Banjo-Tooie

"Even better than the first!"

If there was one thing the Nintendo 64 was lacking, it was the amount of really good games. Banjo-Kazooie was one of those really good ones. Sadly, one of those didn't come along very often. The game had several ''Easter Eggs'' (teasers) toward a sequel. Then, two years later, Banjo-Tooie came out! Unbelievably so, it was even better than the original! The game was probably my second-favorite game on the N64, next to Super Mario 64.

Story:
Coming out of Gruntilda's Lair, Grunty's two fat and ugly sisters, Bobbilda (or something like that) and some tall witch whose name I forget (luckily, they aren't twins) gather around Gruntilda's burial ground with their spell books. They say some jibber-jabber for a bit until the boulder suddenly begins to glow and rises! Gruntilda suddenly emerges! Hoever, this Grunty doesn't look like the one from before. Now she's all bony and skinny, like most people would be after laying dead underground for two years! Angered at her new looks, Gruntilda only has one thing on her mind- Revenge on Banjo. The evil witch angrily storms in front of Banjo's house. Meanwhile, inside the house, Banjo, Kazooie, Mumbo, and Bottles are all playing poker. Suddenly, Banjo hears an explosion. He peeks outside, and a giant light begins to form. Banjo immediately tells everybody to evacuate the house immediately. And so everyone does, except Bottles, who remains skeptical. But it's too late. Just as Banjo, Kazooie, and Mumbo exit the house, it goes up in flames! Gruntilda storms off laughing, but has other things on her mind for the mean time. Banjo stares at his burnt house in desbelief, only to discover Bottles dead! Why - How could they? HOW COULD RARE KNOCK OFF THE COOLEST BANJO CHARACTER OF THEM ALL!?! Arrgh... Anyways, Banjo grabs Kazooie and goes off to find Gruntilda once again. Meanwhile, Gruntilda's sisters show her their newest creation that could restore her looks. However, the machine operates on the liufe force of others. Seeing how Gruntilda unsuccessfully defeated Banjo, he seems to be a prime target here.

Gameplay: 10/10
The gameplay in this game is great. The levels in Banjo Tooie are absolutely huge, and all without the help of the expansion pack. It's a standard Rare adventure game, so if you played the first game or Donkey Kong 64, you will be right at home. The way you collect things if different. Instead of gathering single eggs, or single feathers, you get nest full. So you get 20 red feathers per pickup, and 20 blue eggs per pickup, 5 notes per pickup, and so on. This makes some parts of the game easier than the first. There are a ton of new moves, and all the old ones are back, plus you get four new eggs. This time, Bottles' cousin, Jamjar teaches you new moves. Also, just getting one jiggy is a lot harder. They also change up the gameplay in many areas. You can go into a first person shoot them up style, using Kazooie as a gun. So with all these changes you would think the game would be more fun, well it isn't. I don't know what it is, but for some reason I feel this game doesn't capture all the good points of the original.

Graphics: 8.5/10
Beautiful graphics, some of the best ever in a Nintendo 64 game. Pop up and slowdown are a small problem, but with huge worlds and no expansion pack, you would expect it. The characters, and enemies look great, and so do the worlds. Once again, framerate slowdown is the only major concern here.

Sound: 7.5/10
The music in this game is slightly more annoying than in Banjo-Kazooie, but bearable (pun not intended) nonetheless. There are certain jingles that play when you pick up certain items. For example, you'll hear a ''bounce'' noise when you pick up a basket of eggs. And you'll hear a whistle when you pick up some feathers.

Lasting appeal: 8/10
With only 90 Jiggies, it may seem that Banjo-Tooie may not last as long as its predecessor, but it does. Why? The jiggies are all much more challenging to collect! Even Banjo-Kazooie veterans will have trouble fairly early in the game! The game has a very decent challenge level for the most part. Unfortunately, it gets kinda boring in some stages after a while, which is what puts this game slightly behind the original. Key word - ''Slightly''.

Bottom line:
If you enjoyed Banjo-Kazooie, you'll no doubt enjoy this one. If not (doubt there are that many of you), then this probably won't change your mind. Then again, maybe it will. Too bad the next one's probably going only to Xbox. If you can find this game used, pick it up. One of the N64's best titles.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/28/04