Ah, Banjo Kazooie. A great series of classic games produced by the legendary Rare Ware. Sure, it had a lot of item collecting, but that's what the series was based on. If you wanted Call of Duty, your not going to find it here, that's for sure. However, it has come to my attention that there are only five games in the series! I just had to bring light to this now unpopular series. So, I picked Grunty's Revenge on the GBA.
To start off, I'd like to talk about the graphics. For a GBA, the game looks great. Sharp models, colorful visuals and distinctive areas. The music is also great, though I have heard more complicated and overall better pieces before in a video game, even in just previous games.
The plot is fine enough, and maintains the simplistic quality of the previous games. Banjo the bear and Kazooie the bird (who lives in Banjo's backpack), defeated Grunty the witch by trapping her under a rock. Her thick skulled assistant, Klungo, takes her soul from Grunty and puts it in a mecha-suit, so she can send Kazooie into the past so that she can prevent Banjo and Kazooie from ever meeting and defeating her. Banjo goes back into the past using magic from the shaman Mumbo-Jumbo, to save Kazzoie and once again defeat Mecha-Grunty.
Like the last two games, Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, the whole game is based on collecting items to progress. And, wow, is there a lot to collect. Jiggies, musical notes, Mumbo Totems, all kinds of things. While overall a short game, newcomers to Banjo Kazooie can get a good five hours out of trying to find all the items. Admittedly, collecting things can get a bit tiring, but it shouldn't hinder your enjoyment of the game too much.
Banjo and Kazooie can learn a variety of moves, like and ground-pound, a tackle, and even being able to whack villains upside the head with your backpack. You even can use Mumbo-Jumbo's magic to utilize all-new transformations, each containing their own weaknesses and strengths. I only wish that these moves and transformations weren't so situational.
Mini-games are also sprinkled without. While most of them are fun, there are few that just are copies of other mini-games you just played previously. There is an arcade machine where you can play all of these mini-games, but they weren't even to great to begin with.
Overall, the game has it's problems, but this game as a whole is a worthy sequel to some of the greatest N64 games of all time. It isn't as good as Banjo-Tooie or even Banjo-Kazooie, but it is still a worthwhile game to pick up if you a Banjo-Kazooie fan.