Former RARE dev shows off the first sketch of Conker

The release of Conker’s Bad Fur Day on the N64 was an incredibly big deal for Nintendo. This title came about in an era when not only gamers, but the industry was becoming absolutely obsessed with ‘mature’ titles. Back then, there were certainly Mature-rated games on the N64, but not nearly as many as the PS1 at that time. That’s why it was a nice surprise to see Conker’s Bad Fur Day come our way, and somewhat shocking that Nintendo was taking on publishing duties.

While Conker is well-known as a Mature-rated character and game nowadays, some might not know that Conker started out as a very kid-friendly idea. The original plan was for Conker to be, much like Banjo-Kazooie, a title for all ages. This was back when the game was being called Conker 64, and then eventually Twelve Tales: Conker 64.

With such a different direction for the title, it’s not surprising the characters and content were quite different in the early days as well. Today brings us our best look at that version of Conker yet, as former RARE dev Chris Seavor has shown off the very first sketches of the squirrelly character.

The version of Conker above is almost unrecognizable compared to what we saw in the final game. Honestly, most would probably think this was a completely different character without the context! It’s pretty wild to see just how different Conker started out, especially when you consider the style and direction RARE eventually settled on.