@Bundersvessel totally get what you mean. I often feel that way returning to some NES, genesis, and snes games. Games I adored as a kid don't feel quite right when playing in today's day and age.
Most n64 games still hold up imo. Every n64 that I own and I'll play every few years, never feel dated to me. I don't even know if it's that BK feels dated though. It feels like most games of that time, but some gameplay mechanics and decisions have me scratching my head. Only a handful of hours left thankfully. I will still try Tooie at some point though. I own rare replay afterall.
Alrighty, final update for the month for Banjo. I've officially shelved it and I'll never look back. I don't mean this in a disrespectful way, but it might be the most overrated game I've ever played. And I've been playing games for nearly 35 years!
Nothing about the game is something I would consider "fun." Controls are sloppy, combat is frustrating, platforming feels impossible at times, and it's way too convulated and cryptic for my liking.
However, some good- I do like the writing, and I love the characters. The source material is there, and there's some good ideas with this duo, but it fell completely flat for me, and early on unfortunately.
The final straw that broke the camels back was gruntys furnace fun. I'm guessing it's mandatory, and there's no way around it( based on what I've read), and I tried for nearly 2 hours, and close to 15 lives. I could not get near the finish line. The questions were out of left field, cheap, and those insta death squares were obnoxious. Half the questions were something I'd never know and had no right answer, but would get them wrong.
The fact that the game throws this at you this late in the ball game, and the shear length of this mini game, is absurd. I can't say it ruined the game for me, as I was already going to give it a 5/10, maybe 6/10 if the ending was decent, but it solidified my opinion on the game, that's for sure.
I just didn't like it, and I'm sorry for sounding so negative lol. I've been on PX and part of the game club since January of 23. I've never had a negative post this bad, so my apologies. Here's to may, folks. I'll make a vote here in the coming days. Hope you guys and gals enjoy the two games 💚
@NintendoByNature absolutely fair, all opinions are welcome here either positive or negative.
P.s: that puzzle game in the last level is something I believe even the hardcore lovers of the game would not defend (also I believe all answers are given to you by talking to the sister, I was taking photos of it as I went along)
@NintendoByNature You made it further than I did! I played Banjo a while back when I still subbed to GP, but bounced off it pretty quickly. I think a big part of it for me was that I don't have any nostalgia for the N64 having never owned one (I don't like Mario 64 either) - I went from PS1 to Dreamcast. To be fair, I don't think many of those early 3D games have aged particularly well either on PS or N64, and even stuff I'd previously played and enjoyed back in the day, does nothing for me going back to it now.
@NintendoByNature Definitely a fair appraisal mate, I can only echo pretty much everything you said. Nostalgia hasn’t helped with this one whereas I actually enjoyed returning to SM64. Can’t win them all.
@NintendoByNature I played Banjo for the first time on XBO via rare replay and while I enjoyed it a lot more than you a lot of it had aged then, that I imagine has only gotten worse in the decade since. There are no wrong answers.
Besides you lasted longer than I did on Crash Bandicoot a game I will never understand where the love comes from. We all like different things.
Nice to see a like-minded perspective on this absolutely dreadful game. I ripped it apart on Push Square a couple of years ago.
To summarize: the moveset is bloated; movement is clunky; the game is full of absolutely infuriating level design choices; the way it tracks its collectibles in the N64 version is deeply unfair, especially since there are some you can't collect on your first go through a level; the trivia level is pure tedium at absolute best; the final boss is possibly the worst I've ever encountered in a video game; and the sound design makes me want to rip my hair out.
Like, seriously, it's like they wanted to deafen the player. What an absolute joy it is to play as Kazooie without the sound muted...
@Ralizah haha I love that someone took the time to put that video ( or audio) out there for consumption. Everytime it would get to "who makes this sound?" I would just fling my head back in frustration. Most of the sounds were similar, how the hell should I know?! Lol. Glad I didn't get to the final boss then, from the sound of it.
The talking isn't much better. It's like their goal was to sample the most annoying sounds possible so they could blast them through your speakers ceaselessly.
The music isn't even all that good! How this game has such a sterling reputation is beyond me.
