Back in September of 2023, I decided to replay both Banjo games to see how much I still liked them. It had been around 10 years since I had played Kazooie since then, and 4 years since I'd last played Tooie, so I was excited to dive into both games. Well, as it turns out, I loved replaying both so much I decided to replay them directly after. I very rarely do that, so I just knew I had to bump both games to a 10. Well, after my whole review purge, I decided to replay these once again and rereview them all over again. Only 7 months later after playing them both twice before, I'm a madman I know (haha you won't get this reference because those reviews are now deleted). Anyways, just like before...I had a blast replaying Kazooie and consider it one of the best N64 games ever.

The first thing I'll get into are the controls and Banjo-Kazooie's moveset in general. I honestly think this game controls masterfully, Banjo and Kazooie have such a varied move set that flows well with each of the levels. The talon trot is a must in every level as it let's you go through each area that much faster. With the c buttons, it's also really easy to remember how to perform it too. In fact, I haven't played the game on anything but the N64 itself, but idk how I'd feel about playing it on another controller just cuz I find the N64 controller fits it perfectly lol. Besides the talon trot, you also have a roll attack, rat-a-tat rap which is an aerial move, golden feathers which you can use to turn invincible as long as you have them, red feathers which you can use to fly (and the flight in this game is more satisfying than Mario 64), the beak bomb which is an attack you can use while flying and more. All of this you unlock gradually while playing and is all used plenty through-out the game. You also have two power-ups that let you either traverse unsafe ground (wading boots) and the speedy shoes which, as the name implies, let's you go fast. Even the swimming in this game is pretty nice once you know how to use it. I've seen some people say it's awful because it's so clunky. Which, if you're not holding the R button then yeah totally, but if you are it's very nice and smooth as you have a breast-stroke and a paddle you can perform depending on what you need.

The game itself is incredibly charming, both aesthetically and comically. The world's all look lovely and is just full of that N64 Rare ware charm. When playing through a world, you would be hard pressed to not see a pair of googily eyes on an enemy or even the items (when the item explanation first pops up) and for how lighthearted this game is, it very much fits. That's not to say the dialogue is all light-hearted. It's not as dark as Tooie obviously but they still put in a couple of dirty jokes hear and there. The dialogue itself, while not nearly as funny as Tooie imo, its witty enough especially Gruntilda's dialogue.

Going into Gruntilda and her lair in general, both are fantastic. The lair is a tightly designed hub world that is super memorable, not just because of it being compact in size and easy to traverse, but because the whole way through Grunty insults you and eggs you on. Kazooie has way less dialogue than Tooie, and Grunty herself I find more menacing in that game, but when it comes to her insulting rhymes...they're easily the most memorable pieces of dialogue in the game. Even on this most recent playthrough, I was still hearing rhymes I've never heard before. Really makes me wonder just how many there are in total lol.

When it comes to the worlds themselves, they are excellent tightly designed levels just like Grunty's lair was. Mumbo's Mountain is the worst one imo, and that's just because of how small it is...which makes a ton of sense because it's the first world. All the rest are very enjoyable, with some of my favorites being Freezezey Peak, Clanker's Cavern and Click Clock Wood. Now you might be saying to yourselves, Clankers Cavern? Yeah, idk why but it might've been my favorite world this time around. I honestly don't have an issue with the swimming portions, I love the track that plays in it and the dank grimey atmosphere I find wonderful (which makes sense because I love Tooie and it has a lot of that). It feels like one of the more unique world settings next to Rusty Bucket Bay. Speaking of Rusty Bucket Bay, it has the infamous engine room area and yeah that's still my least favorite part pf the game. It's not TOO bad if you do that part right away, but I still died like 5 times this playthrough. I also died to Click Clock Wood very stupidly, those two levels even now can still get me as they're easily the two hardest in the game. Going back to the engine room tho, the reason it's so hated is because it's the only world with an instant death pit. In the N64 version, instant death means you lose all your notes as the game tracks a total note score in this version rather than keeping your notes when you die like in the Xbox version. This is also a small gripe I have, but only in these last two levels because I pretty much never die in any of the earlier ones.

The music in this game was done by Grant Kirkhope and he's absolutely legendary. He has a very distinct bouncy style to his music and it absolutely fits here with how goofy this game is. My favorite tracks in the game would have to be Rusty Bucket Bay, Spiral Mountain, Clanker's Cavern, and The Final Battle. The entire soundtrack is wonderfully though, and I especially love Grant's use of dynamic music. His work on Banjo Kazooie and Tooie, and DK64 show he's a big fan of it and it's perfect in these types of games.

Once you beat every single world, and have obtained enough notes and jiggies to progress, you enter Grunty's Furnace Fun. This is basically a giant quiz show that puts your knowledge to the test. It's very goofy and fitting for the type of game Banjo Kazooie is. The questions consist of listening to the voice of a character or song of a level and guessing who/what it is, random trivia, playing a mini-game from the main levels or a Grunty question. The grunty questions consist of trivia about Grunty herself that you must know to answer. To find these out in-game, you must hunt down her sister Brentilda, who is hidden in specific areas of the lair. You might think, meh I'll just look the answers to these online. But they're randomized per playthrough so you simply cannot do that. Luckily, with the joker card which let's you skip 2 spaces on the board, you can bypass these if you weren't able to find Brentilda. Same with the instant death skull spaces which are usually just a basic trivia question, but still are very nerve-wracking. After you get to the end of the board, you get a hilarious joke where Grunty makes her escape by forcing credits on you. After that though, it's actually time to fight her.

Before you fight Grunty, depending on how many collectables you have gotten, you can unlock consumable refills and even double health. Once you've gotten what you need, it's time fight Gruntilda herself. The final battle may honestly be in my top 20 fights ever, it's super good. It tests you on many of your moves you've learned through out the game and it has a killer boss theme to boot (as you know with my favorite songs portion). The end of it is super satisfying too, with the Jinjonator being summoned to defeat her. If there's any one thing I love more than Tooie, it's this final boss and cutscene. The Hag-1 is a fine enough final boss for that game, but it pales in comparison to Kazooie's final fight.

All in all, I'm glad I replayed this once again as it's still amazing and still one of my favorite games ever. Back in September, I stated I might love Tooie even more for the things it improved on and its expanded worlds, and yeah I probably do in the end. However, Kazooie has its own strengths , some even over Tooie's and it's still a must play as an N64 fan. Next up though is Tooie, and I simply cannot wait to replay it so look forward to that review coming soon!!

The first game I’ve ever played in my life was Super Mario 64. As a kid not really aware of the significance of this title for many years to come, a lot still stuck with me like Mario’s seamless movement in 3D and the possibilities it hosted interacting with the worlds and environment in both intended and unintended means. The worlds, in particular the initial set on the first level of Peach’s castle, felt so lively and overwhelming at first in the possibilities that existed and what could be found or missed even after seemingly scoping out the entire world. Hearing the keys of Jolly Roger Bay now almost twenty years removed still shoots a pang in my heart thinking back to my 5 year old self trying to catch all the red coins, get the power star early in the jet stream or plunder the secrets of the grimy underwater cavern. It’s easy nowadays to look back at 64 and the more questionable parts like hit or miss levels of the game, constant interruption in getting the stars, and the god awful camera, but the sense of amazement and charm around each corner and crevice of the experience rode high so hard then for me and I’m actually playing it. A bygone era so deeply intertwined with my childhood nostalgia that shaped and informed how I approach this medium even today.

Banjo Kazooie unfortunately was not part of my childhood like many people have experienced and I arrived real late on this duo’s whole thing until sometime around 2008 where I saw a commercial of nuts and bolts and its box art and being transfixed by their designs, Banjo in particular. Still, I never got around to the first game for many years to come until I stumbled upon a copy of it and its sequel randomly in my local used games store. It’s hard recalling many specific things I felt regarding the game then since it’s more than ten years removed at this point and I only progressed about as far as Clanker’s Cavern, but I wasn’t as in love with it like the acclaim it attracted but it was still a pretty captivating and colorful time. Though now I can say I 100%’d the entire game and find it to be more enjoyable than I thought before, not in a masterpiece way but still so invigorating to experience fully.

For as welcoming as this game oozes with the very cutesy and theatre kid like intro, I was caught off guard initially with how strict the movement is and levels later on tend to get later on. Banjo and Kazooie’s starting moveset is limited but opens up with each passing level to be a very unique tool kit of methodical traversal and basic enemy smashing. It doesn’t compare to the level of momentum and speed that can be generated and exploited from Mario and Sonic’s 3D outings at the time, but it still strikes a strong and enthralling identity with levels tuned and tailor-made around it with satisfying puzzles that incorporate their skills like the numerous egg-related puzzles, target puzzles with the beak bomb ability, and basic platforming and scaling done with the feathery flap, flap flip, talon trot and other abilities, even a toggle invulnerability skill. The levels are crafted very much around verticality while offering a lot to distinguish them from one another in their environments, characters and enemies, avoiding the issue of heavy reuse or too abstract territory in their level design. They are scaled near perfectly to prevent tedium from kicking in next to just how appealing it is to collect the various number of trinkets littered around the zones. I appreciate Rare’s approach to the collectibles by having both good variety and theming with the Jinjos, music notes, Jiggies, Mumbo tokens, honeycombs and other items that make collecting them appetizing outside of an overarching achievement. Music note collecting can become painful in some of the later levels with losing all your progress if you end up dying but this only became an annoyance in the later few levels that pushed the difficulty up slightly from its usual coasting fare.

