Review By: Chris Lee
Developer:	Rare
Publisher:	Nintendo
# of Players:	1
Genre:	Platform
ESRB:	Everyone
Date Posted:	2-22-01

When Banjo-Kazooie was released it was not only one of the best platformers at the time but one of the best platformers of all time. Even the naysayers and the people with the "cutesy" arguments were eating crow when they actually sat down and played the game. It was a game that had it all in every category: graphics, personality, design, and most importantly it had gameplay. Banjo-Kazooie, like no other platformer before it, just felt like a totally complete game. The designers didn't lose their resolve in the later levels of the game by resorting to cheap tactics to prolong the game and from top to bottom the game just exuded class. Banjo Tooie is no different and in fact raises the bar for the genre. You'd be hard pressed to find a better platformer anywhere.

The story of Banjo Tooie picks up two years after Banjo-Kazooie ended. Old Grunty is still stuck under that rock and our favorite henchman Klungo is still trying to get her out. The heroes from the last game are playing a friendly hand of poker (complete with Kazooie's snide remarks) when suddenly what seems to be an earthquake takes place. Lo and behold Gruntilda has two other sisters that no one knew about, both evil....both green. The story begins and soon our heroes are meeting old friends and fighting new enemies. If you've played the first Banjo title then you're in for a treat as Banjo Tooie contains a lot of hilarious inside jokes about the first game. If you haven't played the first title don't worry because the dynamic duo are in "Rare" form this time around. I found myself laughing out loud at many points throughout the game and I'm not talking about some hilarious feats of cartoon magic (although there are plenty) but the actual dialogue had me in stitches. One thing this game isn't lacking is a sense of humor.

Banjo-Kazooie had graphics that could stand up to today's next generation titles and Banjo Tooie is no different and in fact shows off even more of the programmers expertise, however all this graphical power has it's pros and cons. While the worlds are vast and massive, on various occasions the age of the N64 is more than apparent. At certain times when you can see far off into the distance on a densely populated world there can be a framerate dip but this doesn't happen very much, just on some of the later levels that are pretty huge. The rest of the time I'd say the game moves at around 30 fps. I didn't encounter any slowdown until I had gotten pretty far into the game but at no time does any of that detract from the gameplay. On the other side of things, the game is more lush and colorful than the first one. Every creature, plant and tree seems to have it's personality and place in the world. Characters have a myriad of animations and expressions that are amazing considering how large this game is. Each world has it's own textures and creatures so that no two worlds are the same. That's even more impressive when you first discover that all the worlds are connected to one another but more on that later. I'd have to say that this is the most graphically robust game on the N64 but not just from a technical standpoint but because you can tell that the designers had a real intent and purpose when they were making the game and they didn't lose that purpose as the game went on.

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