I have reviewed some disturbing material in the past. I mean, October just finished 3 weeks ago, and in that I reviewed games where you kill people in cold blood, shoot down reanimated corpses and deal with the dark arts. Even in the past, I reviewed games like Mortal Kombat, which partially created the ESRB rating system, Bully, which takes light of a serious childhood problem, and Gun, which caused some stir over the depictions of the Apache. But no game have I ever played been sicker, more perverted, more twisted than today’s topic. It’s a game sometimes just shocking and I’m surprised it doesn’t come up more often as a case to ban video games all together (though, I figure it’s just to avoid bringing up this disgusting thing). What’s worse is this somehow got an E rating in 1998 when first released on the Nintendo 64 and has been rereleased on the X-Box Live Arcade to spread its depravity. Cover your ears cause I’m talking about Banjo-Kazooie.
The game wastes no time with its corruption as it instantly promotes witch craft and unhealthy body images. One of the first things we see is Gruntilda (also known as Grunty), the witch antagonist of the game, asking her cauldron if she is the most beautiful person around. Just like TV and advertising, the cauldron tells her no, ruining her previously high self-esteem and compares her to someone much younger of a different species (meaning they don’t have similar genes, so she can’t expect to live up to the expectations). Frustrated by all of this, Gruntilda resorts to body modification with the use of a machine. This particular invention relies on child abduction and exploitation. What I’m referring to is the fact that Grunty needs to kidnap the girl who was deemed prettier than her, a bear cub named Tootie, and put her in the machine to steal her “beauty”. Kazooie (one of the titular and playable characters) hears the struggle and wakes up Tootie’s brother Banjo (the other titular and playable character). This shows a complete lack of respect for the justice system, as there does seem to be some kind of society in the game. Banjo and Kazooie then sets off on the rescue mission. This is where the game begins.
As I just mentioned, the game is played as both Banjo and Kazooie. The way this works is that Banjo does most of the moving while Kazooie is in a backpack until she is needed. Here, we face issues of anti-feminism and animal abuse. First, are supposed to believe that a bird (the species at the subject of the phrase “free as a bird”) chose to confine herself into a small packback? Next, the idea that Kazooie is only allowed to come out to “assist” Banjo or when he calls on her is quite demeaning to women. I also have to point out that Kazooie’s skills far surpass Banjo’s, as she is able to shoot eggs, fly, become invincible, jump high, walk through hazardous obstacles and run much faster (though most of these skills are only learned as you play the game), but yet Banjo is the one getting top billing in the title.
To end on a common note in video games, you will be collecting stuff here. However, unlike others, this one far passes an acceptable limit, as you collect music notes, little bird creatures (again with the abuse), missing skulls, golden puzzle pieces, eggs, feathers and so much more. It crosses the border from “harmless collecting” to “outright problem” in a hoarding, kleptomaniac, addicting and obsessive manner. A line must be drawn somewhere, and I think this game far passes it.
Ok, I’m done. Hopefully, enough of you saw through that satirist joke that I’ve always just wanted to do. Truth is Banjo-Kazooie is a very innocent game, with an adventure setting, a fairy tale type plot and enough modernization to keep it relevant (think like Shrek, but not as many pop-culture jokes). That being said, there are a lot of innuendo and mature jokes that some of the kids won’t get, which makes playing through this game as fun as an adult (sort of like catching the naughty moments in Animaniacs). The game play is 3D platforming with a strong concentration on collecting (that alone provides hours of fun) and makes use of a lot of unique skills. Every music track is also highly memorable, and there’s nothing at all wrong with the graphics. My only complaint is that some of the levels feel lacking, as if it never has a real ending; this is probably due to the non-linear game style and lack of real bosses. Also, the sequel to this greatly outshines it, showing what this game could have really accomplished. But, don’t let this deter you from playing one of the must experience games on the Nintendo 64; Rare really got things right here. I give Banjo-Kazooie for the Nintendo 64 9 levels out of 10.
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