Banjo-Kazooie
After bidding our childhoods farewell, our patience for platformer elements — limited lives, random collectibles, and endless hint-free puzzles — tends to fade. So when the Arcade digs up an old gem like Banjo-Kazooie, it’s either time to rekindle that pre-teen addiction to the genre of yore or admit that even nostalgia can’t cure a short attention span.

The game throws you into an open world where you must scrounge up 10 “jiggies” — jigsaw pieces that unlock more worlds. Before you get back into the old-school groove, you may find these searches a tad frustrating, especially when a spastic camera tends to launch your bear-bird duo off cliffs. But once certain puzzle strategies (e.g., shooting three eggs instead of one) become second nature, the jiggie hunt turns into the exciting adventure it’s meant to be (and that we remember it being). Varied worlds, unique challenges, and kooky characters make this old-timer a worthwhile blast from the past.
On Xbox Live Arcade
+ Hours of old-school adventuring for a low price.
+ Open-world challenges are fun once you get the hang of ’em.
- Despite manual controls, the camera flips and turns at inopportune moments.
? A bear and a bird? Really?


8.0
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Spybreak
December 08, 2008 at 6:44pm
Should have pre-ordered the Nuts and Bolts game, got this for free. Not an 8.0 when it's free lol. Great game and the camera locking to where you point to works fine for me.
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soulift
December 05, 2008 at 6:59pm
work hard play harder a bear an a bird....u sound like the witch. the camera issues are the same as the original game nothing has changed where thats concerned. the controls are tight an the improved graphics are nice. your rateing is a little off though. u gave keflings a 9 an this a 8?!?! pls in keflings you have no real challange. no matter what u do u cant loose in that game an the music grinds on your nerves after a while. in banjoe the game is a continus challange an the musical score is brillent. ooooh i get it. i think gruntilda revewed this game...lol but for real, u folks at oxm truly rock i have every mag issue since #2 when the 1st halo demo came out.
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dustinfineout
December 05, 2008 at 6:56am
How can you rate this lower than Street Fighter? That is simply shameful. Did you really even play the game?
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Son_of_Azarel
December 04, 2008 at 7:58am
am I the only one that thinks 1200 msp is too much for this game?
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Steakslave
December 03, 2008 at 11:16pm
I think an 8 is fair for this game. It's easily on par with Super Mario 64; a true classic. It has aged very well. But considering the price point, and the camera issues (not to mention an unpatched glitch that prevents you from 100% completion if you do Bottles puzzles before you collect all the notes) this is a spot on review.
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gowisbetterthanhalo
December 03, 2008 at 11:14pm
I think this review is a little too short lol. Some content and little response.
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PHeadVOS
December 03, 2008 at 8:44pm
And after all the games you've played, you dare put under the "?" section "A Bear and Bird? Really?". Come on. - - There have been worse conjunctions set up in games.
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PHeadVOS
December 03, 2008 at 8:44pm
Wow OXM...a freaking 8.0? A jewel like this deserves more and I've really lost a lot of respect for you guys as of late when it comes to reviewing games. Sheesh. Complaining about a camera like that in B&K? No wonder you guys give all the Sonic games bad lip.















