Banjo-Kazooie

This game was stunning at the time graphics wise, however it's best know as that 'other N64 platform game'. It sadly didn't get deserved recognition like Super Mario 64 and the more recognisable Donkey Kong 64, which was released the following year.

It's almost an interactive cartoon, you play the friendly redneck bear Banjo AND his irritating/irritated partner Kazooie (who is a 'Red Crested Breegull'). They behave like one character control-wise. You are on a quest to rescue Banjo's little sister Tootie from the clutches of the witch Gruntilda. The plot is nothing special but there is plenty of humour, aimed at children but amusing nonetheless.

The greatness of this game is not in the story but more in the varied cleverly designed worlds, the perfectly set controls, the ingenious moves (which are not complicated to anyone who knows how to use an N64 control pad), and the funny characters. I still remember it for it's brilliantly implemented context-sensitive music system, the best use of music I have still ever seen.

This game is a joy to play from start to finish, the only downside is the rather tedious note collecting, which busy gamers would struggle to persist with (although I had an almost infinite amount of spare time at the age of 15 and was happy to do it). Overall, a classic.

8/10 (9/10 for 15-year-olds with a lot of spare time on their hands)

Banjo-Kazooie was without a doubt one of THE best N64 games ever to be created, but sadly Nintendo's not making anymore Banjo games>:(. It's really a shame too because this was a fun game. Anyways the levels were fun to explore (Especially Freezy Peak or whatever it's called). The moves were creative and original and the animation, hoo boy. The animation in this game was a MAJOR improvement over some of the N64 games' animation. If they still sell Nintendo 64 games where you live and you have an N64, then make sure there's a copy of Banjo-Kazooie that's being sold because like they say: Chances like this don't come around often(Especially not anymore).

Overall a really great and addicting game that Nintendo should re-release on the Gamecube.

Rare was once a promising video game developer, particularly during their days with Nintendo. Their first big seller game was Diddy Kong Racing where the characters Banjo and Kazooie made their debut.

Following the release of that racing game, Banjo and Kazooie became star characters in their own right when they appeared in the game Banjo-Kazooie. Lucky for them, that game too was a big seller. Banjo-Kazooie would have sequel in Banjo-Tooie, and that one made even a bigger sale.

After getting booted by Nintendo years later, Rare saw new life after teaming with Microsoft. Banjo and Kazooie then appeared in a new game called Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. Although it did not sell as many copies as the two previous games, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts was able to achieve platinum hit status, a title achieve by Xbox or Xbox 360 games that sold 400,000+ copies within 9 months of release.

Because of showing such marketability, Banjo and Kazooie are absolutely Rare's true cash cows. Conker the Squirrel could have been a cash cow too but Rare destroyed that character.

This is a timeless classic every adventure gamer should try. I consider it Rares greatest game and the peak of its history.

The story sounds like something from a Disney movie: Gruntilda the evil and ugly witch is jealous of the beauty of a young bear named Tooty. So, she abducts the bear to steal her beauty via a machine created by her henchman, Klungo. Now, it's up to Banjo Bear and his rude, foul-mouthed breegull companion, Kazooie, to rescue Tooty before it's too late. Assisting the duo are Bottles the short-sighted mole, who teaches them new techniques throughout the game, and Mumbo Jumbo, a skull-faced shaman who can perform transformative magic.

The game was heavily inspired by Super Mario 64 and you can see it in the games formula where you enter different worlds to collect items needed to proceed further, namely Jiggys. But Banjo-Kazooie uses a unique variant of this formula in which the player controls two characters at once, and each one has their own functions; while Banjo moves runs, Kazooie resides in his backpack providing 90% of the moves that Bottles teaches them. Plus, the quirky and cartoonish setting made it highly endearing to players of all ages. I found myself drawn in the instant I started off in Spiral Mountain.

You'll travel across 8 huge platformer-style levels in search of Jiggys to unlock new worlds. You'll acquire the Jiggys by exploring, defeating enemies, solving puzzles, and completing other tasks. You'll also collect golden notes that are necessary to break spells on doors throughout Gruntilda's lair, the massive hub world.

The game is an intricate and rewarding collectathon since there's plenty to discover in the levels besides Jiggys and notes, like eggs, mumbo tokens, feathers, and extra honeycombs to increase your health. Fully exploring the worlds ultimately pays off, since collecting every Jiggy in the game gets you a highly valuable health upgrade that makes defeating Gruntilda easier. Plus, Bottles new moves are both necessary to beat the game and help strengthen the duo and develop them into true and seasoned heroes by the games end.

The graphics were stunning for the time and have aged beautifully. The character models are well-designed, and their movements were smooth and fluid. The sheer variety of colors and textures is amazing, making all of the levels seem so lifelike and engrossing. The lack of distance fog beautifully displays the landscape and size of the levels.

The soundtrack contains some of Rares best music and consists of many bright and catchy tunes from composer Grant Kirkhope that perfectly fit each level, like Rusty Bucket Bays nautical theme with sounds like foghorns and whistles and Mad Monster Mansion with spooky organ notes accompanied by wolves howling and owls hooting. The characters and items emit little voice blips instead of actual voice acting which still successfully brought them to life and enhanced the games' cartoonish charm along with the hilarious and cleverly written dialogue.

The number of characters is much more extensive than in Mario 64 and you can interact with them more. The sheer variety of kooky characters and enemies you encounter really help make the game more dynamic, like Captain Blubber the pirate Hippo, Gobi the beleaguered thirsty camel, Loggo the sentient toilet (yes, you read that right lol), and many others.

I had only a few complaints. First of all, as typical for early 3D games, the camera was a pain at times and would sometimes be blocked by walls or other objects when trying to adjust it. There was a bit of backtracking involving certain moves, such as the Beak Bomb and Turbo Talon Trot shoes, which were required to obtain certain Jiggys or other items. But other than that, no serious flaws.

This was, and still is, a spectacular game that gave Super Mario 64 a run for its money and is definitely playable almost thirty years later.

This game is EXCELLENT! a perfect family game that someone of any age can play! Its a decently lengthy game so you wont be able to beat it in 2 days. When I played it it took me and my family about 8 months to beat it. There are some parts that are hard, but still fun. And after your figure out how to get through the hard part, you see that it was very obvious. A goofy story line and great characters, this game is #1 on my list for ever! Banjo and Kazooie's hilarious comedy keeps you into it all the way! If you have played this game, or are planning to, I would also recommend Banjo-Tooie. The sequel to this great game.

Rareware is planning on making a Banjo-Kazooie 3 sometime soon. There has not yet been a release date on this, but it will definitely be on the Xbox 360.

If you haven't played this game yet then you have NO IDEA what your missing! So get out of your mom's basement and go play: Banjo-Kazooie for N64