The starting area of the tutorialized Spiral Mountain to Mumbo's Mountain and Treasure Trove Cove as the first two levels ease in how the game will go before truly adding some escalation with the levels onwards starting with Clanker’s Cavern. I recall my first experience of this place being a particular stinker that stopped me in my tracks because of how unwieldy I found swimming to be compared to Mario 64’s more in control feel, especially in stopping and changing direction. Playing Clanker again I didn’t find it to be much frustrating outside of turning and angling Banjo while swimming but alternating between the kicking and wing stroke (and apparently using the right bumper for sharp turns) alleviated some of the unwieldy feel. For as bad of a rap I feel this level gets, it was surprisingly fair and dare I say fun to go through and see this rise in challenge that would continue for most of the rest of the levels. Bubblegloop is a bit less exciting exploration wise and the gator mini game being too high energy until I unlocked the running shoes, but it was still interesting to see where it went and collecting the jiggies was a fun breeze. Freezeezy peak similarly felt more pulled in with the main peak of the tall snow man being the most interesting of the stage though falling on the short side; it did introduce the aerial beak bomb skill though it feels that it is missing a very needed reticle or some soft lock on as aiming is a bit too guesswork next to turning and recovering while flying being funky with the camera. Gobi’s desert ups the escalation with more treacherous terrain and an array of major and mini puzzles available such as the pyramids and the various ways of opening them and excavating the secrets within.


Mad Monster Mansion is possibly the peak of the levels for me with how many pathways and areas are layered across the map, even the Mansion alone, that I ended up missing a few things when I first exited the level. Rusty Bucket Bay and Click Clack Wood are the ultimate tests of the experience; the former being very strict on platforming and traversal outside with the trap of oily water draining available air below and above the surface fast and inside the ship with the engine room as the most unruly part of the game, somewhat to a frustrating degree with how sensitive Banjo’s movement feels at least playing on switch when walking across smaller and narrower platforms and connecting pathways. It’s a miracle having the suspend points as I feel I wouldn’t have completed this level fully with how many times I’ve dived off the deep end from making one wrong step or overextending a leap in the engine room. Click Clack Wood is much less difficult but unfortunately falls on the tedious side with an ambitious four season structure encompassing the same level of scaling a big tree and its surrounding puzzles for all the collectables. Collecting everything in Rusty was painful but Click Clack Wood felt more exhausting even halfway through going through the mostly same menial tasks, though a few had diverging set ups that changed across the seasons to fully get the jiggies associated with them. It never reached the levels of a Rainbow Ride, Tick Tock Clock or any other of Mario 64’s less stellar levels, but it did feel more intriguing as a concept versus the execution this time around. Overall, this set of worlds are excellent across the board and do their job well in emphasizing and incentivizing exploring the zones even when collecting the 100 music notes without dying felt sometimes eye rolling with some aspects of bullshit ending my runs roughly.

I don’t have extensive comments on the music outside of it fitting very well the gorgeous and charming presentation of Banjo-Kazooie’s worlds and layout. Sound design similarly is charismatic as each character and enemy feel vividly themselves in what they sound like, even if a few bordered on annoying or eye rolling at times. I will say I have a soft spot for the power up jingle played when using the temporary power ups and the different versions played depending on which is being used. The final boss theme goes hard for a delightfully tense final encounter with Gruntilda that incorporates a good variety of the skills gained across the journey. Sure aiming the eggs and beak bombing Grunty in the air was a bit frustrating with the camera but seeing the Mighty Jinjonator bash the shit out of Grunty in the end after all the effort is such a satisfying finish that I can almost overlook the annoyance.

It’s hard to pick up anything significant I didn’t like from my experience outside of the awkward camera but that’s more a staple of the era than anything completely unique to Banjo Kazooie. This game has aged very well for how long ago it came out, especially as a Nintendo 64 title. The thought of collecting everything in Super Mario 64 is a headache with how finicky the levels and platforming can get but Banjo Kazooie was a fun ride through and through outside of some hiccups on the way.

After engaging with very long and intensive games recently, I’ve had a craving for something smaller and more focused and Banjo-Kazooie definitely fit that bill. In many ways it was pretty refreshing to revisit this more bite sized adventure after clocking in so much time with more recent, bigger and sometimes exhaustive AAA titles that are fun in their own right but have started to have some diminishing returns the more I spent with them. Nostalgia rearing around again but a part of me does yearn for this era where the scale of games even at the top weren’t too alarming yet and what’s next not too far or too cautious with the threat of studio closure or acquisition to drain their bodies; the outright tease of Banjo-Tooie in the end credits and delivery of the extra in-game secrets after getting all the collectibles is real cocky but feels so human and sweet over a little bling of an achievement saying I completed everything in the game or the usual credit roll at the end of titles. I can admit this is a bit of a too nihilistic view at times given that so much good shit is still coming out today and even in the 90s and early aughts game development and various wings of it weren’t exactly rosy, especially many things Sega like that blue hedgehog and his messy titles around the fifth generation and onwards. Even Rare couldn’t escape the more vicious parts of this industry then and exists as a shell compared to its status decades ago. Never change games industry.

Regardless, I’ve greatly enjoyed my time with Banjo-Kazooie. It’s satisfied and ignited my craving for 3D platformer collect-a-thons again that has been a bit quiet for some time with all the action and rpg titles I’ve given myself to. I’m curious how I’ll feel about Tooie now since I recall not having a fun time with it ten years back. It would be very convenient to jump into it if Nintendo’s shameless online service had it but I suppose it will be added at some point when they raise the price again, but it’s whatever and other means to play can’t be too much of a problem. Who knows, maybe I’ll power up Super Mario 64 now and actually complete all the power stars for once since I’m feeling early 3D platformers again (extreme doubt).

I'll preface this review by saying that I played Banjo-Kazooie on the original N64 when I was a kid and on the Xbox, Switch, and emulator more recently. In short, an amazing early 3D platformer and one that deserves your time to this day. If Super Mario 64 was the birth of the genre, Banjo-Kazooie was the first evolution. The game breathed new life by satisfyingly combining platforming with exploration, puzzle solving, story/character interactions and an ABSOLUTELY BANGER SOUNDTRACK. SM64, the hallmark of the time, I would say is the better game in terms of strict platforming, but it doesn't hold a candle to Banjo-Kazooie when it comes to any of these other factors. This is a game which you can really tell was made with charm and style forefront in mind, from its quirky cast of characters (with their iconic, and frankly genius, dialogue audio) to its inspired and thematic level designs. In what other game can you get a game over screen where a green witch who only speaks in rhymes steals your kidnapped sister's beauty and transforms into a stereotypical hot woman? These sort of touches are what makes Banjo-Kazooie a gem among its peers which stands out even in the modern era. I could wax poetical on this game all day so I'll end it with this: Banjo got into Smash get fucked everyone who told me he wouldnt.

The game is just pure charm, gameplay is simple yet fun, characters are goofy and memorable, but this game's strongest point is the music. Grant Kirkhope is a genius, and the way the composing was handled is absolutely incredible, I'm not an expert so I can't use technical words but it's amazing how the music slightly shifts when you are in the water, and how Gruntilda's lair theme changes whenever you get near a specific level and it instantly changes the whole atmosphere, one thing I failed to notice at the beginning is how every level has a varied music theme depending on where you are in the area (apart from being under water) what made me notice it was Click Clock Wood's theme and how it got 4 variations of the main level theme, well turns out all levels do. I want to also mention that Click Clock Wood, the final level, is an absolute work of art, I don't want to spoil it but it is really unique and has the best theme in the game in my opinion. One thing I also adored and that caught me off guard was how remembering characters and focusing on worlds details is pretty relevant, mandatory even if you want progress through the game. By the end of the game you will be remembering that Gruntilda's favorite sport is belly barging (randomised on each playthrough). There's also this fun easter egg that when you cheat in the game Gruntilda will literally threaten to delete your save file, and you should probably listen to her because she will actually do it.

