| Project Dream | |
|---|---|
 Provisional title screen | |
| Developer(s) | Rare |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Designer(s) | Gregg Mayles |
| Artist(s) | Steve Mayles Ed Bryan |
| Composer(s) | |
| Platform(s) | Super NES, Nintendo 64 |
| Release | Released as Banjo-Kazooie in 1998. |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing, platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Project Dream was the codename of a cancelled role-playing video game (RPG), Dream: Land of Giants, that served as the basis for the 1998 game Banjo-Kazooie.[1] Developed by Rare, it was aimed for release on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), and later the Nintendo 64 (N64). The plot followed a young boy, Edson,[2] who caused trouble with pirates. The SNES version of Dream used an isometric perspective and had a fairy tale theme. After transitioning to the N64, the project became a more complex 3D RPG that had a greater emphasis on the pirate theme. Eventually, Dream was scaled back to a linear platform game in the vein of Donkey Kong Country (1994) that starred Banjo the bear, who became the protagonist of Banjo-Kazooie.
The game was developed by Rare's Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995) team over 16 months. It was inspired by Japanese RPGs and LucasArts adventure games, and the name Dream emphasized its fantastical themes. Dream was not completed because Rare believed it was too ambitious and different from their previous games. The game that became Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001) led them to retool it into a platformer inspired by Nintendo's Super Mario 64. The Dream concepts were re-integrated into Banjo-Kazooie, which was released to critical and commercial success.
- ^ Lindbergh, Ben (19 June 2018). "How 'Banjo-Kazooie' Became a Bridge Between Marios". The Ringer. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ @RareLtd (20 March 2015). "Not sure if that's news, but the boy hero of Project Dream (pre-Banjo) was called Edson, not Edison. #bombshell #probablynotabombshell" (Tweet) – via Twitter.