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Sean's Banjo-Kazooie Review
I should of wrote this review 5 years ago. You cannot go from playing smooth, fast and slick Gamecube games and then hook the N64 up and appreciate the graphics the same way you did back in the day. It doesn't work. I suppose you could do that whole "compare it to the games of its era" deal, which I really do not care for. The game nowadays seems to play very slow in certain spots; not Banjo-Tooie slow, but slow. Still, the graphics are pretty good, even for 1998, with backgrounds looking quite detailed and characters looking as smooth as the N64 can do. My impression may be tainted, but that doesn't change the fact that these are good graphics.
9.2
Here we have it, Grant Kirkhope's best DKU offering. Compared to the over-bearing crap of Banjo-Tooie, the tunes in this game are simply brilliant. From the quiet, chilly wonder of Freezeezy Peak to the frantic and awesome Gruntilda's Lair remix for the final confrontation with the witch, the music sits the mood well, and unlike its successor, actually sounds good. The sound is also well-done, and very clever; the various voices of all the different characters are bound to get an amused chuckle out of you sooner or later. This is one part of the game that only gets better with age.
9.6
This is easily the best part of the game. Even with the handicap of not using an N64 controller in months, I had no trouble getting down Banjo's controls and getting all the Jiggies and Notes. This game's biggest strength is the fact that the bear and bird duo have a relatively small repetoire, all that is remembered quickly and efficently. The only problems I have involve the slow rate in which you switch between the 4 C Button moves - this proves very difficult during the Gruntilda battle. But that gripe aside, the play control is very solid, certainly better than some Gamecube platformers I've played.
9.9
This game is not a clone of Super Mario 64. Anyone who says that it is (read: the majority of GameFAQs) need to open their eyes and shut their pussy lips for a minute, and SEE what this game is about. This game is imaginative, with a plot that is basically a parody of all those old fairy tales of old. The game also marks the beginning of what I call the "mass anthropomorphization", which resulted in just about every character being an animal or object with big googly eyes. Ladies and gents, Banjo did it first. So don't come bickering at me that the game ain't original. The basic "save the girl" plot is fairly old, but the way it's done is what saves it. And come on, did ANYBODY expect to have to go through a board game at the end?
9.5
It's still the best damn "scavenger hunt" ever made, better then DK64, SM64 and the crappy Sunshine, and especially Banjo-Tooie. What else is there to say? If you've got an N64, buy it. If you've don't got an N64, buy one and then buy this. Conker aside, this is the DKC2 of 3D collection platformers, and don't you forget it.
9.7
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