As impactful as Super Mario 64 was to the then-prevalent 3D platformer genre, I’m not sure the game can take all of the credit for being the genre’s sole primary influence. I always bestow the plumber’s landmark 3D debut with a considerable amount of veneration, for Nintendo’s efforts in remodeling Mario for the cutting-edge next polygonal phase of gaming created an entirely original experience that set the stage for a radical new realm of possibilities. While Super Mario 64 was the game that pioneered the non-linear, explorative “collectathon” 3D platformer subgenre, its indelible mark on the era obviously echoed to several other games of the same ilk to follow its example. Being the building blocks of a genre sort of connotes that your disciples expand upon your foundation instead of contently resting at ground zero. Also, Super Mario 64 set an unintentional implication in that the pervasive platformer genre could only survive in the third dimension with this direction. Mario, the de facto king of the genre, seemingly had to forgo his standard, linear roots so drastically in Super Mario 64, so this meant that all other platformer icons new and old had to assimilate to the change or perish. With both its rudimentary footing and massive impact in consideration, one of Super Mario 64’s many offsprings had to have the potential to outclass its progenitor. The game that would truly innovate on what Super Mario 64 established was a new IP from the British then-Nintendo subsidiary developer Rare in the form of Banjo Kazooie. One of the reasons I revere Super Mario 64 despite its vestigial framework is because it's the godfather of every game that I grew up with in the subsequent generation. However, while this is still true, it seems like Banjo-Kazooie has a more clear and more direct line with my cherished video games from childhood on the 3D platformer family tree. Also, my praise for Banjo-Kazooie ascends past the reasonable level of respect I give to its fellow N64 linchpin Super Mario 64, for Banjo-Kazooie is still a solid rock of a 3D platformer whose quality has not been weathered by time.

It’s amusing to see how a British developer attempts to encapsulate the magic of Mario, and I’m not only referring to the mechanics of the “collectathon” subgenre. Mario’s peerless high ranking in the echelons of gaming can be attested to his wide accessibility in his presentation. Mario captures that spectacle of Japanese whimsy that is neither too immature nor off-puttingly bizarre, sort of in the same vein as the successful fellow Japanese animation corporation Studio Ghibli. The tasteful balance on display is probably indicative of a country that has both a storied mythical lore and an inordinate amount of nuclear radiation exposure than the rest of the world. The Western world might be beguiled by Mario’s foreign charm, but can they tangibly translate their wonder into something original? Banjo-Kazooie’s Western interpretation of Mario’s aesthetic is to emphasize the wacky animated aspects of the plumber’s world. I guess our Western equivalent to Mario’s mirthfulness is our cartoons. Banjo-Kazooie’s presentation is not overtly British like one of Terry Gilliam’s illustrations from a Monty Python skit (though that would be super cool). Rather, Banjo Kazooie conveys that animation drawn for a broad demographic west of the prime meridian tends to feature exaggerated physical proportions and anthropomorphic animals as central characters. Banjo-Kazooie is brimming with archetypal Western cartoon attributes, given that the game’s protagonist is a bipedal bear and every enemy, from the hopping vegetables to the tombstones, all have a pair of goofy-looking googly eyes to signify their sentience. Because of how cartoonish the aesthetic is, Banjo-Kazooie resembles a product catered towards a younger audience. Unfortunately, it’s not as accessible as Mario's because the overall tone might come across as too juvenile for some adolescent/adult gamers. The hints of toilet humor also probably do not help its case. Still, the appeal of Banjo Kazooie is apparent due to how dynamically lighthearted everything is, like an old Mickey Mouse cartoon. Doubling down on the innocuous elements from accessible forms of Western media is probably the most inspired decision from the developers regarding the game’s presentation.

One of the pervasive childlike elements of Banjo-Kazooie is its fairy tale plot premise, a staple of mythology. Gruntilda, a prototypical depiction of a nasty, evil witch from the most famous of Grimm’s classic stories, is performing the usual duties of this age-old archetype of toiling and troubling over her bubbling cauldron. The clairvoyant wisdom she seeks from her boiling pot is whether or not she’s the “nicest looking wench” in the land, and is offended at the cauldron’s candid response telling her that she isn’t. Why someone who revels in being obstinately filthy and grotesque like a kid-friendly version of Divine would care if she satisfies traditional beauty standards is beyond me, but I digress. The “fairest maiden” to be found is Tooty, a young female bear with blonde pigtails who conveniently lives in a comfy little home situated down the hill from Grundtilda’s domain. I guess the radius of beauty the cauldron can assess is confined by the same zip code. Gruntilda’s solution to being outshined by some neighborhood child is to abduct her and initiate a procedure where their matter will be swapped, as Gruntilda will receive all of Tooty’s beautiful attributes while Tooty becomes as beastly as Gruntilda. Tooty is also Banjo’s younger sister, so he’s naturally inclined to stop this horrendous experiment before his sister is doomed to look like a green warthog. Not only do fairy tales often present a heinous witch complete with a tall black hat and a broomstick as a common antagonist, but the old versus young parallel between women is a prevalent theme across some notable examples (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty). Banjo-Kazooie prevents itself from the puerile trappings of its fairy tale influences by subverting this plot premise with slight parody, like Shrek would succeed in doing a few years later. Pop culture references to both Frankenstein and The Fly are clearly seen in the game’s “game over” sequence where her hunchback lab assistant Klungo throws the switch to energize two opposite matter machines with Tooty and Gruntilda enclosed. While Banjo Kazooie still exudes a childish aura, tongue-in-cheek jabs at fairy tale tropes keep it from feeling infantile.

Banjo the character actually debuted in Diddy Kong Racing the year prior in Rare’s lineup of original cute and cuddly playable characters that meshed well alongside Nintendo’s petite, baseball cap-wearing chimp (if only Conker’s inclusion here hasn’t aged like sour milk). Out of all of these characters to greenlight into a new IP, why choose Banjo over say, Bumper the Badger or Tipsy the Mouse? Timber the Tiger arguably even had more mascot potential, as his baseball cap with the Rare insignia mirrored Diddy’s Nintendo cap. Is it due to his relatively higher strength build, or does the necklace, pants, and backpack combination make him more visually enticing than the other character with one distinctive feature? Truth be told, I’m not all too certain why Banjo ascended past a two-bit supporting role among the Diddy Kong Racing roster while all the others (except for Conker) continued to wallow in obscurity. This is especially curious considering Kazooie does most of the legwork (almost literally). The second half of the game’s hyphenated title did not exist during Banjo’s humble beginnings as a cart driver, as she was introduced by Rare to accompany Banjo on his debut platforming adventure. The brightly-colored bird of unknown species resides in Banjo’s backpack as stationary as if she’s on house arrest, and Banjo better hope she’s actually fused to his blue accessory because he’d be hopeless without her.

Banjo and Kazooie have an interesting character dynamic in that the mechanics of both characters are consistently utilized in tandem with one another, used by a single player. Banjo is obviously the primary kinetic force in their partnership as he lugs Kazooie in his backpack. His primary role as the leg muscle also extends to his arms as the game’s basic combat, as the bear will knock enemies around with a barrage of left and right hooks and roll into enemies with the force of his entire body while moving. Disappointingly enough, punches from a bear aren’t as furious and deadly as one would expect because Banjo’s arms seem as short as a T-Rex’s. The rolling move feels more fluid and ensures a more accurate hit, but its trajectory is still rather stilted. Kazooie’s pecking move when Banjo jumps in the air compensates for the bear’s pitiful range, and the direction can be changed in a few seconds when both are in mid-air. Kazooie must have some penguin DNA in her genetic mix because her wings wade beneath the water while Banjo just doggy paddles on the surface. Actually, Kazooie’s swimming indicates that she’s not an aquatic bird because the underwater controls are appallingly rigid. Yet, Kazooie’s willingness to carry Banjo through the adventure forces her to perform tasks outside of her comfort zone. Banjo’s bespectacled mole friend Bottles pops out of his arrangement of molehills to teach Kazooie certain skills to really overload Kazooie’s workload. On the offensive side, Kazooie will tug on Banjo’s backpack to execute a body slam similar to Mario’s ass stomp to press buttons and such. A specific combination of the crouch move will trigger a number of Kazooie’s special techniques, namely Kazooie spurting out baby blue eggs out of her mouth and cloaca (ew) as projectile attacks. The “Talon Trot” sees Kazooie shifting the mobile roles as she carries Banjo on her back instead. With the stronger adhesive strength of her talons sticking to steep, angled inclines, increased running speed, and limitless usage, it seems like Banjo could simply lie on his lazy ass the whole time doing nothing. Two different types of pads will appear to launch Banjo upward, with the green pads giving his jump an exorbitant boost and the red pads as a launch point for Kazooie to soar through the skies until the red feather ammunition is fully depleted. Must I further highlight why Kazooie probably should’ve gotten first billing in the game’s title?

Banjo and Kazooie’s simultaneous dynamic isn’t only limited to how they interact on the field. For a video game genre that usually doesn’t offer much dialogue or characterization, both Banjo and Kazooie are quite loquacious, along with the rest of their world. The dialogue in Banjo Kazooie is displayed with scrolling text in a speech bubble with a character icon on the far side. Speech is not enunciated by any characters: rather; vocal inflections are expressed through warbles that have a distinctive cadence per character. If you come across any lighthearted game with cartoony graphics that has this type of gibberish voice-acting style, Banjo-Kazooie is the game that popularized it (but don’t quote me on that). When interacting with NPCs, Banjo and Kazooie act as character foils. Banjo is a well-meaning dope that approaches people and situations very matter-of-factly, while Kazooie is shockingly caustic. Another reason why Banjo better pray that Kazooie is stuck to the inside of his backpack with superglue is that the bird has an acid tongue; a biting insult for every NPC she comes across, and one NPC might lash out by taking her by her bird neck and throttle her. Nevertheless, Banjo’s good cop, bad cop routine with his backpack bird gives them a wonderful personal chemistry. Some notable NPCs that Kazooie often gives a harsh tongue-lashing to are the aforementioned Bottles, Banjo’s mild-mannered mole friend who somehow knows more about Kazooie’s physical dexterity than she does. Mumbo Jumbo is a slightly racist depiction of an African witch doctor who owns a few small hut properties across many of the game’s levels that resemble his golden skull mask. Other miscellaneous NPCs that Banjo isn’t as chummy with are the hapless camel Gobi, the covetous Conga the Ape, and the blubbering hippo commander of the “Salty Hippo” sea ship aptly named Captain Blubber, to name a few. Compared to the litany of cookie-cutter Toads that Mario speaks to in Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie’s cast of secondary characters is amazingly eclectic.

