Ah, Banjo-Kazooie. A game from the peak of Mount Rareware, back when they were good. Almost every kid who had an N64 knows this game. Everyone who played it loved it. Anyone who loved Donkey Kong Country would love Banjo-Kazooie. This game captured the hearts of many players, bringing platformers to a whole new level. This game truly is one of the best platformers out there. I'll tell you why.

Graphics - 10

Super Mario 64? Cross-eyed and layers of fat. Mario Kart 64? Rather 2D looking sprites and not much detail. Banjo-Kazooie? Now we're talking. Banjo-Kazooie has really good graphics. You never have trouble seeing anything, everything is bright and colorful (except for you-know-where), and everything has surprising detail. Look at any image from the game and you'll see what I mean; everything looks great and realistic (at least for the time)! When the N64 came out, everyone saw Super Mario 64 and was blown away by the graphics. Then Banjo-Kazooie comes out and people see that the graphics are almost twice as good. Is there any reason to complain about the graphics in this game?

Sound - 10

Rareware is known for its good music. David Wise and Grant Kirkhope really knew how to make catchy, fitting tunes. The music gives the game way more atmosphere. You feel like you're living in the game. Remember Rusty Bucket Bay? That theme fits the level so well it's unbelievable. I never thought music mattered that much to a game until I played Banjo-Kazooie. The composer put noises into the music that made the atmosphere even deeper and the music even better (horns/whistles in Rusty Bucket Bay, croaks in Bubblegloop Swamp). These songs can get stuck in your head for the rest of your life.

Addictiveness - 9

You know how I kept going on and on about the atmosphere of the game? That's one of the things that makes this game really addictive. Like I said, you feel like you're actually inside of the game. Would you want to leave a new universe? Certainly not. In Super Mario 64 you started with all your moves and played the game. Banjo-Kazooie allows you to learn the moves throughout the game. Egg farts, projectile egg vomiting, flying, blah blah blah. Another difference from Super Mario 64 is that you collect more things. Get all the Jinjos for a Jiggy, collect the notes to open doors, stock up on eggs and golden feathers, and of course...

Mumbo Tokens. A huge part of this game is transforming. You go up to some black magic voodoo skeleton who transforms you using black magic voodoo skeleton powers. You can be a bee, a termite, a crocodile, even a washing machine! All of these and more help you get the Jiggies... except the washing machine, that's completely useless.

All that makes this game pretty addictive. It's very immersive and fun.

Story - 4

It's a platformer, so guess what? A girl gets captured by an ugly person. Banjo's sister, Tooty, gets captured by the evil witch Gruntilda because Gruntilda wants to be beautiful again. So you go and save her. Whoop-de-doo.

Depth - 9

There's 10 levels including the overworld, 10 Jiggies per level, 100 notes per level, and a few secrets here and there (e.g. Turning into a washing machine, getting empty honeycombs to boost your health). That makes 100 Jiggies and 900 notes (there are no notes in the overworld). It doesn't have as many Jiggies/Stars to collect as Super Mario 64, but the levels are more expansive and make you explore instead of walking up a mountain.

Difficulty - 7

This game starts pretty easy and gradually gets harder at a perfect pace... until you get to Rusty Bucket Bay. It's commonly known as possibly the steepest difficulty curve in video games. The level you go to before Rusty Bucket Bay: Scary place with ghosts and toilets. Rusty Bucket Bay: GUYS THAT KILL YOU IN LIKE 3 HITS, BOSSES THAT HAVE TONS AND TONS OF HEALTH AND NEED YOU TO GET LIKE 50 EGGS, TURBINES THAT KILL YOU IN ONE HIT, NOTES HIDDEN SO WELL YOU WANNA CRY, WATER THAT MAKES YOU DROWN WHEN YOU'RE NOT EVEN SWIMMING IN IT, A FACTORY ROOM THAT'S LIKE 11/10 DIFFICULTY TO GET THROUGH IT. But other than that the game is good.

Overall - 9

Banjo-Kazooie is known as a great game. Is it? Obviously, why else would it be known as a great game? Really good graphics, amazing soundtrack, a lot of super immersive and fun levels... What more could you ask for? This game is a perfect platformer!