The following is a transcript from a video review, which can be viewed here:
https://youtu.be/caAgVyXGOww

Online video game review has a pet collection of games that are universally agreed to be unscalable. Games that even the angriest youtube angry man would hesitate to unleash their trademark angry rants upon, for fear of having their anger licence revoked and having to direct that anger at something equally harmless, like minority groups. For as long as people have been posting their thoughts about games online, some games seem to only ever garner positive opinions. Everyone knows that Super Metroid is a good game, even those who haven’t played it. We’ve been told often enough to believe it. This isn’t a problem; sometimes there are games that really do have a comprehensive appeal, but that list can’t be as long as it seems. People are nostalgic for dial-up internet and command-based operating systems, they’re maniacs. Moreover, many of the most revered games were exclusive to the Nintendo 64, a stumble in Nintendo’s hardware manufacturing record that would host just more than a tenth of the library that the original Playstation had. Third parties were abandoning the platform, making it extremely unlikely for something transcendent to appear. Perhaps it was the smaller library that led many to conclude that Banjo Kazooie is one of the greatest games ever made.

Originally released in 1998, Banjo Kazooie was Rare’s first stab at a platforming game within the then new third dimension, though it wasn’t their first 3D project. Blast Corps, GoldenEye 007, and Diddy Kong Racing were all released in ‘97 which seems absolutely ridiculous. How this one company managed to pump out so many games is astounding, but that they were generally critically acclaimed is incredible too. Reviews of Banjo Kazooie often connected the game to Super Mario 64, comparing each individual aspect and often proclaiming Banjo the victor in the head-to-head. Mario’s overall moveset in 64 is quite robust, but Banjo managed to have most of Mario’s stuff and more. People were very receptive to the exploration gameplay style, which made the game more accessible, while the controls and abilities allowed more capable players to get creative as they played. Banjo Kazooie actually has characters too, allowing Rare’s personality to take centre stage. Gruntilda always has something to say, making her presence known throughout the entire game. The play spaces are small by today’s standards, but every one is crammed full of things to do that very little of the game’s environment is wasted. There are some empty spaces now and again, but it is extremely rare so it is always valuable to run through every corner just to see. And while the presentation has certainly aged, Banjo Kazooie’s colourful worlds and detailed textures are still pleasant today. Everywhere is bright and lively, and reviews and retrospectives are not hesitant to lionise the presentation, especially the soundtrack.

I wouldn’t see Banjo Kazooie until I was able to access the internet. My dad brought an original Playstation home once, with a copy of Crash Bandicoot 3, though I don’t really know why he chose it. I played my Gameboy Colour to death, and occasionally tinkered with a PC game whenever the computer wasn’t in use. The other kids I lived near would also play PC games, and I don’t think I had ever seen a Nintendo 64 in person until I purchased mine. But with access to YouTube and an interest in video games, it wouldn’t take long for me to learn of Banjo Kazooie and its apparent greatness. But every video that mentions the game will typically skip past explaining anything about it and only ever mention its gloriousness in passing. Since I acquired my Nintendo 64, I’ve played a couple of games on it and it’s been rocky. I played Ocarina of Time first and really enjoyed it. Then I was going to play Operation: WinBack but I didn’t have the controller memory card thing so I played Body Harvest instead. I had seen some generally positive stuff about Body Harvest online, but, man… That game is not good. It was also made in the UK, like Banjo Kazooie, so my expectations were all over the place. But that darkness soon lifted once I started the stream.

