This review contains spoilers
A few notes about this game:
- It is definitely one of the 3D platformers with the tightest control in its era, at least with Banjo and Kazooie's base move set. The tech in this game and its heavier platforming sections can be very complex and satisfying. Depsite that, it really lags behind SM64 in numerous aspects, particularly in what regards missed inputs. Some moves, such as backflips and talon trots have heavy cutscenes where the playable characters are stuck and can't do anything. This slows down platforming and makes you feel like you have less control than you should over the characters.
- It is an excellent collect-a-thon and, despite its very high amount of collectibles, has much less filler content than similar games in the genre, such as Donkey Kong 64 and Super Mario Odyssey. I appreciated the focus on exploration and level design rather than mini-games and overly hiden collectibles. This made the game feel very engaging and complete, without much filler.
- The implementation of lives, and the fact that you lose all your notes and Jinjos when you die, made some sections feel like a chore. Nothing's worse than backtracking where you've already been to find notes you had already found before. This makes it even worse when you consider that some notes require items such as gold feathers, which you must gear up on before entering a stage. If you enter a level without the required amount of feathers or eggs to get all of the notes, chances are you'll get stuck and you'll have to start the level all over again, at least to get the 100 notes. Furthermore, there is no easy way before the final boss (if you've already gotten almost all notes in the game) to completely easily fill up your eggs and feathers. You'll be farming these a lot if you're not conservative with them.
- Flying and swimming are two excruciatingly unresponsive move sets, especially when you consider that the air meter is very tight and that you require red feathers to fly. The B-attack when flying is particularly bad, and made the final boss fight especially frustrating, because there is no easy way to fill up your red feathers, only blue eggs and gold feathers. Swimming in Rusty Rocket Bay was awful, too.
- Like other Rareware titles from that era, it is very aesthetically pleasing and is very well written. It looks a whole generation ahead of SM64 graphically despite being released only two years after, and Grant Kirkhope's soundtrack is one of the most unforgettable I've heard. Its dialogue is hilarious and absurd for an E-rated game. I especially fell in love with Kazooie's deadpan disrespect of everything around her, and Brentilda's hilarious aunt energy when she shamelessly spills rumours about her sister. As always, Rareware makes incredible cutscenes and the game felt immensely cinematic because of that.
Despite obvious flaws by today's standards, Banjo-Kazooie is still a classic that is worth playing and has a lot of things going for it.
- It is definitely one of the 3D platformers with the tightest control in its era, at least with Banjo and Kazooie's base move set. The tech in this game and its heavier platforming sections can be very complex and satisfying. Depsite that, it really lags behind SM64 in numerous aspects, particularly in what regards missed inputs. Some moves, such as backflips and talon trots have heavy cutscenes where the playable characters are stuck and can't do anything. This slows down platforming and makes you feel like you have less control than you should over the characters.
- It is an excellent collect-a-thon and, despite its very high amount of collectibles, has much less filler content than similar games in the genre, such as Donkey Kong 64 and Super Mario Odyssey. I appreciated the focus on exploration and level design rather than mini-games and overly hiden collectibles. This made the game feel very engaging and complete, without much filler.
- The implementation of lives, and the fact that you lose all your notes and Jinjos when you die, made some sections feel like a chore. Nothing's worse than backtracking where you've already been to find notes you had already found before. This makes it even worse when you consider that some notes require items such as gold feathers, which you must gear up on before entering a stage. If you enter a level without the required amount of feathers or eggs to get all of the notes, chances are you'll get stuck and you'll have to start the level all over again, at least to get the 100 notes. Furthermore, there is no easy way before the final boss (if you've already gotten almost all notes in the game) to completely easily fill up your eggs and feathers. You'll be farming these a lot if you're not conservative with them.
- Flying and swimming are two excruciatingly unresponsive move sets, especially when you consider that the air meter is very tight and that you require red feathers to fly. The B-attack when flying is particularly bad, and made the final boss fight especially frustrating, because there is no easy way to fill up your red feathers, only blue eggs and gold feathers. Swimming in Rusty Rocket Bay was awful, too.
- Like other Rareware titles from that era, it is very aesthetically pleasing and is very well written. It looks a whole generation ahead of SM64 graphically despite being released only two years after, and Grant Kirkhope's soundtrack is one of the most unforgettable I've heard. Its dialogue is hilarious and absurd for an E-rated game. I especially fell in love with Kazooie's deadpan disrespect of everything around her, and Brentilda's hilarious aunt energy when she shamelessly spills rumours about her sister. As always, Rareware makes incredible cutscenes and the game felt immensely cinematic because of that.
Despite obvious flaws by today's standards, Banjo-Kazooie is still a classic that is worth playing and has a lot of things going for it.