Game: Banjo-Kazooie
Published by: Nintendo & Microsoft
Developed by: Rare
Formats: X360/N64 Format Played: X360 Live

I have been waiting for ages to play this game again since playing the N64 version (Released in 1998) and always wanted Nintendo to bring it out on the Wii but as Rare was bought by Microsoft I thought it would never get a release. Something crazy happened around June of this year which was not only were they releasing it in lovely High Def but it was free…..yes FREE when you ordered a copy of their new game Nuts N Bolts.
Now I never finished the original so having the download gave me inspiration to finish this one plus the fact that the Xbox controller is a hell of a lot better then the N64 one was and you can now rotate the camera using the right thumb stick.

Banjo-Kazooie adopted many of its central game play mechanics from Nintendo's groundbreaking title Super Mario 64. For instance, the player must similarly explore non-linear 3D worlds and gather tokens.
The game opens on Spiral Mountain, home of Banjo and Kazooie, as well as the vile witch Gruntilda. One day while reminiscing her own "beauty" despite being an ugly old hag, Gruntilda learns that the most beautiful girl of all is actually Tooty, Banjo's sister. Banjo and Kazooie then decide to go save her with the help of Bottles the Mole who teaches the team all they need to know.
The game looks so much better then it did on the N64, everything looks so nicely touched up and the controls work very well.
Every world has 5 Jinjos hiding around, 100 Notes, 10 Jiggy Pieces to be earned and Mumbo Tokens which can be used it Mumbo’s hut to transform you into animals to help you get some of the Jiggy’s in each world.
Unlike Mario 64 once you find a Jiggy the game does not eject you out of the world and you can continue in the world to find everything.
As well as the collectables you can also find Bottles the Mole who will teach you new moves in most worlds. You have to find a certain number of Jiggy’s to open the new worlds and a certain amount of notes to open doors to progress.
This is a game for people who like to find things because on top of that there is also Hollow Honeycombes to find and six will earn you extra health and if you think that was enough to collect you can also find items called Stop N Swop

Stop N Swop
Stop 'N' Swop is an incomplete feature in Banjo-Kazooie. Six colored eggs and a key made of ice were discovered in the game that would be viewable in a menu titled "Stop 'N' Swop". In an ending sequence of Banjo-Kazooie, Mumbo Jumbo would tell the players that secret areas would be accessible via a link with the sequel, Banjo-Tooie. Stop 'N' Swop was never fully realized in Banjo-Tooie.
The Xbox Live Arcade version of Banjo-Kazooie will feature Stop 'N' Swop connectivity with Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts to unlock new features
I managed to find all 900 song notes, all 100 Jiggys, all Hollow Honeycombs, all Stop N Swop and all the Jinjo’s!

The end of the game is different from any other game I have played as you play a board game which you have to make your way to the end answering questions about the game as you progress. It is a nice touch but some of the questions can be hard and if you land on a Death square if you don’t answer the question correctly you have to start again.

If you have managed to find all the Jiggy’s, Jinjo’s and Notes you get to fight the evil witch Gruntilda who has 4 different phases and proves to be a challenge. Only beating her would give you the true ending!

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Review coming soon!

Banjo-Kazooie - 9/10