About 30 minutes into my very first playthrough of Banjo-Kazooie, I fell in love with it and put it in my top 25. Maybe it’s just because I already liked Banjo and Kazooie’s character design and inclusion in Smash Ultimate, and I was just waiting for the rest of his game to be inevitably just as charming, but nevertheless, this game slaps hard. Although I despise the creative yet confusing hub world of Gruntilda’s lair, the individual levels are pure magic. There is something fun around every corner, and what you find around those corners is always fun and always satisfying. Mario’s developers have commented on how good it feels to collect coins, and they’re right. For Banjo Kazooie’s collectibles, they somehow cranked that feeling up to 1,000 for a myriad of different items too. The collecting of items is so fun because of several different aspects. First off, the items feel good to collect due to great sound design. Next they are spread out throughout the level. You’re not just handed them on a silver platter, traversal from simple to crazy keeps the pacing of collecting steady and satisfying as a result. In addition these items all have purpose. Eggs are used as ammo, feathers as a resource. Music notes are a high score tracker. Jiggys are the Mario 64 stars of this game and unlock more levels, mumbo skulls unlock more traversal options, and jinjos are just cute. These elements combined while collecting means that it’s constantly motivating, constantly fulfilling and constantly fun. Everything you do in Banjo-Kazooie is just fun, because the developers just got rid of any filler. It all works, it’s all goofy, it’s all one of the cleanest, simplest, most enjoyable 3D platformers ever, rivaled only by a few.