With a game like this, you have to wonder why the platformer died
Banjo Tooie is in essence a strange game. Its one of the most clever 3-D platformers, and also one of the last. The genre seemed to fall off the map shortly after this game was released in 2000. Prior to this, the genre was very successful, with games like Super Mario 64, Rayman 2, Banjo Kazooie and more. Each of these games were very successful in the market, but the genre slowly faded away. I think that Banjo Tooie was probably the last great game in this genre before the next generation ushered in countless generic shooting games. There have been rumors that Rare would be remaking the two Banjo Kazooie games on the 360 which would give gamers a glimpse into the fantastic world of Spiral Mountain. Up to this point, i've been going on about the platforming genre, but now i'd like to jump into my review.
Banjo Tooie takes place two years after the origional events of Banjo Kazooie. Gruntilda the witch is dead, and all seems well. That is, until her two witchy sisters show up to revive her. Long story short, Gruntilda is back, and badder than ever. It's up to you to save the day.
The games primary focus is collecting Jiggies. These will give you access to new levels to explore. these levels feature 10 Jiggies each, which you can collect by exploring the world, completing missions, defeating bosses, solving puzles, and all sorts of different tasks. You can complete these tasks by learning new moves in each level. Theres always something new to learn in each of the levels. Rest assured, by the end of the game, you will have a huge arsenal of moves at your disposal.
The sound design in this game is simply amazing. The songs are very pleasing to listen to. They definately have a very distinct sound that you can only find in a Banjo Kazooie game. All of the characters speak is a sort of garbles manner, which atleast gives you a sound associated with each character. I personally thing it suits the game well, and would prefer it over poor voice acting.
The graphics in this game are among the best on the N64. Great lighting, textures, character models, colourful worlds and more make this game truly come alive. The only downside is that the framerate can be unstable at times, which makes me wonder why rare did'nt take advantage of the N64's Expansion Pack.
All in all, this is a game that stands the test of time as one of the best 3D platformers of all time, and i can only hope that thousands will be able to revisit this game on the 360, assuming that Rare does infact release it.
