Banjo-Kazooie

"The Golden Age of Platforming is over but that doesn't mean you can't re-live the fun..."

"The Golden Age of Platforming is over but that does not mean you can't stop playing the games we grew up on"

I write this as Banjo Kazooie is about to be released again on to the Xbox Live Arcade where I hope the new generation of gamers will step away from the their shooters and embrace the games we lived on...

Story 9/10

On May 31, 1998 Rare delivered another game to the arsenal of 3D games it received praise from the gaming community and still does today, 10 years later , it had a unique and simple even ridiculous storyline, one in which an ugly old hag/ witch named Gruntilda Winkybunion sought to be the most beautiful in "all the land" but her magic mirror tells her there is one more beautiful then her and that is the main protagonist's (Banjo) little sister Tooty. Naturally a witch needs to be the most beautiful so "Grunty" sets out to kidnap Tooty so she can transfer her beauty to herself. Obviously Gruntilda succeeds in her nefarious plot (or else we would not be playing this game) but she leaves a witness: Bottles The Mole who acts as a mentor throughout the game teaching you your moves and offering advice, but back to the story, Bottles tells Banjo this bit of info right away, now Banjo and his "Feathery Friend Kazooie" set out to the sinister Gruntilda's Lair (while Kazooie provides witty insults to anyone that get's in her way) which acts as the hub world for all the levels (like Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64, or Donkey Kong's Island in Donkey Kong 54).

Graphics 10/10

Yep this game just like every other platformer has the bright and cutesy colours but I'm sure we all love them so why not? It has somewhat blocky character models/ animations but this was 10 years ago at the dawn of 3D gaming so I will forgive Rare.

Gameplay 10/10

The cream of the pie, easily the best part of this game with 9 worlds/ levels a huge hub world and the tutorial area Spiral Mountain, this game will have you going for a good 7+ hours depending on how good you are/ how much you like to fool around and once you finish it if speed runs interest you, this game is perfect with most speed runs going around 4- hours you'll have a challenging but fun time, I guarantee it.

There is a huge amount of variety in the levels, be it a sand level, a snow level, a haunted level and so on you will be smiling at the creativity of the graphic designers and the unique tasks in which you will take part in, in each level. The main goal of a level is to collect 10 jiggies (similar to stars in Super Mario 64 or golden bananas in Donkey Kong 64) and 100 notes which are used to further delve into the lair of Grunty, but to get certain jiggies you'll have to collect "mumbo tokens" which you take to Mumbo Jumbo the Shaman so he can turn you into anything from a termite to a bumble-bee in, there are also additional honey comb pieces which you collect to extend your energy bar/ life and the last thing you'll need to collect are Jinjos, there are 5 of these cute little guys in each level and collecting all of them will give you a jiggy. So to sum all that up in this game there are: 100 Jiggies, 900 Musical Notes, 45 Jinjos and 115 Mumbo Tokens.

Something I have to mention, is the dialogue in this game, while you are journeying throughout the lair Gruntilda will taunt you while always rhyming and Kazooie will constantly insult characters.

While you adventure through the lair you will most likely find another character: Brentilda the fairy god mother, Gruntilda's sister, this fairy god mother is tired of her sister's treachery and wants to help you so as you meet her throughout the game she will give you tidbits of info on Gruntilda and her past and most of this information will have you chuckling. My big about gameplay though is that nothing save maybe 3 puzzles/ minigames is very difficult but that is not enough for me to take a mark off.

Sound 10/10

I don't want to talk too much about this because I want you to go play this fantastic game! While this game may not have the Uber Epicks music of Zelda it has a I'll say "quirky" sound that is very enjoyable and will make you more then once hum or whistle to yourself. Instead of voice acting the characters just make "grunting sounds" while their text scrolls across the screen.

Conclusion

Go pick up this game NAO! Whether on the original Nintendo 64 or via download on Xbox Live Arcade you must play it!

Developer: Rareware
Publisher: Nintendo/ Microsoft

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/02/08

Game Release: Banjo-Kazooie (US, 05/31/98)