Banjo-Tooie (Nintendo 64, 2000)

This was one of Rareware's best old games and probably one of the best Nintendo64 games out there. Banjo-Kazooie was a fun little game that featured a bear named Banjo and a bird (breegull) named Kazooie. Banjo had to save his sister,Tootie,from an evil (and ugly!) witch named Gruntilda (better known as Grunty) who wanted to steal Tootie's better looks. Sure the plot sounds used but it played out real well. After the climactic (and fun) battle, Grunty was sealed under a rock for two years.

In this game she is unleashed by her sisters and begins to get her revenge on everyone and everything. She ends up killing one of Banjo's friends and now you must go stop her again but this time for good. You are no longer stuck in a big castle, you actually go out to explore the island. The old characters are back and with a couple of new ones too. You have all the moves from Banjo-Kazooie but now it is time to learn even more cool moves. You now have a friendly and unexpected gun that you can shoot at monsters from afar. Don't worry, its comical. A new teamwork aspect is now employed with the characters. For one, you can now use Mumbo as a character to perform cool spells to collect goodies. Another thing is that now Banjo and Kazooie can split up to do things they can't do together. But then they can reunite to do things they can't do separetly.

The story isin't too different but it keeps you motivated since Grunty is wreaking havoc on your friends. Graphic-wise this game is a little better than the first and since the controls are the same, you shouldn't have much trouble with them. A thing I really love about this game is the soundtrack. I love some of the boss battle music. It just gets you into the fight. The only downsides I have seen on this game are that the way they talk can become anoying if heard too much, there can be some slow-down in some areas but it is not really noticeable because it never happens in a bad spot, and if you don't pay close attention you could have trouble handling some of the new moves. I never had trouble but my little brother a little trouble but not too much. I highly recommend this game because it isin't too hard yet it isin't too easy. You won't have a lot of trouble beating it, but you will still have fun. This game is also a little comical with all of Kazooie's smart remarks and with the dry humor here and there.

In my personal opinion, this game could have been more popular than the first, but it didn't receive the hype Banjo-Kazooie got. Not to mention a lot of people thought it was just a bigger, different remake of Super Mario64. I do agree they are similar, but they are definetly different.

So overall, I truly recommend you try it out. If you can handle a nintendo64 and don't mind the kiddy stuff, you'll enjoy it.