46. Kameo: Elements of Power Xbox 360

Kameo's development saw it staddle three different consoles (N64, GameCube, Xbox) before it finally settled on the Xbox 360. Released as a launch title for the shiny new system, it dazzled with its vast locations and hordes of enemies, but its reputation has diminished over the years thanks to its repetitive gameplay and rather dull storyline. A sequel was pitched but never made it into production.

45. Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros: Visions of Power NES

As was the case with the second Wizards & Warriors outing, Rare shared development duties with Zippo Games, which was made up of siblings John and Ste Pickford, who would later create Plok on the SNES. Reviews for Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros: Visions of Power at the time of release were mixed, but Ste Pickford claims this entry is his personal favourite.

44. Wizards & Warriors NES

Rare's second NES release (and Acclaim's first as a publisher of home software), Wizards & Warriors is a bold take on the side-scrolling action platformer which pulls together many fantasy elements to create its plot. You step into the shoes of Kuros, a warrior from "the Books of Excalibur" who ventures into the Kingdom of Elrond to do battle with the malevolent Malkil. Designed by Tim Stamper, Chris Stamper, Paul Proctor and Mark Betteridge, Wizards & Warriors would establish a mini-franchise that would continue on both the NES and Game Boy.

43. Captain Skyhawk NES

Rare came up with the concept of Independence Day a few years before Hollywood did in this NES-based action title. You assume the role of an ace pilot who must nagivate isometric stages taking down alien enemies. Captain Skyhawk demonstrates Rare's talent with 3D-style environments and, at times, feels like a pumped-up version of Sega's arcade hit, Zaxxon.

42. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Xbox 360

While it retains the 3D platforming that has made the Banjo-Kazooie series so beloved, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts introduces a focus on building vehicles in order to compete in various challenges. Using a surprisingly versatile construction system, players can create all manner of craft – cars, boats, and even aircraft. While it disappointed some fans upon its release in 2008, in more recent times it has been reassessed as something of a trailblazer, pioneering the kind of emergent, freeform gameplay that has been popularised by the likes of Minecraft and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

41. Battletoads in Ragnarok's World GB

Battletoads in Ragnarok's World might sound like a stand-alone sequel, but it's actually a port of the original Battletoads for the Game Boy (the game entitled Battletoads on Nintendo handheld is, in fact, totally different from the NES version). Confused? Don't be, because this is still an excellent conversion of the 1991 original and well worth a look if you're a fan.

40. Championship Pro-Am MD

After finding success on Nintendo's hardware, Rare would, albeit somewhat briefly, experiment with Sega's 16-bit Genesis / Mega Drive. Isometric racer Championship Pro-Am was one of the resultant projects and is effectively an enhanced remake of the NES title R.C. Pro-Am. Gameplay tweaks and vastly superior presentation make this a real hidden gem in the Mega Drive's library.

39. R.C. Pro-Am NES

This isometric racer sees the player controlling a radio-controller car and is one of Rare's earliest breakout hits. Not only is the speed and animation impressive for the time, but the game is bolstered by the inclusion of power-up items and weapons, the latter of which can be used to gain an advantage over your rivals. R.C. Pro-Am received a sequel on the NES and was remade in the form of Championship Pro-Am on the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive.

38. Battletoads in Battlemaniacs SNES

Taking the core concept of NES Battletoads and dialling up the visuals, sound and gameplay, Battletoads in Battlemaniacs marks Rare's debut on the SNES, and offers plenty of beat-em-up action for fans of the series. While it perhaps lacks the impact of the original game, it's still a fun take on the genre. A Master System port was developed by Syrox Developments but, for some odd reason, was only released in Brazil, despite being reviewed by European magazines at the time.

37. Battletoads & Double Dragon NES

Seeing as publisher Tradewest owned the rights to both Battletoads and Double Dragon, it made sense to combine the two – especially when you consider that the gameplay in both series is somewhat similar. However, Battletoads & Double Dragon 'feels' more like a Battletoads outing than a Double Dragon one, and really pushes the NES to its limits. Ports to the Mega Drive and SNES are decent, but it's clear that you're simply playing an 8-bit game with better presentation.

