I already love Banjo-Kazooie. It's not really nostalgia, maybe a bit, but I do think it's pretty fun the whole way through, with some clear flaws. Tooie fixes every problem the first has, and expands on it in so many ways it's kind of hard to believe.

Tooie is a very ambitious game. Everything about it feels bigger, which is impressive considering it's smaller if anything: only 8 main worlds as opposed to 9, the sizes of which are comparable to the worlds from Kazooie. The overworld looks bigger because it's out in the open - in reality I think the actual traversable parts are smaller, and there's less to do with the removal of the witch switches from the worlds. But through pure world design they've managed to make a world that feels more grandiose, and at every point until the end it really felt like anything could come next.

The fast travel systems are great and are a welcome addition. I think this is part of why it feels so much bigger - it takes under a minute to walk across most levels, but when you can warp there instantly you feel like you're skipping a lot. And to be fair, in a game where exploration is a focal point, the saved time adds up.

I don't think this game is flawless but every complaint I have is a nitpick. It's hard to find your way around in the FPS areas, but there aren't that many of them and there isn't much to do in them. The Hailfire Peaks transformation is annoying to control (especially if you have health regen), but its usage is pretty limited so you don't have to deal with it for long. Ultimately these nitpicks don't matter because this game is packed entirely full of creative ideas that all work well to some extent. Fantastic sequel, fantastic in its own right. I can't wait until the next time I get to replay it.

Reviewed on Mar 17, 2023


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