Hrm... seems that the holiday shenanigans are getting to a lot of people. Ah well, as long as BadGenome is here, all is well.
17. Banjo-Kazooie (N64)
When a game starts out with a two bears, a bird, and a shaman playing instruments, you know said game is going to be great. Of course, I had no idea how great Banjo-Kazooie really would be until I actually started playing it. Banjo-Kazooie is a game that wisely uses many of the ideas that made Super Mario 64 great, but then adds its own unique flavor to always be its own game. You take control of the bear and bird duo to resuce Banjo's sister (Tooty) from the evil witch Gruntilda. The hub world takes place in ol' Grunty's lair and you travel to different worlds through there, collecting Jiggies to continue further and further into her vile lair. The graphics are so colorful and vibrant, the music is fantastic (love the different renditions of Grunty's lair), and the gamplay is tight, responsive, and most importantly fun. Using the duo's ever-increasing moveset is always satisfying (and even more crazy when Mumbo turns you into different creatures/vegetables), and by the end of the game you'll be using your skills to traverse increasingly dangerous worlds (looking at you Rusty Bucket Bay). But what gives this game the extra boost from fantastic to magical is the wonderful atmosphere and humor. Grunty's rhymes are hilarious, and the dim witted bear/sarcastic bird duo make for some great moments.
Yeah, this game really is great. 3D Platforming was cemented as one of my favorite genres ever thanks to games like this. Bear and bird, you rock.
