by: Corey Peace

November 23, 2008

Banjo-Kazooie was quite possibly the best game ever made for the Nintendo 64 when it was released back in 1998. The problem is, it was two years behind the phenomenal Super Mario 64, which revolutionized the gaming world forever. Now, it’s hard to say which of these two was actually better, but there is no doubt in the similarities of 3D game play style between the two. For example: Super Mario 64 was the first game on the N64 to have a completely free-rotating camera as you moved around; Banjo-Kazooie of course followed suit. Banjo-Kazooie’s graphics were slightly better and some would argue that it also had better controls.

Super Mario aside, I think what made Banjo-Kazooie so much fun to play was its simplistic yet effective control scheme. For the 360’s sake, Rare converted the controls to the 360 controller very successfully. The controls are flawless and could not have been laid out better for the 360’s controller. The movement with the sticks is smooth and easy plus jumping, attacking, and swimming is just as good. If I have one gripe about the game though, it’s that the camera can occasionally be fidgety and not allow you to see everything that you want to see. Being that this is more of less a port of the N64 game, it makes sense though how free-roaming isn’t as advanced as games today. Overall though, exploring the Banjo-Kazooie worlds and environments is just as easy as it is fun with the game’s excellent control scheme.

What’s nice about this game compared to other XBLA games out there today is the fact that it’s really a 3D game. Most XBLA games today seem to have 3D characters or 3D elements to it, but have them all operating on a 2D plane. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it’s nice to see that an arcade game is able to be a full-fledged 3D environment open for play exploration and interaction. Because of its control scheme for a 3D XBLA game, Banjo-Kazooie should definitely be considered one of the best overall arcade games; right up there with Braid and Portal.

Graphically, look for some very crisp character textures and overall landscape textures. You can tell that there are some parts of the worlds that were barely or not touched at all during the port, but it doesn’t really subtract from the game at all. It seems like Rare spent most of their time reworking character textures and the interactive parts of the worlds. For example: In Clanker’s Cavern, Clanker’s (a giant, metal, garbage eating shark) outer body looks really nice and clean, but right inside his mouth where you fight some baddies and collect some eggs, you can tell that this used to be a N64 game. But like I said, it’s never so bad that it distracts you so it’s almost of no concern; just worth pointing out.

Another very successful element of this game is its soundtrack. It was/is composed by Rareware alum Grant Kirkhope (Goldeneye 007, Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Viva Piñata) and, is easily better than the classic Mario tunes in Super Mario 64. Banjo-Kazooie has a very bluegrass/hillbilly themed soundtrack in that you will hear many twangy-guitars, kazoos, wind jugs and so forth; hence the name Banjo-Kazooie. You’ll find yourself humming the light-hearted tunes and theme songs for a quite a while, they’re just too much fun to not enjoy.

Banjo-Kazooie doesn’t necessarily have a replay factor but it is definitely worth your money length-wise. There are nine different worlds to explore, not including Grunty’s Lair, which plays host to those nine worlds overall. Each world contains so much to collect and find such as notes, Jiggies, eggs, flying feathers, honeycombs, Jinjos and Mumbo tokens! You must collect the all the Jiggies in each world (10 in each) to consider that specific world beaten so you can move on to the next. Each world has an entrance door inside Grunty’s Lair that requires you to open it by putting together a certain number of Jiggy pieces to complete a puzzle picture of that world and unlock it. Collecting Jiggies is probably the most satisfying thing to do in the worlds because of what it takes to get them. You’ll either have to find them laying around in secret spots in that world, or help a local native with some house cleaning, treasure hunting or even dental work to get your reward.

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Banjo-Kazooie is such a fun, light-hearted adventure game, it’s impossible not to fall in love. The controls are absolutely flawless and the gameplay will keep you playing for hours on end. The graphics are what you’d expect for a reworked Nintendo 64 game, but they fit the concept of the game so well, there is hardly any reason to dislike them for looking this well on Xbox 360. Also, the soundtrack will leave you humming and smiling for days on end with its quirky tunes and laugh-out-loud sound effects. For an Xbox Live Arcade game, Banjo-Kazooie is an absolute blast and is worth every single Microsoft point you spend on it.

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