I'd known of this game and its beloved reputation for a long time, so when it came to Switch Online, I dove in.
The game in many respects perfects the N64 3D platformer. After Mario 64 built the groundwork, Banjo comes in to add aspects of visual polish and creativity that 64 couldn't afford, and it's a wonderful demonstration of what the N64 could handle. The character models are lively and charming, the environments are well-modeled, colorful, and often inventive, and the texture and lighting work comes together really nicely. It's aged, but the visuals are confident, attractive, atmospheric, and immersive. The snow level in particular stands out. It rips off Mario 64 but does the level concept better! The controls are pretty smooth and the game wisely has maps full of attractions without a mission structure that locks certain collectibles to certain conditions and kicks the player out after each goal. Here, you're able to clean out a world in one go like players wanted to in Mario, and that choice probably crystallized the collectathon genre by itself. There is an exception where two levels unlock abilities needed to complete the other, which is annoying.
I like the world, comedy, and characters pretty well. Banjo the bear and Kazooie the bird are fun heroes and have interesting abilities, and I enjoy the witch antagonist Gruntilda. All of the characters feel pretty stock and one-note, though, and not the most visually creative. There's also some uncomfortable ethnic stereotyping with the spooky shaman Mumbo Jumbo, and one or two instances of language that comes off as discriminatory today.
There are some minor issues. I felt like it was often too easy to run off a platform without meaning to, and rotating platforms had unfair margins for slipping off them. Health felt a little too precious and a few more sources would have been welcome. I also found swimming to be pretty unforgiving in terms of the air limit and lack of reliable ways to get air refills.
The big flaw with Banjo-Kazooie spans across the game with its cumulative quest types. Each level has five hidden NPCs and 100 music notes to collect, and those collections reset if you die or leave the level. That means a huge amount of progress and time must be recovered and it sours a level quickly. One later level is particularly unfair in this regard due to featuring a challenging platforming room over a bottomless pit which could potentially kill a note collection if tackled later in the run. The lack of collectible saving is inexcusable design-wise, but hardware may have forced it. Still, anything should have been done to avert it.
I think this game showcases the N64's full potential and it creates some exciting and impressive environments and puzzles to explore. The characters are a bit weak, though, and while the collectathon establishes itself here, it also shoots itself in the foot with the lack of item saving.
Peak N64 with one huge flaw.
I'd known of this game and its beloved reputation for a long time, so when it came to Switch Online, I dove in.
The game in many respects perfects the N64 3D platformer. After Mario 64 built the groundwork, Banjo comes in to add aspects of visual polish and creativity that 64 couldn't afford, and it's a wonderful demonstration of what the N64 could handle. The character models are lively and charming, the environments are well-modeled, colorful, and often inventive, and the texture and lighting work comes together really nicely. It's aged, but the visuals are confident, attractive, atmospheric, and immersive. The snow level in particular stands out. It rips off Mario 64 but does the level concept better! The controls are pretty smooth and the game wisely has maps full of attractions without a mission structure that locks certain collectibles to certain conditions and kicks the player out after each goal. Here, you're able to clean out a world in one go like players wanted to in Mario, and that choice probably crystallized the collectathon genre by itself. There is an exception where two levels unlock abilities needed to complete the other, which is annoying.
I like the world, comedy, and characters pretty well. Banjo the bear and Kazooie the bird are fun heroes and have interesting abilities, and I enjoy the witch antagonist Gruntilda. All of the characters feel pretty stock and one-note, though, and not the most visually creative. There's also some uncomfortable ethnic stereotyping with the spooky shaman Mumbo Jumbo, and one or two instances of language that comes off as discriminatory today.
There are some minor issues. I felt like it was often too easy to run off a platform without meaning to, and rotating platforms had unfair margins for slipping off them. Health felt a little too precious and a few more sources would have been welcome. I also found swimming to be pretty unforgiving in terms of the air limit and lack of reliable ways to get air refills.
The big flaw with Banjo-Kazooie spans across the game with its cumulative quest types. Each level has five hidden NPCs and 100 music notes to collect, and those collections reset if you die or leave the level. That means a huge amount of progress and time must be recovered and it sours a level quickly. One later level is particularly unfair in this regard due to featuring a challenging platforming room over a bottomless pit which could potentially kill a note collection if tackled later in the run. The lack of collectible saving is inexcusable design-wise, but hardware may have forced it. Still, anything should have been done to avert it.
I think this game showcases the N64's full potential and it creates some exciting and impressive environments and puzzles to explore. The characters are a bit weak, though, and while the collectathon establishes itself here, it also shoots itself in the foot with the lack of item saving.