Pros: A loving remnant of the days when we used to get "junior" versions of the big boy home console games released for portable systems. Well, this is a whole new game, but in spirit, it's a mini Banjo-Kazooie adventure. Quasi-3D overhead platformer that has the major beats of a Banjo-Kazooie game. All the moves, plenty of the Kazooie classics like Talon Trot, Wonderwing, Shock Spring Jumps, etc, and some Banjo ones too like the Pack Whack! There's a handful of new transformations (Mumbo still here, who can transform you into a rat, a candle, a tank, and an octopus, and they're each pretty well made, and you can even transform as them on each and every world upon unlocking). We've got a healthy supply of various eggs (battery eggs is a strange choice, but sure, why not). And you can't have a Banjo-Kazooie without all of those silly NPCs and their mumbly dialogue, and of course large sprawling worlds with plenty of Jiggies and Jinjos (only six worlds here, fewer than previous Banjo games, but again, this is a "junior" Banjo-Kazooie experience, shorter than a big boy home console game). Aaaand there's a few quirky minigames that are honestly kinda half baked. Point is, it definitely has what it takes to be a real deal Banjo-Kazooie game.

The story has Gruntilda stealing Kazooie and going back in time before she and Banjo met. It's a fine story I suppose, the past hardly feels like the past though, but you do come across some nifty elements like the construction of Grunty's Lair face on Spiral Mountain (or the destruction of the Jinjo head that was in its place, rather...) , we see a 70s era Disco Mumbo, and upon rescuing Kazooie we also meet a family of Breegulls (Kazooie was the only Breegull seen in the original home console games, so it's a fun new element here), and then there's Bottles' old ass ancestor, Bozzeye, to teach you all the moves in the game, there's always gotta be a new mole. And by the end of the game, it's satisfactory enough, well, might feel a little short, but satisfactory nonetheless.

Cons: Somewhat rough around the edges, as one might expect from the portable team at Rare, like, in a general sense. We got a lot of Comic Sans font going on, a lot of the music, while fine in its own right, doesn't quite matchup to the Kirkhope classics, and I'd say the minigames, like the shooting and slide minigames, feel stiff and unpolished. Just yeah, in a general sense, it doesn't feel up to par in terms of quality compared to the previous two Banjo-Kazooie games on Nintendo 64.

What it means to me: I recall looking forward to this game immensely when it was first revealed in like, what was it E3 2001? Back when Rare was still a partner of Nintendo's and they showed off a load of future releases. I was like "FINALLY! a portable Banjo-Kazooie!!" we had already gotten a portable Conker, a portable Perfect Dark, loads of portable Donkey Kongs, it was time for Banjo-Kazooie on a handheld, and it looked GREAT!! Well, I may have oversold it... but, it's still a short sweet little Banjo-Kazooie game that released during a time when we were really missing the presence of Rare on Nintendo consoles. Like, yeah, after Rare was sold to Microsoft, I feared we may have lost this one along with so many others, glad we got it in the end.

This is a pretty fun game that manages to capture the feel of the N64 originals, for better and worse, translating the mini-sandboxes of the 3D games into 2d. And that mostly works, some issues with unclear relative height of platforms aside. The graphics are nice, the script is sharp, it manages to recreate loads more of Banjo and Kazooie's moves than I expected and it's all pretty fun.

The biggest problem though is that cluserfck of a final bos. First, it's locked behind a time trial platforming task, but one that requires consumables to activate. Then you're presented with a three stage boss fight, with no chance to save between them and the only opportunity to heal coming from defeating minions in the middle one (which requires those same consumables as before). These three fights are interspersed with quiz sections that can absolutely get fcked. Loads of audio questions, so sod you if you've been playing with the sound off (or are deaf) and reprises of the mini-games, some of which you can lose more health in, due to random chance. Just an absolute toilet of anti-player choices that ruin the ending of an otherwise solid game, and why I've got this as "abandoned" rather than "completed".