Yeah, the final boss feels almost broken. Imagine an enemy spamming you with heat-seeking fireballs constantly while you're trying to stop and shoot eggs. Worse, imagine having an aerial dogfight with a witch where you need to exactly time Kazooie's stupid dive bomb beak attack thing to hit them over and over WHILE they're still peppering you with fireballs!
@Ralizah it's almost like they used dog toys and whoopee cushions to come up with the sound effects! Absolutely insane. And they all sound so similar, which makes the mini game that much harder.
Yea that sounds frustrating, and after all the crud of getting thru the game itself, I would've pulled my hair out on the boss. Someone please tell me again how mario 64 isn't the greatest 3d platformer on the system lol.
Have you tried tooie yet or are you just plain terrified to open that can of worms?
@NintendoByNature I did a 100% run of Mario 64 when that came to the Switch via the All-Stars 3D collection. It's a game I've never had a lot of love for. I'm sure playing it for the first time more than a decade after its initial release on the Wii didn't help matters. That said, I've come to grudgingly respect it. I still don't think it's very fun compared to any of his more recent adventures (and, tbh, the flying in BK is one of the few things that game does wildly better than Mario 64), but picking apart the game that literally standardized 3D gaming as a thing back in the mid-90s when everyone else was timidly dipping their toes into those same waters seems uncharitable.
I maintain the Spyro trilogy are the best 3D platformers of that era, but every subsequent 3D platformer from that period couldn't really escape Mario's colossal shadow in terms of game design and overall influence. Kinda funny how the N64 bombed Nintendo's position in the home console market while it simultaneously hosted probably the two most important 3D games ever made.
I'll try Tooie if it comes to NSO. I'm sort of like a kid with a bag of gummy worms of assorted flavors. Even though most of them are delicious, I'm still going to indulge my morbid curiosity and try the booger flavored one as well.
I didn't much care for the one on the 360, either, where you're building cars for some reason.
@Ralizah SM64 literally blew my 10yr old mind when It came out. I remember knowing one kid in the neighborhood who had it, and we all flocked to his house to play. It was either that or kiosks at stores. It was a special time when you were there witnessing it for the first time. I get coming into it at a later date and not being all that impressed.
I still need to get to Spyro. That's a series I've never played unfortunately. Hopefully with Xbox acquisition, I'll be able to on GP. I'll probably give tooie a shot at some point, just to see if it's samey or different enough to keep me engaged. Time will tell.
Banjo-Kazooie has been a play once a year game for me ever since it came out. Last great experience playing it was when it re-released on XBLA and I spent doing 100% with my brother and sister. That said, I haven't been able to convince my own son yet to play through it all!
Solar Ash, yikes... loved Hyper Light Drifter and was really excited for this to come to Gamepass. Played through half the game when it came out and hated almost every minute of it. The voice acting, the lame story and world-building, the completely bland combat, the goofy camera stuff during boss fights. Terrible. Of course these are all just my opinions, but I was shocked at how much I disliked it compared to my love for HLD. I've got mixed hopes for Hyper Light Breaker.
Hello everyone, in this day that we celebrate the 50 years of the end of the dictatorship here in Portugal, I humble ask you to vote for next month club's game
The current proposed list is as follows but as always feel free to suggest other games and vote as many as you like:
American McGee's Alice -
Conker's Bad Fur Day - 1 (Pst)
Contrast -
Evil West - 1 (Dgy)
Forza horizon 5 -
Gears of War 2 -
Genesis Noir -
Ghost wire: Tokyo -
Halo 2 -
Inkulinati -
Inside -
Jusant -
Lies of Pi -
Planet of Lana -
Remnant 2 -
Rise of Tomb Raider - 2 (Bdv, Blt)
Steamworld build -
The Evil Within 2 -
Unravel -
We Happy Few - 1 (Bdv)
Wo Long: Fallen Destiny -
@Balta666 Muito Bom! A momentous occasion indeed. I have family in Portugal and someday hope to move there myself, beautiful country and people. Where are you based?
On the GC front, I’m not sure if I suggested Rise of the Tomb Raider already, but I’ll vote that and We Happy Few (I’d like to give the latter another shot after not being overly taken by it)
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Topic: Pure Xbox Game Club Double Bill - Banjo-Kazooie / Solar Ash (Apr)
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