Banjo Tooie remake coming next week on Xbox Live Arcade

[Princess-Isabela]

so it's finally that time, on 29th of april this year Banjo Tooie remastered edition is coming, for 1200 microsoft points you'll get one of the best(if not the best) platformers of all time, with hd graphics, butter smooth framerate, surround sound, legendary stop 'n' swop function once again utilized, between BK and BT and local multiplayer modes.
my most anticipated title of the year at this point.
Banjo Kazooie remake was fantastic and this will be even better.
for the uninitiated, if you haven't played this humongous platformer, be prepared to spend 50+ hours on your first run trying to collect everything.
you guys excited as I am?

[otoko]

I will probably get it when I actually have money.. But I think I will stick with the N64 version. It's a great platformer no matter what system they port it to, right?

[Princess-Isabela]

I will probably get it when I actually have money.. But I think I will stick with the N64 version. It's a great platformer no matter what system they port it to, right?

you're kind of right.
the thing with Banjo Tooie on N64 was that the game was way too ahead in terms of technical prowess and ninny couldn't keep up, framerate was un'bear'able, animation stuttered and everything felt sluggish especially in an open, huge environments (game was full of them) - I beat the game few times(I even have two versions of it already) but I will gladly dive in again, it's one of those rare gems you were wishing it would get a makeover and it did.
6 days away!

[otoko]

framerate was choppy,felt sluggish especially in an open

Fixed and good point. I remember playing the original and didn't think much of it. Years later I went back to it and I remember thinking "was the frame rate always this poor?".

[JSoup]

I've read that the original intent of Stop 'n' Swap was restored for both remakes. What exactly does that mean for Banjo Kazooie?

[Dastardly Dylan]

Hell, It better have online multiplayer!

EDIT:
MR: On the subject of multiplayer again, has there been consideration to have all the multiplayer modes playable through Live? That would really give some more replay value to an already great game.

Burns: As mentioned above, it was considered in detail but to do it to the high standard required would have needed a sizeable investment, far exceeding the remit of the original project. Simply making the current couch-play games Live wouldn’t be very good or a lot of fun.

fuck......

[Nesmaster]

50+ hours for a first timer, eh? That makes me happy to hear as I never did play Tooie. Like you this is one of my most wanted games this year.

...It's strange, being a huge fan of BK and never getting around to BT... oh well, now when I do finally play it, it'll look and run better! :D

[c0ldb33r]

the thing with Banjo Tooie on N64 was that the game was way too ahead in terms of technical prowess and ninny couldn't keep up, framerate was un'bear'able, animation stuttered and everything felt sluggish...
GRROOOOOAAAANNNNNNNNNN

oh man that was terrible!

[roushimsx]

Hopefully this spurs a price drop on the first game. Either way, I'm pretty sure I'll just buy both at full price only for them to get a drop a week later. That's the way it always happens.

[Princess-Isabela]

Hopefully this spurs a price drop on the first game. Either way, I'm pretty sure I'll just buy both at full price only for them to get a drop a week later. That's the way it always happens.

I wouldn't count on that, banjo kazooie has been out for 6 months and didn't receive a price cut.
I'm surprised at people complaining about prices of such amazing games filled with magic.
BK and BT are worth way more and compared to anything else(95%) they're beyond competition by a light years.
longevity, looks, soundtrack, humour, gameplay - as good as it gets and for a mere $15 a piece,
you cannot argue with that.
this is not your death tank or something similar where $15 price point is out of the question(I liked the game but I could see people complaining about that), but getting such beloved classics at these prices?
I'm actually surprised they are so cheap.
hopefully many of you guys will buy them too and Rareware and 4J studios will start porting/enhancing more classics from their vault (Perfect Dark is presumably already coming), next?
Killer Instinct Arcade anyone?

[roushimsx]

I wouldn't count on that, banjo kazooie is been out for 6 months and didn't receive a price cut.
I'm surprised at people complaining about prices of such amazing games filled with magic.
BK and BT are worth way more and compared to anything else(95%) they're beyond competition by a light years.
longevity, looks, soundtrack, humour, gameplay - as good as it gets and for a mere $15 a piece,
you cannot argue with that.
this is not your death tank or something similar where $15 price point is out of the question(I liked the game but I could see people complaining about that), but getting such beloved classics at these prices?

