Banjo kazooie
| Banjo kazooie | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Banjo-Kazooie logo | |||
| Studio | Rare | ||
| Publisher | Nintendo , Microsoft Game Studios | ||
| Senior Developer | Gregg Mayles | ||
| composer | Grant Kirkhope | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
Nintendo 64 June 29, 1998 July 17, 1998 July 25, 1998 December 6, 1998 Xbox Live Arcade December 3, 2008    |
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| platform | Nintendo 64 , Xbox 360 , Xbox One | ||
| genre | Jump 'n' run | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Nintendo 64 controller | ||
| medium | 128- megabit - module , Download | ||
| language | German , English , French | ||
| Age rating |
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| information |
ESRB : E (Everyone) ACB : G (General) |
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Banjo-Kazooie is a successful video game for the Nintendo 64 (N64) from the genre of three-dimensional jump 'n' runs . The game was developed by the British development studio Rare , then a secondary manufacturer for Nintendo , and published by Nintendo in spring 1998. The player controls the anthropomorphic bear Banjo, who has to free his little sister Tooty from the custody of a witch . He is accompanied by Kazooie, a red bird lady who always lingers in Banjo's backpack. The game sold over two million copies.
Along with GoldenEye 007 , Perfect Dark and Conker's Bad Fur Day, it is considered to be the best game developed by Rare for the Nintendo 64. It is said to have many similarities to the earlier genre-related title Super Mario 64 .
Banjo-Kazooie has a direct successor to the Nintendo 64 in Banjo-Tooie and two franchise offshoots for the Game Boy Advance with Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Rache and the racing game Banjo-Pilot . On November 14, 2008, the third part of the main series was released for the Xbox 360 console . Banjo is available as one of the drivers in the game Diddy Kong Racing, also developed by Rare .
action
The witch Gruntilda kidnaps Banjo's little sister Tooty in order to transfer her beauty onto herself. Banjo and Kazooie find out about the kidnapping from the Mole Bottles and set off through Gruntilda's realm , a huge cave, to save Tooty.
You have to find pieces of the puzzle through initially locked gates in different worlds , which allow them to advance further through the cave to the witch. They meet the shaman Mumbo Jumbo , who transforms the banjo into other animals, and the good-natured sister Gruntildas Brentilda , who tells the protagonist duo Trivia about Gruntilda. Finally they reach the witch, who confronts the duo with various tasks in a game show , for whose mastery they select the kidnapped Tooty as the prize.
Banjo and his sister return home satisfied. Tooty points out to him and Kazooie during the following festivities that they let the witch get away with it, whereupon the two set out to face Gruntilda on her tower. In the course of this fight, Gruntilda falls from the tower and is buried on the ground by a heavy boulder that she cannot lift. The end credits of the game show the protagonists and their friends on vacation on a South Sea island and advertise the successor to the game.
Banjo is characterized as a good-natured bear, whereas Kazooie often provokes with sarcastic comments in conversations . The witch Gruntilda speaks in rhymes and comments from her hiding place on the advance of the main characters through her realm in order to discourage them in their endeavors.
Game mechanics
controls are primarily used to play in the middle and on the right side
control
The game is controlled with the Nintendo 64 controller. With the analog stick , the bear banjo is controlled with free camera work in the third-person perspective in three-dimensional space . The more the stick is tilted, the faster the character runs; In this way, for example, navigation in narrow areas can be controlled accordingly. Four buttons are used for camera operation , so they determine the angle and distance between the image and the character. Three buttons are reserved for the basic actions, attacking , crouching, and jumping .
With certain key sequences or combinations, further movement and attack options are available; For example, Kazooie emerges from the backpack on Banjo's back in order to increase his jump distance with a few flaps of his wing. As part of other maneuvers, Kazooie emerges from the backpack with her back to Banjo, extends her legs from the underside of the backpack and carries Banjo on her back. Some of these actions can only be carried out on designated and appropriately marked floor areas; an example of this are platforms for free flight. Some moves (from the English; move : movement) consume ammunition in the form of different, aufsammelbarer objects (items) , such as a missile attack . Apart from the basic actions, all moves must be unlocked for use at specified points in the game world, and the Mole Bottles provide a brief introduction to their use.
The game world
The game begins in a green valley near Banjo's hut. Before Banjo can enter Gruntilda's realm , the player has to unlock the first basic moves at points scattered around the valley , in which Banjo addresses the Mole Bottles on all the surrounding molehills. After that, access to Gruntilda's realm is free.
