25 Things You DIDN'T Know About GoldenEye 007

25 Things You Didn’t Know About GoldenEye 007

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 25 things you may not have known about the 1997 N64 classic, “GoldenEye 007”.

Dimes Are Forever…And Ever

Initially, “GoldenEye 007” was never meant to be a first-person shooter. It wasn’t even on the table when pre-production had begun. Rare actually had plans to approach the “007” IP the same way every game company approached licensed games: make it an action-platformer! Literally, every game company was doing this with every license they could get a hold of. “Jurassic Park”, “The Lion King”, “Home Improvement" - no movie or TV show got anything super unique, and the idea of a 3D FPS didn’t strike Rare until Martin Hollis was brought in to direct what would become “GoldenEye 007”.

For Our Eyes Only

It’s important to note that at the time of “GoldenEye’s” development, 3D FPS games weren’t much of a thing. Well, at least on console it wasn’t. Most FPS games were developed with 3D backgrounds at the expense of 2D character models, weapons, and other assets. To find ways on how to approach “GoldenEye”, Hollis and the team looked at three different games. “DOOM” was to help with the level design and basic gunplay while “Super Mario 64” was the inspiration in graphics and figuring out what was possible with the Nintendo 64’s technology. The third game that was the inspiration for how aiming would work was “Virtua Cop”, the on-rails arcade shooter from SEGA.

The Living Dev Kits

It is critical for developers to have devkits as soon as possible so that customers can buy games on new hardware early on. However, Rare made the decision to start work on “GoldenEye” before they even had their hands on an N64 dev kit. This is the equivalent to building the plane as you’re trying to fly it. So, how did they even manage to get any work done? Well, by estimations, basically. For a while, Rare only used an SGI Onyx and whatever custom software they had received from Nintendo for previous projects. And this was not the only self-inflicted handicap they’d face during development.

MonochromeEye

Development for “GoldenEye” proved to be more challenging once Rare had received the devkits. The Nintendo 64 was still new on the market, so developers didn’t know exactly how powerful the console was. Spoiler alert - not very. To be on the safe side, Rare had spent quite a bit of development time rendering “GoldenEye” completely in greyscale colors. The reason for this was because rendering RGB colors wound up demanding a ton of processing power. Putting in too much color would cause the game to chug to the point where framerates got as low as two frames per second. And that is why you see a lot of white, gray, and black throughout “GoldenEye” and very few colors anywhere outside of character models.

A View to [Possibly] Kill?

During the N64’s lifespan, Rare had a tendency to try and find ways to turn Nintendo accessories into new mechanics or features for games. One concept they wanted to try involved the Game Boy Camera and the N64 Transfer Pak. Rare thought it’d be cool to give players the ability to use pictures of themselves, friends, or family as faces for in-game enemies and NPCs. The idea was swiftly thrown away when concerns arose about certain individuals using the feature for nefarious, much darker purposes. It didn’t help that politicians and parents were having intense discussions about violence in video games during “GoldenEye’s” development. And so, the idea was scrapped entirely.

Saturnraker

As if “GoldenEye’s” time in development couldn’t get any stranger, you may not have known about how the controller was being handled. As we mentioned earlier, the N64 was still new with a lot of aspects still being untested. To mitigate risks as much as possible, Rare didn’t even bother testing “GoldenEye” with a standard N64 controller until later in development. Instead, a good chunk of the game was tested using a SEGA Saturn controller. This was likely done to make general tests easier before fiddling with Nintendo’s awkward trident of a controller.

Dr. No-tendo

Speaking of Nintendo, there was a bit of pushback from the House Mario Built. The company was deeply concerned about “GoldenEye” after they had seen just how violent the game was. A major concern between Japanese politicians and gaming companies has been the effects of violent acts inflicted by the player. And for decades, Nintendo has tried to maintain a somewhat squeaky-clean image. To remedy Nintendo’s worries, Rare threw in an end credits sequence that showed off the characters in the same way a movie does with its actors. But that wasn’t the only time Nintendo had issues with “GoldenEye”.

Casino Royale Pre-Casino Royale

“GoldenEye” was originally supposed to be far more violent than it wound up being [arguably]. Granted, it was nowhere as close to the likes of, say, “Mortal Kombat” or even “DOOM”. However, there was supposed to be more blood left behind from bullet wounds and whatnot. While the end credits sequence helped reframe the violence, Nintendo still pressed Rare to tone down the game’s violence overall. And so, the blood was removed from everything except for when the player dies.

Rareware Never Dies

By now, you’re probably thinking about the character Dr. Doak, the double-agent you meet up with in the Facility level. As many gaming enthusiasts know, Dr. Doak is based on Rare staff member David Doak who had worked on “GoldenEye” throughout its development. But that’s not the only character based on a Rare staff member. With the exception of key characters from the movie, every enemy and NPC you come across has the face of other Rare developers and are even unlockable characters in the multiplayer mode. You could say they have been forever immortalized just as so many other people have been, average and famous.

