"Move over Mario 64!"

Okay everybody, I've decided to give this awesome game exactly what it deserves. A 9/10. Not a 8/10, not a 7/10, and most CERTAINLY not a 4/10. What's with those reviews?! Okay, I didn't mean to offend you people, I guess that is just your opinion. Let us move onto the introduction.

The Introduction:
Lets get the facts straight. This is a rather old game. Also, it is living in the shadow of one of its clones, Donkey Kong 64, (which I once thought wasn't that good, but now, I have experienced it's true beauty) but does that affect the gameplay? Does that mean that this game is not fun? DOES IT? Actually, this game is still popular, but with all the new games out on the market, no one gives it to much thought. A lot of people have just put the game away and are waiting for the much hyped Banjo-Tooie to come out. I have been carrying this a bit far, so let us begin my first person review.


The day is October 11, 1999. It has been hard, but I have finally saved up enough money for my Nintendo 64, and enough for a game of my choice. I select my N64, and wonder which game I should buy with it. There, behind the glass, is Banjo-Kazooie. I remember...it seemed to wink at me. No I am not psychotic! I remembered all the hype around it, so I decided to buy it. I lug the N64 home, and hook it up. Fortunately I am familiar with the controller, because my friend has an N64. Then, I plug in Banjo-Kazooie, and fire away.

I watched a strange, disturbingly cute Nintendo Logo cinema, then the screen goes white. I start pressing Start repeatedly, and finally, a whole mess of puzzle pieces fall out of the screen, and into black. Later, I learned that if you were patient, a musical intro would start, and it would have definitely turned me off on my first time. Then, the demo begins. I think, what's this? I see a bear with a bird in his backpack. They run forward, and somersault into a termite with these big googly eyes, all the while, little kiddie music is playing in the background. I press start, and there's those puzzle pieces again! On the next screen, I am asked to select a game, so I choose the one with Banjo sleeping in a bed. When I do, he pops up, gives me a thumbs up and says ''Wah-hoooooo!'' I think, Oh well, it will get better.

It did, but not right away. I got slapped with a very long, opening cinema. It was really weird. Here's how it goes. A witch is speaking into a magic cauldron, reassuring herself that she is the most beautiful creature of the land (must be an ugly land). The cauldron seems to humor here. But oh no! Then he has to be totally honest! The cauldron claims that there is a more beautiful person in this big crazy land of ours and that ticks the witch off. So she gets her broomstick, and marches right out into this green place named Spiral Mountain, where the witch proceeds to kidnap the girl, who happens to be Banjo's sister Tooty. The witch, named Gruntilda, intends to steal Tooty's beauty with a modern machine, and use it for herself. Big Brother Banjo, a big lazy bones type 'o' fella, is sleeping, and his pet bird Kazooie, (its not what you think!) wakes him up, and they go outside to see what has happened. So what they've done here, is taken Snow White, threw in some changes and modern technology. I was THIS CLOSE to giving up on the game.

Then, the game actually started, and the graphics really sunk in. They were extremely impressive. This coming from someone who has played a Sega Dreamcast over at his cousins house! The ground looked totally realistic, and the mountain behind the house was realistic too, with all those little details, such as little scratches in the side and the shingles on the roof of the house that Banjo had just come out of. So I thought, This game might have potential after all.

Then, I decided to start moving. Wow, controlling Banjo was just so easy! I walked forward, and arrived at a molehill. Automatically, a mole pops up and says that his name is Bottles, and he witnessed the whole kidnapping as seen in the intro. He tells you to go find more of his molehills. At each one, he will tell you some new moves. Hey, you need them. You start out, you can work the camera a tiny bit, and jump, I dunno, a trillionth of an inch of the ground, so Banjo is in need of a few darn moves here! As I started to run forward, I realized that this wasn't like Mario 64, where they stick you with all your moves right away, and have a bunch of signs around telling you how to use them. This was different, and for the best too.

I arrived at the first molehill, and Bottles told me how to use the camera. When I went along, I tried it out. Wow, the camera was just so smooth, and much easier to control than in Mario 64. The camera in Mario 64 had been the game's biggest problem, Rareware has seemed to have correct it. Now, if only they could get rid of the occasional, very sick humor in the game.

I went along, learned more and more moves, and Bottles said that I was ready to go kick butt. So, I ran up a big spiral mountain, (hence: Spiral Mountain), and at the top, I crossed path with Bottles one last time, and he decided to build the bridge into Gruntilda's Lair. As I crossed the bridge, my adventure really began...

Now, I end my first person review, and start just an average review, covering all the things in Banjo Kazooie that I missed.


