Banjo Tooie for Nintendo 64

I guess my relationship with Banjo and Kazooie began when my girlfriend first got her N64, and we rented Banjo-Kazooie (BK). Twice. I ended up buying it for her before we wasted all out money on renting it repeatedly until we beat it. I was expecting a dumbed-down version of Mario 64, but I was pleasantly surprised. BK wasn't Mario with a bird and bear; in fact, it was everything that Mario wasn't. It had bigger levels, more fun puzzles, interesting characters, and a sense of humor. I quickly got hooked, and my girlfriend and I spent a number of hours playing through it together, and loving it.

Needless to say, we got Banjo-Tooie pretty much as soon as it came out, despite it coming out during our finals week, which is pretty much the worst time to buy a game. I didn't think any N64 game could compare to the games I'd been playing on my Dreamcast that I got several months earlier, but once again, that wacky bear and bird surprised me pleasantly. In fact, I think Banjo-Tooie is quite possibly the best 3D platformer I've played on any system, hands-down.

The storyline is well-crafted, and though it mostly serves as background material to get the game started and give the player something to accomplish, it really does draw you into the game. Basically, Banjo, Kazooie, Mumbo Jumbo (their magic wielding compatriot from BK) and Bottles (the guide mole from the original) are playing a game of poker at Banjo's house when they notice a huge drilling machine heading for where Gruntilda (Banjo and Kazooie's arch-nemesis) was buried under a rock at the end of BK. Gruntilda's sisters, who were the ones piloting the drill, resurrect Gruntilda, who then decides to remove our heroes by blowing up their house. Banjo, Kazooie, and Mumbo escape, but Bottles doesn't, and bringing him back to life (as well as stopping Gruntilda before she can restore her powers) becomes the new mission of our animal duo.

The story is handled with quite a bit of humor, both in the main storyline and in the various and sundry characters that the player encounters; for example, Bottles, if you talk to his ghost hovering above his corpse, notices himself decomposing and complains about it. The bulk of the humor comes from the fact that the main characters know they're in a game (or at least know that the storyline is cliched at times) and Kazooie has no problem pointing it out. That's a rather endearing point of the game's story; it's refreshing that the developers know that some of the things they've done have been done a hundred times before and have no problem with poking fun at themselves.

The storyline could progress somewhat better, with more cutscenes here and there, perhaps when the player opens a new level, but it's well done as it stands. It seems like the game is going to go that way with the number of cutscenes they include early on in the game, but once the game starts in earnest, these scenes are nowhere to be found, sadly. It's a shame, too, because those early cutscenes are a pleasure to watch.

The game itself picks up right where Banjo-Kazooie leaves off. The duo start with all the moves they learned in the original. While this is good for players of the original, new players could be a bit put off by all the moves that they need to learn right off the bat, considering that the original used almost every combination of the A, B, C, and Z buttons. The first area is a well done tutorial section to help these newcomers get started, while the seasoned veteran can pretty much skip that area entirely. What's amazing is that the pair learns more moves in this game than they learned in the original, which could lead to a confusing control scheme, but doesn't, really. A lot of the new moves are extensions of Banjo and Kazooie's original moves (such as the Beak Drill, which is a more powerful version of their original Beak Buster, only more powerful), or moves to be used when Banjo and Kazooie are separated. It would, however, be nice if the game included a move list in-game, because there have been instances where I've said, "I know I need to do this move, but I can't remember for the life of me how to do it?"

Everything is very easy to pull off, however, and the game is really a dream to control. The one thing I HATED about the original, which was swimming, is much, much better in Banjo-Tooie. My main complaint about the original was that it was impossible to go toward any particular point underwater, and Banjo-Tooie corrected this by allowing the player to go into first-person mode underwater if they so choose, which makes underwater navigation considerably easier. In fact, in general, if you want to be able to do something in Banjo-Tooie, just keep going in the game; chances are you'll be able to do it eventually. In fact, I never thought I wanted to be able to take Kazooie out of my backpack by the neck and whack enemies with her body, but now that I can, I love doing it?

Graphically, the game is about as good as you can get on N64. It's no Soul Calibur, but compared to some of the recent offerings on the N64, Banjo-Tooie is a beautiful game. The graphics are very colorful and cartoony, which fits a game like this. All of the moves are rendered beautifully, and even though the graphics are blocky, they're no more blocky than any other N64 game. There's not too much in the way of slowdown, though it is a bit noticeable when too many characters are on the screen at once. The textures can be a bit bland at times, especially in stone buildings or underground, but that's a minor complaint. Basically, things look like they should, and that's a big compliment for a game on the N64, where that is often not the case. In short, this game shows what this dying console is capable of.

Sound is also usually a pleasure. Background music is peppy and upbeat, and keeps you hopping along through the game. I believe that they sell a soundtrack of the music, and that would be a worthwhile buy for good-mood listening. I've actually found myself singing Mumbo Jumbo's magic song, and not while I was playing the game. This is music that doesn't just fade into the background.

The "voice acting" is excellent as well. In order to conserve space on the cartridge, in Banjo-Tooie the characters "speak" in their own forms of gibberish with English subtitles. Each of the characters' voices is carefully chosen and really adds to each character's personality. It's hard to describe the noises the characters make in a text format such as this, but they're done quite well and it soon becomes hard to imagine Kazooie without hearing her squawking. The only character's voice I don't like, however, is Sgt.Jamjars, Bottles' enlisted brother, who serves as the bear and bird's guide in Bottles' absence. Jamjars' voice is a high-pitched soldier's chant, which is OK at first, but tends to get extremely annoying quickly, especially since you hear it constantly throughout the course of the game.

Gameplay is also much improved over the original. Levels are much bigger and consist of several mini-levels, connected by warp pads (which are a much welcome addition, since going from place to place in the original could be a pain, especially in the world in between levels). Gone also is the concept of limited lives, which was a prime irritant from the original. Items are now clustered together to save running around looking for one stinking note to progress. All in all, Banjo-Tooie is like Banjo-Kazooie with much less frustration.

That's not to say that Banjo-Tooie is easy, however. Invest in a player's guide when you get this game; you'll need it. The levels are so huge and have so much to do that it's very easy to get lost and/or overwhelmed, and most of the fun is actually doing what needs to be done, rather than figuring out what to do next, after all. With so much to explore, even with a game guide, this game will take you quite a while to complete. The time will just slip away, though; once I sat down to play for 5 minutes while my girlfriend had custody of my computer, and the next thing I knew, it was 2 and a half hours later.

Plus, if you get tired of the main game, there are replay and multiplayer modes as well. Replay allows you to play any of the mini-games or boss battles you finished in the main game, and a lot of them are fun enough for you to want to play them repeatedly; I particularly enjoy the kickball games, myself. Multiplayer, also lacking from the original, allows you to play the aforementioned minigames, as well as deathmatch, where each player is a different Banjo armed with Kazooie, held by the neck to spit eggs. It's quite a sight to see.

Basically, if you have an N64 and you want to squeeze the last little bit of life out of it before it's officially declared dead, get Banjo-Tooie. It may look like a kid's game, but it's just as much fun for big kids as it is for little ones. This is an adventure that will keep you in your seat for hours and hours, and will likely remind you of why you bought an N64 in the first place.