Why Everyone Still LOVES Banjo-Kazooie | A Banjo-Kazooie Retrospective

i can say with extreme confidence that access to an N64 and Grant Kirkhope's work had the absolute most influence on my lifelong passion for music, absolute masterclass in musical storytelling and earworms

You can hold R to turn sharp while swimming underwater and it works for flying as well. The N64 doesn't ever tell you this so people literally go decades suffering with vastly worse swimming controls than they have to.... Seriously it's so good it even makes Clanker's Cavern a breeze.

As someone who had no prior nostalgia to this game (having not played it back in the day), I can confirm, I had a lot of fun playing when I eventually got round to it. The platforming ranks up there with the all-time greats, and the engine is so well designed for it, though perhaps less so for combat. That's the only real criticism I have with this game, is the lack of real boss battles (now, if only there were a sequel that improved the combat to allow for more sophisticated boss fights 🤔).

whoever made rusty bucket bay must've had a really bad day

The sand level was something special for sure, that level and the sand level in Mario 64 have always stood out in my memory. Sand levels these days just don't feel the same, they go for an unnecessary feel of realism with it just being plain ol' desserts when what I want is closer to something out of Indiana Jones

Banjo was the coolest thing ever at the time, the silly humour, the fun gameplay, and transforming into different things was cool as anything to 7 - 8 year old me.

I will never forget how real the game looked to me, especially the dangerous parts. The Sequel looked even better.

Banjo-Kazooie will always hold a special place in my heart. My mother born in 1972 introduced me to it well after she played it in her 20's. We always imitated and poked fun at the silly sounds and the funny antics in the game, and it is definitely the kind of game that you could have fun playing with a perky girl, and that's what my mother was always like, funny and perky. My mother is the reason why I love Banjo-Kazooie, because we made it fun together.

I think Treasure Trove Cove is so beloved because it is where this game really shows what it is capable of. I mean, Spiral Mountain is an amazing tutorial area and Mumbo Mountain is a great first level, not too big yet with a lot of stuff to do, but at this point the game is still just another 3D platformer, one with tight controllers and amazing level design but nothing that won't get overshadowed by Mario 64. But then you get to TTC where it shows you a proper way to fly in 3D and the game just opens up and becomes something completely different, something unique.

I still have this game on Nintendo 64

I love this game so much that it got me into game design. I have often used BK's worlds as inspiration and proof on how to do level design right. Also I'm here for the Click Clock Wood love. ❤❤❤ Back on my N64, I had a save specifically for Click Clock Wood and I would play through it if I just wanted to or if I was having a bad day. I can't count the amount of times I have completed that level.

9:24 Actually when I think of a swamp I think of the words "Somebody once told me that the world was gonna roll me"

I like Banjo Kazooie, but tbh Banjo Tooies way underated and the one I preferred personally as a kid. Kazooies still awesome, but to me its too short of a game, and having the note count reset when you die is a horrendous offense. Nothing worst than messing up in the gator section of bubblegloop swamp and having to replay the whole level again. And while I've never died in Clockwood, I can only imagine how horrific dying in that world would be.

100% completed it on NSO for the first time (one of those I rented but never owned as a child). Fanastic stuff.

Backtracking actually happens twice. You forgot about needing the running shoes in bubblegloop swamp to beat mr. Vile.

Just played it for the first time yesterday, 100% without any issue... the levels are sooo well done it is nuts😂

Great video! I replayed and beat Banjo Kazooie on my sister's NSO while staying at her place for a week. It's still definitely a fun game. Just downright charming. It's not mechanically deep but the worlds are small enough that collecting everything doesn't feel like a chore, and your moveset always evolving is very satisfying. The final Gruntilda fight is still a bitch to beat, which I respect. I got it in I think 4 tries.

I noticed you mentioned Mumbo’s Mountain having no pitfalls, and I actually wanted to point out that the engine room in Rusty Bucket Bay, the Gobi’s Valley puzzle room, Grunty’s Furnace Fun and the final battle area are the only places in the game with pitfalls. This leaves Rusty Bucket Bay and Gruntilda’s Lair as the only worlds in the game to not have pitfalls.

I may be the odd one out here where i didn't like Banjo( the game, not character) when i was young and still dont care for any of them today. However, i do still appreciate how they birthed a genre that is still used to this day.

Still my favorite game of all time, Thanks for making this amazing video!