Banjo-Tooie

"Merry Jolly Jiggy..."

Banjo-Tooie (2000), Rareware - R003 - 10.30.2006

Rareware's inspiration in the development of mascot adventures seemed endless. After three consecutive platform giants that stole everyone's attention in the 16-bit era, their collect-a-thon approach slowly took form, disguised under well-paced levels and entertaining mechanics. When the third dimension arrived with titles such as Super Mario 64 around, influence was inevitable. As a delightful blend of freeform exploration and subtle humor, Banjo-Kazooie was born, along with responsive controls, colorful environments, fun moves and solid gameplay.

Two years and a load of hype passed by, and the anticipated sequel was released. Stop N Swop swearing aside, everything players normally expect when a new title is on its way was delivered in this second bear-n-bird odyssey, from the magnified amount of fresh moves and collectables to the journey's larger scale. Banjo-Tooie is precisely what videogame companies should study in order to build a successful sequel. Make no mistake: you're looking at the very definition of the word 'massive'.

[ Monstrous Mechanical Mud-Muncher ]

It was obvious. Grunty was no match for the giant boulder, but the giant boulder was no match for Grunty's sisters. Using the stylish HAG-1 drill tank, Mingella and Blobbelda arrive in Spiral Mountain two years after the events of Banjo-Kazooie, bringing along with them a cursed spell book that would so easily get rid of the holy boulder. The whole predicament takes place while Banjo and the gang play cards at the bear's house, unaware of the ominous plan. Gruntilda is rescued, but her body as we know it is gone. To deal with that, the old hag travels all the way up to Cauldron Keep, where a huge cannon that has the power to suck away one's life force rests. The impact of the B.O.B. machine - as they call it - is soon tested, turning Jinjo governor King Jingaling into a creepy zombie. In Grunty's hopes to put Banjo to sleep for good (not that he'd hate it...), B.O.B. is then aimed at his home. Evidently, the execution fails, murdering poor Bottles instead. Banjo, Kazooie and Mumbo walk out of the house to find a sad Spiral Mountain, with its now damaged landscapes and newly infested by Grunty's minions.

Following the same core features that made Banjo-Kazooie so addictive, Tooie sends the player to a new overworld called Isle O' Hags. Grunty's Lair is no more, but it turns out that real danger was eerily closer. Banjo and Kazooie's primary objective is clear: tracking down HAG-1's muddy trails that will eventually lead to Cauldron Keep. Upon viewing the very first area outside Spiral Mountain, the Jinjo Village, we have a slight idea about HAG-1's capacity: an entire family of Jinjos was obliterated by the vehicle and the rest of 'em ran away, hiding themselves in BT's eight major worlds and Isle O' Hags itself.

The Banjo universe is vividly expanded in the sequel, starting with the enormous Isle. We get to visit the place where Jinjos and Bottles' family live, as well as a hilarious jigsaw-themed temple built for Jiggy veneration. Like the first game, the colorful and visually packed areas give the impression of a purpose to fulfill, even if the green peaks have been used a bit too much in the Isle. While Grunty's face symbolized evil in her lair, HAG-1's trails don't fall short, appearing in every single screen -- and it's hard to avoid happily raising one's eyebrows when staring at heavy muddy tracks going up on a 100% vertical wall. Being in an outdoor overworld for the first time in the series while running by windy cliffs and frightening heights is just amazing.

Fortunately, the much welcome witty atmosphere of the first game is back. Kazooie's manners are even worse, questionable characters cross our path (Jolly's "partner", ahoy!), dialogue is clever, visual humor is packed with additional subtlety (don't tell me that the B.O.B. function switches were accidentally chosen...) and we run into countless old friends. Character speech once again revolves around four or five looped sounds, a fair decision considering how charming they made the Banjo-Kazooie world. As we're on the subject of speech: remember Gobi's last lines in Click Clock Wood? Well, the lava world is right here. Banjo-Tooie is blessed with event continuity. You'll often hear, read and watch references to Banjo-Kazooie and its distinguishable happenings, which connects both games and makes us wonder whether they were designed as a single, colossal title at some point... a thought that falls perfectly into the next item.

