While similar in many areas, Banjo-Kazooie's charm and worlds make this a stand-out platformer.

User Rating: 10 | Banjo to Kazooie no Daibouken N64
By gamefreak197 | Review Date:
Ever since the grand debut of Super Mario 64, there have been, predictably enough, other games of similar structure. You would have wacky character placed in strange worlds collecting tons of items. But these kinds of concept "rip-offs" have been around for the longest time. The original Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog were two prime examples for other games to be based on. While many games that try to mimic these games failed, that doesn't mean that there haven't been games that not only follow blueprints, but can also establish an identity of its own. Case in point: Banjo-Kazooie. In the game you take control of a bear named Banjo and his friend named Kazooie, a red breagle that mainly stays inside his backpack. They are out to save Banjo's sister Tooty from the clutches of the evil hag Gruntilda, who wants to absorb Tooty's youth and beauty. With the help of a wise mole and a weird shaman, Banjo and Kazooie make their way to the witch's lair to stop her and save Tooty.

Banjo-Kazooie is a 3-D platformer where your goal in each stage is to collect jiggies in order to advance through Gruntilda's lair. You obtain jiggies by completing a variety of missions and interacting with various characters. In addition to collecting jiggies you will need to collect musical notes that are scattered in each world. Musical notes are needed to access new areas within the hub world. Throughout the game you will also be meeting up with Bottles the Mole, who helps to give information, restore health, and most importantly give Kazooie new moves to help you solve certain puzzles. You will also meet up with the shaman Mumbo. By collecting enough Mumbo tokens scattered throughout each world he can transform you into a number of different things, like a termite, pumpkin, walrus, and more. These forms are of course needed to get certain jiggies. Traversing through the world of Banjo-Kazooie is done with absolute ease thanks to its accessible controls and with a camera that is mostly cooperative.

If you at any point have ever played Super Mario 64, then you are going to see a lot of similarities between the two. For one, your goal is to collect Jiggies needed to access new areas in the game, which is essentially the same as collecting the power stars in Super Mario 64. You also have the familiar ice world, dessert world, fire world, and water world. And just like in Super Mario 64 there are also side items to collect. There are 100 musical notes to collect just like the coins, and jinjos which give you a hidden Jiggie, just like the red coins. Despite its similarities, the game still retains a charm and its own unique identity because of the way everything is so executed and designed. The goofy design, varied characters, and humor of the game are what make this game stand out. Rare has always been known for producing great looking games, and this is certainly no exception. The game is excellently designed with very vibrant, rich in colors and great looking textures, animations, and character models. The soundtrack is varied and catchy and the classic gibberish and writing are well executed.

PROS:
-Colorful and wacky graphics that truely shine on the N64
-Clever puzzles
-Memorable characters that are very funny
-Brilliantly creative level designs
-Catchy music
-Smooth controls and gameplay



Banjo-Kazooie is a masterpiece in 3-D platforming. It takes on a familiar formula, but manages to feel unique and refined compared to its competitors, even Super Mario 64.

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