, was one such game that never saw the light of day despite its successes with Nintendo. Originating on the Super Nintendo and eventually transitioning to the Nintendo 64, it eventually morphed into other projects and was thought lost for some time.
Dream 64: Did the Unreleased N64 Game Progress Further Than the Introduction and a Few Gameplay Elements?
Nevertheless, co-founder Tim Stamper posted a photo on social media recently of the so-called 'Dream 64' game, a cartridge being run on an N64 development unit. Stamped with the title and a November 21st, 1996 date, it was labeled the "latest version of Dream 64".
According to the story by Nintendo Life, Grant Kirkhope, a Rareware composer, also responded to the tweet, indicating that while it is unclear how far the game's development progressed, it certainly had an introduction plus some gameplay.
The Unearthing of Dream 64: A Lost Project From the 90s
Project Dream was one of those ambitious video game projects that arrived in the late-90s and never saw the light of day. It started as a Super Nintendo (SNES) game and was eventually scaled back for the Nintendo 64 (N64) era before its concepts and ideas sprawled into other projects.
But this ambitious game wasn't lost forever as a single photo of the N64 version codenamed Dream 64 was recently published online, confirming its existence.
'Dream 64' Revealed: Rare Publishes Photo of Development Cartridge on N64 and SNES
Rare co-founder Tim Stamper published the photo on his social media with a single phrase, "Arr....! So it's true... Dream 64 does exist after all...!" along with the picture showing the N64 development cartridge running on an N64 and the SNES version of Project Dream next to it.
The cartridge was labeled the "latest version of Dream 64," dated November 21st, 1996. Grant Kirkhope, the composer at Rareware, gave a few more details on Stamper's post, revealing that the cartridge contained the intro and some gameplay.
Project Dream's Legacy Lives On Through Other Rare Projects
However, it remains unclear just how far the project was developed. Despite its development phases, Project Dream was eventually scrapped as it spawned into other well-known projects such as Banjo-Kazooie, as also noted in an article by My Nintendo News.
While Project Dream may be gone, its legacy lives on through a few other recently-discovered Rare projects since then. The Nintendo 64 game Dinosaur Planet, which later became Star Fox Adventures on the GameCube, was leaked online, joining GoldenEye 007 XBLA from the Xbox 360 platform, which was also released unofficially.
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Still a Bit of Project Dream Out There: The Fate of an Unfinished Rare Game
For those who have followed Rare and its projects for years, this may be a bit of a surprise as both generations of Nintendo's consoles had many amazing games by the studio.
Though it's a shame that this one ended up unfinished, it's heartening to know there is still a bit of Project Dream out there.
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