Rareware / Rare / Playtonic

[Foggle]

So I'm playing the Xbox 360 version of Banjo-Tooie and it just feels... wrong to me. The frame rate is vastly improved and the colors are much sharper, but something about the other, relatively minor changes really bugs me. Like, the saving pop up every time you enter a new area, the skip button in the corner during cutscenes, the way the ice key works, making the interact button B instead of X (and having a prompt to talk to NPCs), the removed Nintendo stuff... I dunno. None of it is especially egregious, but it really hurts the game for me for some reason. And I'm still sour over how they changed the Banjo-Tooie advertising text at the end of B-K into Nuts & Bolts promotion.

[gunswordfist]

They actually removed Nintendo stuff? I remember them having a freaking N64 at the start menu.

[Foggle]

They actually removed Nintendo stuff? I remember them having a freaking N64 at the start menu.

That's actually still there! There are a few other things missing, though. Like I said, it's not really a big deal, it's just that this was my favorite game when I was 8, so any dumb changes at all make me a bit sad.

[gunswordfist]

Understood.

[talonmalon333]

The style of this game, and the characters we've seen, fits so well right alongside Donkey Kong, Banjo, and the rest of the Rare crew.

[gunswordfist]

talon stays up late to state the obvious.

[Foggle]

The 360 versions are actually really good, though. I have some problems with them (WHY CAN I ONLY COLLECT THE STOP N SWOP STUFF ONCE), but the saving music notes in Kazooie and the huge frame rate boost in Tooie make them the definitive versions, for me.

[gunswordfist]

I have no idea what this Stop N Swop is but 

[Spark Of Spirit]

The 360 version of Banjo Kazooie is the one that really got me into the game. Just a well put together port.

[Foggle]

I have no idea what this Stop N Swop is but 

They're items you collect in B-K that transfer over into B-T, and then in B-T that transfer over into N&B. Unfortunately, despite the fact that some of them are acquired via fun platforming challenges, you can only collect them once... ever. Even if you delete your save file. It's dumb.

The 360 version of Banjo Kazooie is the one that really got me into the game. Just a well put together port.

The 360 port is magical. It transforms Rusty Bucket Bay and Click Clock Wood from tedious, survival horror-esque slogs into extremely fun platforming worlds.

Some of the changes in Tooie are kind of questionable, though. C'mon, at least give us a way to turn off the button prompts! That shit don't belong in no N64 game.

[gunswordfist]

I assumed Stop N Swop was some bad shit from the N64 days based off of that Yooka-Laylee stretch goal joke you made.

[Foggle]

It's a planned feature that was originally cut and then re-enabled in the 360 ports. Basically, you would collect items in Banjo-Kazooie, then remove the cartridge and insert Banjo-Tooie to carry over your save file. This was accomplished using an exploit in the way the hardware loaded games, but when Nintendo released a newer version of the console before B-T's release, their plan was rendered impossible.

No one knows what the SNS stuff was originally supposed to do, except for the ice key, which lets you turn Kazooie into a dragon. When Stop N Swop was removed, they put the ice key in a hidden alcove near the beginning of the game so that it would still be unlockable. The new version of SNS is extremely disappointing and only gets you stuff like gamer pics and car parts for Nuts & Bolts (oh boy!). I enjoyed collecting the ice key on each playthrough of Tooie (for some reason), so I was a little let down when I discovered that nothing particularly worthwhile was left in its place, and I can now freely acquire dragon Kazooie every time.

[Nel_Annette]

I played the game a lot as a kid, but last summer was the first time I actually beat Banjo-Kazooie. My friend and I would take turns in the levels. I'm still shocked that I'm the one who beat Grunty. And then I downloaded Tooie and got about halfway through. As I said, though, if this is of the same quality or platforming and collecting, I'm in. I love that their name even has the same font as Banjo-Kazooie, as if it was still in the same world, but with two completely different characters.

Some of those Kickstarter goals are tempting, as I'm a sucker for soundtrack CDs, but I'm just not willing to put the money down. Waiting until the game itself is out is good enough for me. I have plenty of backlog to work through until then.

[Foggle]

[talonmalon333]

Wait, did they actually make fun of DK64?