For "one of the greatest collectathon platformers of all time", I enjoyed it about as much as I expected to. I think this game's strengths really only lie in its presentation. All the characters are intricately designed (well, for an N64 game) and animated with a ton of squash-n-stretch. The witty dialogue and distinct funny noises everyone makes keeps them weirdly memorable in the long run. I feel like Grant Kirkhope went too far in on a single leitmotif, to the point where it becomes a grating earworm, but I have to praise how instruments dynamically change depending on where you are and what you're doing. This is particularly effective in Gruntilda's Lair, the massive, labrynthian hub world that brings all the levels together. The scale of these worlds must've been insane on N64.

Alas, a platformer is only as good as its platforming challenges and controls, neither of which stack up in my eyes. Most of the "moves" you learn are context sensitive actions. You can only initiate flight off of one panel type, or do a beeg jump off another type. All moves except the Talon Trot bring you to a dead stop when using them, and the former's only use is going fast! Aiming the Beak Bomb mid-flight is stupid and bad. The hardest "puzzles" I had to solve were ones where you had to fire eggs at things, because that move is so situational that I constantly forgot I had it. The game often focuses more on solving environmental puzzle solving for most objectives, and when put in situations where actual platforming is required, it's usually a do-or-die scenario, like climbing Click-Clock Wood's tree.

Also, I don't care if it was harder on the N64 because your note count reset upon death, Rusty Bucket Bay is just a shit level overall. It alone knocked half a star off my opinion of this game. On top of the cheap obstacles, you also have exhaust pipes you just have to infer that you can jump down, and windows that you just have to know that you can break. It straight up sucks!