Building on a Legacy
The legendary Super Mario is making his triumphant return to the Nintendo 64, and this time around he's wearing a cute little bear costume. This joke is not too far off the mark. The similarities are way too close to deny. Is Rare at fault here? No sir, it's a logical step in gaming evolution. What better game is there to draw 3D action/platform inspiration from than Shigeru Miyamoto's baby. Everyone likes Mario, and we're sure Rare is hoping that everyone will like Banjo and Kazooie as well.
With uncanny similarities in design, Banjo-Kazooie actually leaps over Mario in look and size. From the extreme detail in textures to the realistic effects, Banjo-Kazooie tries in every way possible to make your mouth drop. The gameplay experience is equally impressive. Rare has loaded this game with platform trickery, unorthodox gameplay techniques, and hidden surprises around every corner. Banjo-Kazooie also features one of the longest gameplay views we've ever seen. Just picture yourself looking down from the top of the Empire State Building and then translate this to Banjo-Kazooie's world.
Of late, Rare has been a development giant. In 1994 this flexible company kept the Super Nintendo afloat with the powerful Donkey Kong Country trilogy, then on the N64 it wowed gamers with arguably the best first-person game ever, GoldenEye 007, and took character racing to unfathomable heights with Diddy Kong Racing. This year, things look bright again, and Rare's return to its action/platform roots is definitely something that gamers have been looking forward to for quite some time now. Banjo-Kazooie is the first out the gates, but Twelve Tales: Conker 64 and the triumphant return of Kong are not too far off.
Bigger Is Better
Banjo-Kazooie is one of the few N64 titles around that pushes imaginative concepts to the limit. In this gargantuan release, you won't believe what you see, and often, you won't believe what you're required to do. With 128 megs backing this title, Rare had the room to add some unique gameplay qualities that actually create great missions and interesting subquests.
The story of the game is by no means revolutionary. It turns out that a witch named Gruntilda wants to be the most beautiful woman in the land, but her magic cauldron foresees even greater beauty in Banjo's girlfriend. So instead of feeding her a poison apple, Gruntilda kidnaps the girl and holds her hostage. Enter the heroes. It's now up to Banjo and his pet bird Kazooie to save the fair maiden and make sure Gruntilda will never pop up as a problem again.
This title doesn't start out like any platformer, but rather an RPG. Right after Banjo jumps out of bed and enters the overworld the game starts, but he's not ready for the quest just yet. He only has one move available to him - the jump. In the first section of the overworld you will need to train with Bottles the mole and learn new moves. Even after training you will not have all of the moves in the game. To obtain the new techniques you will need to find Bottles on most of the levels. Sometimes a level will grant you with a few new moves - other times, you will only learn one. The moves range from simple new jumping techniques, to a technique that requires an item or some kind of launch pad before it can be used.
Along with over 24 moves, Banjo and Kazooie can visit a witch doctor named Mumbo who has the voodoo power to transform them into different animals. These different forms are used for tackling certain tasks. Of course, this is not a free gift from Mumbo. To transform you will need to find Mumbo Tokens hidden through each level. If you have the required number, then Mumbo will use his voodoo to either change you into a termite, alligator, walrus, pumpkin, or bee. What you transform into is based on the levels. You will need the termite to scale the termite hill, the alligator to enter the swamps, the walrus for a sled race, and the bee for a battle within a hive.
As expected, Banjo-Kazooie is chock full of secrets. The nice, yet strange, thing is the fact that levels do not have a predetermined exit. To leave a level you must pause the game and exit to the Witch's Lair. This strange oddity doesn't seem like a gameplay technique that Rare or Nintendo would normally implement, but it is there, and it does come in handy. When searching for the hidden goodies like Puzzle Pieces that open levels or Honeycombs that add more health points, you will not be knocked out of a level when you find one (like in Mario). Banjo-Kazooie will allow you to collect everything on one run through a level, and won't knock you out unless you die.
There are a slew of secrets hidden within the overworld and the only way to find everything is to play, play, and play. Banjo-Kazooie is a massive game that throws everything from great graphics to fantastic gameplay around as if it were nothing. After playing this title gamers may need to hibernate and wait until the fall or winter for another great N64 platformer. But if it's not what you expect, and plays too much like Mario, you can always give Banjo the bird and walk away and wait for something new.
