Gruntilda = The hardest boss on any platformer game

For Christmas I got a copy of Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts and I have just recently finished it (Well I have beaten Grunty... Just haven't got round to getting all those Jiggies) and the final boss is hard as nails. You have to make vehicle that can literally DO everything, but enough about that. This review is about Banjo Kazooie for the N64 which thanks to Rare has found it's self on XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade).

I missed Banjo Kazooie on there first outing back on the Nintendo 64 because when I had a choice I picked the Playstation over the N64 (How naive I was when I was six), but when I booted up this for the first time it reminded me of so many other platformer's of its era. It was very much like a best of all platformers thrown together. For instance controls of Super Mario 64, alot of collectables and a hub world which are very similar to Spyro, character design which is very similar to Croc and add the charm and charisma that Rare injects into all its games and you have a winner. To me thats what BK is in a nutshell, an all round platformer that everyone will enjoy.

Now for the few out there who are wondering 'Okay then.... Who IS Banjo Kazooie and what's the point of the game?'

Question 1: Banjo is the honey bear and Kazooie is a bird. There are NOT the same person as many people I seem to talk to think.

Question 2: The plot as with all platformers isn't deep or serious but unlike most, Rare does try its best to add humor whenever possible. Basically Gruntilda (Or Grunty for short) has kidnapped Banjo's sister Tootie, and has placed her in a big machine which will take her beauty and give it to herself. It is up to Banjo and Kazooie (and with a little help from Mumbo Jumbo and Bottles the mole)  to rescue Tootie and defeat Grunty. All simple stuff. To do this you must collect Jiggies (jigsaw pieces) to use to unlock levels and musical notes to unlock doors. In other words, its the biggest collect em up game in existance (only beaten by Spyro:Year of the Dragon which makes you collect so many little gems its unbelievable!) 

Now you may be sitting there and thinking ' This sounds like a game aimed for my 8 year old sister' then you not far wrong but I doubt she could complete the game fully without tearing out all her hair and throwing the controller at the TV. Banjo Kazooie, much like most Rare games look cute and cuddly but the deeper you go the harder it gets. 

This leads back nicely to the beginning of this post..... Gruntilda. Today I have spent I don't know how long trying to defeat her. Just when you think its all over she some how survives and as I always seem to have my guard down at these times she just pwns me into the next millennium.... Very much like the Nuts and Bolts version, but with that you could blame it all on your vehicle and go back to the drawing board, but with THIS you know its all your fault and that you suck and now you have to start the boss fight all over again. 

Forget Bowser, Grunty is the hardest end of game boss on a platformer!

Rating: A

Closing Comments 

All I can say is that if you were younger than ten in the 1990's this game will be like walking down memory lane EVEN if you haven't played it on the N64. If your any older than that and enjoyed Super Mario 64 or any other good platformer (bar Mirriors Edge.... Thats a different kind of platformer) then you should pick this game up and realize what you're missing! 

picture from www.pressthebuttons.typepad.com