Banjo-Kazooie isn’t a lengthy 3D platformer that swells the number of collectibles to prolong the experience. In fact, the total number of levels the game offers is significantly less than that of Super Mario 64. Though Banjo-Kazooie’s content lacks the quantity present in its influence, the game more than compensates with the quality of the levels. What impresses me about Banjo-Kazooie’s environments is their sheer immensity. As twee and jovial as Banjo’s world seems from an aesthetic standpoint, something about the way the game displays it exudes a crushing feeling. Immediately, this foreboding aura seems prevalent in Banjo’s hub. After the tutorial section of the grassy Spiral Mountain in Banjo’s backyard, the duration of the game is centered around the confines of Gruntilda’s Lair. The interior of Grundtilda’s wicked visage molded from the rocky cliffs of Spiral Mountain is as voluminous as the recesses of a dank underground cavern. Rescuing Tooty is a steep vertical climb up to the lair’s apex where the experiment is being conducted, and Banjo must progressively piece together every floor of Gruntilda’s Lair on his upward journey (literally). Gruntilda’s Lair is the antithesis of what I’ve always claimed to be an effective hub world, which is a modest place of respite between all of the levels where the call to action is heightened. Gruntilda’s Lair acting as the game’s centerpiece is almost like cutting out the middleman of the Peach’s Castle hub in Super Mario 64 and storming Bowser’s Castle immediately in the most glacial rescue operation ever executed. Gruntilda’s goons roam around on every floor and the witch’s omniscient presence is always felt, and that’s only partly due to her taunting Banjo and his bird with her AB rhyme schemes over some sort of intercom system. However, I’m willing to give Gruntilda’s Lair a pass as the enemy encounters are very slight and the enclosure of the spacious walls feels as tight as Fort Knox while inside them. The oppressive aura mood doesn’t stem from a notion of danger, but how small and insignificant Banjo looks juxtaposed with the massive walls surrounding him. Also, I must commend Gruntilda’s Lair for taking the hub format of Super Mario 64 and streamlining the non-linear hub to a constant vertical incline because progression feels more satisfying. I just wish Banjo wasn’t forced to start from square one every time the player exits the game, with the few teleportation cauldrons withstanding.

As to be expected, Banjo-Kazooie’s levels that protrude from the hub are a varied bunch that curates a wide selection of typical platformer level motifs. Every base is fully covered, ranging from a beach level, snow level, spooky level, etc. However, I did state before that Banjo-Kazooie’s levels were richer in substance despite the marginal number of them, and also that they follow suit on the hub’s expansiveness. Despite the seemingly standard levels, the developers have added some deeper thematic flair that transcends their base motif. For example, Treasure Trove Cove, the beach level, is plastered with pirate imagery, including an immobile ship at its center along with several silly-looking treasure chest beasts with goodies inside them. The winter wonderland of Freezeezy Peak uses the time of year associated with the season to engulf the level of Christmas cheer, something only a Western developer could fully epitomize due to living in a culture that actually celebrates the holiday as opposed to Japan observing it as outsiders. I suppose the same could be said for Halloween formulating the inspiration behind Mad Monster Mansion, but the specific elements of horror associated with that holiday were always less solidified.
One level that takes a typical level motif in a wild direction is Clanker’s Cavern. I think this is Rare tackling a sewer level, but all of the properties usually found in those terrains are only slightly recognizable. Maybe I was distracted by Clanker, the metallic shark floating in the center of the level in a pool of filthy backwashed water massive enough to fit the shark’s titanic, steamboat stature. Besides his size, Clanker’s also a great unsubtle eyesore because he looks like hell. The beastly machine has rusted over in the years he’s served as Gruntilda’s garbage disposal, with his murky eyeballs bulging out of his skull and a shockingly graphic fissure of pulpy, red flesh near the base of his left fin. He lives a fate that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, but the arena where he’s condemned to live out his days is still a monumental stride in 3D-level design due to its upscaled breadth. Enclosed areas will be found per level such as the pyramids of the Gobi Valley, the interior quarters of the ship in Rusty Bucket Bay, and the pink, veiny insides of Clanker’s decaying body, and they are exciting to excavate upon uncovering them and present layers of depth in the level design. My favorite level in the game that combines an interesting theme alongside a breathtaking scope is Click Clock Wood. The entrance of the level acts as a foyer connecting four paths each represented by a season. The wooded area with a towering tree trunk at the center shares the same layout behind each door, but the aesthetic of the level is affected by the weather conditions of each subsequent equinox. From the beginning of the rainy budding of Spring, then the baked warmth of Summer, to the auburn glow of Autumn, and finally the desolate chill of winter, I was stunned to feel a slight sting of sentimentalism at the end of the cycle. The many overarching tasks throughout each season also add to the profound depth of the area’s level progression. What Rare managed to execute here is truly astonishing.

The word I’d use to describe Banjo-Kazooie’s overall design philosophy is conspicuous. Already, the word can be used to define the way in which the levels are depicted because every angle of the spacious playgrounds enlarges the player’s range of sight. Besides enrapturing the player with a broad spectacle, crafting each level with a wide range of sight in mind is perfect for the loose exploration parameters of each level. The proverbial boot that kicked Mario out of every level upon either succeeding or failing in Super Mario 64 is completely discarded in Banjo-Kazooie. Obtaining a “jiggy” piece, the main collectible that unlocks new levels in the hub by fitting them in an unfinished jigsaw puzzle of the area, will never hastily eject the player back into the hub. I’m glad that Rare remedied Nintendo’s awkward mistake here, for it's a much more sensible approach to the collectathon format. Because the player is free to explore each area without the boot-out system in place, every objective is of equal precedence, which is why allowing the player to scope them out easily while exploring is imperative. When the player comes across a point of interest on the map, the game frames the scenario clearly enough to signal that a Jiggy could be earned here. Objectives to claim Jiggies are incredibly varied, ranging from puzzle minigames, fighting hordes of enemies, races, platforming challenges, etc. The diversity on display here assures that each Jiggy task will be somewhat unique and never tire the player with repetitive tedium. One highlight task seen throughout the game is transforming Banjo’s body into another animal or creature with the help of Mumbo’s voodoo powers. Playing as a termite, alligator, walrus, pumpkin, and bee doesn’t allow Banjo to execute the same physical feats compared to when Kazooie is strapped to his back, but playing as these funny forms for a short period does enough to diversify the gameplay even more.

To make Mumbo flick his wand and say the magic words, Banjo first needs to collect enough silver, skull-shaped tokens to satisfy the pygmy magician. Not to worry, for these tokens are as prominent as the Jiggy pieces. The other collectibles such as the candy-coated, multicolored Jingo creatures and the honeycomb pieces that increase Banjo’s maximum health are a tad more unobtrusive, but never to the extent where the player will ever experience a stress-induced aneurysm trying to scope them out. The game’s secondary collectible, the golden music notes, are strewn around the level so abundantly that they’re almost like currency. I had hoped that the developers would have treated them as a form of currency because the ones the player collects respawn in the same spots if the player dies. Doing a thorough examination of a level’s layout while the land is fresh is one thing, but performing the same trek to regain these sonorous half-notes is incredibly grating. I wouldn’t mind so much if the notes weren’t necessary to proceed through Gruntilda’s Lair, and the quantity needed gets pretty stiff near the end of the game. It’s the one collectathon aspect in the game that the developers neglected to carefully consider.

The player will have to meticulously scrounge through every nook and cranny in the game anyways to prepare for the final battle against Gruntilda. This is not only because doors locked behind substantially high music note numbers are the only means of replenishing ammunition, but because of what occurs before it. Before Banjo can confront the foul face of Gruntilda up close and personal, the sickly-colored stereotype stalls him and Kazooie with a little game. And by little game, I mean Trivial Pursuit from hell. “Grunty’s Furnace Fun” tests the player’s knowledge of everything in the game, including level layouts, music cues, voices, and odd tidbits about Gruntilda that her good witch counterpart informs Banjo of in many instances. Banjo also revisits old minigames with an added timer for a steeper challenge. This array of questions delves into information so obscure that it's sadistic. Did you not know the percentage of fecal matter in the waters of Bubblegloop Swamp, or were you unable to decipher Mumbo Mountain by a picture of its grass? Into the fiery drink you go, you idiot! The pathway of panels to the other side where Gruntilda is as long as the Brooklyn Bridge, and the margins of error are incredibly strict. A few panels immediately launch Banjo to his death, sending him back to square one. I understand that this kind of inanity is in character for Gruntilda, but forcing the player to endure this seems like a contemptuous slight from the developers. They knew this wouldn’t be fun for anyone. Fortunately, the game offers a proper final boss fight with Gruntilda that utilizes all of the player’s physical prowess in an epic fight at the peak of her lair. Weirdly enough, the credits will roll after the game show portion to dupe the player into thinking they finished the game beforehand. I think offering the real final fight as a reward for collecting all the Jiggies would’ve been a better incentive, and what they decided to do here is rather obtuse.

