LogFAQs > #967479070

Banjo & Kazooie - Banjo-Kazooie

Banjo-Kazooie is a fantastic 3D platforming game that is bad at actually platforming. Thats not to say that it controls bad - far from it, I think its got one of the best cameras of the era that always tries to frame set pieces really nicely and allows for a lot less rigidity than Mario or DK do in the same era. But platforming is highly deprioritized in BK, with what would be a very traditional platforming area (the Rusty Bucket Bay Engine Room) often being decried as the worst area in the game. Banjo is, instead, a very relaxed platforming hero whos perfectly equipped for exploring. Banjo has VERY generous jumps with Kazooie, the combination of the Talon Trot and Feathery Flap allowing him to correct mistakes and flexibly handle almost any terrain. Going around Banjos worlds is more a matter of figuring out what moves in Banjos toolbox will solve puzzles, and trying to use his various defensive options and the limited honeycombs in each world to survive long enough to get all the music notes in one run (which is why Im a lot less of a fan of the 360 version that abolishes Note Score). Banjo is a great comfort game that tricks you into thinking its also a great platformer, and I say that with the game easily being in my Top 5 of all time! Theres something humble and cozy about controlling Banjo that has just enough kinetic appeal to not grow too boring, and levels in Kazooie are so compact yet so dense with sub-areas and things to collect that it always feels like Banjo is being tested, doing SOMETHING with his variety of abilities. Tooie is also great (add in a map and Id call it the best Metroid Prime game with how similar of exploration-based notes it touches on), but I find a lot of Banjos abilities introduced there slow the gameplay a lot and are often based around get this more limited character to this spot that would be easy for the duo to get to. Which is a fine enough mental challenge, but something about the simplicity and density of Kazooie numbs my mind and makes me indescribably happy. Gruntys Furnace Fun is also an all-timer of a boss fight, an absolutely perfect final test of how good you were at collecting stuff and remembering what you did helped along by the games tone making every little moment stand out even more.

Best Smash Appearance: Ultimate - A lot of people seemed disappointed that Banjo wasnt hype to play as, and was very standard with only a little bit of DLC magic. And like yeah, thats how hes always been like, thats the game, my guy! Banjos always taken things at a very relaxed pace, always feeling good at a base level but needing to use his various tools in unique ways in order to succeed. And thats exactly what Banjo is; a heavier all-rounder with a few fun tools that give him crazy set-ups that casual players will never get a hold of! As much as I love the guy, I dont think his moveset impresses me but I dont necessarily find that a bad thing. Banjo feels like a character whos been here since Brawl, so comfortable and so familiar to play that it barely feels like it took him twenty years to join the series! Thats really the best place for Banjo, I think - comfortable, familiar, and with just enough stuff under the hood to let players really latch onto him. Hed fall into the same category as Pit or Wolf as yeah theyre just good and make sense if he wasnt the most immaculately animated character in the game. Both Banjo and Kazooie are a joy to see in motion, bringing forth a kind of lazy cartoon slapstick that the series was desperately missing. Their ledge animation is a joy, Breegull Bash speaks for itself as the best looking Forward Smash in the game, the amount of times the two give each other aside looks to reassure one another or check that theyre okay for mere frames is baffling for how small a detail it is - character-wise, there is no one better on the roster at wearing EVERYTHING the character is about right on their sleeve. Banjo continues to just feel good and comfortable to play, and thats more than enough for me. A

Knuckles the Echidna - Sonic Adventure 2

Now, I love Knuckles in Sonic & Knuckles. Fabulous exploring for secrets with him, stages are all oriented so he can get the most out of their terrain, feels great whenever you punch through a wall by ramming his face into it. I dont think Knuckles has ever felt bad to play unless the game hes in is unplayably bad, and even then, damn is he the most incomprehensible mess of physics implosions in Sonic 06. But theres something special about using Knuckles to glide over a huge 3D space, to go off of a big mountain and drill all the way to the bottom, hear that ORAORAORAORAORA RATS. There are few stages that are more fun to just exist in than Pumpkin Hill, and Knuckles feels amazing flying around it. None of the other stages quite live up to that height - Wild Canyons fine, Aquatic Mine is trash, Death Chamber is not a level its a form of torture, and Meteor Herd is also fine - but theres something that feels great about Knuckles in 3D that only the Adventure games really touched. The SA1 Emerald Hunts were way too short, though - I know they have a better radar but those levels were over in like two minutes tops each.

Dr. Kawashima - Brain Age: Test Your Brain In Minutes A Day!

Wow thats really the title, huh? Anyway, I dont think Kawashima is playable in any Brain Age titles, to my knowledge? Hes a lot less encouraging and cuddly than Dr. Lobe from Big Brain Academy and Professor Layton are, but hes an alright guy. Sometimes he turns into the devil. I definitely think that hes an interesting mascot, taking a real professor and making him a polygonal coach/antagonist, feel that he pulled that off a little better than Polygon Man, but not quite as good as Shinya Arino did in Retro Game Challenge. Man, you reminded me I havent watched Game Center CX in forever, I miss when translations for that show were more frequent. Anyway, uh Kawashimas good? He fulfills his role well and makes for a really interesting assist trophy, upper half of them for sure. Not sure what to add past that.