What a solid little game. Banjo-Kazooie is one of my favourite games, it might even be my favourite N64 game!

While I’ve played the original a whole bunch, I never had the chance to play the GBA game until now and let me say it was a very pleasant surprise.

It’s basically the 3D collect-o-thon platformer that I love shrunken down onto a handheld. Sure there’s a few issues like having trouble telling just how high something is when jumping to it and there’s a few Jiggies that are a pain but the problems are few and far between.

One thing I loved that the game did different from the others is its transformations. Basically in the old games each world had only one but here you can use any transformation in any world which made them feel way more important. I just wish they would have used them even more than they did.

In fact I just wish there was more game to play, with only 5 worlds along with the hub world there isn’t a whole lot of game. With that said what is there is great and if you’re a Banjo fan you should definitely play it. A GBA game I see myself coming back to.

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.

The criminally overlooked Banjo game – even by myself. Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie are loved by many, Nuts & Bolts get unfair hate (it’s a brilliant game) but at least it gets some attention. Banjo’s outing on the Game Boy Advance however, barely gets mentioned, and I didn’t even properly play it until now.

Turning a Banjo-Kazooie game into a GBA game sounds like a daunting task to me. The obvious route would be 2D, but I don’t think that would capture the spirit of the game. Instead, Rare went for an isometric-like viewpoint (it’s more head on, so you’re not mainly walking diagonally), and somehow managed to squeeze the feeling of a Banjo game into the tiny GBA.

Most impressive is Banjo and Kazooie’s moveset. Most of the moves from the first game are here and work really well with the limited buttons on the GBA. Firing eggs has been changed drastically, as Banjo now holds Kazooie like a gun (like the first person segments of Banjo-Tooie), allowing you to move around a bit more freely to line up shots, which works really well. You also get access to different egg types like electric, fire and ice.

The gold feathers and red feathers suffer the worst fate. Gold feathers are now only activated from a pad, so are only utilised a few times, while flying is not in the game at all. However, I can see how flying in this would be a nightmare so it’s understandable. Even with these, moving around really does capture the feel of Banjo-Kazooie perfectly.

There is one main flaw with the viewpoint: sometimes it’s difficult to judge where a platform is, as you can’t tell how high it is. One thing that does help is that Banjo’s shadow is visible to help you aim, but you’ll still mess up a fair few times. Grunty’s Revenge is more lenient with lives as it has none, instead allowing you to continue from your last “door”, having saved everything you have collected. This alleviates the unfairness of jumping on platforms as it means it never takes long to try again.

The graphics look lovely on the GBA, it gives the game a 3D feel despite being in 2D, which makes Banjo and Kazooie look more natural and like their N64 versions. Each level is accompanied by catchy music with 10 jiggies to find (one of them being finding all 5 jinjos) with a wide manner of ways to find or earn them. Each level does have a minigame which consists of a fishing game, a shooting game, a slide or a sort of dodgems game. These are easily the weakest parts of the game as the minigames are not fun (the shooting is fine).

Each world can be completed the first time you go through it, with the exception of the swamp level, which needs a later transformation for one jiggy. Transformations also return, with Mumbo providing them. They work slightly differently here: once you have unlocked a transformation, you can then use it in any level. This gives them a bit more time to shine, and it’s usually clear as you explore levels as to which ones you’ll need. They’re all adorable, especially mouse Banjo.

Grunty’s Revenge is a short game, taking between 4-5 hours, but for the most part it’s an incredibly fun experience that captures the feeling of the N64 Banjo games extremely well.

It’s pretty good!

It’s not the BEST Banjo-Kazooie game ever made, but for a Banjo game on GBA? They did a pretty great job of translating the gameplay over.

Lots of neat little lore things sprinkled in help make it more interesting. Like seeing the big stone Jingaling head taken down and replaced with Grunty’s, THATS NEAT! That is NEAT!

So yeah, good Banjo game!

When people rant and rave about how good the Banjo-Kazooie series was "until nuts and bolts", I always wonder why they forget to mention this one. I didn't think it was anything special, and I liked the first one. Do people forget or not know that this one exists, or do they like it?

I think doing everything in this game is a lot more frustrating than the first one. The platforming is really janky with the perspective they chose to put the game camera at. They also shove in a few of these mini games that are more frustrating than fun to complete. All of the areas are way less charming too, although it's funny that Grunty's come back yet again but as a giant mecha robot this time. It just wasn't the game for me, unfortunately.

Banjo-Kazooie in a bite-sized package! Whether you are a fan of collect-a-thons or goofy cartoon bears, Banjo-Kazooie is a series that, more often than not, delivers an enjoyable experience. Grunty's Revenge is no exception, being the third entry into the series and serving as the iconic duo's foray into the handheld world. As a fan of the series, finding out there were more Jiggies and Notes to collect left a smile on my face. Other fans will share a similar grin, but if the franchise is not one of your favorites, sadly, the game will be mediocre in terms of length and difficulty. Not every Gameboy Advanced title needs to be 10+ hours long, but coming in at a whopping 5 hours of playtime on the first playthrough, even a hardcore Banjo enthusiast will want more.

