Both are great games, but I think I enjoyed more BK than SM64, but SM64 is one of the most importants game for industry.

Having played both recently.... No.

That being said, Polygon is paid for by Microsoft.

I love BK more than SM64

I've played both just recently and I still think I enjoy SM64 more... I just find the controls and jumping to be superior, and i find the challenges to be more fun as well.

Still, Banjo & Kazooie certainly looks better and has its own charm, so I'm not really comfortable declaring one superior to the other. What is clear, of course, is that Banjo and Kazooie basically just took the SM64 template, replaced mario with a bear and a bird, and slapped some better graphics on it with an expanded hub world. For that reason I can see why some might prefer it to SM64.

Really, it SHOULD be better than its predecessor, and I think a person who plays both for the first time today would likely enjoy Banjo more, but it's also clear that there'd be no recognizable banjo and Kazooie game without SM64 when once considers just how many ideas Rare clearly borrowed from them.

Still, Banjo Tooie was better than the first... That's probably a better argument to be having.

A few months ago I had two friends in town staying with me and we popped SM64 in... In two days we were sitting at nearly 110 stars and loved the heck out of it.

It's not everyone's cup of tea but a blanket statement like "it hasn't aged well" isn't fair. When you consider just how poorly most games of the fifth generation aged (perhaps worst of the 3-8 gens), be it the N64, Playstation or Saturn, SM64 has actually aged remarkably well.

We are forgetting that Mario 64 was the first of its kind and a launch title, Banjo came out years later. I prefer Banjo over Mario but one is a later game which means its not a surprise they copied the formula to achieve better. A bit like the PS Move and Wii Remote, One set the standard while the other improved it.

Really, you need only look at the difference between SMB1 and SMB3. A few years of experience can do wonders.

Why do they allow you to post such petty garbage? No one wants to read your "they paid more" nonsense unless you can link facts in your claim and not some childish "I think"messages. There both great games and there up there as the greatest platformers in gaming history, this has NOTHING to do with Microsoft.

M, Carl

Notice I wasn't even the first to mention it. It's a well known fact.

I also recommend you be nicer to other members. Your direct attacking of members (against the rules) needs to be stopped.

To think the piece that Microsoft gave "$750,000" to Polygon for had a budget of less than a "$75,000". Money well spent. It's a shame when things like this go public.

Though I just got done saying I slightly prefer sm64, claiming banjo is possibly the better game isn't exactly an absurd claim that only $700k+ from Microsoft could explain. If they started hyping Banjo and Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts as being superior to the Mario Kart franchise I'd certainly join you in your suspicions, but just a quick glance at this thread seems to suggest that everyone's pretty 50-50 on it here as well, with no run-away victor.

Both were among the very greatest 3d platformers ever, one just had the benefit of being developed later and borrowing heavily from its predecessor.