In this episode, we turn the clocks back to 1998, as we take a look at a classic platformer from the N64 library, which has been recompiled. Is this game worthy of remembrance? Or should this game be lost forever in the pages of gaming history?
Let's find out!
The year is 1998.
Claymation and celebrity parody got controversial as the first episode of MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch was aired. The show featured pairs of celebrities pitted against each other in fights to the death.
Claymation and celebrity parody got controversial as the first episode of MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch was aired. The show featured pairs of celebrities pitted against each other in fights to the death.
The way we listen to music on the go fundamentally changed as the first mass-produced MP3 player was launched. The storage capacity of the player was only 32 Megabytes. Which was enough for only eight songs, or 2.3 Doom 2s.
And we were introduced to the tale of Fa Mulan, and his guardian dragon Mushu, voiced by the legendary Eddie Murphy, as Disney's Mulan was released in theatres.
1998 was probably the best year for the gaming industry. Pokémon became a global phenomenon. As the original red and Blue versions of the hit title were released in the USA. The titles hold the record of the fastest selling title in the Game Boy's library.
The Game Boy Colour was released. It featured a smaller design and, for the first time, a colour screen. The sixth generation of consoles officially kicked off as Sega released the ill-fated Dreamcast in Japan.
The console featured again, for the first time, a built-in modem, which allowed the console itself to connect to the Internet. Allowing online play.
1998 also saw the release of numerous revolutionary all-time classics. These include Half-Life, developed by Valve Software; StarCraft, released by Blizzard Entertainment, a title that is hailed as the greatest game ever made, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The list goes on.
Banjo-Kazooie is another entry on this list. Released on 29th June, or July 17 in Europe. After Microsoft's acquisition of Rare in 2002, this classic got ported to the Xbox 360 in 2008.
You play as Banjo the Bear and his trusty birdy sidekick Kazooie, who lives on the base of Spiral Mountain. Trouble was brewing at the summit. The evil witch Gruntilda, after finding out that Banjo's sister Tooty was the prettiest girl on the mountain, kidnapped Tooty and took her to her lair.
Her evil scheme is for Gruntilda to steal Tooty's beauty. It is up to you to go through the various worlds in Gruntilda's lair and rescue your sister before Tooty undergoes an unexpected makeover!
The accessibility scores are as follows-
Visibility 10
Due to the game's age, there's no color blind mode in its interface. But, there is little ned for one! Although the Jinjos you need to save are colour-coded, the contrasts are color blind friendly.
These are green, blue, purple, yellow, and orange. So a player with a visual impairment will find no issues when playing this classic.
Audibility 9.5
Again, due to the game's age and the space limitations of an N64 cartridge, there is no spoken dialogue in the game. All dialogue is text-based, with a unique sound for every speaker, similar to Undertale. Back in those days, imagination had to fill in the blanks.
However, when you are in certain areas of a level, for example, Treasure Trove Cove, and you are in danger of being attacked, audio cues should warn you. Although it might not be game-breaking, as dialogue should give you waning. So, this game is playable for hearing impairments, but a few issues exist.
Mobility 8
Let's get the negatives out of the way, there is no way to change the button layout in both the N64 version, same goes for the Xbox 360 version as well.
The recently released Recompiled version is the most accessible way to play. You can rebind the controls to suit your impairment.
Certain abilities that require the Z trigger to be held, like firing eggs and Kazooie's Talon Trot, using an N64 controller, can be very tricky.
The Xbox 360 version is a fair bit better, due to the smaller controller size, but the lack of remarkable button layouts is an issue for players with mobility impairments.
Gameplay 10
Once again, Rare's flair is showing inths classic. The DNA of the legendary Super Mario 64 is showing in this game. Each level has its own set of moves to learn, items to collect, and jigsaw pieces to locate.
You use these to unlock additional levels as you progress deeper into Gruntilda's lair. Molehills allows you to learn new abilities thanks to Bottles. There's bird like creatures called Jinjos hidden in every level. Collecting all of them grants an extra life. Notes are scattered around each level. Collecting enough notes opens secret doors in Gruntilda's lair.
What makes this game different from Super Mario 64 is that you don't get hints on where each piece is.
In summary, Banjo-Kazooie is a classic in its own right. The additional, learnable abilities make this game unique. It forces you to be thorough with your exploration. Each level has 10 jigsaw pieces to hunt down.
As I have said before, the game was ported to Xbox 360 in 2008. With this game being backwards compatible with Xbox One and included with Game Pass Premium, and as I have said, the game got recompiled for PC, there is absolutely no excuse to at least give this game a try!
OVERALL SCORE 93.5%
See you guys in the next review!