Banjo Kazooie’s tone kicks the door down and screams about how much fun it’ll be as soon as the console is powered on. The bright, saturated palette is on full display as the game’s joyful intro song cycles through a bunch of instruments. This song kind of comes across as a flex, the composers finally able to show their full power with a much broader range of sounds to make music with compared to previous consoles. It’s infectious too. Most of the songs make use of similar progressions or musical phrases that add a great deal of cohesion to the soundtrack, giving each location an air of belonging despite how different their themes might be. And the number of variations to the songs really helps to establish a scale to the adventure. When the song transitions to its underwater variant and then to an interior variant, and then to a mini-boss variant the idea that the level was progressing through different stages was easy to believe. It was still clearly Gobi’s Valley, but it has become something beyond an introduction. That being said, not every track is a winner. The alarms and whistles in the Rusty Bucket Bay song are obnoxious, and the melody actually makes me a little dizzy. This level also doesn’t do much for me visually. Clanker’s Cavern already executed the grimey place-of-industry aesthetic with a far more creative centrepiece. Rusty Bucket Bay is just a dockyard with a boat in it. I think Banjo Kazooie is one of the most technically impressive games on the system, I really can’t imagine the Nintendo 64 being taken further than this, but some of the level concepts don’t leave a lot of space for imaginative inclusions. Bubblegloop Swamp almost wrings every possibility out of the idea of a swamp level, with its giant crocodile head, logs and lily pads, and the village on stilts being lifted out of the murky water. The idea of entering an animal’s shell as an extra bit of depth is charming, but the player had already entered a big shell in Treasure Trove Cove. Nothing in the game is particularly ugly looking, and I think the visuals are still wonderful, but there are things that just seem to be stretched too thin or have ended up underdeveloped; the inside of the sphinx in Gobi’s Desert is a good example. These things only stick out in my mind because I’m searching for something to say, though, because talking about how much I liked Mad Monster Mansion’s presentation doesn’t bring anything new to the conversation.

My thoughts on the game’s controls also echo the statements made by others before me, but I still feel that a lot of things are worth saying. Not to excessively deride Body Harvest, but Banjo Kazooie’s responsive controls blows DMA Design’s game out of the water. Banjo’s ground speed and acceleration are perfect, absolutely flawless. And he immediately responds to player inputs. Drake’s slow turning speed and pitiful acceleration are truly inexcusable when Rare managed to get controls to be this responsive. Banjo Kazooie’s controls certainly feel tight and that sensation does a lot to make the game a joy to play, though I do think that the player can be ill-equipped to deal with particular obstacles throughout their journey. They’re rare, but there are a few instances where the player has to land on some tiny platforms with the little shadow indicator being extremely difficult to see, or typically off screen somewhere. The player can sometimes use Kazooie’s double jump to slow their falling momentum briefly to make their landings more accurate, but during a backflip the player is locked out of using the double jump. The backflip is sometimes required to climb certain obstacles, so the inability to double jump can be frustrating. And it isn’t as though this limitation prevents the player from accessing places they shouldn’t be able to get to. There are tiles on the ground that allow the player to take to the skies and fly around so it isn’t as though the game couldn’t accommodate a higher jump. The flight and swimming control fantastically, but they both suffer from the camera’s refusal to be useful. It often lazily follows Banjo, sticking about 10 feet behind him which is rarely ever enough to actually see what’s happening. Now, the game only has one instance where the stakes are high during flight, so for the most part this angle isn’t too much of a problem.

On the topic of stakes, there isn’t much to challenge the player within Banjo Kazooie, outside of a few minigames and the final battle. The majority of levels have very few enemies and even fewer hazards so the player is in little danger for a huge chunk of the game. Usually there’s a large space to explore and collect the various items scattered around, perhaps the player has to climb to a higher level to collect more stuff or jump across some water where the consequences are simply having to run back to wherever the player had fallen from. There are a handful of scenarios to stumble upon that function as puzzles; sometimes an NPC has a challenge to complete, sometimes the player has to use a transformation for something, and other times there’s a timed challenge which can vary wildly in difficulty. For accessibility’s sake, these are excellent things. If someone is struggling to complete one task, they can simply move to another that may be more suited to their capability. There are a handful of difficult challenges throughout early levels that I think are far beyond the other content of the levels they’re within. If turning the key to allow Clanker to rise to the water’s surface was tough for me, how would someone less capable than I fare? In most cases, though, the player can choose to do something else and come back when they feel more comfortable, though this isn’t always true. In order to gain access to the final boss the player will have to collect the majority of the jigsaw pieces and notes so while the player can pick and choose to progress, eventually the ride stops.

