Banjo-Kazooie celebrates its 25th birthday after being released all the way back on June 29, 1998. The game was developed by the now infamous Rare, a British developer that was reeling off a string of hit games at the time, ranging from the critically acclaimed Donkey Kong Country series to Goldeneye 007, one of the most influential FPS games to date according to many. Despite having to contend with the huge shadow cast by Super Mario 64, a similarly groundbreaking platformer that had been released two years prior, Banjo-Kazooie was able to carve out its own unique identity and is arguably a more well-rounded and polished platformer than Mario's first 3D outing.
Starring the titular Banjo, a lovable, brave bear, and his foul-mouthed friend, a breegull named Kazooie, the game was able to capture the imagination of gamers of a wide variety of ages thanks to its broad appeal. Despite a plot that sees Banjo setting off to rescue his sister from an evil witch's castle, somewhat suggesting that the game's target audience is young children, Banjo-Kazooie has a nuanced difficulty that belies its perceived theme, underscored with adult humor and some of the most intricate level design ever seen in a platforming game up to that point. The game is often cited as giving birth to the 'collect-a-thon', as it tasks players with finding a host of different items in every level, each with its own purpose.
Banjo-Kazooie Made a Huge Mark on the Platforming Genre
Banjo-Kazooie was undeniably years ahead of its time, a fact that is further reinforced when playing it today. It holds up incredibly well a quarter of a century later, and its influence on later titles is clear to see. From unlocking new moves and using them to backtrack to previously inaccessible locations, and then to fast-travel style shortcuts and interconnecting levels, Banjo-Kazooie was a pioneer for the genre as a whole. The success of the game, and its 2000 sequel Banjo-Tooie, paved the way for other famous platforming duos to follow in the pair's footsteps. Both Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank drew varying degrees of influence from Banjo-Kazooie, with the latter in particular a popular franchise that is still going strong. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is hailed as one of the PS5's best exclusives to this day.
While some games are very clearly influenced by Banjo-Kazooie, others hide their inspirations a little less obviously. When Banjo-Kazooie eventually got a third game after Microsoft purchased Rare, many fans rejoiced at the prospect of a third and final platforming title to make up one of the best trilogies ever. In a bold and unexpected move, however, Rare pulled the rug from fans' feet by unleashing Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, inspiring Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom all those years later - a game primarily about vehicular construction with precious little platforming involved.
Despite the lack of traditional platforming in Nuts & Bolts though, the actual vehicle construction was impressively detailed, with a physics engine that allowed for some creative build designs. Interestingly, thanks to a similarly robust physics engine and Link's Ultrahand ability, which effectively allows him to fuse any items together, many have compared Nintendo's Tears of the Kingdom to Nuts and Bolts. While it seemed out of left field at first, spending any amount of time experimenting with Tears of the Kingdom's building mechanics makes the comparison much easier to understand.
Many would love to see a new Banjo-Kazooie game, and their 2019 inclusion as downloadable characters in Super Smash Bros Ultimate reignited interest in the beloved duo. It's unclear exactly what, if anything, the future holds for the pair, but either way, Banjo-Kazooie is rightly considered to be one of the greatest platforming games of all time.
Banjo-Kazooie is available now for Nintendo Switch Online - Expansion Pack owners.
