A Review: Banjo-Tooie, N64 2000
Banjo-Tooie is a platforming game developed by Rare and originally released for the Nintendo 64 console in 2000. It is the second game in the Banjo-Kazooie series and the sequel to Banjo-Kazooie. The game follows the returning protagonists Banjo and Kazooie as they attempt to stop the plans of the witch Gruntilda and two of her sisters, who intend to vaporise the inhabitants of the game's island setting. The game features worlds significantly larger than those of its predecessor, requiring the player to complete challenges such as solving puzzles, jumping over obstacles, collecting items, and defeating opponents. It also includes a multiplayer mode in which up to four players can compete in several minigames repurposed from the main campaign.
For me, this game was a marked improvement over the first title and one that I very much enjoyed chipping away at over the course of a few weeks. The whole experience, for me, was much better than the first game and seemed more geared towards mature gamers. It still allowed for the younger players short attention spans and limited patience, but it just felt more full and somehow deeper than the first game. I loved the worlds and the mix of creatures and characters that could be found and interacted with. I especially liked those odd little Glowbo things and found them to be adorable. The scale of the world was something I found to be worthy of note, with much larger playing areas and zones to explore. The boss battles were epic in some cases, with immense arenas and locations to do battle in. I found that the comedy was just as sharp this time around as it was the first time, and I found myself laughing at the silly, very British style of humor. Again, the characters weren't perfect, and they all had their own flaws that made them unique and actually quite charming. They stood out as individuals and gave the game a sense of reality that I found very good. I felt that the camera was better this time around too; it did get in my way a few times but wasn't nearly as annoying or intrusive as the camera of the first game. You could actually position it somewhere, and it stayed for the most part. I also noted that it was much harder to get it stuck or hung up on something. I loved the different music and sounds for this game and went as far as to download the soundtrack from the internet to listen back to and reminisce. Some of the worlds had amazing little music tracks to them, and several of them had me bobbing my head along while playing. I liked that you could play as Mumbo this time around and found that it broke play up nicely and presented something fresh and new to the player. I also liked the various other NPC's and thought that they were well written and placed into the game. The ending game show level was again fantastic, and I loved the end battle and cutscenes that followed. Having more than one villain also helped to diversify the game's plot somewhat and allowed for more flexibility in story telling. I really liked the new split mechanics that allowed the player to control Kazooie independently of Banjo too. I felt that this really added wonderfully to the gameplay and gave her character a point to existing and being there. It was also very nicely implemented and felt true and functional to the game overall, rather than being some type of gimmick or tacked-on afterthought. Banjo-Tooie was a much better game than the first, I thought, and was very worthy of being that game's sequel.
Visually, there has been much in the way of improvements too. The shadows, for a start, are a lot less blocky and overbearing; they are smoother and blended to the backgrounds far better too. The looks and smaller details of the characters and enemies' were also improved. The worlds were more full and lively, and I love the work that was put into the backgrounds and environments. Level transitions were cleaner and smoother, with no loss of frame rates, and the items that could be collected looked to have a higher pixel count and improved resolution. I really liked how Chuffy looked and loved the animations and motion details given to him. The models for both Banjo and Kazooie were improved, and if you got into the right place and forced the camera into a corner, you could pick out the stitching for Banjo's clothes and pack. The lighting has also been revamped with better bleeds and shadows cast, which were amazing on the Witchy World stage, I noticed especially. There are just so many little improvements made to this game that it is hard to single them out; instead, they must be viewed as part of the whole, which in this case is brilliant.
Overall, this was a much more fleshed-out and robust game than the first, and one that I loved playing through.
8/10 – A Good Game!
Signed Off – Leonardo – PSJ
For me, this game was a marked improvement over the first title and one that I very much enjoyed chipping away at over the course of a few weeks. The whole experience, for me, was much better than the first game and seemed more geared towards mature gamers. It still allowed for the younger players short attention spans and limited patience, but it just felt more full and somehow deeper than the first game. I loved the worlds and the mix of creatures and characters that could be found and interacted with. I especially liked those odd little Glowbo things and found them to be adorable. The scale of the world was something I found to be worthy of note, with much larger playing areas and zones to explore. The boss battles were epic in some cases, with immense arenas and locations to do battle in. I found that the comedy was just as sharp this time around as it was the first time, and I found myself laughing at the silly, very British style of humor. Again, the characters weren't perfect, and they all had their own flaws that made them unique and actually quite charming. They stood out as individuals and gave the game a sense of reality that I found very good. I felt that the camera was better this time around too; it did get in my way a few times but wasn't nearly as annoying or intrusive as the camera of the first game. You could actually position it somewhere, and it stayed for the most part. I also noted that it was much harder to get it stuck or hung up on something. I loved the different music and sounds for this game and went as far as to download the soundtrack from the internet to listen back to and reminisce. Some of the worlds had amazing little music tracks to them, and several of them had me bobbing my head along while playing. I liked that you could play as Mumbo this time around and found that it broke play up nicely and presented something fresh and new to the player. I also liked the various other NPC's and thought that they were well written and placed into the game. The ending game show level was again fantastic, and I loved the end battle and cutscenes that followed. Having more than one villain also helped to diversify the game's plot somewhat and allowed for more flexibility in story telling. I really liked the new split mechanics that allowed the player to control Kazooie independently of Banjo too. I felt that this really added wonderfully to the gameplay and gave her character a point to existing and being there. It was also very nicely implemented and felt true and functional to the game overall, rather than being some type of gimmick or tacked-on afterthought. Banjo-Tooie was a much better game than the first, I thought, and was very worthy of being that game's sequel.
Visually, there has been much in the way of improvements too. The shadows, for a start, are a lot less blocky and overbearing; they are smoother and blended to the backgrounds far better too. The looks and smaller details of the characters and enemies' were also improved. The worlds were more full and lively, and I love the work that was put into the backgrounds and environments. Level transitions were cleaner and smoother, with no loss of frame rates, and the items that could be collected looked to have a higher pixel count and improved resolution. I really liked how Chuffy looked and loved the animations and motion details given to him. The models for both Banjo and Kazooie were improved, and if you got into the right place and forced the camera into a corner, you could pick out the stitching for Banjo's clothes and pack. The lighting has also been revamped with better bleeds and shadows cast, which were amazing on the Witchy World stage, I noticed especially. There are just so many little improvements made to this game that it is hard to single them out; instead, they must be viewed as part of the whole, which in this case is brilliant.
Overall, this was a much more fleshed-out and robust game than the first, and one that I loved playing through.
8/10 – A Good Game!
Signed Off – Leonardo – PSJ
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