Recently I decided to play through the three main Banjo Kazooie games as part of a recent bender on collecting stamps in Rare Replay. As some background, I never really played much of them when I was a kid, as I grew up console-less and only got to play at friends and family, and much of that time would naturally have been spent play split-screen games such as Perfect Dark during all night sleep overs. When Nuts & Bolts came out, I didn't pay any attention to it as I was not really familiar with the franchise.
So after playing through all 3 and getting all my stamps, I wanted to come here and share my impressions, and invite others to share their experiences with the games. I am going to admit upfront that I relied on guides for the original N64 titles as working in law has left my gaming time much shorter than I would otherwise like.
Banjo Kazooie
Originally released in 1998, the premise is rather simple: Banjo the bear must save his sister from the evil witch Gruntilda, with the help of his feathered companion Kazooie. You platform and collectathon your way through a series of different worlds linked by the hub world of Gruntilda's lair.
The controls were a little troublesome, mostly as a result of having been designed for the N64 paddle, but outside of frustration trying to ever aim ranged attacks, it was still playable. Much of the difficultly in platforming came from the general lack of good camera controls, many a fall was due to the controls changing when the camera view would suddenly shift. The final boss was multi-stage with no checkpoints, and even after collecting every note to get the bonuses, it was still frustrating due to the controls (you have to quickly aim a series of attacks while avoiding a near constant stream of fireball attacks in the last phase).
The graphics held up about on par for what you would expect from games of that gen, and the overall upgrades for the Xbox 360 port did help. What really holds it up is the charm from the art design. Every level looks and feels unique. The music is even better.
I was surprised how much I found myself enjoying it, especially the cleverness of one of the last levels which is split into 4 different seasons, changing the layout in each season. When I played Nuts and Bolts later, I noticed there were some seeds of it even in the first game (there are several races).
Besides the last battle, nothing was too hard, although it would have taken a much longer time to find every jiggy without a guide. The board game near the end can be frustrating if you have a poor memory and didn't write down some random clues along the way that I believe are randomized in every playthrough.
Banjo Tooie
The follow up sequel builds on the first in almost every way. Grunty is back for revenge, and the game immediately has some darker tones (a character is killed by her). It has a different style of hub world, and the worlds are larger and more complicated.
The biggest surprise was that a lot of new gameplay was added. I imagine some of it must have been controversial, such as some FPS styled challenges, but I actually enjoyed them. Running around with Kazooie as a gun shooting enemies with eggs gave me a good chuckle on multiple occasions.
The music was just as great in my opinion, and I liked the new, varied designs for the levels. I found the controls and camera much better as well.
Nuts & Bolts
What little I knew of this game was mostly from negative online discussion. From what I was expecting, after I found I enjoyed the first two, I was supposed to expect massive disappointment. At best, it was supposed to be a good game, but not a good Banjo game.
I was surprised then, to find that I thought it was my favorite of all the games, but also that after having immediately played the preceding entries, I thought it was faithful to the series. Each game was really a hub world with a series of worlds in which you complete a variety of challenges. A lot of the challenges in the previous two games were not strictly even platforming challenges. Each had some variety.
I will say the Nuts & Bolts did change the focus to being about using a variety of vehicles that you design yourself to overcome the challenges, but I could see how Rare was still in the spirit of the series. At first I thought it would be just a series of races, but as I unlocked more worlds and areas, it was actually so much more. There are physics based puzzles, shooting and action, and a good amount of other types of challenges. You start to realize the genius once you actually start trying to create and build your own vehicles to solve the more complex ones.
I thought the music was the best of the series. It has throwbacks to previous songs, but the recording quality was much better not being limited by N64 hardware. I found myself humming along in many of the worlds.
The story breaks the 4th wall with gaming quite a bit, and you can even sense some sadness as LogBox declares that gamers no longer wanted a game just like the old ones. The final video where your nemesis is banished to a warehouse with stacks of Rares poor selling games (so many Grabbed by Ghoulies boxes, another gem I discovered in the excellent Rare Replay) is a bit bittersweet as you say goodbye to the loveable cast. I believe there were some remarks from Kazooie about there probably not being another game in the next 10 years.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed each and every game. I felt like I was getting a second stab at some childhood nostalgia I never had, and at the end I wished I had know about and played all these games earlier.
I am glad Rare Replay gave people like me a chance to experience them, warts and all, for the first time.
