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.
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.
2 Comments
It really is, yeah
ThatOneGuy
6 months ago