47| Banjo Kazooie

Released: June 29th, 1998

Definitive Version: XBLA for Xbox 360; Also on: N64, XBO

Just like its 2D predecessor, after Super Mario 64 there were a lot of games that emulated its design. Games like Gex: Enter the Gecko and Glover clearly took notes from Super Mario 64's playbook as they featured a hub world, multiple collectibles, and large semi open-ended levels. While these games were good, none of them came close to being as good as Super Mario 64. It turned out that Rareware was creating a 3D platformer of their own. According to trailers and interviews, the game would be much like Super Mario 64. This seems very familiar, as the game that put the studio on the map was heavily influenced by the previous Mario platformer. The difference is however, is that the new game couldn't rest on unique technology to stand out from the crowd. It would instead be on the same playing field as Miyamoto's and everyone elses' efforts. Would Rareware be able to make a hit platformer game on its own merits? This question was answered with the release of Banjo Kazooie. And the answer was a resounding "yes!"

Banjo Kazooie is essentially a Super Mario 64 reskin. It has a hub world the player travels through to enter levels, stages are completed be earning golden items from various objectives, and it offers collectibles to... well collect. The key difference between Banjo Kazooie and Super Mario 64, is that Banjo Kazooie takes Super Mario 64's formula and adds a shit ton of hot sauce. The game does everything Super Mario 64 does but more of it. Yeah, Banjo Kazooie has a hubworld, but the hubworld is massive. Rather than being a series of interconnected rooms it is more spacious and larger than any level. Yeah, Banjo Kazooie has objectives to complete in each level like Super Mario 64, but rather than having five or six of them, each level has around ten different objectives. Yeah, Banjo Kazooie has collectibles like Super Mario 64, but instead of having just two or three types coins, Banjo Kazooie has even more collectibles...a lot more collectibles...A LOT MORE. The point is Banjo Kazooie took everything good about Super Mario 64 and expanded on it.

The game's story is fairly simple. Banjo and Kazooie are having a nice day and relaxing, when Banjo's sister, Tooty, gets kidnapped by the evil witch Gruntilda. Gruntilda, often called "Grunty", kidnaps Tooty in order to extract her "cuteness" to become beautiful. Seeing that his sister is kidnapped, Banjo teams up with Kazooie to save Tooty. There isn't really much else to the game's plot. It certainly isn't the deepest out there. However, the story does stand out a bit, as it is pretty humorous. The entire game has a tongue and cheek Saturday morning cartoon tone to it. Admittedly the game won't have you laugh out loud, but it will make you chuckle or at least smile.

Presentation wise, like most Nintendo 64 games, Banjo Kazooie isn't too cinematic. However, the game has a colorful art style that is very easy on the eyes. I guess it helps that there are no humans featured in the game, so the blocky character models and muddy textures are more forgivable. The title also features a great soundtrack that is amongst Rare's best. The music goes perfect with the game's wilderness setting and cartoony vibe.

Gameplay wise, as said before, Banjo Kazooie is essentially a souped up version of Super Mario 64. One thing to note however, is that exploration plays a much bigger part in this game than any other 3D platformer out there. Levels are huge and sprawling with content. Finding out where to go and how to get to it isn't always obvious. This game was released in a period where either 3D level design either really relied on players to use their heads or where everything was spoonfed to them. Luckily this title falls into the former. It can take quite some exploring in certain levels just to find the next puzzle piece (Banjo Kazooie's version of gold stars). The maps in the game aren't flat with occasional platforms about, they are designed with the third dimension in mind as the player will frequently travel vertically and horizontally as they hop across ledges, fly in the sky, or swim underwater. Like most games of its era, it shows in many ways how 3D game design has gone backwards over the years.

Controlling the characters feel great. Banjo moves around well as he clearly has some weight to him. If the player ever wants to speed things up at the sacrifice of brawn, they can immediately switch to his partner Kazooie who is much faster and lighter, but can't do much if any damage to the enemies. Players can use the two characters to perform a variety of moves. This includes the butt stomp and the punch that were shamelessly taken from a certain other platforming game. However, there are also unique abilities such as Kazooie's multi-peck for up close baddies and egg coughing for range attacks. They aren't the most accurate attacks, but they get the job done. Banjo can also perform a double jump as after Banjo's first jump Kazooie will flap her wings to give Banjo an extra oomph. There are also parts of the game where Kazooie can fly Banjo throughout the air and that Banjo can dive underwater. Like in Donkey Kong Country, the characters can turn into various enemies to get into tight spaces, but it is rarely used.

The game isn't perfect however. For starters there are way too many things to collect. There is such a thing as too much content, as at times I was wondering just what I should focus on collecting. The levels require the player to explore and use their heads to figure out where to go and what to do next, which is something I commend Rare for doing. Unfortunately, it does get very annoying walking around for thirty minutes as one explores every nook and cranny just to find the last puzzle piece. But by far and wide the game's biggest offense is the last part of the game. To actually end the game requires getting almost every single puzzle piece. With how large and complex each level is (not to mention all of he collectibles) this is just too daunting of a task. Personally they should have just ended the game after completing all of the levels. The last part really wasn't needed.

Even if one doesn't complete the game, Banjo Kazooie is still one of the best, if not the best, 3D platformers ever made. As saturated as the genre was during the late 1990's, it is unfortunate that adventure 3D platformers went the way of the dinosaur. Or at least so it seemed. In 2014, a group of ex-Rare staff formed a development studio called Playtonic Games. They went to set up a Kickstarter for their first project called Yooka-Laylee, a "not Banjo Kazooie, but it's Banjo Kazooie" platformer. They reached their project's goal in just thirty eight minutes and ended up raising over €2,000,000, shattering their expectations by over tenfold. It just goes to show how much of an impact Banjo Kazooie made on the gaming community.