Background information: Banjo-Kazooie is a platforming video game developed by Rare and originally released for the Nintendo 64.
Released in 1998, Banjo-Kazooie was designed as an homage to the critically acclaimed Super Mario 64 , which had been released two years earlier and popularized the 3D platforming genre.
Banjo-Kazooie was followed by Banjo-Tooie (2000) and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (2008).
Set in the Spiral Mountain, Banjo-Kazooie follows Banjo and his friend Kazooie as they attempt to rescue Banjo’s sister Tooty from the evil witch Gruntilda, who has kidnapped her and plans to steal her beauty. Banjo-Kazooie is a single-player platform game with action and puzzle elements. The player moves Banjo around various environments, collecting objects and solving puzzles while avoiding dangers such as enemies and obstructions. Banjo can defeat enemies by jumping on them or using his “move” ability to transform the enemy into an object Banjo can pick up and throw. Banjo has limited health (which depletes as Banjo is attacked), but he has infinite lives; after dying eight times, the game ends. Each level in Banjo-Kazooie contains at least one puzzle element, often in the form of an object that Banjo must collect. Some levels contain optional puzzle elements, which are not required to complete the game. Banjo-Kazooie makes use of a 3D hub world called “Click Clock Wood” where the player may access levels and other areas with different characters. The worlds are accessed from a central, vertically aligned hub which Banjo and Kazooie can explore in all directions. Banjo-Kazooie features nine nonlinear levels compared to Super Mario 64’s 15 linear levels.