Gruntilda's realm is a large, branching cave complex of interconnected enclosed spaces. Are spread over this cave nine entrances to thematically different worlds, even level called: A grassy hills, a sandy island in the sea, a lying largely under water level, a swamp, a snowy snowy landscape, a desert with mummies , sphinxes and pyramids , one Haunted house with adjoining cemetery, a polluted harbor and a huge tree that can be climbed, which the character enters at all four seasons. At the beginning, all doors to these levels are locked and the player has to complete an associated puzzle picture with golden puzzle pieces elsewhere in order to open the corresponding level.
At the beginning the player can only reach one level and the corresponding puzzle picture as well as the one missing puzzle piece (later puzzle pictures more and more puzzle pieces are missing); For the further advance into Gruntilda's realm, the protagonist needs additional action maneuvers, which he can learn in the individual levels; furthermore, certain doors remain locked as long as the player has not collected the number of golden musical notes indicated on the door, of which one hundred can be found in each level. As the game progresses, the player can unlock alternative paths through the cave, which represent shortcuts through the complex. Another way to save time is to use cauldrons , two of which are of the same color. If Banjo finds two matching cauldrons, he can jump into the cauldron to move him to the position of the other.
In each level there are ten golden puzzle pieces hidden as well as a switch that makes an eleventh puzzle piece appear in Gruntilda's realm. You always get one of the puzzle pieces if you find five differently colored non-player characters , so-called Jinjos . The other nine puzzle pieces can be found in hard-to-reach places on the level, for example, and are awarded as a reward for successfully completing mini-games or completing tasks. Golden musical notes do not have to be unlocked, but are freely accessible throughout the level from the start. When exiting a level, all collected music notes are reset and the number of collected notes for the respective level is updated if the player was able to break his previous record. Levels are left via the platform on which the character started the level.
During the course of the game, the player encounters hostile beings who reduce a certain part of the energy bar when the character comes into contact . If the character loses all of its energy, one of its new attempts, also called extra lives, is withdrawn from the player and the level including the musical notes in it is reset, apart from items that have already been collected, the number of which is relevant in the long term. If Banjo loses his last life, a short game-over sequence shows Tooty being robbed of her beauty and the game exits to the title screen. Opponents leave honeycombs behind after their defeat, restoring banjo's energy by one unit at a time. Occasionally, beehives can also be found that leave several honeycombs behind, but may also harbor vengeful bees. If the player finds six of the rare empty honeycombs, the energy bar is increased by one unit. Other items that the character can pick up are eggs and feathers, which are used as ammunition for certain maneuvers, and silver skulls.
Silver skulls are used to pay for transformations of the game character into other beings. In some levels there is a skull-shaped hut in which a masked shaman transforms the character into a level-dependent, thematically appropriate form. To do this, he requires a certain number of skulls. These transformations give the player new access to individual areas: the termite can climb the termite mound , the alligator can crawl through narrow tubes, etc. Banjo can leave the level in its transformed state, but is transformed back at an individual limit. Some areas in Gruntilda's realm can only be reached in a transformed state.
At the end of the game, the protagonists reach Gruntilda and have to cross a lava basin by walking over branched walkways to the other side. These bars consist of individual squares. A certain task must be fulfilled on each square so that the pawn does not lose a unit of its energy bar. These can be questions about game mechanics or questions about Gruntilda, the answers of which the player from Gruntilda's sister was able to find out at various points in the game, other fields require the identification of style recordings from levels of the game or of acoustic effects or background music. Finally, other spaces place the repetition of a mini-game that already occurs elsewhere in the game.
technology
Banjo-Kazooie is shown in 3D computer graphics . The playing figures and the game environment are composed of polygons and covered with textures ; A large number of the level textures extend over several individual textures in the highest possible resolution (64 × 64 pixels ), which avoids a larger repetition of surface shapes, but figures are deliberately sparsely provided with textures in order to convey a clean look, according to the developer. Many small objects (e.g. music notes) are animated raster graphics stored in the software . The game uses a system developed by Rare to avoid fragmentation , which continuously rearranges data in the RAM of the Nintendo 64 and allows a relatively high number of polygons and thus rounder shapes in the game. In addition, objects and figures are gradually faded out into transparency with increasing distance and no longer have to be displayed from a certain distance. The graphic style is similar to children's cartoons : Usually inanimate objects have toon- like eyes, move or speak to the protagonists; the choice of color is primarily composed of light tones; Defeated opponents fall over in a somersault or fall apart before they gradually dissolve.
The game is no voice output used. Instead, text boxes with the speaker's head are displayed alternately at the top and bottom of the screen . The head emits its own, assigned set of indefinable sounds or tones, depending on the person wearing it . This "murmur" has established itself as a characteristic of the series.