Music and Sound: 8/10
The music in this game is very well done, particularly in these places:

-Spiral Mountain
-Gruntilda's Lair
-Mumbo's Mountain
-Treasure Trove Cove
-Clanker's Cavern
-Bubblegloop Swamp
-Freezeezy Peak
-Gobi's Valley
-Mad Monster Mansion
-Rusty Bucket Bay
-Click Clock Wood
-Everywhere else

What? Yes, I know I just listed every place in the game. Yes, I know that that was simply a ploy to make this review longer. Oops, did I say that outloud? Anyway, Banjo-Kazooie uses a unique ''Change music to fit the surronding environment'' engine. For example, if you are in Gruntilda's Lair, then you enter the area around Mad Monster Mansion, then an organ will play the same theme, with wolves howling in the background. If you are in Clanker's Cavern, and you go underwater, then the music will become muffled, as if you really were underwater. My personal favorite theme: The music that plays while you are fighting Gruntilda. It is pretty cool, it is a speeded up version of the Gruntilda's Lair theme.

As for the sound, it is the thing that dropped this category down to an 8. When the characters talk, they talk in a strange way such as ''Duh, duh, duh, duh,'' or ''Wah, wah, wah, wah.'' It gets a tad bit annoying, but just a tab, and it doesn't affect the gameplay in the least, it just affects the music and sound category. As for the other sounds, it is very good, from the cute little splash you make from landing in the water, to the sad pathetic crying from the Boggy's kids, to the evil laugh of Napper the ghost, its all good.

Gameplay: 9/10
I could go on forever about how darn good and fun this game is. It follows the same engine as in Mario 64, where they put you in a huge vast world, and make you find items that will grant you access to the next world. You must find 100 Jigsaw Pieces, ten per world. Example: You need 8 Jigsaw Pieces to enter Freezeezy Peak. You must locate a incomplete picture with pieces missing. When you put in the pieces, 1 Jiggy will be subtracted from your total. When the picture is complete, a world will open up somewhere. It could be nearby, or maybe miles away! Enter it to find more Jiggies and musical notes.

Notes? Yes notes. Another obstacle in the lair is the note doors. It displays a number on it, such as 450. You must find a that number of notes (100 per world) to open the door, each door bringing you closer and closer to Gruntilda and Tooty. There is a total of 12 note doors in the entire game, and only 810 are essential. However, you may want to go the whole nine yards, and get the grand total of 900, to unlock hidden bonuses and the works. I will not spoil the huge surprise that happens when you reach the top...

There is something in this game that is unique to the Banjo Series. Transformations. Yes, you, and only you have the unique ability to transform into a strange native animal to the world you are in, courtesy of Mumbo Jumbo, former teacher of Gruntilda. So, if Gruntilda selected him to be her teacher, then Mumbo must know his stuff! He is very good at transformations, but of course, there is a price. Mumbo, the clumsy bafoon (just kidding) has lost all his Mumbo Tokens, and refuses to help you unless you gather his tokens, and the price repeatedly increases by five.

But, the most unique thing about Banjo-Kazooie, is that at the end of the game, who should show up but Mumbo! He has three pictures to show you, I will not spoil them, because they are a good watch without me bursting in and spoiling everything. Anyway, it shows preview of three inaccessible secrets in Banjo-Kazooie, which can only be accessed by playing the promised sequel, Banjo-Tooie. The possibilities of how this will happen and what these items will do is almost endless, and makes the sequel all the more desirable.

Difficulty: 8/10
If you are new to 3-D platformers of this genre, then this game will be difficult for you. However, if you have mastered games such as Mario 64, Croc, etc. then this game will simply not be difficult. I ain't got much more to say on this subject.

Originality: 4/10
Sadly, we must explore the games bad points now. Anyone could see that this is a clone of Mario 64. An awesome clone, but still a clone. However, I find myself thinking that Rare took there time while making this game. I get the feeling that Mario 64 was kind of hastily put together, especially in the latter stages, where they seemed to be running out of ideas, and rushing things (a giant clock? Puh-leeeze.) However, Rare seemed to think things through, and wouldn't release the game until it was fully completed, all bugs worked out, and fun factor measured. Still, Banjo Kazooie is a clone.

Replay Value: 6/10
Okay, so the replay value isn't to good. So what? You could always erase the game, and play again? Why, I've played the game 5 times through now, and I'm not tired off it. In the words of Rare: ''You can always maintain a steady stream of drool with the Ice Key in Wozza's Cave! Why not just keep playing until Banjo Tooie is out. To bad there wasn't a kind of battle multiplayer thing. Battling atop the rafters in Mad Monster Mansion would have been sweet!

Buy or Rent: <with growing insanity> Buy. BUY. BUUUUUUYYYYYYY!!!!!! Yes, that will do.


The Final Words:
Okay, so lets review this review.

Graphics: 10/10
Story: 6/10
Control: 10/10
Music and Sounds: 8/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Difficulty: 8/10
Originality: 4/10
Replay Value: 6/10
Buy or Rent? Buy.
Overall: 9/10


Well, this concludes my ridiculously long review. Banjo Kazooie? You earned it!

Final Notes:
As I type these words, I collapse in my chair, no vital signs in my neck. Oh well, nothing a good nights sleep will fix. Good night!

Signed: j_ohanley

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/11/00, Updated 08/11/00