Stunner of a Sequel (Banjo-Tooie (N64))

Name: Squiggles

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Product:	Banjo-Tooie (N64)
Date:	09/05/01 (97 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Vast levels to explore, Addictive Gameplay, Tons to do

Disadvantages: Tedious background music

Finally, after a long long wait and what seemed like one delay in release after another, I have my hands on a copy of Banjo Tooie for the N64. And since it arrived, hubby and I have spent many a happy hour pounding the joypad for all we’re worth. Banjo Tooie certainly lived up to our expectations, and more!

What’s it all about then? Well it’s the sequel to the very popular and much loved roaming adventure game, Banjo Kazooie. The game centres on two stars, Banjo the Bear and his sidekick, Kazooie the Breegull, a type of gull with a big beak and an unfortunate habit of speaking her mind, often to the point of being incredibly rude. It’s an adventure game that continues from where the original left off.

At the end of the original game, the villain(ess?) of the piece, Gruntilda the Witch, was disposed of and buried under a large rock for good. Banjo Tooie resumes two years after this point, when Grunty’s two evil sisters come to her rescue and dig her up. The game begins with Banjo, Kazooie, Mumbo the Shamen and Bottles the Mole playing poker until a terrible explosion occurs resulting in the death of Bottles. The two heroes set out to avenge his death and send the evil witch packing once and for all!

The game is very similar to the original but with some wonderful extras. In the sequel you can take control of both Banjo and Kazooie as individual characters, also Mumbo, my favourite, can be controlled under certain conditions. New regular characters are also introduced including Wumba, another Shamen and Mumbo’s archrival. She will turn you into different objects to aid your quest at certain points of the game and Mumbo can be taken to various locations to perform magic where needed.

As in the first game, the graphics are stunning with superb rendering and the sound effects are excellent. What is disappointing is that the majority of the background music is identical to that in the original and y
ou’ll find yourself unable to get the blasted tune out of your head when you switch off!

Where the sequel beats its original hands down, is in the sheer size of the game. There are nine huge levels to explore before the final showdown with Gruntilda, and none of the levels can be completed in one visit. Most require you to learn new moves and techniques in later levels, and then return to earlier ones to complete the puzzles you couldn’t before.

The game boasts an enormous number of special moves that have to be learned, without these, you won’t be able to collect every jigsaw piece, fight every boss or complete every puzzle. Each level is themed and contains at least one ‘boss’ and one mini fun game. Be prepared to practise and hone your egg shooting and flying skills, plus your expertise at navigating the characters underwater. All these and more are needed if you want to complete the game fully.

There are heaps of objects to collect too. Each level requires you to earn gold jigsaw pieces; ten per level, and these will allow you to gain entry to the later levels. Also you will need to find 100 musical notes on each level, if you don’t, you won’t be taught all the new special moves until you do! Once again, red feathers allow you to take to the air, gold feathers give you invincibility, eggs are once more your main weapons but not just blue eggs, fire eggs, ice eggs, grenade eggs and the best of the lot, clockwork eggs! Special honeycomb pieces allow you to increase your character’s energy levels and finding little pink creatures called glowbos allow you to take advantage of the Shaman’s special skills. Cheatos also need to be discovered hidden amongst the levels, each is a page from a spell book that can reward you with some valuable cheats to assist your progress.

As in the original game, there are some wonderful characters to assist or dispose of, and you must check out
Jolly Roger the frog and Innkeeper, as camp as can be and just wonderfully entertaining! Most are of the cute or whimsical variety, even the bosses aren’t that terrifying and the majority can be disposed of very easily after just a couple of attempts.

To complete the game, you must confront Gruntilda the Witch in the final showdown of all showdowns, and this battle is very very difficult! This is where I’m stuck, but I refuse to be defeated and will eprsevere!

All in all, the game is simply wonderful, much larger than the original, just as playable and totally addictive. It’s suitable for the whole family to play and enjoy, including younger children although they may find some of the challenges a little difficult. Rare have crammed just about everything onto this cartridge and the result is a game that is packed with fun and laughs, with incredibly addictive gameplay. I highly recommend it, well worth the £40 or so, it will keep you busy for hour upon hour!

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