Banjo-Kazooie (N64)

“This is one of those games that is going to stay with me forever. Banjo, a happy-go-lucky bear, and his inseparable bird friend Kazooie are living their lives at Spiral Mountain. Their days filled with fun and happiness. Banjo's sister Tootie...”

“This is one of those games that is going to stay with me forever.

Banjo, a happy-go-lucky bear, and his inseparable bird friend Kazooie are living their lives at Spiral Mountain. Their days filled with fun and happiness. Banjo's sister Tootie is a pretty young thing, and they spend their time making music and having fun. Until . . . Gruntilda the evil witch sees just how pretty Tootie is, and decides to steal that beauty for her ugly ol' self. Grunty kidnaps poor Tootie, leading Banjo and Kazooie on a mission to save their sibling and friend, respectively.

The writing is funny, camp, and intentionally immature. The character voices are all done with little barks, chirps, growls, and snippets of words that give it a unique sound. In addition to all of this, I think the best part of the game is the gameplay.

Structurally, it plays much like Super Mario 64. You unlock various worlds to explore by collecting shiny items, and you collect other smaller items in order to use your special abilities that you gradually learn throughout the game. The reason I like this more than Mario 64 is that you don't start out knowing the majority of the moves that your characters can use. In Mario 64, you pretty much start out knowing all of the maneuvers that are available.

Another thing that I adore about this game is the soundtrack. Each world has it's own theme song rendered in MIDI format. However, depending on where you are in a particular level, it will change instrumentation and tone to match the area. It's all very happy music, and I love every second, even though it doesn't have anything even remotely resembling metal.

Finally, I really think that this should be an essential play for anyone with a '64. It's prime material for both speed and 100% running, as well as just casual play.”

“When I was a kid, the difficulty of the game really threw me off. well, the difficulty and the fact that there never seemed to me much of a reward to beat it. Even when I finally did I felt like I was putting in more than I was getting out. The...”

“When I was a kid, the difficulty of the game really threw me off. well, the difficulty and the fact that there never seemed to me much of a reward to beat it. Even when I finally did I felt like I was putting in more than I was getting out. The sequel, on the other hand, was one of my favorite games for the N64”

“Next to Mario 64, this was the best action/adventure game for the N64 and included more collectibles than Mario 64. Completed the game and it was tons of fun.”

“Next to Mario 64, this was the best action/adventure game for the N64 and included more collectibles than Mario 64. Completed the game and it was tons of fun.”

“Back when Rare was in its prime, they released a little gem known as Banjo-Kazooie. With a ton of moves at your disposal, your goal is to completely explore the different levles, collecting 10 jigsaw pieces and 100 notes hidden in each. Great game!”

“Back when Rare was in its prime, they released a little gem known as Banjo-Kazooie. With a ton of moves at your disposal, your goal is to completely explore the different levles, collecting 10 jigsaw pieces and 100 notes hidden in each. Great game!”

“A glimmering jewel in any N64 collection. 3D platforming in its heyday. Ah Rare. Back before I despised you.”

“A glimmering jewel in any N64 collection. 3D platforming in its heyday. Ah Rare. Back before I despised you.”

“Good memories from playing this on N64 ages ago. Recently got it from XBOX Arcade and enjoyed it just as much, if not more, this time around. Seemed a lot shorter from what I remembered; managed to find all those darn notes quicker this time!”

“Good memories from playing this on N64 ages ago. Recently got it from XBOX Arcade and enjoyed it just as much, if not more, this time around. Seemed a lot shorter from what I remembered; managed to find all those darn notes quicker this time!”

“Probably one of my fav games ever :) A funny duo with some nice moves up their sleeves. A game that makes you smile and really enjoy playing it, no stress at all.”

“Probably one of my fav games ever :) A funny duo with some nice moves up their sleeves. A game that makes you smile and really enjoy playing it, no stress at all.”

“The best banjo-kazooie game. It was fun to get EVERYTHING! and the later challenges were hard but do-able. the worlds were amazing, especially the final world (tick tock woods?). The mood, environment, music and characters make a great game. BUY!”

“The best banjo-kazooie game. It was fun to get EVERYTHING! and the later challenges were hard but do-able.
the worlds were amazing, especially the final world (tick tock woods?). The mood, environment, music and characters make a great game. BUY!”

“creepiest game i played as a kid”

“creepiest game i played as a kid”

“Second Best platformer EVER.”

“Second Best platformer EVER.”