I was jumping for joy when I first heard about this game as a kid. I bought it as soon as I could and I wasn't disappointed when I played it. Although, I wouldn't say it quite as good as the first one.
Two years after being defeated by Banjo and Kazooie, Gruntilda the witch is freed by her two sisters, Mingella and Blobbelda. The vengeful and skeletal witch then destroys Banjos house and kills Bottles before escaping with her siblings, seeking to rebuild her body. Now the Bear and Bird duo must embark on another quest to stop Gruntilda and resurrect their fallen friend.
First of all, I loved the new levels. They were much even larger and more creatively designed than ever. I loved the brand new and advanced moves to learn from Drill Sergeant Jam Jars, Bottles older brother, especially the interesting opportunity for the duo to separate and go their own way.
The graphics and sounds have been improved since the last game and are top-notch. The level designs, colors, and textures are as bright and captivating as ever. The music, once again conducted by Grant Kirkhope, is excellent, lively, and fitting for each stage. Witchyworld and Hail-Fire Peaks were my favorites.
The tone was much darker this time, with Bottles being killed in the intro, Gruntilda turning King Jingaling into a zombie, and ultimately threatening the entire Isle O' Hags with certain destruction by blasting it with a lifeforce draining laser beam to rebuild her body. Luckily, this deviation from the much more light hearted first game didn't mitigate the fun factor for me.
There were many fun mini-games involved to play to obtain Jiggys and intricate bosses to defeat this time around. You can even replay them from the main menu if you like. There's even an FPS multiplayer mode that's surprisingly good.
Even so, I have more complaints on this game than the first one. First of all, there was far more backtracking and exploring involved and some of the levels are outright labyrinthian and very easy to get lost in, especially the infamous Grunty Industries. Obtaining some Jiggys was very tedious and lengthy as a result. Luckily, though, there are warp pads that allow for fast travel. There was also much more emphasis on puzzle solving rather than straightforward adventuring. This definitely made the game more difficult, which isn't a bad thing unto itself, but the backtracking really tested my patience at times, that's why I gave this an 8 instead of a 9 or 10.
But in the end, this was still a great game and one Rare's finest. Anyone who enjoyed the first game must play this one next.