The difference between these and Death Tank is that I already own these on N64 whereas Death Tank was a (mostly) new game, not to mention being the game of choice for our gaming parties now. Get a couple of buddies playing that game and watch friendships shatter. Great fun.

It didn't surprise me that Banjo Kazooie didn't receive a price drop yet, but it would surprise me if they didn't do a temporary drop on its price to spur sales once the sequel hits.

[Princess-Isabela]

The difference between these and Death Tank is that I already own these on N64 whereas Death Tank was a (mostly) new game, not to mention being the game of choice for our gaming parties now. Get a couple of buddies playing that game and watch friendships shatter. Great fun.

It didn't surprise me that Banjo Kazooie didn't receive a price drop yet, but it would surprise me if they didn't do a temporary drop on its price to spur sales once the sequel hits.

you know what?
I can make the same argument as you, I played scorched tanks on Amiga CD-32 with couple of buddies back in the day and it was a great fun!
death tank is essentially the same, so one could argue that death tank is a "new game". (for the sake of argument hehe).
owning game that finally runs beautifully(BT) today is a real treat. (I think you might have forgot how Banjo Tooie chugged on N64).

[Princess-Isabela]

only three days away!

[BHvrd]

Honestly when Rare remade Conkers Bad Fur Day it was terrible, the original had much better atmosphere and the remake felt completely different and lacked the charm the original had. N64 version is WAY superior on that one.

Here's hoping that it lives up to what it's supposed to be cause god knows most recent Rare outings....have not. Good luck.

[roushimsx]

you know what?
I can make the same argument as you, I played scorched tanks on Amiga CD-32 with couple of buddies back in the day and it was a great fun!
death tank is essentially the same, so one could argue that death tank is a "new game". (for the sake of argument hehe).
owning game that finally runs beautifully(BT) today is a real treat. (I think you might have forgot how Banjo Tooie chugged on N64).
I'm not forgetting how shitty Rare's games ran on the N64, but you're forgetting that Death Tank is a fair bit different from Scorched Earth / Gorilla.bas / Worms / whatever. Saying that it's the same is like saying, "why buy the Banjo games? I've already played Mario 64 to death!"

[Princess-Isabela]

I'm not forgetting how shitty Rare's games ran on the N64, but you're forgetting that Death Tank is a fair bit different from Scorched Earth / Gorilla.bas / Worms / whatever. Saying that it's the same is like saying, "why buy the Banjo games? I've already played Mario 64 to death!"

first of all some Rareware games on N64 were running at decent speed(Banjo Kazooie, Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong 64, Conker's Bad Fur Day), some of them were quite bad at it (Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Banjo Tooie).
notice I didn't say death thank is not a new game, I said you can consider it I guess "new game", get it? ^_~
Banjo Tooie at $15 with all the upgrades is a complete steal.
but if you liked it and not loved it(in the past) I guess you won't feel obligated to buy it again.
I'm literally counting hours to seeing B-T in HD ^^
it's the best thing that hit XBLA in a long time(at least since Banjo-Kazooie hehe).

[joshnickerson]

I didn't enjoy Banjo-Tooie nearly as much as the original; the expansive environments were perhaps a bit TOO expansive... I remember wandering around the dinosaur level for several hours, completely lost and having no idea what my original objective was. And the framerate was pretty terrible as well... I wonder why they couldn't use the Expansion Pak to help alleviate that.

Still... it was better than Donkey Kong 64...

But, don't let me s**t on your parade here. It was a solid game, and any improvements are certainly welcome.

[Princess-Isabela]

I didn't enjoy Banjo-Tooie nearly as much as the original; the expansive environments were perhaps a bit TOO expansive... I remember wandering around the dinosaur level for several hours, completely lost and having no idea what my original objective was. And the framerate was pretty terrible as well... I wonder why they couldn't use the Expansion Pak to help alleviate that.

Still... it was better than Donkey Kong 64...