Rareware efficiently captures the core mechanics of the original and sequel, culminating in an isometric 2.5D platformer that takes place between the games. Gruntilda's lackey Klungo has created a giant mech suit capable of being inhabited by the witch's ghost for her to travel back to the past to prevent the events of the first game. The hag even kidnaps Kazooie! An inspired plot to say the least. Banjo has to travel back to the distant past to save his feathered friend, but during the trip, he loses his memory regarding the repertoire of moves learned from the titular N64 title. Some abilities stay forgotten, like the ability to fly once the brash-beaked companion makes her return, and others get altered somewhat, like Wonderwings requiring a designated pad along with golden feathers to use.

This change is disappointing since an iconic move does not appear until World 4 of a five World game, with the other omitted. Maybe the developers had hardware limitations, but regardless, the move pool felt shallow. Truthfully, most of the game is beatable by utilizing a mixture of the roll and the Talon Trot between moments of forced mechanic implementation. There were never times when the other moves felt necessary.

Equally shallow were the minigames - reskinned versions of either fishing, sliding, or keep away, none of which are overtly enjoyable. Spotty controls tend to make these games, along with some platforming sections, outright agitating. However, the most frustrating element of the entire game is learning that a max rank requires a player to defeat the final boss while finding all collectibles in under 2 hours and 20 minutes. A reasonable goal for the well-informed but ultimately compels a casual completionist into a forced second playthrough.

Issues aside, Grunty's Revenge is a pleasant addition to a beloved franchise long since left to the annals of gaming history (besides the Smash Ultimate DLC). Every quip and rhyme harkened to halcyon days spent nabbing Jiggies in front of a buzzing CRT. Even the music elicits memories of Grant Kirkhope's iconic soundtracks, even without his inclusion. It may have gotten released in 2003, but in 2023 it was a nostalgic surprise and simultaneously a disheartening cap end to an era of Rareware titles on Nintendo consoles, one that evaded this longtime fan's radar far too long. Seek this title out, core fans of the series (casuals, best to pass), and enjoy a brief reminder as to why the bear and the bird hold a special place in the hearts of thousands of players.

this was fine! charming graphics, an alright soundtrack (probably the worst of the banjo games but also it's a gba game like what do u want), and surprisingly well translated controls all lead to a pretty fun time.

the isometric camera angle is a little odd at times, a bit hard to know what's background and what isn't and if you can jump on specific platforms but otherwise it works well. the worlds were all okay, but bad magic bayou, and especially spiller's harbor were just frustrating and unfun. the rest were good, nothing super special but solid. i liked all the little mini games, and the bosses were alright too. i will say the final boss was a bit much, i only died once, but it's like 5 phases long and if you die at any phase you have to not only restart the fight, but also redo the puzzle to get into the fight! that's just obnoxious!

this game was silly and fun but not a must play or anything. mostly carried by the charm of banjo as a series, and if you don't fuck with that you probably will not have a very good time at all.

A very overlooked and underrated game in the Banjo Series. It's got it's problems and quirks, but if you want a new portable Banjo experience, this game may just be a nice surprise for you. The game goes for a semi topdown view, but still very much feels like a Banjo Kazooie game, just shorter. There are a couple of headache inducing challenges, and the constant recycling of mini games can get a bit tedious, but it doesn't takeaway the fact that all in all it's still a quick and breezy playthrough. I highly recommend checking it out if you've never tried it before.

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".

I dunno man, it just doesn't hold up very well. I played it as a kid, and I remember it being better.

I guess it's impressive that it runs at all, and runs well at that, but it's a little bit too short, aimless, and repetitive for me to be in love with it.

Still, it's Banjo. Feels very budget Banjo, but I guess it's an alright replacement if it's all ya got...

For as specific as this sounds, I have a soft spot for GBA titles that try to reproduce the effect of fifth generation 3D platformers on limited 32-bit hardware. Grunty's Revenge is clearly going for that sort of thing here. Banjo-Threeie this ain't, but it's a cute enough companion title to the N64 games.

I do wish there was a little more here, though. The mini-games and boss fights are all solid enough, but I feel like there's an awful lot of repetition within them. The levels are a decent start, but I feel like there could be one or two more to even out some of the pacing. It's honestly admirable that they were able to translate a decent amount of Banjo and Kazooie's moves to the new format, but I wish there were more original moves - Battery Eggs and the Pack Whack are the only two, and the former's just used for a couple lock-and-key puzzles.

But enough translates over from the N64 games that I'm little inclined to complain. The writing's still there, there's some fun with the time travel setup (I like that all you have to do to make it 70s is give everyone lava lamps), Mecha Grunty's a fun new variation on the old hag, and by gum, they snuck in a Furnace Fun. For as middling as most of the game's boss fights are, it's great to see that Grunty still has a phenomenal final boss, doubly impressive on the limited hardware.

