Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001)

Lore & Background

The game follows Conker, a greedy, hard-drinking red squirrel who must return home to his girlfriend, Berri, after an evening of heavily drinking at the local pub. The main antagonist is the Panther King, ruler of the land where Conker is lost. Other enemies include the Tediz, a Nazi-like group of teddy bears, and various other characters such as the Great Mighty Poo and Don Weaso of the Weasel Mafia.

In Their Own Story

The pub was warm and smelled of spilled ale. Conker slumped in his usual corner, a half-empty pint sweating on the table, his tail draped over the back of the chair like a rag. He was recounting, for the ninth time, the time he'd out-swung a badger with a slingshot, when the door banged open and a Badger in a too-small waistcoat stepped in, grinning with all its teeth.

"Your treasure, mate. All of it. The acorns, the shiny bits, the lot. You'll find it where the wind takes it."

Conker stared. The pint trembled in his paw. Outside, the forest was going quiet, the usual chorus of birds and rustling leaves dropping away like a curtain. He set the glass down, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and stood up, his joints cracking.

"Right then," he said, and the word 'right' carried the weight of a very bad day. "Let's go and get my stuff."

Reader's Guide

Most of the game requires the player to complete a linear sequence of challenges that involve jumping over obstacles, solving puzzles, and fighting enemies. The player controls Conker through three-dimensional levels, using abilities such as running, jumping, smacking enemies with a frying pan, swimming, climbing, and pushing objects. Context-sensitive pads grant temporary abilities. A multiplayer mode allows up to four players to compete in seven game types: Beach, Raptor, Heist, War, Tank, Race, and Deathmatch.

Did You Know?

• Development lasted four years, with concepts originating during the development of Killer Instinct Gold in 1996.
• The game was initially titled Twelve Tales: Conker 64 and intended for a family audience, but was transformed into an adult-oriented version after criticism at E3 1998.
• Conker's Bad Fur Day was released in North America on 5 March 2001, and in Europe on 6 April 2001.
• A remake, Conker: Live & Reloaded, was released for the Xbox in 2005.
• The original version was included in the Rare Replay compilation for Xbox One in 2015.