Croc Dev Wants to Bring Back Underrated Nintendo 64 Game from 1998

Executives at Argonaut, developer of the recently remastered Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, have expressed a desire to remaster Buck Bumble, an overlooked title of the Nintendo 64 era. First released in 1998, Buck Bumble was developed by Argonaut and published by Ubisoft as a Nintendo 64-exclusive 3D shooter.

In an era defined by the increasing prevalence of remakes and remasters, it's becoming somewhat common to see old games given the same prominence and treatment as brand-new ones. The recent rerelease of PS1 classic Croc: Legend of the Gobbos is just one example of the revival trend and demonstrates its upside, introducing new players to a classic and recalling warm memories in players that grew up with Croc and other games of the era.

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In a recent interview published by MCV Develop (via VGC), Argonaut co-CEO Mike Arkin and founder Jez San expressed a desire to potentially remaster or rerelease the 1998 third-person shooter Buck Bumble someday. They didn't specify when or even if such a project might happen, though. Arkin said that he hopes that "Buck Bumble will also have his day in the sun, eventually." As Buck Bumble was a standalone N64 game, an Argonaut-led remaster would be the first time it has left its native platform, if it were to happen.

Developer Argonaut Wants to Remaster Buck Bumble Eventually

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While Argonaut did mention the game might be remastered eventually, fans of one of the N64's most creative debut characters may have to stay patient as they wait for news. That's because Argonaut is currently in the midst of remastering Croc 2 in the wake of the success of the Croc: Legend of the Gobbos remaster. According to Arkin, "early work" is underway on the Croc 2 remaster, which will involve a different approach to remastering due to Croc 2 having a different engine than Croc 1. All this would put Buck Bumble further in the back of the line for attention from Argonaut. Elsewhere in the interview, Arkin and San mentioned that the reason they chose Croc for remastering was due to its popularity, which far outstripped any other Argonaut project, including the studio's breakout project, Starglider, which San called his "first-born" game.

By comparison, Buck Bumble was more obscure due to the Nintendo 64 being a less popular console at the time. Even today, the game is less known for its quality or influence than for the fact that it remains an N64 exclusive game with no official rerelease or port, not even via Nintendo's emulation-based Switch Online catalog.

With luck, fans of Buck Bumble won't have to wait long for Argonaut to try its hand at a remaster. If successful, it could open the door to reviving the property, potentially establishing its titular cybernetic bee hero as a new mascot for the current generation.