Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts isn't quite a classic, and N64 patrons may be irked by what they consider Rare's wilful misuse of its back catalogue. For everybody else, it's an unusually well-developed attempt to jump-start a geriatric IP which stumbles only slightly in the process, that knowing charm and bottomless tool box offset by technical hiccups and repetitive design. Given a fair bit of imaginative effort on the player's part, it's a feast. Whatever Rare does next with the bear and the bird, Kikizo hopes it won't renege on its little genre experiment.
Jared writes: "With the Battletoads having made a triumphant return, let's look at the rest of Rare's back catalog for which series deserves a return to form next."
Donkey Kong Country is probably my favorite game of all time but I've not connected with much else Rareware has made since other than maybe Killer Instinct. Sea of Thieves has got to be close to my worst $60 purchase I've ever made.
Wonder why some series just seem to feel lackluster as time goes on? Well, it's because some later installments really mess up the formula. Check out ten times sequels really screwed everything up.
Ugh Musashi: Samurai Legend is so meh. Don't understand how you can go from Brave Fencer Musashi to that. I really want a Brave Fencer Musashi HD Remake or a true sequel. It's one of the best games I've ever played.
Grant Kirkhope, the composer of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, explains what he thinks the issue was with the often-criticized Xbox 360 title.
I actually liked it for what it was. But then again I'm not a Banjo fan. I actually hated a lot of the N64 style games that all followed the same Mario 64 style. Except for Conker.
I really enjoyed this game, the building was fun, I thought it was a well made platformer.
I kind of agree. The game had many new ideas that would have worked better in a new IP as people wouldn't be so upset that Nuts & Bolts played so differently from the older titles.
I seriously hate how angular the redesigns are for so many of the characters in the game
The X06 trailer built people’s hopes only for the final release to ruin those dreams
Damn right it should have
Can we just get Banjo Threeie and write this game off as Kazooies bad dream or something. An in game joke.
This game looks childish and has gone under the radar but it actually looks pretty decent. Give bubbles if you concur.