But, don't let me s**t on your parade here. It was a solid game, and any improvements are certainly welcome.

hehe, I loved original Banjo Kazooie and finished it maybe 15 times.
but I got to the point where I could blaze through it in about 5 hours(completing everything), there was no sense of wonder anymore naturally.
I finished Banjo Tooie 3 times(last time 5 years ago) and I was blown away of how good this game was, it was so huge that you were wondering like you said for hours finishing single objective, I think absolutely gigantic levels added that sense of wonder and incredible longevity.
B-T was so much better than DK64, although I really liked DK64 I thought it was lacking in design compared to Banjo series and got bit boring in the end(something I never felt roaming around in BT).
to people who have never played it, well check out the demo I'm sure you'll love it.
and yes I was amazed that Banjo Tooie came out so late in N64 span life(almost in 2001) and didn't use expansion pack at all(Conker didn't use it as well but at least framerate in that game was solid).
thanks for the input guys, nice to see opinions of other digitpressers ^_~

[jcalder8]

I played a bit of the original but I was never that into it. I may have to check this out but 15 is pretty steep for a game that didn't mean anything to me back in the day.

[Princess-Isabela]

I played a bit of the original but I was never that into it. I may have to check this out but 15 is pretty steep for a game that didn't mean anything to me back in the day.

I assure you - I would pay $50 for this title if I'd have to,
it's basically perfected super mario 3d,
check ign review from 2001 (9.4/10):
http://ign64.ign.com/articles/150/150422p1.html
you need to buy this gem, you really need to, as all of you should,
it's better than 95% of arcade titles offered anyway ^^

[Nebagram]

It's going to be an expensive Wednesday for me, what with Virtual On as well.

Oh, and Broken Steel 6 days after. Well worth it though. :)

[chicnstu]

If the price wasn't so high, I would be telling every Banjo fan they need to buy this so it will increase our chances of Banjo Threeie.

[bcks007]

first of all some Rareware games on N64 were running at decent speed(Banjo Kazooie, Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong 64, Conker's Bad Fur Day), some of them were quite bad at it (Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Banjo Tooie).


Your wrong about GE, i agree with your other choices, but GE did not have issues running. Maybe you had a bad copy or something. But on the n64 it was A+++

[Princess-Isabela]

Your wrong about GE, i agree with your other choices, but GE did not have issues running. Maybe you had a bad copy or something. But on the n64 it was A+++

are you going to argue with THE PRINCESS? ^^
I've had several copies of each, of the games I mentioned(love Rareware).
I think your eye is not very well trained to spot a difference, but goldeneye was pretty chuggy, when few enemies(at least three or four) gathered on screen major slowdowns occurred. even with no enemies on the screen game ran at about 20fps, sometimes less(depending from location you were in).
that's not very good if you ask me(maybe you haven't played it in a long time and you just don't remember framerate not being very good and bothersome in many situations).
oh and when explosions happened, you were watching slide show.
far from your "A+++" lol.

[Princess-Isabela]

If the price wasn't so high, I would be telling every Banjo fan they need to buy this so it will increase our chances of Banjo Threeie.

how can you argue about price being high?
it's a gem you won't find for less than $15 on N64, where game is simply uncomfortable to play, especially knowing superior version exists.
for $15 you'll get super long adventure in single player + local multiplayer in split-screen(there is even first person shooter mini game similar to goldeneye and alikes + tons more),
people surprise me...
and I'm pretty sure you don't have to tell any Banjo fan about this version coming out, they probably already are loosing sleep because of it hehe.

[c0ldb33r]

15 bucks for a re-release of an n64 game? forrrrget it. I'd rather just pay for the n64 original. At least then I'd get an actual cart.

[Princess-Isabela]

15 bucks for a re-release of an n64 game? forrrrget it. I'd rather just pay for the n64 original. At least then I'd get an actual cart.

so what you're telling me is that you'd prefer to get flawed game(cart) instead of a perfect version(digitally) just so you could stare at your cart on your shelf?
that's a great idea!

