Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge
Single-player

Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge is a 2003

target shooting
.

Rare began to plan Grunty's Revenge in August 1999. At this time, it was titled Grunty's Curse and was planned for release on the

difficulty
, short length, and story were criticised.

Gameplay

levels
.

Like its

pre-rendered graphics, rather than the 3D presentation of its predecessors.[2][5]

There are five levels (called worlds), which are accessed from the

target shooting.[3] The closing credits features a minigame where the player can earn tokens, which can be used to purchase and replay unlocked ones in an arcade cabinet hidden in one of the levels.[5]

Plot

Set two months after the events of Banjo-Kazooie, Grunty's henchman, Klungo, who has been unable to free Gruntilda from underground, creates a robot called the "Mecha-Grunty" for Gruntilda's spirit to enter. Mecha-Grunty decides to kidnap Kazooie and travel back in time to when Banjo and Kazooie met in order to prevent it from having ever happened. Mumbo Jumbo, who overheard this plot, rushes to Banjo and Kazooie's house to warn them about Gruntilda's return, only for the witch to arrive and abduct Kazooie. Mumbo casts a spell that causes Banjo to teleport to the same time in order to prevent Mecha-Grunty from succeeding with her evil plan.

Banjo travels through five worlds, freeing them from Mecha-Grunty's control and soon reuniting with Kazooie, who aids in stopping Mecha-Grunty's plan. Eventually, Banjo and Kazooie reach Gruntilda's lair, where she once again hosts a quiz game show. After they beat the game, Banjo and Kazooie confront Mecha-Grunty on the top of the lair, where they manage to destroy Gruntilda's robot suit and defeat her spirit, which returns to her body underground. Afterwards, Mumbo sends Banjo and Kazooie back home via a spell; if the player failed to collect all of the game's Jiggies, Mumbo gets the spell wrong and causes several Banjo clones to appear, but if all of the Jiggies are collected, Banjo, Kazooie, and all their friends celebrate their victory.

Development

Grunty's Revenge was developed by

second-party developer for Nintendo.[9] Although it was developed and released on the GBA, Grunty's Revenge was initially planned for the system's predecessor, the Game Boy Color.[8] It was originally titled Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Curse and was conceptualised by a small team.[8] Grunty's Curse's story was different: it was set in a parallel universe, did not involve time travel, and would have taken place several years after the events of Banjo-Kazooie.[8][10] In the story of Grunty's Curse, Gruntilda curses Bottles the mole and Mumbo Jumbo, and kidnaps Kazooie and turns her into a monster; to save them, Banjo must find several magic ingredients. As he has not adventured in a long time, Banjo sets out to be retrained by Bottles' grandfather Grampa Mole (who became Bozzeye in the final version).[8] The original plot is referenced as an in-joke in the final game; when Banjo finds Kazooie, he says he is surprised Gruntilda did not turn her into a monster.[8] Originally conceived as a side-scrolling platformer,[11] Grunty's Curse was to feature more levels and power-ups than Grunty's Revenge. Rare was working on the game's sprites when production halted in late 1999.[8]

Production restarted after Nintendo released the GBA. Rare retitled the game Grunty's Revenge

first-party developer. It also gave them time to implement 3D computer graphics.[12] A multiplayer mode using the GBA's Game Link Cable was planned but cut.[5] In 2003, Microsoft was collaborating with THQ to publish Rare's GBA projects, including Grunty's Revenge, a remake of Sabre Wulf (2004), Banjo spinoff Banjo-Pilot (2005), and It's Mr. Pants (2005).[13] The game was released in North America on 12 September 2003 and in Europe on 24 October.[7] It was Rare's first game after the Microsoft buyout[5] and their first game in over 10 years that they or Nintendo did not publish.[3] In June 2005, French company In-Fusio released a port of the game for mobile phones, alongside another mobile game comprising the minigames, Grunty's Revenge Missions.[14][15]

Reception

According to

Nintendo Life, applauded it as a splendid effort to bring Banjo-Kazooie to a handheld device.[2] Nintendo Life and Official Nintendo Magazine (ONM) highlighted its high amount of similarities to the originals, although a lack of new concepts was a disappointment for ONM, which noted the collect-a-thon gameplay as typical of a Rare platformer and thus expected.[2][21] However, some critics also believed its shortcomings ruined the experience and only recommended it to fans of the series or Rare's games.[3][4][21]

Some reviewed Grunty's Revenge in the context of the GBA library.

