A long time ago, in the distant year of 1998, the video game studio Rare, back when they were calling themselves Rareware, released Banjo-Kazooie onto the Nintendo 64. This would be their third of five games released on the system, all being hits for their time. While the development of Banjo-Kazooie had its own share of twists and turns, with its start as a Super Nintendo roleplaying game titled Project Dream, the story in what was released is simple and straightforward.
The evil witch Gruntilda has kidnapped Banjo the bear’s sister, Tooty, out of envy because Tooty is prettier than her, and with a machine of her own making Gruntilda would be able to steal that beauty for herself. It’s up to Banjo and his friend, a bird named Kazooie, to team up and save Tooty from Gruntilda’s Lair.
Like Super Mario 64 (1996) and its traditional “Mario must save the Princess” plot, that’s where the story more or less stops. Tooty is somewhere in the castle, and only by traveling through multiple worlds of varying weather and texture can Banjo acquire all of the necessary collectables to challenge Gruntilda. Instead of coins there are notes, instead of stars there are puzzle pieces, and instead of red coins there are tiny creatures called Jinjos imprisoned by the witch (who do have their own narrative payoff at the end).
Like Mario 64, the hub area that connects all of the worlds has its own selection of secrets to discover and further jigsaw pieces to collect, but Banjo-Kazooie does have some new ideas of its own. For one, instead of jumping into portraits to access new worlds, Banjo must first assemble the portrait with the jigsaw pieces he collects, and then go elsewhere to enter the new level.
Mario fought on his own, enabled by performance enhancing power ups, while Banjo and Kazooie bring an assortment of attacks and movement abilities to the table directly related to their team up. Banjo rolls and punches, Kazooie can fly and carry Banjo around, and the two of them together can dash attack and jump attack. It’s a decent selection that means less when you consider that Banjo has to stop moving in order to punch, that rolling eventually becomes ineffective against most enemies, and that the dash attack comes with extended startup.
Banjo also finds himself with specific moves that are enabled by specific spots on the map, reminiscent of the context sensitive buttons in Conker’s Bad Fur Day (2001). While in Conker that would usually mean something very specific, used once and never again, in Banjo-Kazooie there are green buttons that offer an extra jump and red buttons for flight (at the expense of red feathers). Banjo has consumable items to collect in the form of eggs that can be spat (or shat) at enemies, red feathers for flying and golden feathers for brief invulnerability.
Probably the most unique new idea that Banjo-Kazooie brings to the table comes along in the form of Mumbo, a shaman with a small talent for shape shifting, and a vested interest in the collection of Mumbo Tokens (the last of the game’s collectable objects). His transformations are often highly specific to the levels they’re in, and often just allow Banjo and Kazooie to explore areas hidden past smaller tunnels. The crocodile transformation offers additional perks, like the ability to chomp enemies and to traverse the piranha filled swamp without fear, while the pumpkin transformation is literally just small Banjo. Some of these transformations are needed for at least one jigsaw piece that can be found in the hub world near the level, but you won’t have to wander too far before the magic wears off and the transformation is reversed on its own.
While there are some standout levels, and one particular level that was assembled in the bowels of Hell, most of the game has you exploring the expected themes. There’s Mumbo’s Mountain, which feels very similar to a Bob-omb’s Battlefield, or a Green Hill Zone. There’s a pirate level and an underwater level. There’s an ice world, and at some point you will have to raise the water level, as was the style of the time.
Mad Monster Mansion and Click Clock Wood are my personal favorites. The mansion is a relatively small area filled with nooks and crannies to explore, and while the pumpkin transformation appears to be a functional tiny transformation at first, there are quite a few places that need it for progress. Click Clock Wood is a level that’s simply remarkably clever for any game, in which you’re exploring the same wooded area four times, except each trip takes you through a different season, complete with seasonal changes. Running through its spring iteration introduces you to the characters that live in the forest, as well as the enemies that lurk throughout, and as you move from Spring to Summer, and from Autumn to Winter you get to see the stage shift and develop.
I absolutely hated Rusty Bucket Bay and everything it stands for. The music for the game is overall fine, plentifully quirky, but even this level’s music came across like it was forced out of an old fashioned American Fotoplayer, in which melody was crushed beneath the weight of its chaotic effects. Timers are short and the pitfalls are unforgiving here, but the most conniving, the most despicable aspect of this level is this may be the only level in the only game I’ve ever played where your characters lose oxygen while swimming on the surface of the water.
There are numerous other minor foibles, though it feels harsh to criticize all of them too much. Was the camera awful? Without a doubt. Was Mario 64’s camera really that much better? This was an early 3D platformer, and an imperfect camera comes with the territory. There are things to collect, but they aren’t in excess. There are enemies to fight, but they’re fairly simple to defeat. The game is easy, even with its few spikes of frustration. It’s a game that doesn’t remember how many lives you have between sessions, but aside from Rusty Bucket and the surprisingly frustrating final boss I never found myself needing to collect them.
Banjo-Kazooie is a colorful game that, in comparison to a lot of modern games, is especially interesting considering its emphasis on exploration. It may be derivative in its foundation, but the classic Rareware charm makes for an experience that’s fun overall.
7/10
Reviewed on Xbox