#8
Banjo-Tooie (N64, 2000)
guessed by RavenXtra
After the huge success of Banjo-Kazooie, Rare started work on a sequel. In 2000, Banjo-Tooie arrived in stores. In many ways, Banjo-Tooie is a better game than its predecessor. The sound effects, music, and graphics are phenomenal. How Rare crammed so many animations, particle effects, and huge, expansive environments into a single cartridge without the help of the expansion pak is a mystery; although the improved, high-power graphics come with a price -- random dips in frame rate. Banjo-Tooie is much bigger in size and scope than its predecessor. Whereas in Banjo-Kazooie, players could access (and conquer) each world via a magical portal, all of the worlds in Banjo-Tooie are connected. This allows missions to span several different environments instead of being limited to a discrete world. In a sense there are no "levels" in Banjo-Tooie, only a sprawling open-world hub with interconnected areas. Other additions include Split-Up pads, which allow players to control Banjo and Kazooie separately, dozens of new unlockable moves, and lots of genre-mashing episodes, including one where Kazooie functions as a gun in a first-person shooter. Banjo-Tooie made the biggest movement on my list from last year, advancing a whopping 17 spots.