Cube labeling it the best of them so far.[22] GameSpot and Eurogamer, on the other hand, argued it did not stand out from other GBA games;[3][4][23] Eurogamer also thought it was inferior to other GBA platform releases, such as a 2003 re-release of Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988).[4]

Reviewers generally agreed the story was subpar.[17][5][18] IGN called it "half-baked", weak, and poorly written; they felt it did not use the time travel aspect well and should have had more in-jokes and references to the two previous Banjo-Kazooie games.[5] Others described it as too confusing,[18] lame,[17] "ludicrous",[6] and failing to add anything innovative to an experience already fill with recycled elements in its gameplay.[21] However, Jeuxvideo.com praised its offbeat, humorous tone.[19]

Reviewers were more generous towards its gameplay, with

Sisyphean focus on item collecting".[3]

The visuals were acclaimed for their successful recreation of the 3D games into 2D, in addition to the animation, use of vibrant colours, and faithfulness to the N64 games.[17][5][18][21] Nintendo Life favourably compared the pre-rendered graphics to Donkey Kong Country.[2] Eurogamer said that while it was not the GBA's prettiest game, most of Grunty's Revenge's visuals were well-done, although they thought the backgrounds were lacklustre.[4] Jeuxvideo.com and Pocket Gamer were more critical;[6][19] Jeuxvideo.com felt the colours were odd and the text was hard to read,[19] and Pocket Gamer argued the art style was too cute.[6] Cube, Nintendo Power, and ONM cited issues related to the isometric perspective, such as the inability to judge heights of surfaces and seemingly invisible collision, which caused several missed jumps.[20][21][22] Reviewers were surprised by how similar the audio was to the N64 games.[21] IGN called the music catchy and the sound as a whole impressive,[5] and GameZone appreciated that Rare brought "Banjo's hilarious and indescribable jibber-jabber" back.[18]

The low difficulty and short length were primary aspects of criticism. Reviewers estimated that the game could be completed within a matter of hours, and also felt it lacked replay value.[c] ONM suggested the low number of levels was a result of limited memory and the huge amount of graphical detail.[21] GameSpot, for example, believed there were not many areas where players could slow down and interact with the environment,[3] and Eurogamer called the game boring.[4] Boss fights were singled out as one of the game's biggest failings, which Cube noted were commonplace in Rare games; they were criticised for their uninspired nature and lack of challenge,[5][18][22] although IGN and Nintendo Life considered the final boss a highlight.[2][5] Pocket Gamer also wrote it was easy to get lost in the game world.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ The mobile port and Missions were developed by In-Fusio.
  2. ^ This is absent in the mobile version.[6]
  3. ^ [2][3][4][5][21][22]

References

  1. ^ @Jimthehumanoid (29 June 2018). "@ErikSchroder89 Thanks! It was obviously heavily inspired by @grantkirkhope's original B-K music but I think i managed to put my own spin on it. I'm glad you enjoyed it #banjo20" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^
    Nintendo Life. Archived
    from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Provo, Frank (22 September 2003). "Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Taylor, Martin (31 October 2003). "Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Harris, Craig (12 September 2003). "Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge". IGN. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e f James, Chris (10 August 2005). "Banjo Kazooie Grunty's Revenge: Mobile review". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  7. ^
    Nintendo Life. 7 March 2013. Archived
    from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  8. ^
    Nintendo Life. Archived
    from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  9. ^ a b McLaughlin, Rus (28 July 2008). "IGN Presents: The History of Rare". IGN. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Rare: The Tepid Seat, July 2004: Game Boy Advance Team". Rare. July 2004. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  11. Nintendo Life. Archived
    from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  12. ^ a b Harris, Craig (18 September 2003). "Rare Interview". IGN. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Rare Line-up Revealed". IGN. 11 August 2003. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  14. ^ IGN Wireless (25 May 2005). "Wireless: Banjo-Kazooie Grunty's Revenge". IGN. Archived from the original on 26 May 2005. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  15. ^ Gouskos, Carrie (21 June 2005). "Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge Missions Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Steinberg, Steven (6 October 2003). "GBA: Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge (GBA)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Zacarias, Eduardo (12 October 2003). "Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge – GBA – Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  19. ^ a b c d e f L'avis, de Romendil (13 November 2003). "Test : Banjo-Kazooie : La Revanche De Grunty". Jeuxvideo.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  20. ^ a b c "Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge". Nintendo Power. No. 174. December 2003. p. 148. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mike (November 2003). "Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge". Official Nintendo Magazine. No. 134. pp. 86–87. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  22. ^
    Cube
    . No. 25. December 2003. p. 113. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  23. ^
    Play
    . No. 23. p. 100. Retrieved 21 December 2022.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Banjo-Kazooie:_Grunty%27s_Revenge&oldid=1219887619"