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Slush's First Banjo-Tooie Impressions
Time Played: 15 hours, 46 minutes
Wow. I've been blown away. 3-D platformers have just been taken to another level. Super Mario 64? Banjo-Kazooie? Donkey Kong 64? Spyro the Dragon (snicker)? They can all crawl back to the bottom of the discount games pile, because there is a new king in town. His name is Polygon Steve, and his first declaration as king is that we must all bend over for the bulldozer known as the Liquidator.
What in the name of the Artist Formerly Known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince am I talking about? I'm not even sure anymore, but Banjo-Tooie has knocked my rocks off. I don't want to get into much spoiler material here (not my style, as I'm trying to avoid them myself), but I will talk about many specific and nonspecific things in the game that you should either all ready know about after visiting this site or others like it for the last few months. What makes Banjo-Tooie so chewy? Could it be the smell of cheap whiskey that somehow wound up on the box? I WISH it were that simple, as it would make this job much easier.
Banjo-Tooie is one sinister muddaclucker. It's the standard sequel formula. The first entry in anything introduces the characters and takes a somewhat cheery tone in presenting them. The second one then takes the established characters that you've grown to love and then seriously screws them over by putting them in a much worse situation. When you see bad things can happen to the fictional characters you now love, you get more involved and more intrigued. The sequel just takes a darker turn. Star Wars to Empire Strikes Back, DKC to DKC2, etc. It's almost a cliche now. But it's the truth. Banjo-Tooie is no where near the level of the carefree meadow romps you experienced in B-K. In an instant, the characters' lives go to Hell. Bottles dies, and their home landscape changes for the worse. Not only that, but there are cases where new characters die seconds after you first meet them. When you see that things are dying, you don't have that false sense of security anymore.
The humor is also much darker. Kazooie just goes all out in this one, making several very tasteless jokes about the death of Bottles in front of his family. This is the kind of thing we've come to expect from Rare, but they've managed to brilliantly fit it into the game to fit the previously mentioned darker atmosphere. Of course, you'll find the usual perverted sense of humor as well. Just read the two buttons on the B.O.B. when you have the time, and you'll see what I mean. Of course, who's the bigger pervert? Those who put the jokes in, or those who can easily find them?
As far as play control, graphics, and music; it's all top notch. Let me just say it right here (and no, I'm not being biased anymore): The framerate is NOT AN ISSUE. IGN was way off base complaining about it, and I think they just did it to find something to complain about (like they did with DK64, B-K, and just about every Rare classic that didn't involve someone named Bond or Dark). The graphics are beautys, and again, they seem to be darker toned than B-K's. Music is phenomenal, as usual. Right now I'm humming the beat that plays whenever Mumbo uses Glowbo magic on a Mumbo pad. If there is one game you want to buy the soundtrack for, it should be Banjo-Tooie. Oh, and what would a Banjo game be without the trademark redneck banjo strums? The original main theme for Banjo-Kazooie is back, and this time with a new "strumming" to start things off right.
Honestly, I can't talk about much without spoiling things for you. This is perhaps Rare's greatest game ever, and I seriously believe that. While it's unfair to compare it to games of different genres like Blast Corps and Goldeneye, it is honestly the best 3-D platform game ever made. Rare has brought the genre up a notch by scrapping the tiring notion that you have to jump into a portal, a painting, or a giant orfice to reach a world. Everything is connected ala Zelda this time around, and it makes the game feel very vast and very real. It kind of sets things up very nicely for GAMECUBE, doesn't it?
Folks, if you haven't decided whether to purchase Banjo-Tooie or not, then do it. If you've never played the original, then I suggest doing that first, because you probably won't understand a good majority of the plot and in-jokes if you don't catch up on some Banjo history. Hell, even get Diddy Kong Racing just so you can say you own Banjo's first game. Then buy Banjo-Tooie, and prepare to be flabbergasted. This is the reason they made the Nintendo 64. It has to be.
If anyone still says Super Mario 64 is the pinnacle of 3-D gaming, then they should be shot as a service to mankind. Of course, these are the same people that think George W. Bush would make intelligent decisions and not be persuaded by shiny objects. Not that Lieberman and the PTC are any better.
Banjo-Tooie, won't you?
by SirSlush2
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