Pros: Great looking graphics. Huge, vast worlds to explore. Fun and usually challenging game play. Hours and hours of work to get through it.
Cons: It is a bit cartoonish, isn't it?


Once being a Nintendo 64 junkie, I have spent a lot of time studying (a.k.a. "playing") various 64-bit console games. Out of all of them, Banjo-Kazooie is by far the best looking game.


What do you mean by "Best Looking?"

Exactly that. The cartoon world of Banjo-Kazooie is practically flawless. The colors are lush and vivid. The flora and fauna of the game are well detailed and gorgeous to the eye. The structures that are scattered about the huge three-dimensional world are neatly constructed polygonal masterpieces. And the characters are cute and cartoonish. Well, maybe too cartoonish for a lot of people’s tastes, which I will discuss later.

Beauty is in the details in Banjo-Kazooie. The water is breath-takingly realistic, so much so that my hands are actually wet when surfacing from a long dive (perspiration induced by the little gauge on the left hand side stating how much longer the characters can hold their breaths). The water ripples in the right places. It masks a surprisingly real amount of light as you descend depths, though not entirely accurate. But as far as games go, it is the truest experience with water I’ve ever had.

The worlds are huge, by the way. Humongous. There is plenty to explore, and it’s sometimes easy to get turned around and perhaps get lost.


But doesn’t the bear look quite silly?

Ah, the bane of N64 games. The comment about how cartoonish and silly the graphics usually are is only said second in frequency by haters of this platform to "But where are all the freakin’ games?"

Yes, Banjo, the bear and "hero" of this story, is dumb looking. In fact, as you will notice from the vocalization of the dialogues in this game (a series of grunts and moans, basically--no real voices), he’s a moron. This turns a lot of people off initially. But before you decide to chuck it away like yesterday’s goulash, realize that in Banjo’s backpack is one of the greatest video game characters of all time: the smart-alec, cranky, and lovable bird Kazooie. As the game goes on, you must master different moves that help you through the game. Kazooie is usually limoed throughout the game by hitching a ride in Banjo’s backpack. But eventually you learn to use Kazooie’s legs to locomotor around--it's a funny site to see Kazoo’s scrawny legs and pointed bill supporting the big dumb bear on his back and making hey through the land. Banjo and Kazooie are also capable of shooting eggs at enemies and at various objects, for different convoluted reasons. Perhaps the funniest moment I experienced when first playing the game was when the pair learned not only how to shoot eggs forward, but also behind them. So, what you see is this crouching bear with large blue eggs appearing from the regions of his hind-side, with wonderfully vulgar "thbbbbt" sound effects accompanying each expulsion of an egg. Too cool, eh?



Story and Game Play

The story line is of a typical Nintendo influenced flair. Banjo’s sister Tootie is kidnapped by a witch. You save Banjo’s sister. Good enough for you? Along the way, you must collect puzzle pieces (literal pieces of a puzzle, not clues). Collecting a certain number of puzzle pieces allows you to complete a picture and enter the next world.

But there is more to it than just that. You must also collect musical notes, locate several Mumbo tokens, help out the Jingos (they’re too cute), and secure half a dozen other items. There are logic-type puzzles you must solve as well. Several seem to be about on a 6th grade level, but as the game progresses, they become more difficult.

The game play is much like Mario 64, but it is much more detailed and advanced. The moves you learn during the game make it much more fun than just running and jumping around "wahooing" like you do in Mario. Plus, if you pit Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie next toe each other in a graphics blowout, then you’ll realize just how bleak and unpopulated the Mario world is. What a difference a couple years makes, huh?


Overall

The game has great replay value. I’m on my third time playing it. But there is something you really really really need to know: it’s terribly easy to erase a saved game. At the screen where you recall a saved game, the Z button at your left finger will delete the selected game, and all you have to do after that is confirm it by hitting another button. And yes, if you’re wondering, I did erase a nearly completed game I was playing. Let’s just say I wasn’t too happy about it (my controller took the brunt of my anger, though).

If you start up the game and look at it, you might decide not to play it because it looks like a kid’s game. Well, it’s far from just being a kid’s game. In fact, there is some adult-oriented humor that kids would never get in a million years (like in the Treasure Trove Cove, a pirate’s treasure chest taunts you, saying the witch will get you for touching her booty). Give Banjo-Kazooie a chance--it's in the top 4 or 5 games for the N64, which really isn’t saying a whole lot. But that story is told in my review of the N64, if you would like to check that out.