Within each level there are 100 notes to collect, and usually 10 jigsaw pieces, though sometimes triggers in the level can cause a piece to appear within the hub. Notes collected within a level are instanced to that particular visit, each level has a “note score” that resets upon the player leaving the level for whatever reason. Walking over the entry tile or dying causes the player to leave the level, so it’s fortunate that most of the level designs are relaxed. Mumbo’s Mountain is sort of an extension of the tutorial; most of the tasks involve shooting eggs at things or utilising Kazooie’s Talon Trot ability to climb steep slopes. It’s easy to see that the level is designed around these abilities, which isn’t a trend that carries much deeper into the game. Treasure Trove Cove is the next level and is probably my favourite in the game. It’s a self-contained island with challenges spread around in a way that seems natural. The pirate ship is moored in the bay, there’s a few different beachside activities to engage with, and the lighthouse at the top of the central rock allows the player to get a good view of the entirety of the level. And it is the actual level. It’s possible to fall from the top of the lighthouse to the beach far below, though I wouldn’t recommend doing it. Very impressive, and one of my favourite environments on the console so far. After Treasure Trove Cove is Clanker’s Cavern which is quite the juxtaposition. The jump from the sunny, clear beach to Gruntilda’s waste solution is a big visual shift and I do like it. I also enjoy how the clean sea water is more dangerous to swim in compared to the wastewater that the player will be spending much more time diving into and out of. The level’s focus around interacting with Clanker is also a new concept for the level design that differentiates it from those that came before and keeps the game feeling fresh. There’s a bit of a blunder in the level designs in my eyes when we get to Bubblegloop Swamp. The level looks like a bunch of obstacles were dropped in an environment and then a wall was drawn around it. Then, from this point forward, the levels switch between these styles again. Freezey Peak and Rusty Bucket Bay are both centre-piece levels, although I don’t find them to be nearly as interesting as Clanker’s Cavern. Then Gobi’s Desert is another collection of stuff with a wall. And then Mad Monster Mansion is the only other level in the game that approaches Treasure Trove Cove’s excellence in terms of design, but most of the tasks associated with jigsaw pieces aren’t as masterfully designed as they were previously. And then, the penultimate level, Click Clock Wood is really, really long. The level’s themed around the four seasons, giving the player 4 entrances into an environment that’s mostly a single, big tree, and then changing the aesthetic to represent each season. It’s fine for the first couple, but by the time I got to winter I was eager to move on. Collecting all 100 notes in Click Clock Wood takes forever, and falling out of the tree in autumn or winter can be a gigantic setback. But once the player has finally managed to do what they needed, they can move on to the game’s conclusion.

Generally, the game is fabulously designed and tremendously polished, but I’m not entirely sold on everything, particularly toward the end of the game. Click Clock Wood drags and there has been a lot of emptiness that wasn’t present earlier in the game. The quiz maze is a great concept, and the questions about voices and locations are an ingenious way to implant these details into the player’s memory. The questions about Gruntilda aren’t so great, and I tried to avoid them whenever possible. The answers to these are randomly generated upon the save file’s creation, which means the player will always have to speak with Brentilda whenever they find her and then write down the answers to the questions. Are there people who enjoy these questions? Are these included in the generalised praise? Am I reaching for imperfections to try to justify a degree of cynicism? Let’s move on to the final battle.

