Graphics

BK's graphics in 1998 weren't bad for their time; more than ten years later, this isn't entirely the case. Sure, it was meant to be a port, and I wasn't expecting anything in terms of updated graphics, but they do look a little outdated compared to most XBLA games on the service. They did, however, change the icons of the characters when they talk; in which case, your opinions on the change may vary. Personally, I didn't find them bad at all. There's also the change of further draw distances, which is nice in the grand scheme of things. Overall, not too shabby, but technology has advanced quite a bit for this to be incredibly impressive.

8

Sound

By far one of the more memorable parts of the game. Ever since Diddy Kong Racing hit the N64, one of Rare's trademarks in their games is to have the music change depending on your location. This paved the way for excellent remixes of the same tune throughout the many levels. Rare did a good job of making music as unappealing as something that you'd hear in Deliverance incredibly catchy. The music is so memorable, in fact, that Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts' BanjoLand's music remixes the more popular tunes of Banjo-Kazooie over its sequel. No complaints here.

10

Play Control

This is one part of the XBLA version that I'm not that satisfied with. While it was smart to have the camera angles and the bear and bird's various moves mapped to the bottom-right stick of the 360 controller, this can cause random flub-ups. For example, say you want to just move the camera where you want it to be. However, sometimes you'll end up doing something like accidentally activating the WonderWing when you don't need it. Another issue has to do with the camera controls. To be fair, this plagued the original, but it's just as annoying now as it was back then. Despite those nitpicks, the 360 controller works better with the game than the N64 controller ever did.

7

Originality

Way back when, there were the critics that accused Banjo-Kazooie of being nothing more than a Super Mario 64 clone. Yet with the advent of first-person shooters basically dominating the Xbox 360 demographic, BK's retained the majority of its originality. Really, how many games on the 360 do you see light bulbs for a Christmas tree being attacked by vicious green monsters that come from broken parts of a bridge? Or a snake that extends due to music? Or killer snowmen? Regardless of what the critics said back then (and even today), one of BK's strengths lies in the sometimes rather absurd scenarios that the bear and bird find themselves in.

9

Final Word

One of Nuts & Bolts' many snarky comments that has forever stuck in my mind is how the platformer genre is an outdated one. After playing the original again, I really don't think this is the case. I found just as much fun (if not more) playing the original compared to the drastically different turn that Nuts & Bolts took. This isn't insulting the latter, but many of the joys I experienced in the original (such as flying in the sky and transforming into different characters) are still fun to me today. It also helps that 4J Studios took away the unnecessary need to backtrack by including Tooie's ability to collect and keep the notes strewn around the worlds. Add Achievements to the mix as well as a reasonable price of 1200 MS Points (or free if you reserved Nuts & Bolts months ago), and you've got a genuine reason to visit (or revisit) one of Rare's greatest games in the N64 era. It's not perfect, but as far as Rare's 3D platformers go, it's pretty up there.

9

Overall Score: 9/10