36. Battletoads GB

Misleadingly, this isn't a port of the NES Battletoads, despite the title and the cover artwork. It'd an all-new adventure which shares the same basic gameplay but has all-new levels and content. To make things even more confusing, the Game Boy would get a legitimate port of the NES game in the form of Battletoads in Ragnarok's World.

35. Battletoads NES

Battletoads had more than a whiff of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles about it, but with developer Rare at the helm, this side-scrolling beat 'em up had more than enough quality in its art, audio and gameplay to elevate it above the status of 'knock-off'. In fact, despite their high level of difficulty, we'd say the rough 'n' tumble adventures of Rash, Zitz and Pimple are even more fondly remembered than the 8-bit TMNT games. Insanely unfair hoverbike sections aside, there's still plenty of co-op comedy and fun to be found in this series.

34. Mickey's Racing Adventure GBC

Mickey's Racing Adventure is an isometric racer for the Game Boy Color that leverages the company's experience with the genre. A wealth of characters, vehicles and upgrades are on offer, making this a decent (if slightly basic) racer for Nintendo's portable.

33. Perfect Dark Zero Xbox 360

Rare's purchase by Microsoft generated plenty of column inches at the time, and this was arguably the biggest game to come out of the studio post-acquisition. A prequel to the N64 game Perfect Dark, Perfect Dark Zero acts as an origin story for lead character Joanna Dark, and would sell over a million copies. However, even today, there's the lingering feeling that it didn't match the lofty expectations players had for it.

32. Sneaky Snakes GB

Following on from the critical success of Snake Rattle 'n' Roll, Rare released this semi-sequel for the Game Boy, which removed the isometric 3D effect and replaced it with a standard 2D side-scrolling viewpoint. The end result is a game which isn't anywhere near as gripping, and Sneaky Snakes has been largely forgotten in Rare's back catalogue.

31. Super Battletoads Arcade

Some fans consider this to be the shining apex of the Battletoads series. Bolstered by powerful arcade hardware, Rare's developers created a side-scrolling action title which boasts some of the best presentation seen in the entire series – it's a shame, then, that it wasn't as commercially successful as it should have been. Thankfully, it is included on the excellent Rare Replay, so you can finally see what all of the fuss was about back in the '90s.

30. Monster Max GB

It may say Rare on the title screen, but Monster Max is very much a Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond game. The pair had previously developed isometric adventures such as Batman (1986) and Head Over Heels (1987), and joined Rare after failing to complete the arcade football game Final Whistle for Ocean. Monster Max has been hailed as one of the Game Boy's greatest games, and rightly so; not only is it a technical masterpiece given the humble nature of the hardware, it's incredibly enjoyable, too.

29. Super R.C. Pro-Am GB

A pint-sized sequel to the NES game R.C. Pro-Am, Super R.C. Pro-Am includes the same combat racing mechanics and isometric view, but suffers from the blurry nature of the Game Boy's display. Play it via emulation on or more recent hardware – such as the GBA – and it becomes a lot more enjoyable.

28. Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge GBA

Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge is a solid little platformer, even considering its various shortcomings. Fans of the series and genre would be safe to add this “collect-a-thon” to their library as long as they understand the brevity of the adventure and don’t expect quite the same level of charm present in Rare’s Nintendo 64 releases. This is the closest thing you’ll get to a true Banjo-Kazooie experience outside the originals, so if you’re longing for another trip to Spiral Mountain, you’d be silly to let this one slip by.

27. Donkey Kong Land III GB

Donkey Kong Land III is a handsome Game Boy title which also sounds particularly lovely and caps off the Donkey Kong Land GB trilogy in fine fashion — it's arguably the pick of the portable bunch. Lucky Japanese gamers even got a version enhanced for the Game Boy Color which looked even lovelier. This was to be Rare's final 2D platformer featuring the DK clan and Twycross' custodians of Kong certainly went out on a high.