Backlog Game Reviews 43: Banjo-Kazooie (N64)

 

 

Hey there, and welcome to Backlog Game Reviews.

   Today let's talk about Banjo-Kazooie on the N64. Despite being made by Rareware, a British company it was first released in North America on June 29^th, 1998. It got a European release on July 17^th, 1998, and finally made its way to Japan on December 6^th, 1998. Reviewers at the time had nothing but praise for the game.

 

 When you turn on the game you're greeted with a catchy musical intro.

Many compared it to Mario 64 due to having similar gameplay. Some critics said it was the best 3D platformer ever made, even better than Mario 64. It sold very well in all regions and by March of 2003 in Japan it sold more than 405,000 copies, and in December of 2007 in the United States it sold more than 1.8 million copies. Let's take a look and see what made this game so great.

 The evil witch Gruntilda, this games villain.

The Story

    

   Banjo-Kazooie has a simple story, it starts with the witch Gruntilda asking her cauldron who's the prettiest in all the land. But instead of hearing the answer, she wants like usual, Gruntilda's cauldron tells her that Tootie the bear is the prettiest. Enraged, Gruntilda kidnaps Tootie and brings her back to her lair. Using a machine built by one of her minions, Gruntilda plans to transfer Tooties good looks over to herself and replace them with her own ugliness.

 Gruntilda comes to capture Tootie.

 

Tootie's older brother Banjo soon learns of her abduction and immediately heads off to Gruntilda's lair to rescue her. Together with his best friend, Kazooie the bird, they venture through the witch's castle.

 Banjo sleeps through his sisters abduction.

The Gameplay

    

   I know I say this for a lot of games but, Banjo-Kazooie has a simple but good story. The basic setup is no different from your average Mario game. It's all about you saving someone from the bad guy. What makes this story a good one are all of the NPC interactions. The game is full of colorful characters that all have something funny to say. This more than makes up for the bare bones story and elevates it to a higher level than what you usually see in 3D platformers like this.

  This game is full of funny interactions.

   Banjo-Kazooie as stated earlier is a 3D platformer. You'll travel through nine levels collecting a wide variety of different items that are all necessary for completing your journey through Gruntilda's lair. There are music notes that are needed to unlock doors in Gruntilda's castle, you'll also find Jigsaw pieces which the game calls Jiggies. These are used to complete the portraits you'll find throughout the game, once you complete a portrait you'll gain access to a new level.

 You need to collect Jiggies to complete portraits that open up new stages.

 

  Every level has a lot of stuff to collect but it never feels overwhelming. The game strikes a good balance between having too few items to find and having too many items, and throughout the whole game you'll never get tired of collecting things.

 You need a certain number of musical notes to open these doors.

 That being said the game can get frustrating at times. Whenever you die or leave a stage you lose the music notes you've collected and have to find them all over again. The number of notes you managed to collect before you died or exited the stage will be saved as a high score and any note you collect after that won't count until you break that score. This can get annoying on some of the more difficult levels. Nothing is more frustrating than dying when you only needed another note or two and having to start all over again.

 Mumbo can transform you into different forms needed to collect Jiggies and notes that normal Banjo can't.

    Other than that this is a great game. Every level is unique and a lot of fun to explore. The power-ups are fun and stay useful the whole adventure. If you like 3D collectathon platformers then give this game a go sometime.

 The swimming controls are a bit awkward and takes some time to get used to.

The Presentation

 

   Banjo-Kazooie is a good-looking game. It's not blocky like other 3D games on the N64, the cartoony graphics hold up very well. The soundtrack is full of catchy songs that you'll find yourself humming along with. When you enter caves or go underwater the music gets a little quieter and an echo is added to it, it's a nice touch. I don't have a single complaint when it comes to the presentation, it's a very well-made game.

  You'll find Jiggies hidden in stages or you'll have to complete challenges to get your hands on them.

Conclusion

 

Banjo-Kazooie is a great 3D platformer that deserved all the praise it got when it was new and holds up very well today. If you've never played this game you should really give it a try if you get the chance.

    That's all I have to say about Banjo-Kazooie on the N64. Thanks for reading! Next time will be another retro game review. We'll be taking a look at a game on the Sega Dreamcast. I hope to see you again here at Backlog Game Reviews.