The Man With the Killer Instinct

Would you believe that “GoldenEye” has some connection to “Killer Instinct”, the 1994 fighting game that was also developed by Rare? Indeed, it does in a few different ways. For starters, director Martin Hollis was a programmer for “Killer Instinct” before working on “GoldenEye”. Composers Robin Beanland and Graeme Norgate had created the music for “Killer Instinct” prior to composing for the 007 game. But the connection goes just one more layer deeper than that. When wandering around the outdoor levels, KI fans may notice that the skybox is the exact same skybox used in the classic fighter. The only thing we’re missing now is a random Fulgore head hiding inside Dam or Egyptian.

Rumble Another Day

As we mentioned earlier, Rare really liked to mess around with Nintendo products in hopes of turning accessories into new ways to play games. The most famous example of this was the Stop N’ Swop mechanic that was removed from “Banjo-Kazooie” due to Nintendo’s fear of the cartridge-swapping screwing up N64 consoles. A similar idea was explored for “GoldenEye” where players would use the Rumble Pak to unload and reload weapons. Once again, Nintendo stepped in to tell Rare “hey, you should not do this”, likely out of fear for the unknown ramifications.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Stealth Mechanics

While “GoldenEye 007” has some stealth elements to it, it’s almost hard to call it “a stealth game” in the same vein as “Splinter Cell” or “Sly Cooper”. However, despite the technical limitations, it did implement a system to give players room for stealthy approaches. Whenever you fire a weapon, a certain radius emits to detect if there were any enemies within it at the time the shot was fired. If the player fires in quick succession of the previous shot, the radius grows in size. This is why some moments may feel like enemies from the other side of the map suddenly started hunting you down.

The Truth About Multiplayer

One of the most memorable aspects of “GoldenEye” is, without a doubt, the multiplayer. We’ve spent so many nights playing deathmatch, Golden Gun, and more with friends. It’s almost hard to imagine that “GoldenEye” almost never had multiplayer in the first place. And it didn’t! It wasn’t until programmer Steve Ellis began messing with the game’s code to get 4-player splitscreen working when multiplayer became an idea for the game. Rare managed to get multiplayer working in “GoldenEye” roughly six months before launch.

No Time for More Bonds

For the longest time, it was rumored that “GoldenEye” was once planned to have an All Bond Mode. It was initially a hoax created by gaming magazine EGM, but that changed in an interview with Hollis and Doak. In a 2020 interview with Independent, it was revealed that there were plans to include the 007 versions of Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton, and Roger Moore, each with their own tuxedos. Unfortunately, Pierce Brosnan was the only actor who approved the use of his likeness for the game. Oddly enough, Hollis implied in the interview that Connery seemed to be the one that made MGM squeamish about the idea of all four Bonds being in the game, stating, “I think they were worried about him getting litigious.”

A Legacy to Never Be Shaken Or Stirred

So, we all know about how “GoldenEye 007” was this revolution in FPS games for consoles and how it was one of the best N64 games ever made. But rarely do you ever hear about the numbers to really get a sense of how big of a deal this was. During its entire run on the market, “GoldenEye 007” managed to sell more than eight million copies, a number many AAA companies struggle to reach in their lifetimes. Not only that, “GoldenEye” became the third best-selling game on the Nintendo 64. What could have possibly beaten it? Well, a certain plucky plumber and his kart-racing spin-off.

Mine-Fall

Every once in a while, you see fans briefly entertain the idea of James Bond being in the next “Smash Bros.”, likely because of how important “GoldenEye” was for the N64. There’s heritage there. Unfortunately, the rights are so entangled that it’d just be a nightmare for any legal team, even for Nintendo. The closest we’ve gotten to a nod from “Smash Bros” is the Motion-Sensor Bomb in “Super Smash Bros. Melee”. The weird part about this item is how the Bomb’s trophy description says that the game it's from is “TOP SECRET”. Look, Sakurai, the similarities between this and “GoldenEye’s” proximity mine are way too close for us to believe this was an original design.

Quantum of Sequels

Another question that crops up every now and again is “why didn’t Rare make a sequel?” That’s an understandable question considering how well “GoldenEye” sold, and Rare did begin work on a sequel almost immediately. The next game was going to be based on the next 007 movie, “Tomorrow Never Dies”. Unfortunately, MGM wanted to look for other companies to sell the video game rights to. Rare tried their best to secure it, but they were ultimately outbid by publishing giant Electronic Arts. Unable to work on Bond, Rare wound up taking whatever assets they had and reworked them into their own spiritual successor, “Perfect Dark”.

For Activision, For Nintendo…and For Friends?

The way “GoldenEye’s” Wii remake came about is a strange and somewhat disheartening tale. Nintendo of America’s president at the time, Reggie Fils-Aime, had talked about bringing “GoldenEye” to Wii a bit. Rare could not work on the game as they were about to become a factory of Kinect games. And worst of all, Activision had the rights. Plans for the remake started out promising as Activision was in talks with Free Radical Design to remake the game. At the time, Free Radical consisted of former Rare staff, some of which had worked on the original “GoldenEye”. But just when the team began fiddling with prototype builds to pitch to Activision, the publisher found another studio to work with, no warning given. And to think we almost went from 007 to “Perfect Dark” to “TimeSplitters” and back to Bond. Thanks, Activision.

