Banjo-Kazooie

Now this isn’t the typical run-of-the-mill Nintendo 64 title. It isn’t very well known, and not too many people have even played it. Nevertheless this title stole my heart on the Nintendo 64 the minute I picked up the controller and started playing it. The game begins when the evil witch Gruntilda kidnaps Banjo’s niece Tooty to steal her youth and beauty. When Banjo hears of his Niece’s kidnap he starts off to the rescue with his faithful backpack dwelling side-kick, Kazooie.

Story Line (out of 20):

This story takes the player on an adventure through Gruntilda’s spiral castle from the first floor all the way to the peak where Tooty is being held. Along the way the faithful duo collect Golden Puzzle Pieces, “Jiggys” and “Music Notes”. The Jiggys act as keys to new levels where the music notes act as keys to special doors which allow access to new levels. Unfortunately Banjo cannot simply walk up to the top of the castle. Throughout the castle Gruntilda has placed key-note doors. These doors can only be opened by obtaining the correct amount of “Music Notes” in the levels you play through. On top of this Banjo can only access certain levels if he collects enough Jiggys to solve the puzzle painting to unlock new levels. The game itself takes a fair amount of play time. I give Banjo and Kazooie a good 50+ hours of gameplay and because of the lengthy gameplay amount I give this game a 17 for Story Line. 

Character Evolution(out of 5):

This game has many different types of character evolution. Firstly at different patrts of the game our faithful duo can learn new moves such as flying, invincibility, and the ability to shoot eggs from Kazooie’s beak. Along with the new moves Banjo can enlist the help of their shaman friend Mumbo who, when given enough skull tokens, will provide Banjo with unlimited transformations into a different form. These forms range from a termite, to an alligator, and even into a bumble bee! Unfortunately we do not learn very much about our lovable bear and bird throughout the game. We don’t know how they met or anything we were just thrown into a game without any explanation. Considering all of these facts I give Banjo and Kazooie a great 4 out of 5 for Character Evolution.

Game Difficulty(out of 5):

This is another game that even if you complete the main story line there is still plenty of things you can do. To complete the game 100% you must collect all of the music notes and all of the Jiggys along with many other achievements. This gives this game a margin of difficulty. Parallel to this the game’s few bosses offer very little difficulty. The game itself relies mostly on solving puzzles and eventually leading up to a final battle preceded by a board game like final level where you may have to refight previous boss battles. This game offers little resistance and creates a fun playing environment, and for all of this I give it a 3 out of 5 for game difficulty.

Graphics(out of 5):

Banjo Kazooie throws the player into a world or cartoon creatures, badly animated foliage and very blocky environments. Despite this the game still integrates these graphics and implements them extremely well and allows for very aesthetically pleasing levels ranging from green forests and hills to a spooky mansion on a hilltop. For the integration and creative use of the graphics in the game I give Banjo and Kazooie a 4 out of 5 for graphics.

The Score:

17        20

4          5

3          5

5          5

29 35

29 out of 35. And Exemplary score. This is sure to be a game worth buying for the Nintendo 64.