I've voiced how I tend to prefer more linear 3D platformers over collectathons, but that's not to say I don't like collectathons at all, far from it. I already raved about A Hat In Time, Spyro The Dragon, Ape Escape, and Super Mario Odyssey, but if I had to pick a favorite collectathon... Banjo-Kazooie, hands down, not even close. As far as I'm concerned, this is Rare's magnum opus.
Rare's collectathons get a pretty bad rap nowadays, more than I think they really deserve. Between Banjo-Kazooie's appearance in Smash drawing debates on if they really deserved it, this absolutely bizarre claim that Donkey Kong 64 killed the collectathon genre*, and Banjo-Tooie being as divisive of a sequel as it is, it feels like these games have fallen a bit out of favor lately and that's a real shame. I'll defend DK64 and Tooie to the ends of the earth (and maybe I will at some other time), but for now, I'll say that even if you don't like the latter two, I think Banjo-Kazooie still holds up remarkably well.
One of Banjo-Kazooie's greatest strengths is definitely its writing. The banter between the titular duo and the NPCs they meet makes for some of the funniest and wittiest dialogue I've ever heard in a videogame, it's got that distinctly British snark that permeates throughout Rare's library of games, but it's at its absolute best here. Most of this is due to Kazooie, one of my favorite characters in all of gaming. This rough, snarky, jerkass bird can and will verbally brutalize anyone she comes across, and as such has most of the best lines in the game. There's a lot of likable and funny side characters too, though. The tutorial mole Bottles is a joy for his pointed bickering with Kazooie, Mumbo Jumbo's broken English makes for a lot of charming and memorable lines, and Gobi getting accidentally bullied by Banjo every time they run into him is absolutely hysterical. And of course, that's not to forget Gruntilda, the lovably mean antagonist who taunts you in rhyme throughout the game.
In terms of moment-to-moment gameplay, I don't think Banjo-Kazooie really gets as much credit as it deserves. I've seen a lot of people criticize Banjo-Kazooie for not having the same fast, fluid, and expressive movement as something like Super Mario 64, but honestly, I think that's a bit harsh. A big element of Banjo-Kazooie is the fact that you start off with a limited moveset and gain more moves over time, which I personally find quite satisfying, but you get the crux of your moveset pretty early on. Once you unlock the Talon Trot in the first level, you can start zooming across the level making huge leaps with ease, giving Banjo-Kazooie a pretty blisteringly fast pace from that point onward. You can also roll on the ground ala Zelda, do high jumps and fly on specific pads peppered around the stages, find Turbo boots that let you run super fast, do a backflip, there is quite a lot of room to optimize your movement in Banjo-Kazooie and character control feels really fluid. But ultimately, I think a big misconception about Rare's collectathons in general is that they're not really platformers. They have platforming in them, but at their core, they're adventure games. Banjo-Kazooie isn't about navigating a bunch of obstacle courses, they're about exploring your environment, doing quests, unlocking moves to let you explore even more of the world, and solving puzzles. You can even make the argument that its sequel, Tooie, is basically a metroidvania, as it'll have you crisscrossing between areas to get and utilize all the different moves.
And I think it's this exploration aspect where Banjo-Kazooie truly shines. Each of the eleven areas you visit throughout the game are filled to the brim with things to discover, from a bountiful amount of collectibles, to goofy NPCs, to loads of secret rooms, to a bunch of charming and memorable minigames. From conducting a turtle choir in Bubblegloop Swamp, to exploring pyramids in Gobi's Valley, to playing a giant piano in Mad Monster Mansion, each stage in this game has at least one memorable setpiece to help it really stick out. But nothing tops my favorite stage, Freezeezy Peak, a wonderful ice level that has you climbing up a giant snowman, escorting Christmas lights to their tree, racing a seal, and uncovering a secret, completely inaccessible Ice Key, the last remnant of an infamous discarded game mechanic. The sense of discovery on offer here is truly unparalleled, and one thing I've always liked about Rare's collectathons was how they encouraged to thoroughly explore and familiarize yourself with every inch of their worlds. Banjo-Kazooie is a really dense game, all of its levels are condensed enough that you don't need to run far to find something interesting, and aside from one instance, backtracking is pretty much entirely unnecessary. Add in the fact that you don't get booted out of the level upon collecting a Jiggy like in Mario 64, and it can be really fun and addicting to hop into a stage and try to clean house. The difficulty curve is also stellar, with each major stage being slightly larger and more complex than the last. The first stage Mumbo Mountain can be easily cleared out in about 15-20 minutes, but the final stage Click Clock Wood will take upwards of an hour, if not even longer.
In terms of visuals, I'll be honest and say that Banjo-Kazooie isn't the prettiest looker on the N64 nowadays. It definitely has its fair share of muddy environments, but I will absolutely praise the character models to this day. Rare is infamous for making many of its characters by slapping googly eyes on animals and inanimate objects, and I absolutely love that about them, it gives even the most innocuous characters and mobs so much more charm. The soundtrack by Grant Kirkhope, on the other hand, is inarguably fantastic. Kirkhope's musical style (which he refers to as Kirkhopian) is this unique blend of orchestral instruments, quirky minor tones, catchy melodies, and the occassional in-game sound effects that stands out as instantly recognizable. Banjo Kazooie may not have my favorite Kirkhope score (he's done so many incredible OSTs that it's honestly hard to choose), but it's definitely the purest Kirkhope score, infectiously joyous and catchy throughout. The usage of adaptive music and countless variations of each major stage theme also really helps to build the identity of every world you visit, Banjo-Kazooie just wouldn't be the same game without Kirkhope's music. As for the highlights, the Main Theme, Spiral Mountain, Mumbo's Mountain, Treasure Trove Cove, Clanker's Cavern, Bubblegloop Swamp, Mr Vile's Theme, Gobi's Valley, Click Clock Wood - Spring, and especially Freezeezy Peak all stand out the most.
Overall, I still adore Banjo-Kazooie, it feels like it struck the perfect balance of everything that makes Rare's collectathons great. It's briskly-paced, its worlds are densely-packed and a joy to explore, the movement is fast and fun, the cheeky writing is consistently hilarious, and the soundtrack is great. As far as the collectathon genre goes, Banjo-Kazooie feels the most refined in pretty much every way.
*If you are curious on my thoughts about this though, I pretty much 100% disagree. DK64 sold insanely well and got really great reviews at the time, and most of the backlash towards it came years later when the gaming landscape already wasn't as partial towards collectathons. Collectathons like Banjo-Tooie, Super Mario Sunshine, and Spyro 3 released after DK64 and did quite well for themselves as well, and while Jak & Daxter's sequels shifted away from the collectathon genre due to changing tastes, that initial game is still the best-selling entry in the series by a wide margin. And flooding the game with collectibles was always Rare's signature specifically, no one else even came close to that same scope at the time, so DK64 having a ton of collectibles wasn't some dark omen for the genre as a whole. My take is that the rise of the FPS genre and realistic gaming in general combined with the oversaturation of low-budget B-grade platformers in the sixth generation were what really killed off the collectathon, and blaming it all on DK64 feels very misinformed.
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