If Super Mario 64 is the grandfather of the 3D platformer, then Banjo-Kazooie is the father figure for all other games in the subgenre that followed. Being younger than Mario’s 3D debut allows Banjo-Kazooie to use its mistakes as a reference, and Banjo-Kazooie rectifies all that Mario established with the same collectathon ethos intact. Banjo-Kazooie is bigger, more free-flowing, more ambitious, and more involved in its collectathon gameplay mechanics than Super Mario 64 could possibly have ever hoped for. No wonder why every platformer that I grew up with took notice and borrowed so much from Banjo-Kazooie to the point where Super Mario 64 seemed like the obsolete model. Check mate, Mario. You’ve been bested by a bear and his bird.

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Attribution: https://erockreviews.blogspot.com

I’m going to be honest and say that I did not actually finish this game completely, in that I did not finish the final boss. This is because even with the goodies you get from 100%ing everything else, the final boss is overturned and sucks ass. I think playing it on NSO instead of with the original controller makes it a lot worse than it might have been just because a joystick is a lot fiddlier than the C-buttons and it’s kind of a problem I had with the game generally… egg aiming is just bad in this game, dog. I completed everything else, I did my time, I have seen the ending elsewhere, Grunty can have the win there.

Despite leading this review with a harsh criticism this game is truly peak N64 collectathon! I did my damnedest to get everything and honestly only one or two jiggies stick out in my mind as being truly awful (fuck rusty bucket bay all my homies hate rusty bucket bay outside of the music which whips). Everything else was a lot of fun! Everything is so charming and it generally feels really good to play. The levels aren’t the most original in theming but they have fun little touches to them, like Clanker the gigantic cyborg sharkwhale who’s forced to eat trash as the resident of the sewer level.

Banjo and Kazooie also have fun dialogue, especially Kazooie, and man the Mumbo transformations are cute as fuck. I love the little gator the most even if he has the worst minigame. Honestly I didn’t actually find the majority of the minigames that bad in this one but Mr. Vile can fuck right off.

As stated previously, the music is good as hell. Grant Kirkhope’s work is so good, man. I remember actually getting the soundtrack as a child and dancing around my living room to the CD on repeat, and it absolutely holds up. There is not a single bad song in there dude it’s sooo good.

I am hoping the NSO gets Tooie at some point because I did find myself missing some of the QoL features from that game like first-person aiming and notes staying collected, because holy shit Click Clock Woods nearly defeated me. I would not have finished it if not for save states and I only got the last three notes by pure chance. If I had to replay the entire level again for three notes I would simply not have. I don’t actually think it’s required for every reward but it’s the principle of the thing you know? Outside of that, though, I thought the number and challenge on the collectibles was entirely reasonable which is perhaps not the case for Tooie. I’ll have to replay it myself to say for sure.

Still, this game is great and absolutely holds up, it’s worth playing!

A timeless classic that's always easy to 100% for fun on a whim. It's simple yet never dull given how creative and varied every single level is. Very well paced, and every sound effect and musical track is iconic.

I love every single thing about this game. I genuinely don't think this game has aged a day, and I don't say that about every nostalgia-packed game believe me. Controls well and movement for advanced players is just complex enough to keep me engaged after playing for decades. Flying and swimming is tight enough to make precise movements but still allow for hard turns by holding R. Early 3D platformers didn't have camera issues, 99% of "camera bad" complaints are a skill issue if you ask me. The graphics are so stylized that it holds up still even blown up to HD on the xbox360 Port. Which btw that port is not a half bad version of the game. For some reason they removed dialogue skipping in that version which is kind of annoying but otherwise, love the leaderboards it features. And if you're put off by losing your notes on death the Xbox one's the way to go.

Rare hiding unobtainable collectibles and obvious doorways you can't open during the early days of the internet set off the imaginations of so many people. Many fans know the story by now but at the time it was almost an ARG with how fans took it and ran. Especially because my copy of the game just happened to have the sharkfood mountain raised out of the water. Whoever owned the game before me somehow knew how to raise it and get the pink egg in the early 2000's and I'll never know how they got the dev sandcastle code to do that back then.

It's crazy how even after 25 years, just how few games have even attempted BK's take on the genre despite its endlessly iconic status. Even projects that start with the explicit inspiration of Banjo, they often end up going different directions entirely. Perhaps it's the limitations behind the beginning of 3D platformers that fostered experiences that simply can't be replicated without those same limitations. Because this game absolutely got the most it could possibly get out of the hardware at the time. Every obstacle in making a game for the N64 forced the devs to think of something wholly unique. Manifesting into an incredibly charming, one of a kind experience. BK is inherently tied to the unique strengths of the N64 and this is why despite it being functionally a dead franchise for decades...It's surpassed the test of time. Not every 90's platformer mascot with no game releases in sight after a 15 year drought survives strong enough to make it into the latest smash bros. You genuinely do not get games this fully realized anymore. Also the final boss is one of my favorite final bosses in all of gaming, h*eckin sick finale.

Recipe for a Great Game

Ingredients:
-Extremely high fun factor
-Well-designed levels (size perfectly, place collectibles well)
-Fantastic, delightful music
-Some of the best graphics on the console
-A fuckton of silly charm

Directions:
-Mix well.

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(only one huge flaw to speak of, we all know what it is; and it was fixed in the Xbox version)

Looking back on the games I played over the course of my childhood, I've noticed that some of my most memorable gaming expirences came from Rare. Before I discovered Banjo-Kazooie, I played and beat the GBA port of Donkey Kong Country 2 and the DS remake of Diddy Kong Racing, but out of those two games I found Diddy Kong Racing DS to be much more interesting. I frequently looked up information online on how to unlock everything that the game had to offer. Apon doing so, I eventually discovered that there was a whole other version of the game that came before it with a few characters that weren't in the DS version. This is how I discovered the existence of Banjo. It wasn't until I connected my Xbox 360 to the internet for the first time a few years later that I would rediscover Banjo-Kazooie and download the demos of this game and its sequel Tooie. Not long after, I was able to purchase both of them and enjoy them to my heart's content. The Banjo-Kazooie games quickly became some of my all-time favorites, leading me into developing a fascination for the developers that made them. I've even attempted speedrunning this game on the 360 version multiple times with my best time being around 5 hours. Having just finished another playthrough of this masterpiece, I will say this is easily Rare's best collect-a-thon and one of the best 3d platformers ever made.

There are a lot of positive things to say about Banjo-Kazooie. The graphics are nice, the characters are funny & memorable, the worlds are enjoyable to explore, and the size of said worlds are just right. One big issue with some of the games that came after this one such as Donkey Kong 64 & Banjo-Tooie are that the worlds are just too damn big and require a lot of backtracking. WIth Banjo-Kazooie, all the objectives & goodies are scattered throughout the levels in a way that isn't intrusive. The only exception being one jiggy you'll have to backtrack for in the middle part of the game, but unless you're aiming for 100% completion it is totally optional.

As far as negatives go, the controls can be a little confusing. It could be since my last playthrough was a couple years ago, but I had some trouble remembering the imputs for a few moves or just accidently doing the wrong thing. It was never something I thought about until I played this version but that's probably because of the obtuse design of the controller. The other issue is something that the 360 version fixes which involves having to recollect the Jinjos and musical notes if you died. It can be very aggrivating to go through the process of getting them all again, especially if you die in any of the later worlds. However, the reason this issue exists is because of hardware limitations so its somewhat excusable.

Banjo-Kazooie is Rare's most iconic IP and rightfully so. Its tight level design, beautiful worlds, and memorable cast cement this game as the best 3d platformer on the N64. Between Banjo-Kazooie & Mario 64, I'd say the bear & bird duo gave the Italian plumber a run for his money.

My first introduction to Banjo Kazooie was in the E3 2019 Nintendo Direct when he was revealed for Smash. I had no idea who this character was or what the series was about, I just knew that a LOT of people were happy they made it, and I couldn't understand why. But having finally played the game I now understand the tears of the people that flow from the lack of this series in the modern day, they are now my tears as well.

The gameplay in Banjo Kazooie is simply phenomenal. The titular duo's moveset is extremely varied and gives you everything you need to master the game with. It never really felt like I hit a wall because of it, if there was a puzzle to solve I was always certain that I had what I needed to solve it at my disposal and the game rewarded me for that. On top of that the platforming is pure joy, the perfect mix of challenge and fun. And then there's just the collectathon structure this game employs to an excellent degree. In any other 3D platformer I would feel content just to get the objectives required to beat the game, but because collecting things in Banjo Kazooie is just so damn satisfying I found myself collecting everything. 100% completing this game not only felt really satisfying but it also felt like the intended way to play the game and enhanced the experience ten times more than it would have been if I just did the bare minimum required.