[ Um... wait, which one is Shack Pack? ]

If we had 20+ wonderful moves to play around with in Banjo-Kazooie, Tooie scoffs at that and simply doubles the number. Bottles is a mere shad-- ahem, spirit of his former self, so his military sibling Jamjars is the one who's in charge of teaching new abilities. Banjo and Kazooie received natural upgrades as far as their protagonist skills go: you may finally aim Eggs in any direction (and my goodness, am I thankful for that), you might go Jesus and use water as running surface with the Turbo Talon Trot, the Beak Bomb can be mildly controlled, you swim faster and attack underwater, there's a nifty zoom option in first person view, you're able to grip grab ledges and platforms. There are four new types of Eggs, all of them somehow useful, and two extra shoes for Kazooie to wear. As no other company would be capable of doing something so out-of-place, Rare also took full responsibility for a GoldenEye-esque FPS approach, one you'll have to master if you wish to retrieve a few Jiggies and beat the final boss.

But perhaps the most interesting and controversial new feature in BT is the ability to separate both characters and take them to different places within an area. One of the obvious selling points of the first game was the fact that Banjo and Kazooie couldn't succeed without one another, a concept that made controlling two characters at once so unique and righteous. In BT, however, that concept was abandoned... for the greater cause. Quite simply, the Split Up move is a blast. Banjo may now count on his backpack for multiple purposes (including a Kuribo's Shoe clone!), and Kazooie becomes the queen of platforming (there are no limits. You spring up to the sky, you glide, you hover). Rare has applied that overlooked common sense to the feature, too: going solo, Kazooie never loses altitude while flying, since there is no heavy bear underneath; Banjo, on the other hand, uses his backpack to carry other creatures and as a sleeping bag to restore health. This is one of those hard-to-find games where the scary and exaggerated amount of new moves surprisingly shines with substance. There are dozens of moves to use, and you'll want to use them all.

[ "Ekkum Bokum, Ekkum Bokum!" ]

The linear nature of the first game also takes a back seat in Banjo-Tooie. Even though you'll eventually sit through countless mini-games to finish the adventure with the ever-desired maximum percentage, you're less forced and have remarkable freedom to collect the majority of items. For one, reaching the final battle is not as chore-ish as before: you don't have to visit every single world in the game, you only need 70 of the 90 Jiggies and Note Doors were decimated. You will no longer suffer because of a low energy bar: every single item you pick up is stored for good (this definitely spawns death abuse, but it makes much more sense considering the series' premise). The ability to go solo adds a lot to exploration methods and, coupled especially with the brilliant Clockwork-Kazooie Eggs, encourages developing strategies of our own to find and collect treasures -- something that rarely happened in Banjo-Kazooie. Of course, it does help that the number of items we obtain in BT is higher, but it's still good to know that we're not constantly trapped behind switches as we advance.

With that said, forget the 'minor' complexity from the first game's Jiggy tasks. If those demanded more from the player in comparison to Mario 64, prepare to rip your hair out with Banjo-Tooie. It seems that Rare developers took the concept of 'reward' a bit too seriously in the sequel, as you cannot by Jove collect a single Jiggy without burning mandatory brain cells or losing weight; not until you've grown into the game's mysterious ways, at least. Certain tasks involve visiting two or even three different worlds to award you with one miserable Jiggy, advanced moves are constantly needed on early levels and BT's interconnected areas will require insane backtracking to solve the most basic puzzles. You shouldn't feel bad if you don't find more than six Jiggies in a particular world on your first visit; chances are, you simply can't. Mini-games are plenty, key item quests happen often and races are scarce, yet irritating enough to be considered too much (honestly, who actually enjoys pounding a button until the hand is numb?). There's a lot of variety in the tasks presented, which can be equally entertaining or annoying; it will all depend on your own lenience and commitment with the many gameplay styles in the end. For the sake of variety and variety alone, they do an excellent job. Another worthy addition is the presence of menacing bosses on every major world. Humorous as always, Rare introduces each foe with an epic and typically British description ("Strange Wobbly Inflatable Thing"). Fights themselves have nice mechanics, ranging from FPS to aerial target shooting. The amount of things to do in Banjo-Tooie won't let down, and they make this game overall longer and considerably more challenging than the series precursor.