I invite anyone else to share their experiences and feelings on these games. What did you like? Favorite moments? Do you think Yooka-Laylee will fill the gap in your heart? Or are some things best left done?
So after playing through all 3 and getting all my stamps, I wanted to come here and share my impressions, and invite others to share their experiences with the games. I am going to admit upfront that I relied on guides for the original N64 titles as working in law has left my gaming time much shorter than I would otherwise like.
Banjo Kazooie
Originally released in 1998, the premise is rather simple: Banjo the bear must save his sister from the evil witch Gruntilda, with the help of his feathered companion Kazooie. You platform and collectathon your way through a series of different worlds linked by the hub world of Gruntilda's lair.
The controls were a little troublesome, mostly as a result of having been designed for the N64 paddle, but outside of frustration trying to ever aim ranged attacks, it was still playable. Much of the difficultly in platforming came from the general lack of good camera controls, many a fall was due to the controls changing when the camera view would suddenly shift. The final boss was multi-stage with no checkpoints, and even after collecting every note to get the bonuses, it was still frustrating due to the controls (you have to quickly aim a series of attacks while avoiding a near constant stream of fireball attacks in the last phase).
The graphics held up about on par for what you would expect from games of that gen, and the overall upgrades for the Xbox 360 port did help. What really holds it up is the charm from the art design. Every level looks and feels unique. The music is even better.
I was surprised how much I found myself enjoying it, especially the cleverness of one of the last levels which is split into 4 different seasons, changing the layout in each season. When I played Nuts and Bolts later, I noticed there were some seeds of it even in the first game (there are several races).
Besides the last battle, nothing was too hard, although it would have taken a much longer time to find every jiggy without a guide. The board game near the end can be frustrating if you have a poor memory and didn't write down some random clues along the way that I believe are randomized in every playthrough.
Banjo Tooie
The follow up sequel builds on the first in almost every way. Grunty is back for revenge, and the game immediately has some darker tones (a character is killed by her). It has a different style of hub world, and the worlds are larger and more complicated.
The biggest surprise was that a lot of new gameplay was added. I imagine some of it must have been controversial, such as some FPS styled challenges, but I actually enjoyed them. Running around with Kazooie as a gun shooting enemies with eggs gave me a good chuckle on multiple occasions.
The music was just as great in my opinion, and I liked the new, varied designs for the levels. I found the controls and camera much better as well.
Nuts & Bolts
What little I knew of this game was mostly from negative online discussion. From what I was expecting, after I found I enjoyed the first two, I was supposed to expect massive disappointment. At best, it was supposed to be a good game, but not a good Banjo game.
I was surprised then, to find that I thought it was my favorite of all the games, but also that after having immediately played the preceding entries, I thought it was faithful to the series. Each game was really a hub world with a series of worlds in which you complete a variety of challenges. A lot of the challenges in the previous two games were not strictly even platforming challenges. Each had some variety.
I will say the Nuts & Bolts did change the focus to being about using a variety of vehicles that you design yourself to overcome the challenges, but I could see how Rare was still in the spirit of the series. At first I thought it would be just a series of races, but as I unlocked more worlds and areas, it was actually so much more. There are physics based puzzles, shooting and action, and a good amount of other types of challenges. You start to realize the genius once you actually start trying to create and build your own vehicles to solve the more complex ones.
I thought the music was the best of the series. It has throwbacks to previous songs, but the recording quality was much better not being limited by N64 hardware. I found myself humming along in many of the worlds.
The story breaks the 4th wall with gaming quite a bit, and you can even sense some sadness as LogBox declares that gamers no longer wanted a game just like the old ones. The final video where your nemesis is banished to a warehouse with stacks of Rares poor selling games (so many Grabbed by Ghoulies boxes, another gem I discovered in the excellent Rare Replay) is a bit bittersweet as you say goodbye to the loveable cast. I believe there were some remarks from Kazooie about there probably not being another game in the next 10 years.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed each and every game. I felt like I was getting a second stab at some childhood nostalgia I never had, and at the end I wished I had know about and played all these games earlier.
I am glad Rare Replay gave people like me a chance to experience them, warts and all, for the first time.
I invite anyone else to share their experiences and feelings on these games. What did you like? Favorite moments? Do you think Yooka-Laylee will fill the gap in your heart? Or are some things best left done?
