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Social Banjo-Kazooie Social Thread - Project Dream Come True!

ChunkySlugger72

ChunkySlugger72

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So I finally played and beat "Yooka Laylee" and while I'm no expert reviewer my overall thoughts about this game is that it was just "OK" for what the game is.

The game played and looked fine for the most part, But I'll be honest, Playing this game really made me wish I was just playing the "Banjo-Kazooie" franchise instead.

Characters:

The characters themselves, As weird as it sounds, I feel like the voices and personalities for Banjo and Kazooie are more fitting for a Bear and Bird rather than a Reptile and a Bat, Yooka's voice didn't sound that very appealing or fitting for the character and while Laylee's voice did suit her more, I wasn't as big of a fan of her character design, The one thing that they did do well was their powers and abilities which were fitting for both a Chameleon and bat.

Trowzer is probably the best character in the game and love his design with the hat, tie, pants and business snake with old phone, Very fitting voice too, I was a fan of Rextro too, But his arcade games were pretty meh.

I'll be honest, Capital B (Main Antagonist) was pretty underwhelming, Personality wise he fits the bill, But I really don't find "Bee" as imposing or as main boss material like King K. Rool (Crocodile) and Gruntilda (Witch) who are more menacing than a Corporate Bee in a suit, I did like Dr. Quack as a character, A Mallard Duck head in a gumball machine with wheels is pretty funny, Though I wished his voice was more "Quacky, Probably my 2nd favorite character after Trowzer.

Wasn't a fan of most of the henchman in the game, The basic gremlin-like creatures character designs were pretty ugly and generic, Their reskinned in later worlds, But it's a minor improvement, muscular reptiles were ok though and bee drones were meh.

Boss characters were more "Inanimate" than I would have liked them to be and were not too hard, But the game's jankyness did cost me a few deaths at times, Especially the casino (Pretty fun) and final boss.

Supporting cast was ok, There were a few favorites, But overall nothing too memorable, Though I will say the dialogue between the characters was pretty well written and was reminiscent of Banjo-Kazooie.

Worlds/Level Design: Maybe it's just me, But the worlds didn't grab me as much as I thought they would and I though they were way too damn big, Tooie and DK 64 are pretty big, But still manageable, This game felt that while it had a solid amount of collectibles were spread rather thin throughout the worlds and kind of left you with no sense of direction for the most part, I don't know if it was the Unity engine, But it felt you can literally stand or go on anything that you probably shouldn't which made the game feel somewhat broken at times, But did made some task easier, Minecart levels were great concept to revist, But man did they felt janky with the camera and hit detection.

Music: While I love both Grant Kirkhope and David Wise's work in Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country, I felt that Yooka-Laylee's soundtrack was weaker compared to their past efforts, It feels like they knew this was an indie game so they held back their "A-Tier" music and just put out some "C-Tier" tracks they had in their back pocket, Though I did like the Casino World's theme and the Ice world them was decent.

Unfortunately the best track in the game was tied to a minecart section, This David Wise track made me wish it was "World 1's" theme and reminds me of DKC.



Gameplay: I think that for the most part the game handled pretty well, Yooka and Laylee's powers were very fitting for a Chameleon and Bat and were used as intended, But the game did felt pretty janky at times, Rolling felt a little slippery at times and while flying feels quick, It doesn't really feel like you have full control and end up swerving in circles at times.

Overall Score: 7/10

Overall, I think I have to agree with most reviewers about the game being mixed, It's certainly not a bad game, But it's not a great one either, It was "Ok/Fine", But it certainly didn't live up to the expectations pre-release. If a sequel is in store in the future hopefully they build upon the first game, But honestly I would rather just have Banjo-Kazooie" comeback instead.

"Impossible Lair" is coming up next and as a big fan of "Donkey Kong Country" and based on what I've heard I think I'm gonna end up liking that game a lot more.
 
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Sinister Slush

Sinister Slush

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I remember following and even donating money to yooka-laylee back when the kickstarter first showed up, unfortunately even when I got a key to play the beta access I didn't bother with the release of the game as I heard murmurs of it being too big and empty compared to Tooie which shared the same similarity of it being big but felt like there was just enough things to collect and every direction had a meaning eventually down the line even with the sheer size for Tooie at least.

Also the enemies and a couple of the side characters are downright ugly design wise which I don't get that feel for any B-K characters, even ironically Grunty and her sisters who're supposed to be ugly but they're done right for what they are "ugly green witches" shtick.
The gremlins as stated, Dr. puzz and whatever the vending machine was.

Maybe down the line I'll actually buy the game on steam whenever it gets another sale below 10 bucks but man have I not been in a rush to buy or play this game like I thought I would 4 or 5 years ago.
Least impossible lair with them going a 2D direction I've heard good things on that at least.
 
JamesDNaux

JamesDNaux

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Ironically, I loved Yooka-Laylee but can't even bring myself to finish Impossible Lair.

It's not bad, but maybe because DK isn't dead like Banjo it hits notes of "I could just be playing Tropical Freeze instead." Could say the same with Banjo vs Yooka, but there's no modern Banjo game and Yooka still handles substantially different enough from Banjo in 3D vs DK in 2D.

It could also just be the loading screens being longer than my patience.
 
KirbyWorshipper2465

KirbyWorshipper2465

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TheZoologist

TheZoologist

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Dixie Kong said:
Any chances that tomorrow we receive news that the Xbox 360 remakes for Kazooie and Toole will be ported to the Switch?
Click to expand...
God I would absolutely lose my **** if they got announced for Switch, but I won't hold my breath. Speaking of breath, though, I'm really hoping we see even a glimpse of gameplay of Breath of the Wild's sequel. Would it be too much to ask for Kazooie & Tooie ports/remasters on Switch, a fun newcomer for Smash, AND Breath of the Wild sequel footage? Probably, gonna keep my expectations low, but mannnnn.... I will lose my mind if any of that happens.
 
KirbyWorshipper2465

KirbyWorshipper2465

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R

RetrogamerMax

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Banjoisawesome2020 said:
Everyone... NINTENDO DIRECT tomorrow! SET YOUR TIME!
Click to expand...
I know the Direct has passed, but isn't it a blessing that we don't have to worrry about if whether or not Banjo & Kazooie will be revealed as a Smash character anymore? It's a glorious feeling we are living the dream.
 
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