Banjo-Kazooie

PRESS START

An Introduction To Today’s Game

Welcome, to my happy place.

Keeping this under my word count for the newsletter will be a challenge. It’s hard to describe what this game has meant to me.

It’s not perfect. It has its faults. But man do I love this game. Banjo-Kazooie.

So what is it?

It’s a game about a bear, a bird living in his backpack, and a witch who wants to steal a teenage girl's good looks.

That is the setup for Banjo-Kazooie, and somehow it works. Released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998, it dropped players into the shoes, or paws, of Banjo, whose sister Tooty gets kidnapped by Gruntilda, a witch with a beauty machine and a rhyming habit.

Kazooie, the bird in question, does most of the talking, and most of the complaining. Together they set off across nine wildly different worlds. It is silly, it is colorful, and if you grew up with an N64, there is a good chance you already know exactly what a Jiggy is.

Welcome, to one of my all time favorite games.

BEHIND THE PIXELS

Let’s Dive Into The Game

If you have never played it, think of Banjo-Kazooie as Rare's answer to Super Mario 64, built around the same idea of open worlds packed with things to find, but with more jokes and a stronger sense of character.

It is a 3D platformer, sometimes called a collectathon, where progress depends less on reaching an exit and more on how much stuff you are willing to dig up along the way.

The core loop revolves around collecting Jiggies, puzzle piece tokens needed to unlock new areas, along with musical notes, Mumbo Tokens, and captured creatures called Jinjos.

Banjo and Kazooie share a single move set that expands constantly, running, gliding, pecking, and eventually a long list of learned abilities taught by a mole named Bottles.

Some worlds also let Mumbo Jumbo transform Banjo into other creatures entirely, like a pumpkin or a walrus, each with its own quirks and mechanics.

None of this would land without the personality behind it. Grant Kirkhope's soundtrack shifts its theme for every world while keeping a consistent playful tone, and the dialogue leans hard into British humor, sarcasm, and the occasional joke at the player's own expense. I truly love these characters and the playful humor behind them.

The difficulty is not brutal, but the camera has a well earned reputation as one of the roughest of its generation, and swimming sections in particular tend to test patience more than skill. These are the games major faults for sure. But stick with it and they will become second nature eventually… or maybe just a little more tolerable.

Visually, it still holds up better than most of its N64 peers, with bright, distinct worlds that avoid the muddy textures common to the era.

These are some of my favorite levels in gaming.

It is not a long game by modern standards, but it rewards curiosity, and there is a reason so many players from that generation can still describe entire levels from memory.

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GAME INFORMATION

WHERE TO PLAY

• Nintendo Switch Online - N64 app.

• Rare Replay - Xbox

• Yooka-Laylee, a new IP, is a spiritual successor and made by many former Rare devs who worked on Banjo.

• Original Copies of the Game (All prices in USD)

  • Loose: $32

  • Complete: $134

  • New/Sealed: $1147

COVER ART

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GAME OVER

Why You Should Play This

Banjo-Kazooie is one of those N64 games that earns its reputation instead of just riding on it. The humor holds up, the music holds up, and the sense of discovery in each world still works even decades later. The camera has not aged gracefully, and neither has the swimming, but neither one is enough to sink the experience.

If you want to play it today, you have real options. It is on Xbox Game Pass and included in Rare Replay for Xbox players, and it landed on Nintendo Switch Online back in 2022 for anyone with the Expansion Pack.

Play it. Give it some time. Learn the controls and fight back against the camera. This game has so much personality and charm.

It’s the one forgotten series that I’d give anything to come back. Just one more Banjo game from Rare. I want it more than I want Rocksteady to do another Batman Arkham game. And I REALLY want another Arkham game.

Whether you are returning to Spiral Mountain or visiting for the first time, this is a good one to go in patient. Let the humor do its job, forgive the camera, and enjoy the ride. It’s one of a kind and something that just sticks to people years after playing it.

SUPPORT

This is a passion project made with love, and every open or read means the world.
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RETRO HARDWARE

The Miyoo Flip V2 is a tiny clamshell retro handheld that lets you carry a whole library of classic games in your pocket. With a bright screen, solid controls, and the nostalgic flip design we all remember, it’s perfect for quick gaming sessions anywhere. Click the picture to check it out. My readers can use the following code for a 12% discount: NY12