4.5/5 ★ – Visionary_Gamer's review of Banjo-Kazooie.

Many hours were sunk into this as a child. It’s a great game from start to finish for many reasons, and is still a joy to play today and holds up fantastically well. The simple story, cast of amazing characters, super fun gameplay and hilarious voice acting all come together to make for an unforgettable experience. The combination of the move sets from banjo and Kazooie works perfectly. This came out 2 years after Super Mario 64 if I remember rightly and built on that foundation and more for an even better game in my opinion. It has more charm, better controls, a more interesting narrative and is just more of a joy to play overall. As a kid, I don’t remember playing much of the second half. And playing again today I think I know why. The difficulty ramps up quite a bit in the latter levels. Never frustrating, but 6 year old me clearly found more joy replying the first half of the game over and over. Overall, a must play for any platforming fan. Banjo Kazooie would give any modern day plat-former a run for its money. P.S. A quick thought dumping that I don’t have the time to structure into the review: - Putting googly eyes on all enemies and collectibles. Hilarious and effective. - Going inside a crab, crocodile, giant metal shark. Awesome. - The start game screen. Genius. - Each level is well crafted and interesting - The collectibles are addictive and have a purpose