Honestly, decently impressed with this one. I think my buddy Gooms put it best - this isn't gonna sustain you for long or anything, but if you've been starving for SOMEthing Banjo-Kazooie, this'll sate you, at least for a little while.

(Everything I express in this review is simply a personal opinion. Please do not get mad at me. People still have valid reasons to enjoy this game.)
Frankly, I didn't find this game too fun. I'm sorry. Even though I CAN still say it's a good game.

Note: the first part of my review is going to be kind of negative, but I had lots of things I liked about this game, so feel free to skip ahead.

I'm putting "played" here, because I can't say in good faith I've done everything in this game. I got right up to the final boss, but died at the second round, quit, and lost an hour of progress because I forgot to save. It brings me to a feature I would like: if it would save when you select "quit". However, I watched the final boss and ending, so in my mind I've seen everything I wanted to see with this game.

It's my first experience with Banjo-Kazooie. I might be starting off on the wrong foot here. Rare's other games have impressed me ( see the Donkey Kong Country series), which I find ingenious. This one, not so much.

Many have complained about the camera angle, but I just didn't find the core gameplay loop fun at all: collection felt mindless rather than rewarding. It was tiresome to backtrack to certain areas to get these puzzle pieces ("Jiggy's"), mostly because I didn't find the areas notable. Aesthetically, they were the artistic equivalent of Home Depot.

It suffered some from, I think, a lack of meaningful places and NPC's. I'm not asking for this game to be some kind of world building RPG, simply that it makes the areas fun to revisit. There are secrets in each place, sure, but a lot of them are monotonous, like (literally) grey sewage pipes. My favorite was this sand castle in the harbor area, which I found charming because it was made up of these small things that distinguished it from the previous area, the little background details: sea stars, candy wrappers and such, really helped break up the monotony a little, even added some character. The pre-rendered graphics I also found really worked towards a pleasing whole. It was really cool seeing all the little pre-rendered buildings, like the temple. Being able to go through the chimney into a luxurious hotel room, and see the little luxurious, tiger-striped bed, TV, and lamp in all it's pre-rendered glory, on a GBA no less, was a weird kind of liminal (to be pretentious) experience. It was little things like that, the details, that really made this one charming.

Part of the monotony could be broken also, by getting to know the people you meet in the game more. For example there is an ice cream vendor in a truck, maybe in the later worlds, they could come to visit Banjo and Kazooie later on with a new ice cream store. Or maybe they are starting a shaved ice business and getting ice from Freezing Furnace (the ice themed area). These are just examples. I think seeing how the world develops would be cool, of course within system limitations and all that. Maybe even have new plotlines that happen only after you finish an area and go back to it.

I want to try the other Banjo-Kazooie's, however. Simply because of the charm of the world in this one.

It is charming, for some reason the character design and art direction reminds me a little of Wallace and Gromit, in it's kind of playful and lightly caricaturized design (and it has animals with googly eyes, reminding me of Wallace and Gromit)

TLDR: My impressions of this game is that it IS worth trying, just wasn't for me. Partially because of my expectations: I went in expecting something deep, like a real lengthy story-based game. It's not exactly like that, far from a world building action-adventure.

However what this game excels at is it's whimsical, childlike sense of humor, and it's unique attempt at putting a series of 3D platformers on the GBA. If you love collect-athon gameplay, a childlike sense of whimsy, or pre-rendered graphics, I would recommend this to you, with some reservations.

Safe to say I am fully gameboy-pilled now. I'm just playing middling gameboy games all the time. I'm fascinated by this era, when we had like, well this is the gameboy version of a big time console game. Now that the Switch is here, there's a lot less of that. Phone games had some of it but now they're kind of their own thing trying to bait whales with microtransactions.

Now, Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel are pretty much defined by being 3D platformers, but I'd have to say Rare was well positioned for this project for a few reasons. First, they had experience in making fake 3D sprites with Donkey Kong Country. Second, they're British so they made a ton of isometric platformers with controls designed for maniacs. Third, they were bought by Microsoft and could therefore unleash their full wrath on the North American audience by not using an isometric view for this one. You thought you didn't like three quarters perspective? See how you like it when you can't tell how tall anything is assholes!

Also, this is an interquel which attempts to expand on the Banjo-Kazooie lore, possibly the most ridiculous sentence possible. It doesn't actually do a good job of that because the time travel plot was invented later in development and doesn't exist beyond the opening story scene. But still, this video game has a plot and that plot is that the villain turns herself into a ghost to possess a robot body that can also time travel to try and prevent Banjo and Kazooie from ever meeting therefore altering the timeline and ensuring she can turn into Posh Spice in the first game.

The game's perfectly fine! It's all a little off model and scaled down but this allows for a level called Bad Magic Bayou that doesn't add any new incredibly racist charicature characters (Mumbo Jumbo is sadly still present). It's short and it's easy but I wish more of Rare's output had this level of restraint. If you made me play either this or Yooka-Laylee again.... this is shorter and I could try and get a maximum five jiggy ranking in it.