This bear-bird combo platformer is quite delightful
If you've been a gamer for any amount of time, you probably know about Banjo-Kazooie (the pair just recently were announced for Smash). Developed by Rare, this colorful 3D platformer was released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998. Apparently the game was Rare's answer to Super Mario 64 as it shares many similarities with Nintendo's amazing launch game. Banjo was actually introduced a year earlier as a playable character in Diddy Kong Racing (although Kazooie was not with him). While the N64 is host to a lot of 3D platformers, there are only a handful of really good ones, and Banjo-Kazooie is certainly one of them.
The story is simple: the evil witch Gruntilda has captured Banjo's sister Tooty so that she can do a beauty swap--Gruntilda will become very beautiful while Tooty will look ugly (you can actually see this happen if you get a Game Over). So of course, Banjo (along with his bird friend) must rescue her. In order to do that, he will have to explore Grunty's lair, finding pictures which need to be completed so he can enter nine different worlds and eventually open the path to facing Grunty herself. Collectionists will especially enjoy the game, as there are two main things you have to collect in order to progress. Each world has 100 music notes; these will be used to unlock doors to new areas of Grunty's lair. The other is jiggies, puzzle pieces which you can use to place into pictures and open access to the worlds. Each world has 10 jiggies as well as a witch switch which causes a jiggie to be dropped in Grunty's lair.
Banjo and Kazooie have a pretty amazing moveset. The first few worlds will have you learning new moves. There are the basics, such as a double jump, blackflip, roll, talon trot, aerial attack, and a super high jump using green platforms. But there are also other moves, such as shooting eggs, becoming temporarily invincible, and even flying. This great moveset really opens up the game as you will have to figure out which move to use in order to overcome certain obstacles in each world. There's also Mumbo Jumbo, a shaman who appears in about half the worlds; by collecting his tokens, you can be transformed into various animals in order to access areas which Banjo would otherwise not be able to. However, as said animal, Banjo cannot perform any of his regular moves or even attack, so you have to be careful.
The worlds themselves are excellent! Each world is oozing with creativitiy in the form of multiple areas to explore, mini games to play, and goofy characters to interact with. You can spend a long time in each world. Worlds include Mumbo's Mountain (a great first world which introduces you to many of the game's staples), Treasure Trove Cove (an ocean/beach pirate world), Clanker's Cavern (a huge water world with a giant mechanical shark), Bubblegoop Swamp (a world with crocodiles and frogs in a swampy area), Frezeezy Peak (the snow world), Gobi's Valley (the desert world), Mad Monster Mansion (a spooky world with a mansion, church, and graveyard), Rusty Bucket Bay (a huge ship that's sitting at a dock), and Click Clock Wood (a world with four different areas, each one a different season). Each world has a charm of its own, and figuring out how to reach jiggies or finding ways to unlock them is a joy. Each world also has five Jinjos to find, and when you find them all, you get a jiggie.
The game's music is also outstanding. Grant Kirkhope takes a page of Koji Kondo's book by having the music seamlessly transition when you go underwater or when you move into a new area of a world. Each world has a distinct theme, and these themes are very fun and enjoyable. The entire game is bright and cheerful (except for the mansion world, of course), and this is conveyed so well by the music. Not only that, but each collectible has a distinct sound that plays when you grab it, which is a detail they didn't have to do. I'll put a couple of my favorite themes below, be sure to give them a listen.
Banjo-Kazooie is not a perfect game. While I don't mind collecting things in a game, I don't like it when a game forces you to collect everything. BK forces you to collect 90% of the music notes and jiggies in order to make it to the end. This wouldn't be such a problem if not for the fact that when you die or exit a world, you have to start over collecting ALL the music notes again. So if you had collected 60 music notes and you die, now you have to start over at zero. This is really frustrating as certain worlds have tricky sections which will kill you if you mess up (I'm thinking specifically of Rusty Bucket Bay, I died a TON in that world). There is also a game show level near the end of the game which can be a grind. Finally, the game doesn't have any boss fights until the final boss, which I thought was disappointing.
Final Verdict: 4 Stars--Recommended
Despite its flaws, Banjo-Kazooie is an exceptional game. The debate rages on whether it is better than Mario 64 or not. In my opinion, Mario is the better game. Mario 64 has more levels, has you collecting only one collectible, and has boss battles (and c'mon, it's hard to beat swinging Bowser around by the tail). Collectionists, however, may prefer BK to Mario 64, and I get it. Either way, this game is one of the very best on the N64, being only one of Rare's many wonderful games on the console.
Thanks for reading! Please share your thoughts and memories of this classic game below.
Music Links
Clanker's Cavern https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDlBHbf9C1U&t=12s
Click Clock Wood (Spring) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V46DRC4dEo4
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