Role Of Dishonor

A big complaint about the 2010 remake was how the game felt more “Call of Duty” than the original game did. But what really infuriated fans (and one we’ve covered for years on WatchMojo) was how Alec Trevelyan had the political commentary written out of his story. In the movie, Trevelyan was a traitor to MI6 because the UK refused to allow him and his parents asylum and sent them back to the Soviet Union. This story was retained in the original N64 game. But in the remake, Trevelyan turns on MI6 because “wah, I hate the UK’s economy and want to steal all the money in the global stock market, wahahahaha!” Yeah, a real Saturday morning cartoon villain.

Octopussycat Doll

There is one thing that the 2010 remake did well despite all of its flaws in design and narrative. Rather than reuse the song from the movie, Eurocom and Activision decided to record a brand new rendition of the song, “GoldenEye”. In addition to bringing in David Arnold to score the soundtrack, they also managed to get Nicole Scherzinger to provide the vocals for the song. For those who don’t know, Scherzinger is widely known as one of the members of the pop girl band, The Pussycat Dolls, but has since made a name for herself over the decades with songs like “Whatever U Like”, “Baby Love”, and “Supervillain”. At the time of this video, Scherzinger is currently venturing into the grand, theatrical world of Broadway.

From the Ishimura With Love

“GoldenEye’s” connection to “Killer Instinct” was something truly bizarre for us to discover, especially in the ways that the whole thing unfolded. But would you believe that the 2010 remake managed to establish a connection between James Bond and “Dead Space”? It’s nothing narrative or even related to staff members. Really, the connection is in the game’s engine as the 2010 remake used a modified version of the same engine that was used to develop “Dead Space: Extraction”, the rail shooter spin-off that was released for Wii in 2009. The game was co-developed by Eurocom and Visceral Games, the studio behind the original “Dead Space”. The game had used a game engine called EngineX, which Eurocom had used for even more games prior to “GoldenEye 2010” such as 2003’s “Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy” and even “007: Nightfire”.

You Only Play Twice

What may be the biggest offense in regards to the 2010 remake is when you look at what we almost got in its stead. In 2007, rumors began circulating about a “GoldenEye” remaster being released for Xbox 360, and it was a remaster being worked on by Rare themselves. It was to be the original game with brand new character models and texture work to make the game fully realized in visuals while retaining the classic game feel. Unfortunately, this game never got a reveal let alone an announcement. It wasn’t until 2021 when a playable build of the game was leaked online, effectively confirming the game once existed. The only caveat is that you need a somewhat beefy computer to run it.

The Indie Dev Who Loved Me

As 2022 quickly approached, one group of fans were dead set on giving “GoldenEye” a proper remaster dubbed “GoldenEye 25”. Fan games are cool and all, but one thing people don’t realize is that you run the risk of attracting unwanted attention, in this case, that attention coming from MGM, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Just as “GoldenEye 25” was finishing up, this group of fans received a cease-&-desist from MGM, forcing them to rework the game. They wound up forming the studio called Sweet Bandits Studios and turned the game into “Deceive Inc.”, released in 2023. Today, Sweet Bandits Studios is no more due to “Deceive Inc.’s” poor commercial performance.

Never Say Never…Except This One Time

It’s almost safe to say that no one will ever capture the magic of “GoldenEye” ever again. While most indie devs are trying to capture the spirit of legendary IPs like “Crash Bandicoot”, “Banjo-Kazooie”, and “Resident Evil”, almost no one has attempted to replicate the success of “GoldenEye”. At the time of this video, only two indie games have been showing promise in their inspirations. “Dangerous Connections” is an FPS set during the Cold War and sports gunplay similar to “GoldenEye” while taking advantage of the visual fidelity possible with modern technology. The game is scheduled to release in 2026. On the flip side, “Agent 64: Spies Never Die” is focusing on cramming more ideas in design while retaining a polygonal look reminiscent of the Nintendo 64. We will definitely be keeping an eye on both of these titles, and we highly recommend you do the same.

The Legalities Are Never Enough

So, why does it seem so impossible to simply port “GoldenEye” over to modern hardware? The easy answer is “MGM makes it difficult”, but that isn’t entirely the case. There are more legal webs to video games than just “who owns this IP”. The problem for a game like “GoldenEye” is that all sorts of companies hold certain rights and licenses over the game. Not only do you have to worry about the owner of the IP, you have to get approval from the party that holds the video game rights, the company who owns the console that emulates the images for the game, the company who made the engine that the game runs on, the company whose product you used to program physics, the people who signed their likenesses for use in THAT version of the game in particular, the party that may own music you used, the company who may now own any of the parties from any of those groups… Just from that list alone, to get “GoldenEye” re-released, you need to contact Eon Productions, the Broccoli family, Nintendo, Microsoft, MGM, Pierce Brosnan’s agent along with the agents of all of the other actors who lent their likenesses to the game, and whatever company Rare bought plugins from to make “GoldenEye’s” custom engine. And we know there are likely several more companies involved than the ones we just listed. It is that big of a pain.

Did any of these facts about “GoldenEye” surprise you? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!