You need help more than ever this time around, so Mumbo returns as a playable character (don't yippie, he's very limited) to cast his spells and make B and K's journey easier. It's Mumbo who levitates and correctly places Chuffy the derailed train on its tracks, for instance, and you're the one who takes Mumbo there to activate his magic. Because his gift is being used in arguably more professionally demanding situations, a new shaman appears to transform our protagonists in BT: indian babe Humba Wumba. Transformations themselves don't put away the "I can enter that area because I look different" card, but they're more amusing and useful than the animals [and pumpkin] in Banjo-Kazooie. Mumbo and Wumba can't stand each other, but they share the collectable element that makes their spells possible: the Gizmo Gremlin-looking Glowbos. Think of 'em as one less item category to seek around, since they're incredibly easy to gather. Glowbos complete the list of treasures to find in Isle O' Hags, including Jiggies, Notes (now appearing in multi-unit nests and used to learn moves), Empty Honeycombs, Jinjos, Cheato Pages, Jamjars' Moves and a few Stop N Swop reminiscent items from BK. This is the World War II of collect-a-thons. If you're not into treasure hunting, expect hours of frustration or play with a guide. If you can tolerate or even like them, you're in for a wonderful time, as the thought put into the tasks and objective design as a whole is marvelous.

[ Eight? EIGHT? ]

Don't feel underwhelmed by the low amount of major areas in Banjo-Tooie. Not only they're possibly twice as big as the ones seen in the first entry, they're much more complex, making the simple act of navigating through the level a complicated challenge on its own. To avoid turning a positive feature into a nightmare, we're given welcome labels for each room and several Warp Pads, which work like handy teletransportation devices. All Warp Pads from a level are centered in a single station, so you don't have to worry about memorizing locations by twos as in BK and Donkey Kong 64. Regardless, it must be said: you won't enjoy these areas if you don't bring good ol' patience along. When I say that BT's levels are complex, I mean that quite literally. Grunty Industries will eat you alive if you believe that walking in and identifying problems are simple enough issues -- I guarantee that you'll spend over an hour unlocking doors and passages in the huge factory. Most of the worlds in Banjo-Tooie are connected through a railroad and a number of shortcuts, and you must travel from one to the other very, very frequently.

Visit the ancient architectures of Mayahem Temple, explore the claustrophobic Glitter Gulch Mine, awaken your inner child in the WitchyWorld carnival, drool at the beauty of Jolly Roger's Lagoon (living proof that underwater levels can be fun), witness millions of years back in history at Terrydactyland, curse at the much too protected Grunty Industries, face elemental opposites in Hailfire Peaks and end your journey in the surreal Cloud Cuckooland sky. They might not have that innocent vibe from Banjo-Kazooie's worlds, but Rare's effort at creating deep and gorgeous new places to explore is something to admire. As our shaman Mumbo would say: they make BK and Mario 64 "look like joke".

[ Sense and Surface ]

The already detailed environments of Banjo-Kazooie were taken to the next level in the sequel. It's practically impossible to ignore the greatness of a flight around Hailfire Peaks' Lava Side, with sights such as the gargantuous Kickball Stadium, the lava ocean and the carbonized-black ruins to please our eyes. Each area has its own identity, with proper art direction and background patterns. If you doubt Rare's visual insanity for a second, just take a look at Cloud Cuckooland: nothing screams "what in God's name?" like a trashcan floating out in the clear sky. Creative, Banjo-Tooie's visuals are also technically excellent, polished with character-shaped shadows and real-time lighting. The latter even serves strategic purposes: in dark rooms, throwing a Fire Egg or using Gold Feathers will light up the surroundings. Try nailing the Power Hut Jiggy in Glitter Gulch Mine using Fire Eggs instead of backtracking with the Split Up move. (This is how you implement visual effects into gameplay, DK64. *wink*) The only minor drawback is the occasional slowdown in crowded or visually complex areas -- expected and excusable, given how Rare pulled the whole thing off without the Expansion Pak.