[bcks007]

are you going to argue with THE PRINCESS? ^^
I've had several copies of each, of the games I mentioned(love Rareware).
I think your eye is not very well trained to spot a difference, but goldeneye was pretty chuggy, when few enemies(at least three or four) gathered on screen major slowdowns occurred. even with no enemies on the screen game ran at about 20fps, sometimes less(depending from location you were in).
that's not very good if you ask me(maybe you haven't played it in a long time and you just don't remember framerate not being very good and bothersome in many situations).
oh and when explosions happened, you were watching slide show.
far from your "A+++" lol.

Try speed running levels, and lag will not affect you. The only time lag comes up, is if your messing around and not moving through the levels. I only consider lag bad, when it mess's you up on a speed run. I think any n64 game can get lagged up if you take the time to do so. I'm sure its easier to do on games that have huge numbers on enemy's, and explosions.
I speed run the levels on GE, so lag doesn't effect me on GE, on PD it does.

[Princess-Isabela]

Try speed running levels, and lag will not affect you. The only time lag comes up, is if your messing around and not moving through the levels. I only consider lag bad, when it mess's you up on a speed run. I think any n64 game can get lagged up if you take the time to do so. I'm sure its easier to do on games that have huge numbers on enemy's, and explosions.
I speed run the levels on GE, so lag doesn't effect me on GE, on PD it does.

I did speed runs on goldeneye back in the day(not the best but I got decent times).
but the thing is you consider lag bad when it can mess your speed run, I consider lag bad when it takes out of enjoyment while you're playing(no matter what you do in the game) ^_~
I would love to see remake of goldeneye for xbla(which has slim chances presumably due to multiple licenses involved), but I'm glad we're getting Perfect Dark first anyway(we'll know for sure soon, and by soon I mean e3), it's a better game too which had even worse slowdowns than goldeneye.

[Nebagram]

so what you're telling me is that you'd prefer to get flawed game(cart) instead of a perfect version(digitally) just so you could stare at your cart on your shelf?
that's a great idea!

And good luck trying to get it for $15. Unboxed- maaaaaaaaybe. But in nothing like good condition.

[Buns34]

Goldeneye ran just fine on the N64, but yeah....Perfect Dark and Banjo Tooie were almost unplayable.

[Princess-Isabela]

Goldeneye ran just fine on the N64, but yeah....Perfect Dark and Banjo Tooie were almost unplayable.

hehe, all three were actually quite playable as I finished them multiple times but fluidity of the animation was questionable ^_~
Rareware was always known for very distinctive games, they were aiming to push hardware to the limits and it shows(back then it might have not bothered you so much), but turn them on today and see framerate bleed constantly.

[Princess-Isabela]

And good luck trying to get it for $15. Unboxed- maaaaaaaaybe. But in nothing like good condition.

yeah, I remember back in 2002 trying to get a pal copy, it was nearly impossible and when I finally did, it set me back only $80(cart only hehe, but it was sooo worth it).

[Nature Boy]

I'm surprised at people complaining about prices of such amazing games filled with magic.

That's easy.

(a) Not everybody has the same tastes.
(b) Lots of people already own the game.

If I want to play a Banjo game I'll fire up my N64. And although I enjoyed them at the time, I don't really think of them as 'amazing' - collect-a-thons have never really appealed to me.

[NE146]

And although I enjoyed them at the time, I don't really think of them as 'amazing' - collect-a-thons have never really appealed to me.

I think the Banjo games are amazing collectathons :p

Nah but seriously, yeah I'll fork over the 15 bucks. Call me a sucker. :)

[Nesmaster]

I am really getting amped up to play this. Some of the best spent money in the last decade will be the $40 I dropped on Nuts n Bolts with BK XBLA code for free, and the ~$18 to download BT just to finally try it out (without spending $25 or more for an N64 cart, and have to play with framerate/texture issues, 4:3, hauling out the 64 and having to use that terrible controller (by today's standards), etc..).

I still can't believe I never found the time to play BT, or Conker for that matter back on the N64. I picked up the Xbox version of Conker and intend to play it through in the near future, but my heart is set on finally playing BT, about 9 years after the fact. :P

As much as I enjoyed NnB, I would absolutely love/kill to see a PROPER new Banjo platformer. Fingers are crossed!

