Tag Archives: Banjo-Kazooie

A Platformer Rare-vival!

(Image and title pun from Yooka-Laylee Kickstarter page)

It’s actually happening! I can hardly believe it, but Yooka-Laylee (formerly ‘Mingy-Jongo’) is actually alive and very, very well! I found out about this on May 1st and I’m still somewhat stunned, we may yet get the chance to enjoy a spiritual successor to the brilliant game that is Banjo-Kazooie, especially now that it’s raised more than 7 times its original goal on Kickstarter! It’s actually happening, something that is absolutely amazing considering that it almost didn’t. Continue reading A Platformer Rare-vival!

Gaming Secrets and Hoaxes: Can You Tell the Difference?

Screenshot by Flickr User: brondabailey
Screenshot by Flickr User: brondabailey

This month’s community challenge is a most fitting one for the month that is home to April Fools, revolving around the many secrets found in video games, from the ridiculous to the outright fake. I have encountered a good number of these secrets and have managed to unlock many of them, to feelings of great glee all around, while on the other end of the spectrum, I have experienced frustration and befuddlement as I attempted to unlock a secret I later found was all false. I’m sure we’ve all had this happen to us, so I decided to create a little quiz to see how good you are at distinguishing between hoaxes and the real thing. Whether or not you’ve heard of the game or the secret involved, try and guess which ones sound legitimate and which are merely pranks designed to trick the gullible gamer (myself included). Continue reading Gaming Secrets and Hoaxes: Can You Tell the Difference?

Seven Favorite Female Game Characters (Who Aren’t Samus)

In case you’ve failed to look at a calendar during the past two weeks, it’s March, and that means it’s Women’s History Month. Though I’d like to think that we should simply celebrate humanity year-round, this provides some excuse to examine more closely the many contributions women have made to our collective history…of video games! Though depictions of women in some games are not without issue, great female characters have made (and continue to make) their marks in games past and present. Topping my list of favorite female characters is Samus Aran, the now-ubiquitous bounty hunter from the Metroid series. But I’ve not much more praise to foist upon her than has already been foisted. So here’s my list of seven notable females (from games I’ve played) that have held their own among the immense cast of video games characters.

Continue reading Seven Favorite Female Game Characters (Who Aren’t Samus)

#Listmas 2014: 7 Very Snowy Levels

Image by Flickr user: JBLivin (cc)

Merry Listmas everyone! The Christmas season may be over now, but Listmas will still be with us for three more wondrously list-filled days! As it is the height of winter and the end of the year, I couldn’t help but think about all the snow levels I’ve played over the years. Ice puzzles, blizzards, killer snowmen…these levels have it all, and the following are some of my favorites!
Continue reading #Listmas 2014: 7 Very Snowy Levels

Banjo-Kazooie, When a Great Series Has Fallen

Screenshot from Flickr User: Tyler Burgess
Screenshot from Flickr User: Tyler Burgess

Sometimes, the past makes me sad. I look back at years that have gone by, and I notice that there were once so many great games back then, of series that are no longer around or have since gone bad. Like cheese. Old cheese. One such series that greatly saddens me is “Banjo-Kazooie”, which held a place of utmost glory during the Nintendo 64 era and has since become…old cheese. Fuzzy, old cheese.

Continue reading Banjo-Kazooie, When a Great Series Has Fallen

The Horrors of Banjo-Kazooie

Image by Flickr User: Justin Taylor

Banjo-Kazooie is a bright and sunny game, we all know that, we all accept that. However, upon closer inspection I’ve realized the game could (maybe should) have been terrifying to those of us who played it as young children. It’s all there, and out of the game’s sunny context, all so very creepy! Continue reading The Horrors of Banjo-Kazooie

UWG Top 10: #7 – Banjo-Kazooie

Image by Flickr user wheresthebrain
Image by Flickr user wheresthebrain

When I write about or speak of my gaming history, Banjo-Kazooie is a game that comes up… a lot. I’ve found joy in many games, but none of them quite compare to the pure bliss I experienced with in the delightfully colorful world of Banjo the bear and Kazooie the bird. It’s a game that helped me through a real-life rough patch. It’s a game that needled itself so deeply into my mind that I can conjure up the sights and sounds of the game without much thought. It’s a game that continues to hold its own even among 3D adventure platformers of today. It is, pure and simple, Banjo-Kazooie.

Continue reading UWG Top 10: #7 – Banjo-Kazooie