The dynamic sound system from BK makes its predictable return. Songs change depending on where you're standing or the situation you're facing, with honorable mention to boss tunes: always urgent, fast-paced versions of the area theme. Like BK, songs are pretty catchy, and you'll probably notice that most of 'em fit well into the particular level even if it's not your personal cup of tea. The WitchyWorld theme song isn't exactly memorable, but you can't picture yourself anywhere else while listening to it. Sound itself is what you'd expect in a second installment: keep what should be kept and update what should be updated. Enemy grunts are varied and mostly exclusive ("Yee-haw!"), while characters' voices hold the aforementioned charm tightly. One cannot stress enough just how cute the aliens sound. I warn, you'll want to pinch their little green cheeks.

[ Just one last piece! ]

You can play several of Banjo-Tooie's mini-games with your friends in the new Multiplayer option. Since BT has no multiplayer quality at its core and the mini-games available are taken straight out of the main adventure, the player shouldn't expect the deepest engine ever conceived. All in all, they can be pretty fun (winning the Tower of Tragedy quiz without a bunch of zeros and ones buzzing in before you read the question sure is acceptable...). Banjo-Kazooie Stop N Swop items found in BT will give you nice upgrades and moves during gameplay, and the almighty Code Chamber from the first game is back with a number of cheats and spells. Finally, as soon as you defeat a boss, complete a mini-game or watch a cutscene, it'll be waiting for another attempt or view at any time in the file select screen, a feature the game calls "Replay Mode". Rare's traditional Character Parade appears as the grand prize for collecting all 90 Jiggies. The main game itself is very easy to get into, even after multiple runs.

Out of the three elements I personally judged flawed or lazy in Banjo-Kazooie, Tooie corrects each of them while maintaining fun factor and increasing challenge. Notes and Jinjos are stored completely now - yes, even if you die -, linearity isn't as much evident or present as before and projectiles are thankfully practical.

It's true, however, that certain aspects in Banjo-Tooie could have been better presented or simply excluded. Timed events don't necessarily mirror clever design, and devilish Rare was sadistic enough to choose the worst tasks available to rush things out -- the Clinker's Cavern section in Grunty Industries paints the picture alone. It goes without saying that mashing buttons isn't the majority's idea of fun, either, as Canary Mary's races boosting Faber Castell sales around the globe would hint. Still, considering that the hardest or most frustrating challenges happen near the end of the game (well, as usual) and that none of those are absolutely required to reach the final battle, they shouldn't go as far as to ruin the experience.

One of the smartest and most exciting adventures in the genre as well as one of the best titles ever to grace the Nintendo 64, Banjo-Tooie follows the parody trend started by BK and expands the first title without losing or ignoring important features in the process. Combining semi-brainy puzzles with massive environments, exploration, a tad of Egg-shootin' action and lots of humor, this game truly illustrates the reason why we should never underestimate a talking pile of coal when we see one. In all honesty, it's quite ironic how a game that adopts unsolved jigsaw puzzles as its main concept feels complete from the very beginning. Highly recommended.

Plus
- Extra wit, expanded universe;
- Inspired new moves and upgrades;
- More gameplay freedom;
- Inhumanly complex level design;
- Gorgeous visuals;
- Multiplayer option.

Minus
- Possible slowdowns in crowded areas;
- Mini-game frenzy might take away from the adventure theme;
- Canary Mary. You'll just have to see it for yourself.

Similar Titles
- Super Mario 64 ][ Landmark.
- Super Mario Sunshine ][ Addictive mechanics, beautiful visuals.

Nine out of ten.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/30/06