Banjo-Kazooie is on a 16- MB - module housed. This contains a memory module that allows you to save three independent game progressions. The game progress is selected after starting the software and selecting the output language (German, English, or French). Banjo-Kazooie supports the optional Rumble Pak accessory for force feedback effects.
music
The music composed by Grant Kirkhope for Banjo-Kazooie is very popular. For example, the pianist Martin Leung , who is very well known in the field of video game music, presents the complete track list, replayed on the piano, in his program on YouTube .
In 2015 the company iam8bit released a vinyl double LP with the official Banjo-Kazooie soundtrack.
In general, the instrumental music and the use of musical elements of various kinds is the very great stylistic device of Banjo-Kazooie and makes up the majority of the game dynamics. The themes of the compositions characterize the respective surroundings very well. The music is interactive : if the banjo approaches a level entrance, for example, the instruments used for the background music are replaced in a smooth transition by instruments that are also primarily used in the corresponding level or that correspond to its theme. Equivalently, defined areas in the individual levels also have a varying instrumental composition. Frequently occurring instruments are the banjo and the kazoo , which also give the eponymous duo their names, as well as xylophone , violin , flute and brass instruments . A multitude of characters , with which one can enter into dialogue in the course of the game, all differ from one another in terms of the noises they make when they “speak”, so that one might think that some of them are singing. In addition, there is the essential importance of collecting gold sheet music .
development
Banjo-Kazooie started as Project Dream (English for "Project Dream") for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System after the development team in question had completed Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest . The title was initially conceived as an adventure game in which a young adventurer unintentionally comes across pirates. After the introduction of the Nintendo 64 , the project was transferred to this system; Later, the developers replaced the original character with a bear that was supposed to carry collected objects in his backpack. The realization that the implementation of the initial game concept within the chosen technical framework would take several years, prompted the development team to abandon the initial project and create a more action-oriented game around the bear.
Within the first two months of development that was graphic engine of Project Dream changed to better accommodate to the new design. The rest of the game's development took another 15 months. The original ten-person development team grew to 15 over the course of the project. After it was decided as a possible action of the character that a pair of wings or a pair of legs could emerge from the backpack in order to enable the character to jump in the air a second time or to move faster on foot, the idea arose that Banjo's backpack had a Bird should accommodate. This bird was named after the instrument assigned to it, the kazoo, which was supposed to correspond to its provocative personality, and was given the ending -ie for trademark reasons . The idea of being able to transform the character arose from the need to shrink the banjo and thus emphasize the differences in size in the area, which resulted in the termite shape.
Due to time constraints, not all of the planned content could be transferred to the game; others were removed afterwards. Most of the level concepts affected in this way were integrated in the successor, Banjo-Tooie , and in the 3D platformer Donkey Kong 64 . Also, a section of the game could not be implemented at the end of the game in which the player would have taken control of Banjo's sister Tooty. A better known, not realized functionality is “ Stop 'n' Swop ” (German: “Halt und Tausch”), which should have allowed an unspecified data transfer between the game modules of Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie . At the end of the game, an automatically running scene can be viewed in which regularly inaccessible level areas can be seen, which should be unlocked with the help of the second game. According to the site N-Sider would Stop 'n' Swop pulling out of the games module included in the ongoing operation of the console, which expressly against warnings in the manual of the Nintendo 64 was contrary and have thus met with little support from Nintendo.
Banjo-Kazooie was first introduced to the press in the summer of 1997 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo .
criticism
Banjo-Kazooie was generally rated very positively. The game has often been compared to Super Mario 64 , with which it shares a relatively large number of level themes, the game character's options for action and concepts such as collecting different items to advance in the game, and is considered a logical consequence of this title. The game's graphics were particularly popular, as they knew how to avoid surface graphics with little variety without having to slow down what was happening on the screen . The large, spacious levels also met with applause.
“Banjo-Kazooie follows in the footsteps of Mario 64. It doesn't stray too far from the formula, but it makes the logical progressions you would expect Nintendo to make. […] Graphically, Banjo-Kazooie takes it to another level. The game maintains the look and feel of Mario 64, but instead of flat, shaded polygons, BK uses a lot of textures. [...] BK may be a Mario clone, but that isn't exactly a bad thing. In fact, it's a pretty good thing. "
“Banjo-Kazooie is following in the footsteps of Super Mario 64. It doesn't deviate too much from the formula, but it does the logical steps you'd expect from Nintendo. […] Graphically, Banjo-Kazooie moves on a new level. The game has the look and feel of Mario 64, but uses a lot of textures instead of simple, shaded polygons. […] BK may be a Mario clone, but this is not really an absurdity. It's actually a pretty good thing. "
"Banjo-Kazooie features the best graphics we've seen on the console, it one-ups Mario 64 in terms of gameplay, it sounds astounding and it may just be the most clever title we've ever played."