...Fingers are also crossed for an XBLA remake/port of Blast Corps as well. :)

[Princess-Isabela]

I am really getting amped up to play this. Some of the best spent money in the last decade will be the $40 I dropped on Nuts n Bolts with BK XBLA code for free, and the ~$18 to download BT just to finally try it out (without spending $25 or more for an N64 cart, and have to play with framerate/texture issues, 4:3, hauling out the 64 and having to use that terrible controller (by today's standards), etc..).


now that's what I like to hear ^_~
ps.Banjo Tooie had 16:9 widescreen support on N64(amazing, isn't it?).

[Nesmaster]

now that's what I like to hear ^_~
ps.Banjo Tooie had 16:9 widescreen support on N64(amazing, isn't it?).

I didn't know that, interesting. :)

I can't wait to see what's in store with the legendary BK/BT Stop 'N Swop feature!! :D

[Princess-Isabela]

well ladies and gentleman, only few more hours keep us from getting mighty Jinjoriffic Banjo-Tooie ^^
I will be waiting till 2:00 am(pacific time) to get it once it's out on xblm and will play all night long.

[Vinnysdad]

Did they raise the price on this? I remember weeks ago on X-Play they were saying this game was going to cost 80 points which is a dollar. I remember reading it somewhere else too. Even at a dollar I still thought the price was too higfh.

[unwinddesign]

I downloaded Banjo Kong -- erm, Banjo-Tooie this afternoon. Haven't played it yet.

I remember waiting with bated breath for BT in the days of the N64, since BK is easily in my top 5 favorite games. I never even beat it. BT just pissed me off. Too much to collect and the worlds were just too large (re: stupidly big). I liked the size to quality ratio (that's what she said...or something) in Banjo Kazooie; the worlds were vast, but they were manageable. They were well designed, whereas I felt the level design in BT was lacking. I felt like I was trekking through the wilderness in Banjo-Tooie, not to mention all the minjos, collectibles, stupid first-person mini-games...blah. After collecting all 201 bananas and all the other shit in Donkey Kong 64, I wasn't about to play the same game over again disguised in Banjo trappings.

A quote from the Eurogamer review which I thought pretty much summed up my point:


It's nowhere near as streamlined or ingenious in its design as its obvious inspiration, Super Mario 64

The reason BK was so good was because it was so well designed; each task felt unique, each jiggy -- no matter how easy or difficult to get -- felt like a different challenge than the last. In BT, it's like they dumped a whole shit load of stuff to do, then copied and pasted it 800 times to get a game that's two or three times as long, but half as fun.

BK one-upped Super Mario 64, but BT just stepped back. And then there was Nuts and Bolts. Argh. We'll see how I like this update. Going to play it now...

[Princess-Isabela]

I think people are overwhelmed by levels in B-T, because they are insanely big.
personally, I love it.
completely disagree about what you said about design and such, levels are polished and designed to extreme, I cannot believe how awesomely designed they really are.
you need to know levels very well for sure.
B-K was fantastic but worlds were quite small(still bigger than in Mario 64) so while super sweet, it was very short.
so I played it yesterday, game I've been wanting on 360 for months(since announcement was made),
and boy is this game held up, it's beautifully redone, framerate is perfect(that alone makes this game a completely new experience lol),
addiction reaches maximum level, I started playing in the morning yesterday and stopped this morning(I think my stats are showing bit under 16 hours at 55 jiggies and 800 notes).
30th on leaderdboards ^_~
if you haven't bought this, you owe it to yourself.
just get it and enjoy it till Banjo-Threeie comes out ^^
platformers doesn't get better than this.
ps.and you can try demo first if you cannot afford right now.

[lanemeyer]

I played Banjo-Tooie for the first time about 6 months ago on the N64. Funny, for all the talk about frame-rate, it didn't really bother me much. I don't think it had the same magic as the first one, however. For $15, I definately think anyone that loves platformers and hasn't played it, should get it. That's a great price considering how much gaming you'll get out of it.