The other main thing I want to talk about here is the game's presentation. Despite being an N64 game I feel like Banjo Kazooie has held up incredibly well. The game's visual style, world, tone, and sound design are all just so damn charming. There's so much to love here, from all the charming characters and the funny dialogue between them, to the oddly kinda edgy sense of humor the game has (at least for an E rated game) like when they said Gruntilda does a striptease or when Kazooie heavily implied she was gonna shove a key up someone's ass, just jokes that I laughed a lot at because I had no idea how they got away with them. The worlds here are very unique and interesting as well. There are of course some stinkers (looking at you Bubblegloop Swamp) but for the most parts these environments are just interesting and fun in concept and a blast to actually explore yourself. They take basic level themes and add the game's charm to them to make some truly great levels that are some of the best I've ever played in a platformer.

Overall, Banjo Kazooie is a classic game that's well loved for a reason. The game's charm, pristine level design, and incredibly fun gameplay cycle kept me engaged and addicted the whole way through and turned me into a fan of this character and this series that I priorly couldn't care less about.

Banjo-Kazooie é uma aventura mágica do início ao fim. Impressiona o fato desse jogo tão carismático e com tanta personalidade ter sido lançando em 1998, uma época que jogos 3D estavam em uma fase de descobrimento e dificuldades para adequar nesse cenário.

Suas fases são muito criativas com temas interessantes até mesmo quando estão dentro cenários básicos como grama e deserto. Além disso, seu sistema de coleta de itens é um salto gigantesco e ambicioso quando comparado a Super Mario 64. Chega ser assustador como absolutamente tudo nesse game tem personalidade forte para te fazer recordar e rir em certos momentos.

Obviamente o jogo tem alguns problemas como a sua câmera tenebrosa em certas partes, mas não é tão ruim quanto comentam não. Também, o sistema de coleta as vezes dificulta o jogador saber em qual lugar do cenário perdeu uma nota musical ou outro colecionável. Por isso, recomendo fortemente jogar a versão do Xbox que melhora alguns aspectos.

Por fim, Banjo-Kazooie é uma joia rara no mundo dos vídeo games que até o momento não existe um jogo que conseguiu capturar essa energia. Em breve pretendo jogar sua continuação.

Before they were bought by Microsoft and banished to the purgatory of making Kinect games (and also Sea of Thieves) for the rest of their days, Rare was known for making quality games on Nintendo's home consoles. Because of this, I wanted to play Banjo-Kazooie ever since I was a kid, but I've been especially interested in checking the game out after spending the past few years becoming well acquainted with Rare's 2D platforms and first-person shooters, and I wanted to see their take on the 3D platformer genre. After beating the game with a total of 95 out of 100 Jiggies, I can honestly say that I had a lot of fun with Banjo-Kazooie, and while I did end up having some gripes with it here and there, I still thought that Banjo-Kazooie was a great game overall.

Aside from being an early 3D platformer, Banjo-Kazooie was also one of the first collectathons with its emphasis on having to collect as many Jiggies and music notes as possible in order to progress to the next area, and so it's a good thing that Rare made everything involving that exact process feel so fun and rewarding. Each of the game's nine levels is brimming with life thanks to the game's atmospheric, yet playful music, expressive artstyle, and especially the eccentric cast of characters and enemies, with the dry, sarcastic sense of humor making the moments where you help these characters out all the more memorable. Even the slightly more generic level themes, such as the desert and snow levels, ended up feeling unique thanks to their NPCs, as I went from being a great stand-in Dad to three polar bear cubs to feeling incredibly bad for Gobi and how he can never catch a break from Kazooie's Beak Buster. On top of having a generally fluid and snappy set of moves (including the additional ones that are learned throughout the game), Banjo-Kazooie would also occasionally give you the opportunity to transform into an animal with the help of the skull-faced shaman Mumbo Jumbo, and these opened up new opportunities for exploration in each level while also adding more variety to their challenges, puzzles, and minigames.

The general gameplay loop of exploring a level from head to toe in order to find all of its secrets was one that never really got dull for me, and while some of the requirements got a bit demanding towards the end (with me having to backtrack all the way to the first stage just to find a few of the Jiggies that I had missed just to open the final portrait), the satisfaction of collecting all the Jiggies and music notes in a level was strong enough to keep me going. Despite how solid the controls were, I felt that the game's camera could've been a lot better, because while it was definitely an improvement on the camera controls in something like Super Mario 64, the fixed viewpoints made aspects like the already wonky swimming controls feel even less reliable to deal with. The only level that I straight-up disliked here was "Rusty Bucket Bay", as it not only had some genuinely bad music, but it also had an entire segment filled with cheap instant deaths and its inclusion of oil water made traversal feel tiresome. Speaking of which, dying during a level in Banjo-Kazooie means that you have to recollect all of the music notes that you already got (along with the five Jinjos if you hadn't already found them by that point), and this made levels like the aforementioned "Rusty Bucket Bay" feel flat-out tedious. Even with all of this in mind, I still had a great time with Banjo-Kazooie, and although I think it'll be a while before I check out Banjo-Tooie, I might give Conker's Bad Fur Day a go some time soon.

Wow, the game that literally everyone says is really good is really good, huh? The people over at Rare were able to look at what Mario 64 did right and wrong and built off it a game of impressive polish and creativity. It's shocking to me how this game that was still fairly early in 3D gaming manages to not only avoid most of the pitfalls of its time (swimming and the flying attack are kind of wonky, but that's it) but manages to achieve an incredibly balanced and smooth difficulty curve with few hiccups.

From the moment it begins to the end credits Banjo-Kazooie is incredibly charming and continues to introduce cool ideas. There some worlds I don't really like but I think all of them have at least a lot of creativity and overall pretty high levels of quality. Here's my thoughts on them, in general I really appreciate how most of them are really easy to orient yourself in thanks to really clever layouts and memorable landmarks:

- Spiral Mountain is a good tutorial stage but nothing that immediately blows me away
- Gruntilda's Lair is a very interesting overworld but it does suffer from being very linear, which means that getting a game over means having to hike back up to wherever you died late in the game. I wish it opened up in a more organic way than fast travel pots, or that it was quicker to navigate, but in terms of flavor it's absolutely lovely, and I like that there's a bit of puzzle in finding the next world.
- Mumbo's Mountain - Good intro level, eases you in very well without being too linear/simple
- Treasure Trove Cove - I think the shark is not a great addition because it discourages inexperienced players (me) from exploring the outer parts of the level, but for the rest, really good, I like how the context-sensitive abilities open up exploration as you find them here and in Mumbo's.
- Clanker's Cavern - I appreciate how creepy and gross it looks but this is the worst level, swimming sucks, especially when freeing Clanker. I also don't like how 8/10 Jiggies hinge on freeing him, it makes exploration prior to that basically useless.
- Bubblegloop Swamp - I have a bit of a bone to pick with this level because it took me a lot of time to find Bottles, so it was more frustrating than it should've been. That said that's a me thing, the level is solid although I don't like how slow the gator is given this is one of the biggest levels.
- Freezeezy Peak - Would be one of the best levels but Beak Bomb sucks and so do the snowmen. Otherwise 10/10, all the Jiggies are fun and the vibes are amazing.
- Gobi's Valley - One of the best levels. I wish the water stuff was foreshadowed a but but I adore how this level is laid out, super fun to traverse.
- Mad Monster Mansion - The best one. A genuine joy to explore, with tons of tiny secrets, really tightly designed, and it's just a very fun aesthetic.
- Rusty Bucket Bay - I spent almost 2 hours on the propeller Jiggy. Just the propeller Jiggy. It was kind of a controller thing too, but I still spent two hours on that one damn thing. The rest of the level is actually pretty great but man I don't like that one.
- Click Clock Wood - Insane how ambitious this level is. It's so cool how the world changes around you through the seasons, and some of the Jiggies are just cool. It's a genuine challenge to platform, while still breezy enough that going through it several times isn't a chore. Wish the snowmen weren't here, I still hate 'em.

The game then ends on a really fun game show, and a genuinely challenging but pretty well-made boss fight. I'm just... in awe at how this game gets everything right. I usually fight against the notion that games become "dated" and worse as a result with time, but there's no arguing that a lot of games from the PS/N64 era struggle to make everything work right. Banjo-Kazooie pulls everything off so flawlessly that it's genuinely jarring when something actually ends up being frustrating, rather than being a sort of unavoidable thing you end up taking for granted.

If you get all Jiggies, the game opens the way to three secret items that would have granted you special unlocks in Tooie, although that ended up not happening. I think that's a genuinely great idea that showcases just how creative and ambitious Banjo-Kazooie's developers were. There's something I really admire in that.

One of the most acclaimed 3D platformers of all time, Banjo-Kazooie was unfortunately a slog for me to finish. It’s not a bad game and has a lot of redeeming qualities like the animation, art direction, music, sound design, and level theming. However, I want to highlight some design choices I found baffling, which contribute to why the game didn’t fully click with me.