Defeating Gruntilda is tough. She’s a witch, and her arsenal of attacks is a lot for one bear to overcome. The fight is also a gruelling 5 phase endurance test, in which Gruntilda shifts between different strategies to send the player back to the start of the fight. The first phase is a simple dodge test, which the game’s controls are well equipped to engage with and the game’s sound design keeps it wacky and light-hearted. Next is a projectile phase in which the player must shoot eggs at Gruntilda to get her to progress through the phase. Landing the eggs quickly is a good challenge, and greatly minimises risk of taking damage since Gruntilda will be locked down for so long. It’s here that the egg aiming mechanics start to come into play. Without the pressure of a boss battle, the egg shooting mechanic is a bit awkward. There isn’t any reduction to Banjo’s rotation speed so it can be a struggle to aim the eggs accurately, but since there aren't any consequences for messing up, it usually isn’t an issue. Here, though, missing the target can cause the player to be stuck in this phase for an extended period, which will inevitably result in them taking a hit or two. Not a problem for now, though, as once Gruntilda is knocked out of the phase the flying segment begins. The player has to use Kazooie’s flying attack to damage Gruntilda in the air, while she moves around, without any aim assistance, or useful camera controls. I died during this phase a lot. Gruntilda can be hard to find while flying around, she also doesn’t fly very high above the ground and colliding with it can cause Banjo to slide into the abyss. I have a deep respect for the kids who could get past this phase. Once that’s over, it’s Jinjo time. The final two phases of the battle both involve shooting eggs into statues, which awakens the Jinjo within to attack Gruntilda. The egg aiming challenges return here, but with a new spicy, lethality to really make sure the player doesn’t get to see the credits. I saw this phase a few times throughout the hour it took for me to finally defeat the witch and each failure was agony. I’m supposed to be good at video games! Why is this so hard? I managed, though. I saw the melons, I beat the game. And it’s great.

Explaining what makes Banjo Kazooie a legendary game is much easier than I was previously led to believe. The game is packed with character, the palette is appealing, the tone is light and silly, but it doesn’t talk down to the player. It also doesn’t patronise the player mechanically, but it is simultaneously accessible to everyone so people of any age and ability can enjoy the game. While there are most certainly things to criticise, Banjo Kazooie was developed in a relatively short period for hardware that offered a significant challenge to developers, not only because the game was created for the first generation of 3D capable video game consoles, but also because cartridges were significantly limited by what could fit inside of the plastic case. Banjo Kazooie is a triumph in design, in every respect that was squeezed into it. It’s a shame that these things hadn’t been articulated to me before, because I would have played this game a long time ago.

Something typically Euro, next time.

With the highly competitive era of the N64 & PS1, where there seemed to be just about one masterpiece coming out every month. This game still managed to write itself in the history books as one of the titans of it's era. Rare creating a game that many see as close to the levels of quality as Mario 64. Although I must say, as much as I love the game I can't say I see that personally, but moving on.

The movement in the game is impeccable, It's not the precise and fluid buttery smooth movement from Mario, but still an an incredibly well made movement, with loads of options on your set on how to travel around the vast world in this game. Which only helps to create an even large incentive to explore and collect more items.

Banjo Kazooie in my view is one of the best Collect-a-Thons the genre has seen. Really only failing to be the best in it's era due, to the simple fact that Nintendo released one of the greatest games of all time during it. Even still, it still uphelds itself today as one of the golden standards of the Collect-a-Thon genre. And one that every game developer, large or indie. Should look on to when it comes to developing a fun collecting experience.

I won't speak much about the games soundtrack. Because listening to it simply speaks for itself.

Banjo Kazooie to me is incredibly close to being a perfect game. And from seeing my rambling here you might even wonder why it isn't. Simply put, the game is finally starting to show some age, with a recent short play test of the game. I found myself a little bored, not as glued to the screen as I found myself growing up. An issue that would likely be resolved had the game received as much love as Mario 64 has, with it's very impressive modding community keeping the game up even to modern standards with 1920x1080 support, and 60fps. And Ocarina of Time also getting similar love with ShipofHarkinian(which if you are interested in playing Ocarina tdpay, should absolutely be the way you do so!). Banjo however has not received the same support, the game continues to become more and more outdated. I'm not one to complain much about frames and resolution, but Banjo is starting to show its age, and its something we need to accept. Banjo likely will eventually get a remake. Until that day however. Banjo to me is a solid 9/10

I think it speaks volumes of Banjo-Kazooie's stellar soundtrack that Grant Kirkhope is sort of the darling face of classy old Rare now. It's definitely a deserved accolade- no matter how unorthodox it might be that a composer overshadows the rest of the dev team, don't see that too often.

Beyond great music and precise platforming, what really sets the bear-and-bird's outing apart from its contemporaries is that cheeky, irreverent English humour and charm. The kind of game that has you smiling the whole way through, unless you don't realize you have to break in through the windows in Rusty Bucket Bay. Slightly bullshit, but went straight back to smiling when I hear all the lovely sound design again. Jinjoooo.