■ As well as a wealth of licensed titles, Rare created various original one-offs during its formative years. for the NES (below) is also isometric and for the NES. Its challenge is to navigate patchwork playfields as one of two snakes, gobbling up little creatures with the aim of putting on enough weight to tip a scale that opens the level exit. is side-on, and takes its cue from . The goal is to dig, climb, crawl and jump your way through caves, while amassing treasure and looking for the way out. You can avoid the caves’ hostile inhabitants or repel them with your trusty shovel, which doubles-up as a weapon. Then probably the most unique of Rare’s early original titles is Jon Ritman’s quirky humoured , in which you guide the title character though a maze of isometric rooms, each filled with logistic puzzles that require specific tools and pixel-perfect platforming to overcome.
