autobzooty
Member
So, I finished the game with minimal Jiggy requirements, and here are my spoiler-free, post-game thoughts.
Nuts and Bolts is a fantastic game in its own right, and if you are interested in the idea, it's a no-brainer for $40. Honestly though, I don't feel like it lives up to the Banjo name. This game feels like a total spin-off, in the way that Mario Party is a spin-off in the Mario universe. The game just doesn't feel as grand as the previous two.
Part of this, I think, is because there is almost NO exploration in this game. There's a little in the hub world, but the entire process is sort of undermined when your trolley gets the spring. Every single jiggy in the game is obtained by talking to someone and initiating a challenge. In previous Banjo games, you don't usually talk to someone to begin a challenge; you stumble across a puzzle that looks like it needs solving, and you solve it. You don't bring the action to a screeching halt with a menu.
All the jiggy locations are revealed on the radar as soon as you enter a level, and it makes it 100% pointless to explore any of the enormous, beautiful levels that Rare crafted for this game. And the fact that you can build a flying vehicle almost right away with no limitations on how much you can fly (i.e., red feathers, flightpad), it doesn't really lend much to the "exploring" aspect of the game as much as "go-to-that-blip-on-your-radar."
Finally, perhaps my biggest problem with this game is the witch. She's simply standing around Showdown Town, and you can go up and talk to her whenever you please. It's ridiculous. Supposedly, she's pure evil, and supposedly, she's Banjo's biggest enemy. It should be all she can do to resist frying him with a spell when he walks by (especially when you mow her down with a car or beat her with your wrench). It may sound trivial, but it makes her seem like a really weak villain. Not at all like the Gruntilda in the original game, shouting taunts at you as you creep through her lair until you finally fight her in an extremely fun and potent end boss fight. It built up some dread of her, even if it was a little cartoonish. The same thing happens in the Zelda series with Ganon. It's very rare that you ever get to see him, so when you finally do, it's a really big deal.
I love Banjo so much. It's in my top-three game franchises. Nuts and Bolts is an amazing, amazing game. But when I think about the Banjo-Kazooie that could have been, I'm really disappointed that Rare didn't make THAT game instead. I don't want to say that Nuts and Bolts was a "waste of time," (pretty harsh words, I think...) but upon finishing the game with the minimum jiggy count, I can soundly say that I would rather have had a traditional Banjo-Threeie.
Sorry for that long-winded speech. Hopefully someone will find something in there worth responding to. :lol
Nuts and Bolts is a fantastic game in its own right, and if you are interested in the idea, it's a no-brainer for $40. Honestly though, I don't feel like it lives up to the Banjo name. This game feels like a total spin-off, in the way that Mario Party is a spin-off in the Mario universe. The game just doesn't feel as grand as the previous two.
Part of this, I think, is because there is almost NO exploration in this game. There's a little in the hub world, but the entire process is sort of undermined when your trolley gets the spring. Every single jiggy in the game is obtained by talking to someone and initiating a challenge. In previous Banjo games, you don't usually talk to someone to begin a challenge; you stumble across a puzzle that looks like it needs solving, and you solve it. You don't bring the action to a screeching halt with a menu.
All the jiggy locations are revealed on the radar as soon as you enter a level, and it makes it 100% pointless to explore any of the enormous, beautiful levels that Rare crafted for this game. And the fact that you can build a flying vehicle almost right away with no limitations on how much you can fly (i.e., red feathers, flightpad), it doesn't really lend much to the "exploring" aspect of the game as much as "go-to-that-blip-on-your-radar."
Finally, perhaps my biggest problem with this game is the witch. She's simply standing around Showdown Town, and you can go up and talk to her whenever you please. It's ridiculous. Supposedly, she's pure evil, and supposedly, she's Banjo's biggest enemy. It should be all she can do to resist frying him with a spell when he walks by (especially when you mow her down with a car or beat her with your wrench). It may sound trivial, but it makes her seem like a really weak villain. Not at all like the Gruntilda in the original game, shouting taunts at you as you creep through her lair until you finally fight her in an extremely fun and potent end boss fight. It built up some dread of her, even if it was a little cartoonish. The same thing happens in the Zelda series with Ganon. It's very rare that you ever get to see him, so when you finally do, it's a really big deal.
I love Banjo so much. It's in my top-three game franchises. Nuts and Bolts is an amazing, amazing game. But when I think about the Banjo-Kazooie that could have been, I'm really disappointed that Rare didn't make THAT game instead. I don't want to say that Nuts and Bolts was a "waste of time," (pretty harsh words, I think...) but upon finishing the game with the minimum jiggy count, I can soundly say that I would rather have had a traditional Banjo-Threeie.
Sorry for that long-winded speech. Hopefully someone will find something in there worth responding to. :lol