Let’s start with the movement. The titular duo has a wide arsenal of abilities, but they don’t flow into each other very well. It’s tiring enough to constantly have your finger on the Talon Trot button for going faster, but you’ll also be forced to slow down or come to a stop to perform actions like headbutts, backflips, shooting eggs, and the rat-a-tat rap, the latter of which is needlessly difficult to pronounce. Seriously, why not rat-a-rat tap instead?

Anyway, the slower movement isn’t inherently a problem, but it does mean Banjo-Kazooie is far more dependent on interesting level design than its inspiration, Super Mario 64. In that game, there were often multiple routes available for acquiring a star, with faster routes requiring riskier maneuvers. Banjo-Kazooie’s Jiggies actually offer more freedom on a level-by-level basis since they can always be acquired out of order and in one seamless run, except in Gobi’s Valley and Freezeezy Peak for some reason. At least unlocking their respective items doesn’t take more than a handful of minutes.

The macro structure, however, is almost the complete opposite of Mario 64. You unlock levels in a mostly linear order because the Jiggie and music note requirements are very high. While this should have allowed for a natural difficulty curve, I don’t believe Rare stuck the landing. To demonstrate this, I’m going to first outline the order in which the levels are unlocked:

1. Spiral Mountain (Tutorial)
2. Mumbo’s Mountain
3. Treasure Trove Cove
4. Clanker’s Cavern
5. Bubble Gloop Swamp
6. Freezeezy Peak, Gobi’s Valley
7. Mad Monster Mansion
8. Rusty Bucket Bay
9. Click Clock Wood

Now, I have no complaints about Spiral Mountain, Mumbo’s Mountain, and Treasure Trove Cove. The other stages, however, have at least one issue that makes for a rather uneven difficulty progression. Clanker’s Cavern is a great example to start with. It’s the first level requiring you to swim underwater. It’s odd that this comes after Treasure Trove Cove, which taught you to avoid the water because of the shark. Clanker’s Cavern even has its own shark. He may be friendly, but it’s still an odd decision by Rare. A bigger issue is the swimming controls. The default speed is pathetically slow and boosting forward requires using Kazooie. You actually lose control when using the boost, which makes collecting things underwater needlessly difficult. In other words, you’re always going too slow or too fast. Despite this, you are required to swim through a keyhole at the bottom of a trench three times before you can access most of the collectibles. This is like asking a kid who is afraid of diving to fetch three diving rings from the deep end in one go. Needless to say, you will likely drown on your first attempt. If you’re playing the N64 version, then you will also learn that music notes aren’t saved upon death, instead being recorded as high scores. This was fixed in the Xbox 360 remaster and I don’t intend to hold that against the original, but the constant retreading of levels helped me realize how stupidly difficult some of the Jiggies are to acquire given their location in the game. That is the main issue I have with the remaining levels. Here are my summarized thoughts on each of them:

Bubble Gloop Swamp
— This and Clanker’s Cavern should have swapped places. It builds on Treasure Trove Cove’s treacherous water gimmick and most of the Jiggies are easy to acquire. The feeding frenzy minigame is insane though. Despite that, this is one of my favorite levels.

Freezeezy Peak
— Solid stage with great theming, but killing the snowmen requires precise aiming with the Beak Bomb. The lack of a reticle makes it hard to judge whether the attack will land.

Gobi’s Valley
— Entering one of the pyramids for a Jiggie requires pressing a timed switch with little margin for error. Other than that, the level is fine.

Mad Monster Mansion
— The Jiggie requiring the Pumpkin transformation is accessed via a small pipe on the roof of the mansion. It is neither explained, nor is it intuitive that the pumpkin is immune to the hedge thorns you must traverse to reach the pipe. Getting up there is also tricky since the hedges are so narrow and the pumpkin controls are a touch slippery. Aside from that, it’s a solid level.

Rusty Bucket Bay
— Exploring the area around the ship is fun and the oily water is a nice evolution of the treacherous water gimmick from before. Sadly, the ship itself is kind of a pain to explore. I had to look up a walkthrough to figure out both how to access the level in Grunty’s Lair and find the door used to enter the ship. The doors you have to break down in both instances do not look breakable, which is poor design in a linear game. Then, there’s the Jiggie behind the boat turbines. Everyone remembers this challenge for having zero margin for error. Why is this kind of difficulty not reserved for the final level?

Click Clock Wood
— Brilliant concept, messy execution. Many of the Jiggies require climbing the central tree, which you must do for all four seasons. This is where I really wished Banjo had a ledge grab. You’d think a bear would be able to do this easily, but nope!

Okay, the levels have their highs and lows, but so did Mario 64. What’s the big deal then? For me, it’s the requirements for finishing the game. In Mario 64, you only had to collect 70 of the 120 stars. That meant you could skip stars or entire levels you weren’t fond of and because you unlock levels so quickly, replays could be vastly different from each other. Casual speedruns of the game are proof of this. I mentioned Banjo-Kazooie’s linear structure earlier, but what I didn’t mention is how little leniency you are given for accessing the final boss. You need 94 out of 100 Jiggies and 810 out of 900 music notes. Every level has 10 Jiggies and 100 notes, with an additional 10 Jiggies found in Grunty’s Lair. Since you can only miss out on 6 Jiggies and 90 music notes, you need to complete every level nearly perfectly. I really don’t understand why Rare thought this was necessary. It makes repeat playthroughs far less interesting and may turn off players that don’t enjoy specific levels. As my earlier comments indicate, I am one such player.

Speaking of comments, how about you leave one saying how my opinion is invalid because I didn’t have the same experience as you? In all seriousness though, I hope this critique strengthened your love for Banjo-Kazooie. If you somehow haven’t played it, I suggest trying out the first two or three levels before you consider quitting. While I prefer Super Mario 64 overall, Banjo-Kazooie did improve on one important thing. The levels don’t kick you out after finding a Jiggie, which the mustachioed plumber wouldn’t adopt until Odyssey, almost 20 years later! Even if I dislike aspects of Rare’s works, they were often ahead of their time.

Eu não costumo ter problemas com controlar o personagem até em jogos muito antigos, mas Banjo-Kazooie é um extremo onde eu não sei se é culpa do controle ou se o jogo sempre foi assim (atualização: testei o controle no Mario 64 e foi suave demais, é o jogo.). É um dos poucos jogos 3D onde eu tenho uma dificuldade enorme de ter noção de profundidade e onde o personagem não anda reto de jeito nenhum. Mirar nas coisas também se torna impossível pela mesma dificuldade de entender os objetos no espaço 3D e Deus sabe como ele é um jogo que requer mira pra tudo.

As fases são tematicamente divertidas e vão se transformando de forma legal enquanto você vai jogando elas. Diferente de Mario 64, elas tentam evocar a ideia de um lugar real e não só um conjunto de blocos que flutua e nisso fazem muito muito bem, quase todas são muito interessantes esteticamente.

Não é um jogo ruim, alias não é nem um jogo ok. Não dou 4 estrelas pra jogo ok. É um jogo legal e bom, que o resto compensa suas falhas percebidas e suas tarefas cansativas.

Eu só fiquei surpresa de sentir problema que nunca havia sentido antes.

Now before I begin I just want to clarify this:
This is strictly my own opinion. If you disagree with me, more power to you. Just keep the comments civil and respectful.

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to
GAME MODE: ON!

To continue to show that I'm not a Sony fanboy who only plays PlayStation games, I'm gonna be tackling a title from the late 90's that many consider one of the best 3D platformers of all time. The original Nintendo 64 classic, Banjo-Kazooie.

While past games like Super Mario 64 are what pioneered the genre, gamers and critics alike often cite this one as perfection as it paved the way for future titles such as Spyro the Dragon and Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom. To this day, it is still celebrated as a classic and in honor of the year of it's 25th anniversary, I'm gonna deliver my own personal take on this game and see if the praise is warranted.

Just on a side-note, I played this title via Rare Replay, an Xbox One-exclusive collection of Rare's various titles over the company's 30-year history from Battletoads to Killer Instinct to Viva Pinata. It's a damn good title worth picking up if you're into retro gaming like I am.
Anyway, on with the review!

STORY & CHARACTERIZATION:
The game follows the titular duo, a dim bear named Banjo and a cynical bird named Kazooie, who find themselves on a perilous journey to chase down and defeat the narcissistic witch Gruntilda when she has kidnapped Banjo's little sister, Tooty, with plans to extract her outer-beauty for her own gain.

It's a basic run-of-the-mill late-90's platformer plot with no complex themes or compelling character arcs. It's just an excuse to traverse through many creative and fun worlds while also having a laugh every once in a while.
One of the main appeals of the game is it's sense of humor which mainly comprises of puns, rhymes and all sorts of witty comebacks. The jokes can warrant some good chuckles throughout though admittedly, there are times when they can overstay their welcome a bit. Nevertheless, it makes for a decent-enough reason to keep on playing to see what new quirky dialogue sessions are in for you.
Throughout the game, you'll run into a variety of colorful characters. Some like Bottles the Mole are capable of giving you tutorials on basic and complex moves, others like Bruntilda, Grunty's good fairy sister, give you hints that will become important later on and there are those like Snorkel the Dolphin that have their own side-quests that reward you with the game's main collectables. There's also a few characters that have their own independent functions which are helpful throughout the game such as Mumbo-Jumbo, a shaman who can magically-transform you into any object or animal depending on what world you're on in exchange for Mumbo Tokens and that can help you access areas and challenges you're unable to reach in your normal form, and Cheato, an abandoned living spellbook that can offer you cheat codes if you managed to find him in various secret areas of the main hubworld.
It's a cute little adventure that warrants a few giggles but how is the actual gameplay itself?

