Banjo-Kazooie | Gameplay, Preview | Nintendo 64 (N64)
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Banjo-Kazooie Gameplay Preview

Banjo-Kazooie is a platform video game developed and published by Rare for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was first released on June 29, 1998 in North America and on July 17, 1998 in Europe, and later re-released as an Xbox Live Arcade game for the Xbox 360 on December 3, 2008. Banjo-Kazooie is the first installment in the Banjo Kazooie series, and chronicles the titular characters' encounter with series antagonist Gruntilda. The game's story focuses on Banjo and Kazooie's efforts to stop Gruntilda's plans to switch her beauty with Banjo's sister Tooty. The game features nine open levels where the player must complete a number of challenges like solving puzzles, jumping over obstacles, gathering objects, and defeating opponents.

Banjo-Kazooie was under development for more than two and a half years and was originally intended to be an adventure game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was a critical and commercial success, selling nearly two million copies in the United States and receiving aggregated scores of 92% and 93% from Metacritic and GameRankings respectively. The game was praised for its detailed graphics, immersive sound, and intricate level design. In 1999, it received two awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences: "Console Action Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Art/Graphics". The critical and commercial success of Banjo-Kazooie led to the release of a sequel, Banjo-Tooie, which was also developed by Rare for the Nintendo 64.

Banjo-Kazooie is a single-player platform game in which the player controls the protagonists Banjo and Kazooie. The game is split into nine open levels where the player must gather musical notes and jigsaw pieces, or "Jiggies", in order to progress. Players transit from one level to another through Gruntilda's lair, which acts as the game's central overworld. Jiggies allow the player to complete jigsaw puzzles which open doors to new levels, while musical notes grant players access to new inner sections of the overworld. Like Super Mario 64, the gameplay is designed in a way that is very nonlinear, since players are not forced to collect all the Jiggies and all the musical notes of one particular level to proceed through the next one. It is also possible to skip certain levels as long as the player has enough of these items to reach a farther one.

Each level is composed of a number of challenges that include solving puzzles, jumping over obstacles, gathering objects, and defeating opponents. The game also features some elements of action-adventure games. Players often have to speak with NPCs and then figure out a way to help them. It is also possible to increase Banjo and Kazooie's energy bar by collecting extra honeycombs that are hidden throughout the levels. Banjo and Kazooie can perform a wide range of abilities, such as jumping, climbing, swimming, flying, and rolling into enemies. Most of these moves are learned by finding a friendly mole inside the worlds. Some moves require specific items so that they can be executed; for instance, red feathers are used for Banjo and Kazooie to fly, while gold feathers shield them from all damages. Some items also allow the character to gain temporary abilities in a particular moment; for instance, the turbo trainers provide a speed burst to reach a certain destination on time.

Banjo and Kazooie are occasionally aided by their friend Mumbo Jumbo, a shaman who can use magical powers to transform them into other creatures, such as a termite, a pumpkin, a bee, a walrus, or a crocodile. These transformations have their own special features and allow the player to access areas that were previously inaccessible; for instance, the walrus can resist the effects of icy-cold water. Mumbo Tokens that are scattered throughout the game allow the transformation process. The game also includes cheats that the player can unlock by collecting spellbooks from Gruntilda's book Cheato.