I just finished a 100% run of Banjo Kazooie yesterday. It was the first time I had ever played the game, and as someone who considers platformers the best genre in games, I loved it. This site got it right when it gave it a 9.5 at release.

The game is excellent—always was, always will be. “Collectathons” are not outdated. Heck, we just had this site give Super Mario Odyssey a well-deserved 10/10 back in 2017. I fail to see how that game does not qualify as a collectathon, considering the sheer amount of moons to collect and considering how many moons Can just be “grabbed” or “found” without completing a particular obstacle course or sets of tasks.

I personally think collectathons give sandbox-style platformers more value, as they implore the player to explore every nook and cranny of a stage. And good collectathon games will hide those collectibles in clever ways. Not once in BK did I feel as though any of the jiggies or music notes were cheaply hidden.

Gaming shifted to a more action/cinematic focus in the generations after the N64/PS1. I don’t think it’s because there were too many collectibles in platformers that the collectathon became less prominent. The best platformer devs can make collectathons just as fun today as they ever were. The genre as a whole just appeals to a more niche audience these days as devs such as Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, and Rare have all moved on to action/cinematic games.

@bren7473: To be honest, I was concerned about playing on the “same map,” but they’ve managed to make the experience feel new with all that they have changed. The depths and sky sections are also significant additions to the world. The only thing I miss are the Guardians.

I think that BotW, in the end, will still top this game for me BECAUSE BotW was such a new and wondrous experience. TotK is as well, but only one game can be the one that revolutionized the series and the industry. Then again, I’ll know my final thoughts when I finish the game.

Hopefully you can still enjoy it, and hopefully some new experiences help it stand out from its predecessor in your mind. I think the comparison of OOT to MM is a good one. They’re like sister games with the same mechanics but still unique in a number of ways. BotW and TotK is like that for me.

@bren7473: It seems as though criticism is alive and well for this game if your post is any indication. But the qualities you list as negative are not negatives for me, especially the gripe over the map. It shows you haven’t played the game yet. To ping it and to merely “it’s the same map” is like saying a 1967 Mustang and a 2020 Mustang are the “same car.”

@treechopper88: Eh. The ten is still probably 3% or less of all scores here. I’m glad we get more tens. And really, a few games come to mind that should have been tens in the first place like Metroid Prime and the original Resident Evil 4 on GameCube, which they somewhat rectified with the RE4 Remake score.

@Tiwill44: I’ll make my mind up on where TotK stands apart from BotW after I actually play a chunk of the game. BotW is my favorite game.

@TeslaCoi1: Just don’t play this game and find something similar to Zelda.

@Dissentioncc: ”10” on GameSpot means “Essential.” Scroll back up and look at the score at the bottom of the review.

@illegal_peanut: Oh, those series also qualify. I was just more referring to “action adventure.” :)

@illegal_peanut: I mean, what else compares to nearly forty years of constant classics?

As someone who likes platformers and wanted a simple game after playing through the masterful RE4 Remake, I nabbed this game on sale for my Steam Deck for six bucks.

I was expecting a broken mess full of bugs and gameplay that was on the level of a Bubsy 3D or Earthworm Jim 3D.

Instead, I got a shiny little fun platformer. Feels like a 6-7 to me. It definitely doesn’t reach the heights of the 9-10 platformers out there, but it’s a decent game for what it is.