The massively successful GoldenEye 007 almost had more than one playable James Bond, but unfortunately character models for Sean Connery, Roger Moore & Timothy Dalton were left on the cutting room floor. This forced Pierce Brosnan's incarnation to spy and shoot alone in a title that is now a staple of gaming history.
It has been 25 years since Brosnan took over the role of 007 with the release of the GoldenEye on November 13, 1995. Though the film received generally positive reviews, GoldenEye's greatest impact on the gaming world would not come until nearly two years later. That ended up being GoldenEye 007 by developer Rare and, much to surprise of those involved with the project, it was a massive success, becoming the third highest selling Nintendo 64 game of all time, beating out the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Much of its success was attributed to the fast free roam movement and the split screen multiplayer, both relatively unheard of at the time. Though many who played GoldenEye 007 likely remember it fondly, there may be a twinge of disappointment for the lack of three small inclusions.
In a recent interview with The Independent, the game's director, Martin Hollis, and writer, David Doak, were asked about GoldenEye 007's development. One topic that came up was about the development team's original plan to have Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton as playable characters in the game's beloved multiplayer mode alongside Pierce Brosnan. Unfortunately, Nintendo's lawyers saw this as a potential legal concern in the future and asked the creative team to remove the other Bonds. Disappointed but understanding, the developers did just that.
“They saw the Bond stuff and weren’t so effusive about it,” remembers Doak. “We were asked to take out the four Bond mode with Sean Connery,” says Hollis glumly. “I think they were worried about him getting litigious.”
The interview continued on to cover a wide variety of topics about the game, from how the guns were named to the inclusion of cheat codes. One of the more curious discussions, however, revolved around Nintendo's surprise at how violent the game turned out. The gaming giant wanted to keep its family friendly image and therefore it ordered the removal of the gore animations. Considering the reputation of the James Bond IP, it is unclear how Nintendo could have been surprised by the violence depicted.
It is slightly disappointing to think about what could have been. This would have been a fun crossover in a time long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe made such events the norm. The lack of multiple Bonds does not take away anything from GoldenEye 007, but the game could have been even more successful with their inclusion. Yet that did not happen and 007 fans must continue to debate which James Bond is the best without the support of indisputable video game evidence.
Source: The Independent