Banjo-Kazooie
Grin and BEAR it, this game isn’t for the BIRDS!"
Please note that this is not a full review, as I’ve only purchased the game two days ago. Yes, I purchased this game, before even seeing it in action. Why? Well, personally, I trust what most of the video mags have been saying about BK, and two, Rare has failed to disappoint me yet (I’ll exclude Killer Instinct in that statement).
Now that you know I’ve only had a couple of days, you may wonder why I’m "reviewing" it. When a game is this good, you want to spread the word fast. This game is that good.
When I turned on the N64 with BK inside, I was waiting to get that feeling I got when I saw Mario 64 for the first time. Alas, I didn’t get it. That is not because Banjoo-Kazooie doesn’t deserve it, it’s just that those feelings only come around once in a rare while. Super Mario was so amazing because we hadn’t seen anything like it before, that anything after that just can’t hope to garnish those same feelings of awe. But, if you haven’t played Mario and have just purchased Banjo-Kazooie and a N64, then I really envy the experience you are going to have.
As for all new "spectacular" games, I like to sit down and play without reading the manual. I just find the experience that much better. After the great intro, I finally got to control Banjo. I tried a few "Mario" moves and got nothing. Banjo could jump a little. At first I was a little worried, thinking , "Where are all the great moves?" I soon found out that you have to "find" these moves thanks to Bottles the Mole. He pops up, when you’re near a mole hill and will explain your new moves to you. After that they become part of your arsenal. What a cool way to learn moves. The training level where you first learn some of your moves is quite big, and offers a lot of enemies to try out some attacks. For each new level you enter, Bottles the Mole must be found and new moves learned.
How do you get to these new levels? Well, the entry system is very similar to Super Mario 64 in that you must find puzzle pieces (10 per level). In the overworld you will find paintings, not unlike Mario. These paintings are missing any given number of puzzle pieces. If that number of pieces is in your collection, you may enter the new world. The trick, is that you cannot just jump into the painting to gain access. Uh uh. The door to the new world is opened up somewhere else in the overworld and it’s up to you to find it. That’s a nice gameplay treat!
Banjo-Kazooie is all about exploration. In each level you must find all 10 puzzle pieces, collect 100 music notes (which open the music doors in the overworld), find the 5 jinjo’s (which net’s you a puzzle piece). You must also find red feathers that help you fly, gold feathers, mumbo jumbo’s talisman heads (which you must pay the witch doctor to transform you into a new animal!), Bottles the Mole to learn new moves, gold honeycombs to lengthen your health bar, and the list goes on. Needless to say there is a lot do to in this game.
This game isn’t without it’s shortcomings unfortunately. I found the camera to be (at times) less effective than Mario 64. The camera isn’t movable underwater which makes it difficult to line things up at times. Also when Kazooie flys the camera isn’t maneuverable to show you what’s beneath you unless you fly high and enough and then descend. Ultimately, the biggest problem lies within our own minds. It is easy to expect this game to play like Mario, but it isn’t Mario. You’ll want to do wall jumps but can’t. You’ll want to move the camera around like Mario but sometimes you can’t. If you treat this game like a completely new game unto itself, than you’ll do fine; especially if you haven’t played Mario 64. I’m sure the more you immerse yourself into BK, the less you expect it to play like Mario.
Banjo-Kazooie is a keeper for your collection. I’m not very far into the game, but I can tell you that it is a classic. Without being redundant, if you loved Mario, you’ll love Banjo. As I get more into this game, I will update this review with any other gameplay additions, etc. As it stands right now, you need this game, and you need it RIGHT NOW!
Final Analysis:
Rating Legend 1 -10 (10 being the highest mark)
Graphics: 10.0
Control: 10.0
Music/FX: 9.5
Innovation: 4.5 (Sorry, but it’s a copy! A great copy, but a copy!)
Replayability: Can’t say right now.
Frustration 7.0: (It’s kind of tough... so far...)
Rent or Buy: Buy