GAMEPLAY & CONTROLS:
Now before I continue any further, I must address my personal feelings regarding the Nintendo 64. My family used to own the console when I was a kid but even at such a young age, I can't help but be baffled by the design of the controller. Three handles and only one joystick, what the hell is up with that? As far as I can remember, it made playing on that console a real task to put up with and a pain to get the hang of. Even today, I'm still bewildered at how others, even my own older brother, are able to play that thing so well while I could barely do so.
As of today, several titles have been emulated and ported to modern consoles which should make for a golden opportunity for the developers to update the controls so that it would make them better to play than on the original N64. Some like GoldenEye turned out great and were alot of fun while others like Super Mario 64 were frustrating and, in the case of Conker's Bad Fur Day, almost fucking impossible. I know it's not easy to tweak controls for a game that was originally developed for a console that had a Fisher-Price abortion for a controller but if GoldenEye can turn out so smoothly, why can't you do the same for Mario 64 or Conker? Make an effort, for god's sake!
Now in regards to Banjo, I can safely say that it does control adequately. As an enhanced port for the Xbox, the controls are mapped out and coded as well as they could be. Camera works smoothly enough and overall, it does play fine for the most part. There are times when it can get a little slippery which can make bits like platforming, time trials and certain boss fights a pain in the ass so it's not really that perfect. It plays better than Mario and Conker but in some areas, it's not saying too much.
As far as I'm concerned, you have a variety of moves and attacks that can help you on your way. You can roll or dash into enemies and obstacles, you do can a high jump and you can even use Kazooie to walk around steep hills as well as shit or puke a limited number of eggs. There are some items scattered throughout the game such as the aforementioned eggs, red feathers that gives you extra flight and the ability to torpedo-zoom, gold feathers that can give you limited invincibility, honeycomb pieces that restore your health and honeycomb rings that extend your health meter.
Besides the tutorial level and Gruntilda's Lair(which serves as the main hub), there are nine worlds to explore, each with their own unique environmental themes, gimmicks and challenges. To progress through the game, you need to achieve a specific number of the main collectables such as musical notes, which are used to open doors which open up more of Grunty's Lair, and golden jigsaw pieces, which are used to gain access to new worlds. While the 100 notes of each world are scattered throughout, the 10 Jiggies are only acquired once you've done a specific challenge whether it be traversing a platform stage, solving a puzzle, helping a local or two out, competing in races, rescuing five multicolored creatures or fighting a boss, just to name a few. While some can be a little frustrating due to sensitive control, the occasional super-tight time limit, intrusive enemies and bullshit rubber-banding AI, there are plenty of challenges that are plenty of fun which can make collecting Jiggies a good time. The good thing about this is that you don't have to collect everything to access the very last parts of the game, you just need to gain enough. That, and unlike Mario 64, the game doesn't boot you back to the main hub every time you collect a Jiggy which is nice. However, what does kill the momentum a bit is the backtracking. Whenever you come back to the game, you always start back at the beginning of the main hub and without a handy number of shortcuts, it can make heading back to where you left off tedious. Sure, there are teleportation cauldrons throughout the hub but I've only managed to complete two or three sets and even then, that's not enough to make return trips any less tiring. And while I appreciate a game that doesn't hold your hand, it can be frustrating trying to figure out a puzzle or how to defeat a certain boss especially if it's a timed challenge.
That, and some of the enemies are a fucking joke. While some can be dealt with fine enough, there are some that are such assholes to avoid with the worst being the ghosts in Mad Monster Mansion who not only cannot be killed but are fast and will not stop chasing you until you're dead. I fucking hate these bastards with a passion. All I'm trying to do is either collect some notes on some chairs or pass through a hedge maze but these c**ts are damn-near unavoidable, I hate them that much.
One of the most irritating moves to try and pull off is the torpedo dash when flying. For example, in Freezeezy Peak, you have to bash several evil snowman on their hats to defeat them but because aiming the fuckin' thing is more finicky than Warner Bros. Discovery's reputation, you're guaranteed to miss than hit a good chunk of the time.
Aiming eggs to shoot can also be a pain. It's like if you're one pixel off, the eggs miss the target. Trying to aim the fuckin' thing is so snappy that it can really screw you up if you're on a tight time-frame and considering you often find yourself accidentally doing a ground-stomp when you clearly didn't mean to during a tense and panicky situation, it can get you killed faster than you think.
But the one thing I hate more than anything in this game is the final stretch. This is the part that almost made me rage-quit thus rendering this review non-existent, it was that frustrating. In the penultimate part of the game, you have to engage in a game show hosted by Grunty in which you have to partake in quizzes and various timed challenges in order to advance. Fail too many times and you have to keep restarting all over again. Seriously, the game expects you to remember enough about even the littlest details in order to beat this part. Sure, some are child's play but others are just a pain and seriously, that timed boss fight against the box in Rusty Bucket Bay can go to Hell! But even if you've finally beaten the game show, there's still the final boss fight against Grunty which can only be accessed by collecting just a few more notes and Jiggies. But once you're finally there, you might as well turn the game off because this boss can go suck a dick. It's one of the most frustrating final bosses of any game ever and it's all down to four fatal faults:
#1. Grunty can shoot fireballs at you in the direction that you're heading. You can avoid them by going the other way but at some points, she fires them at such a fast pace that you're unable to find the best place possible to land a single good hit on her.
#2. At one phase, you need to shoot eggs at her but again, because she can ramp up the pace in which she shoots her fireballs, it is such bullshit trying to find the best opening to fire back.
#3. Another phase has you flying in the air and attempting to torpedo-bash into Grunty but because the controls are such shit, you'll end up missing so many times thus potentially wasting too many red feathers.
#4. The final two phases has you shooting eggs into statues but because aiming into the holes is more problematic than it should be and Grunty is constantly blasting shit at you, you're going to unfairly die at this final part of the battle the most. It is a fucking miracle I was able to get the shitty patterns down and send that green bitch packin' where she belongs.
Now yes, I understand that challenge is a good thing to have in a game but there's a clear difference between a legit challenge and just frustrating bullshit. This godforsaken final boss is bullshit and a big dark stain on an otherwise good game. But hey, at least it's possible to beat unlike Sonic Unleashed's Dark Gaia.
Okay, so I know I've been sounding a bit negative towards this game but don't take this the wrong way, I did enjoy playing it. It's just that it has it's frustrating elements that keep it from being this perfect classic that everybody has hailed it to be. Plus, I can't imagine how much worse it would've controlled on the console it was originally released on but that's just me. But again, compared to the emulated ports of Mario 64 and Conker, Banjo still controlled fine in-spite of it's minor faults. If you've managed to have a better and less frustrating time with it, that's fantastic, more power to you.

GRAPHICS & PRODUCTION VALUE:
Even if the gameplay is subpar and bullshitty at best, you can't go wrong with the visuals. Sure, it may look like shit compared to games today but back in 1998, these graphics were charming as fuck and really bring out the little kid in you who enjoys these kinds of wacky and lovable cartoons. There's no denying that the art design is extremely memorable and fits perfectly with the witty nature and comical tone of the game with many environments and layouts having so much genuine atmosphere and personality thus making them enjoyable to traverse through.
Plus, aside from the goofy sound design, you can never really go wrong with the music composed by the legendary Grant Kirkhope. His score for the game just oozes charisma and is definitely the main highlight of the overall journey. It's right up there with the likes of Heavy Rain and Castlevania 4 as one of my all-time favorite video game soundtracks.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
So overall, Banjo-Kazooie is a fun platformer that will last in your head for decades to come.
Sure, some parts and mechanics can be a real pain in the ass but those can be forgiven due to the game's endless appeal and charm. So much so that I'm kind enough to give it the rating it gets. Would've ranked it lower due to that horrid final stretch but again, I'm feeling generous right now so take it for what it's worth.
If you can, check to see if it's available to buy on the Xbox Store or better yet, go out and buy Rare Replay because besides Banjo, you get plenty of other classic games worth looking over, Either way, it's worth a playthrough.

Until next time, thank you for taking the time to check out this installment of GAME MODE: ON.
If you liked what you've read here and want to see more, you can go ahead and follow me whenever you want.

And also, don't forget to check out my Letterboxd page for new film reviews every week.

AFTER-NOTE: Do not expect me to review Conker's Bad Fur Day later down the line because that game is just straight-up sadistic with it's slippery control and unfair level mechanics. Sorry, can't review a game if I can't finish it. That's my rule.
I'd rather wait for a good sale on the Live & Reloaded remake instead.