Banjo-Kazooie has been around almost as long as I have, which helps and hinders my appreciation in many ways. It's influence spreads far, and it’s gusto wide. Developed by Rare for the Nintendo 64 and released in June of 1998 as one of the pioneering platformers, this game knows what it is and is able to capitalize tremendously.
Banjo-Kazooie is a 3-D platformer where you play as Banjo, a top heavy bear dressed for success with yellow shorts and a blue backpack. He is joined by Kazooie a colorful bird who doesn’t take grief from anyone. Your sister, Tooty has been kidnapped by the neighborhood Witch, Gruntilda. You have to try and get Tooty back before Grunty trades “beauty” with her. Afterall, we can’t have a witch looking good these days.
A collectathon only works when all parties are aware, and Banjo let’s you know from the start that you will be searching through numerous worlds for numerous items. Your goal is to collect as many Jigsaw pieces (Jiggies) and music notes as possible to help you progress from each world to the next. From the jump you are greeted with an accessible open level that lays the groundwork for the game ahead, teaching you moves and mechanics you’ll need on your journey.
Banjo is simple in it’s design, and expansive in execution. It arrived at a time when all we really had for 3D console games was Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot. It’s easy to see how Mario influenced Banjo’s design. You traverse open levels jumping, flying, and trotting from place to place. There are multiple levels each with their own unique themes that you search through for Jiggies and Music Notes. These levels connect to one central hub, Gruntilda’s Lair, that you can travel deeper within as you collect Music Notes. After collecting Jiggies, you place them to complete puzzles, opening the door to the next adventure.
Each world is open to you from the beginning and you can digest it in anyway you see fit. You aren’t constrained to a linear path. The puzzles are frustrating when they need to be, however once solved leave you feeling accomplished, ready for the next. The more you collect throughout the game the more you see. A concept that games nowadays take too far. You don’t have to open a map to find hundreds of icons calling your name. 10 Jiggies per level, 100 Music Notes, 5 Jinjos (that give you a Jiggie when all found), and 2 Extra honeycomb pieces to increase your available hit points. That’s it. 117 Individual items to find in each level. A Far Cry from modern titles. Banjo encourages exploration through completion. Not the other way around, which at times can be daunting.
Banjo brought a freshness to the young and budding genre of 3D Platforming. It’s style and tone was new and self-deprecating. Where you had the attitude surrounding Crash Bandicoot, and the fantasy of Mario, Banjo found a way to combine the two. Breaking the fourth wall and testing a players attention span. There are jokes made at the expense of the characters, the player themselves, and even the developers at Rare. It becomes clear this game isn’t trying to take things seriously. A joy for everyone, I found myself chuckling at the noises some characters would make if not the dialogue I was reading. The more time you spend in this world the more you realize just how much care was put into crafting each character’s personality.
Along with the memorable characters, the worlds themselves help to divide the monotony. You never get bored as each themed level is so distinctly different, You go from a frozen mountainside town, to a pyramid filled desert. A marshy swamp to a haunted house. Each locale carries its theme from beginning to end, whether you interact with a pirate and find treasure in one world, or traverse the same forest in four different seasons, Banjo-Kazooie is able to keep it’s themes concise as well as separate. This kept me from getting bored and allowed me to stay invested as I was ready to see what would be next.
The most interesting aspect of Banjo-Kazooie is Grant Kirkhope’s beautiful score. Grant was able to bring an atmospheric quirk to each level’s theme. You never hear the same melody twice outside of Gruntilda’s Lair. The opening song of the game helps to set the tone for your upcoming experience. It’s inviting, exciting, and oozes with charm. As you travel through this game you will be greeted with a theme that accompanies the world around you. Treasure Trove Cove offers an open marimba and light woodwinds as it’s backing to give you a tropical feel. The organ and pizzicato bass provide an eerie tone in Mad Monster Mansion. Yet somehow each song has an optimistic resolve that aided with the rest of the stylized game promote your exploration, helping to push you into believing anything is possible.
With Banjo being over 20 years old, it’s easy to see its influence in modern titles. Everything from Super Lucky’s Tale to the obvious Yookah-Laylee clearly attempts to imitate the magic this game had. Modern titles have the benefit of hindsight and technology, however. Banjo struggles at times to hold together due to its camera controls. In two of the ten levels you’ll find a few jiggies to be nearly impossible to obtain. While they can be done, you will more then likely lose your lives and become frustrated. Difficulty spikes are never fun, but especially when they arrive so late in your adventure. Patience and pace go hand in hand, and with the years of experience modern games can pull from, Banjo suffers from being the first of its kind.
Banjo-Kazooie is the complete package. It set out to provide an experience unlike anything we had seen prior. Even to this day we haven’t had a game like it. To call this game “lighting in a bottle” doesn’t give it justice. This game is more than just it’s puzzles, characters, and music. It’s obvious Rare took their time to craft a 3D platformer that encourages you to explore every nook and cranny. You want to find every secret, and you feel you always can, for the most part. There is hope and optimism strewn about. Whether you talk to it’s cast of characters, discover it’s many secret pathways, or tap your foot and hum to its melodic, well, melodies, you come away from this experience wanting more. Banjo deserves to be played by anybody and everybody.
I was able to play Banjo-Kazooie on my Xbox One using the Backward Compatibility for the Xbox 360 version of the game.
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