Banjo Tooie expands on everything the original did. Its levels, music, movement, story, visuals, racism, and every other element is brought up in scope and ambition here. I was worried Tooie had aged similarly to Donkey Kong 64 with its tedious constant gated collecting and backtracking, but save for a few elements (Mumbo and the new racist caricature) the pacing was smoother than i expected.
Most of the new shit here rocks, fast travelling makes the larger level sizes comfy and the new moves you get are fun as hell. I actually really liked the FPS sections too, they didn't go on that long and they control really well. Unfortunately, whenever the game makes you shoot while flying or swimming I wanted to die, that fucking cursor is absolute evil. playing as Banjo and Kazooie separately is fun though not very impactful and I wish you had a menu to do it anytime. if this game had a radial menu on the dpad that allowed that alongside switching to Mumbo or the transformations you unlock this could beat the original in terms of pace.
I think the biggest improvement Tooie makes is with the story and presentation. this game's lighting is unholy for Nintendo 64 and its cutscenes are really good. the writing and tone is a lot darker and comedic than the first game's in a way that kicks ass. Bottles just immediately fucking dying is one of the funniest things I've seen in a game. Kazooie is why i support women's rights alongside women's wrongs and if this came out now she'd probably be a popular furry porno character but she kinda lucked out. Tooie's world is just a lot more fleshed out and imaginative than the first game's.
oh, also I was playing the XBLA version. but uh, I never actually finished it. I was at Grunty Industries, 100% up to that point, and then my save file just decided I was back in Glitter Gulch and would not work again. So really this is only a review of most of Banjo Tooie, with the rest played on an emulator while really wishing i was playing the XBLA version, but I had a great time overall.
Most of the new shit here rocks, fast travelling makes the larger level sizes comfy and the new moves you get are fun as hell. I actually really liked the FPS sections too, they didn't go on that long and they control really well. Unfortunately, whenever the game makes you shoot while flying or swimming I wanted to die, that fucking cursor is absolute evil. playing as Banjo and Kazooie separately is fun though not very impactful and I wish you had a menu to do it anytime. if this game had a radial menu on the dpad that allowed that alongside switching to Mumbo or the transformations you unlock this could beat the original in terms of pace.
I think the biggest improvement Tooie makes is with the story and presentation. this game's lighting is unholy for Nintendo 64 and its cutscenes are really good. the writing and tone is a lot darker and comedic than the first game's in a way that kicks ass. Bottles just immediately fucking dying is one of the funniest things I've seen in a game. Kazooie is why i support women's rights alongside women's wrongs and if this came out now she'd probably be a popular furry porno character but she kinda lucked out. Tooie's world is just a lot more fleshed out and imaginative than the first game's.
oh, also I was playing the XBLA version. but uh, I never actually finished it. I was at Grunty Industries, 100% up to that point, and then my save file just decided I was back in Glitter Gulch and would not work again. So really this is only a review of most of Banjo Tooie, with the rest played on an emulator while really wishing i was playing the XBLA version, but I had a great time overall.
Reviewed on Dec 14, 2021