We'll never get another game like Conquer's Bad Fur Day

Conker's Bad Fur Day feels like a game that shouldn't exist. After ruling the Nintendo 64 with an assortment of classics from GoldenEye to Banjo Kazooie to Blast Corps, beloved studio Rare went in a very different direction with its generational swansong.

Rather than being known for cutie platformers, Rare decided to do a rough, raw subversion of the genre where you played as a beer-drinking, laid-back, and general menace to society. Despite his sadistic nature, Conquer quickly became a beloved gaming figure who, over the years, is still regarded as a cult classic.

As the original game celebrates its 25th anniversary, let's take a brief look at the form this platforming gem first took before it became a foul-mouthed final hurray for the Nintendo 64.

Conker wasn't always a mouthy rodent

When I spoke with some of the original members of Rare to celebrate Viva Piñata's 15th anniversary, they touched on Conker's Bad Fur Day appearance in the early stages of development. Originally known as Conker's Quest, it was once intended to be another lighthearted and charming platformer in the same vein as Banjo-Kazooie. Rare wanted it to be similar to Super Mario 64, as you explored a variety of bright and colorful worlds as Conquer, often with a female squirrel by your side to help you collect items and take out enemies.

Even in this early form, it was praised for its excellent graphics, captivating appeal, and how it pushed the Nintendo 64 to its limits in terms of both aesthetics and gameplay. Some critics thought it even gave Ocarina of Time a run for its money in the graphical department. Rare, at least on the surface, was cooking another winner.

But there were also criticisms of it being too cute for its own good, and potentially risking falling back on predictable clichés or tropes we've seen time and time again in the genre up to this point. With 3D platformers in their relative infancy, Rare decided to take a step back and completely reboot the game.

If you want to play Conker's Bad Fur Day these days, I recommend picking up a copy of Rare Replay for Xbox. It also features improved performance, resolution, and some worthwhile behind-the-scenes extras to boot.

So, an obnoxiously cute platformer took its charming protagonist and turned him into a foul-mouthed creature who doesn't care about swearing or drinking beer at work, while his adorable female squirrel friend was now a tall, sexy bunny with huge breasts.

Rare wanted to subvert what the platforming genre was made of and offer something the medium had never offered before, especially on a family-friendly Nintendo console. It's all Ralph Bakshi's Fritz the Cat, though with decidedly less political commentary.

But how about the game itself? Was it any good, or did Rare produce something that was doomed to become an obscure cult classic that only the greatest of platforming needs would pay any kind of attention to?

3D platformers wouldn't be the same without Conquer's evil fur days

Conker's Bad Fur Day was critically acclaimed upon release, with critics not only praising this subversion of the 3D platformer's usual obsession with cutesy charm, it also brought gameplay innovations we'd never seen before in the genre. With a rare killer mix of fun gameplay, creative writing that references classic films and television galore, and a cast of characters ranging from giant-breasted sunflowers, each encounter was a quirky surprise.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a commercial success for many of the reasons you might expect. It came out towards the end of the Nintendo 64's lifecycle and its mature nature put off countless gamers who owned the console. Why take on such a cross game if Super Mario 64 sits on the same shelf? As a result, Conquer's Bad Fur Day is now one of the rarest games in the console's library, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a cheap physical copy.

In 2026 the idea of a cute video game daring to sound rude and provocative is shocking, but two decades ago it was incredibly daring and it had never been seen before in gaming.

My first experience with Conker was not on the Nintendo 64, but its original Xbox remake Live & Reloaded. I'll always remember being blown away by the realistic fur on Conker's body as I giggled like a complete idiot watching a cute animal constantly swear while doing horrific acts of violence. As a little kid, it was the best thing in the world. As an adult I can understand how cathartic it must have been for Rare to abandon his comfortable roots and try to create something so bonkers.

Unfortunately, aside from a brief cameo in the short-lived Project Spark, we haven't heard a peep from Conquer in decades. There's a slim chance that Rare is currently working on anything involving the beloved rodent, so odds are these are the only games we're getting. If that's the case, there's no better time for a forgotten classic to celebrate its 25th birthday.