"Banjo-Kazooie displays the best graphics we've ever seen on the console, it beats Mario 64 in terms of game mechanics, it sounds amazingly good, and it could be the most sophisticated title we've ever played."
The review on the IGN .com website criticized the lack of a multiplayer mode and admitted that the game's visual style could be off-putting; the final rating resulted in 9.6 out of a maximum of 10 points (in words: “ Incredible ”, German: “incredible”) and an Editor's Choice Award (“ Editor's recommendation”).
GameSpot .com pointed out that the camera work would have to be readjusted in places and rated the game with 9.5 out of 10 points.
“Due to BK's many tight, enclosed areas, the camera sometimes fails to show the action from a playable perspective. Expect to miss some things that would normally be incredibly obvious, due to a bad angle. Also, you'll have to control the camera a bit more than you should have to, as it doesn't track perfectly. "
“Due to the presence of many narrow, closed areas, the camera sometimes fails to show the action from a playable angle. You will also have to adjust the camera a little more often than necessary because it does not follow perfectly. "
The magazine Total rated the game in analogy to the six-level school grading system with a 1 (“Very Good”) and awarded it an “Independent TOTAL! Genial Seal of Approval”.
"Rare has worked so carefully that Banjo and Kazooie are a little bit ahead of the lovable Mario in almost every area. [...] Even if Banjo-Kazooie lacks the many innovations that made Super Mario 64 a part of the world of video games was taken off its hinges and received new food for thought, overall it is the even more sophisticated game. [...] A multiplayer mode would have been interesting. "
As part of the Interactive Achievement Awards 1999 received Banjo-Kazooie the award for outstanding graphics and has been called the best consoles - Action Game appreciated.
In the summer of 2000, a year before the successor console to the Nintendo 64 was released, IGN.com published a list of the 25 best games for the Nintendo 64, in which Banjo-Kazooie took seventh place. In addition, the title took fifth place among the N64 games with the best background music.
Remaster
On December 3, 2008, a new edition of the game for the Xbox 360 was released on the Xbox Live marketplace, similar to the original game . For this, some graphics were newly created in higher resolution. It also offers the option of collecting the stop 'n' swop items.
literature
- The Making of… Banjo Kazooie . In: Retro Gamer , issue 36, March 29, 2007, p. 18 (English)
- Test N64 - Banjo-Kazooie . In: Total , edition 7/98, p. 46:
- IGN.com : Game Review June 30, 1998 (English) accessed December 4, 2007
Web links
- Banjo-Kazooie Wiki
- Game page nintendo.de (requires Adobe Flash for video playback )
- IGN.com portal for the game at IGN (English)
- Portal for the new edition of the game at IGN
- Banjo-Kazooie at MobyGames (English)
- Game review. GameSpot.com, July 1, 1998 (English). Retrieved December 4, 2007
Individual evidence
- ↑ N-Sider.com ( Memento from November 15, 2006 in the Internet Archive ): Overview of Banjo-Kazooie (English) accessed on September 30, 2018
- ↑ Overview. Metacritic.com, Metascores on N64 Rare Games. Accessed January 1, 2008
- ↑ GameSpot : Q&A with the head of Microsoft Game Studios , Shane Kim , on July 12, 2007 (English) accessed on December 4, 2007
- ↑ Scribes ( Memento from May 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ): “ Banjo is known for the mumbling so it seemed odd to change it to 'proper' speech just because we could. ”(German:“ Banjo is known for its murmuring, so it seemed wrong to replace it with the correct language just because we could ”) (Reply to a letter to the editor of August 30, 2007; accessed on September 30, 2018)
- ↑ Video Game Pianist : Youtube playlist for the Banjo-Kazooie soundtrack
- ↑ Discogs : Grant Kirkhope - Banjo-Kazooie
- ↑ Grant Kirkhope - Banjo-Kazooie. Sputnik Music, Review
- ↑ N-Sider.com ( Memento of December 26, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Attribution of people involved in the development (English) accessed on September 30, 2018
- ↑ N-Sider.com ( Memento from September 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Summary of the history of Banjo-Kazooie (English) accessed on September 30, 2018
- ↑ Rating averages from English-language reviews at Metacritic , GameRankings, accessed on December 3, 2007. Banjo-Kazooie. (No longer available online.) In: GameStats. Archived from the original on January 11, 2010 ; accessed on April 13, 2019 (English).
- ↑ Awards . ( Memento of May 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, list of the 1999 award winners (English), accessed on December 4, 2007
- ↑ The Top 25 N64 Games of All Time: # 6-10. ( Memento of September 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) IGN (English) accessed on September 30, 2018
- ↑ The Top 25 N64 Games of All Time: # 11-15- ( Memento from January 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) IGN; see Miscellaneous Top Fives (English) accessed September 30, 2018
