Publishers: THQ, Rare, North America
Developers: Rare
Genres: Action, Platformer
Platforms: Nintendo 64
Released: 2001-03-04
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Conker's Bad Fur Day is a platformer video game developed by Rare and released for the Nintendo 64 video game console in 2001. As part of the Conker video game series, the game follows the story of Conker the Squirrel, a greedy, heavy-drinking red squirrel who attempts to return home to his girlfriend Berri. The gameplay is composed of various challenges that involve platforming, solving puzzles, fighting enemies, and gathering objects. The game also features a multiplayer mode where a maximum of four players can compete in seven different game types.
Although visually similar to Rare's family-oriented Nintendo 64 platform games Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64, Conker's Bad Fur Day was designed for mature audiences and features graphic violence, alcohol and tobacco use, profanity, vulgar humor and pop culture references. It was developed over the course of four years and was originally intended for a family audience, but was ultimately retooled into its current form because previews were criticised for being both too cute and similar to Rare's earlier platform games.
Upon release, Conker's Bad Fur Day received critical acclaim from video game journalists, who praised its visual appeal and smart, funny humour. The game sold well below expectations due to limited advertising and a release towards the end of the Nintendo 64's life cycle, but has since earned a cult following due to its unique styling. A remake, Conker: Live & Reloaded, was released for the Xbox in 2005. In 2015, the game was included as part of the Rare Replay compilation for Xbox One.