Collection Banjo-Kazooie

Banjo-Kazooie came out in 1998 and is probably the high point of the collectathon platformer. Rare took the structure Mario 64 invented, filled every level with things to find, and wrote it all with a sense of humour that most of the genre lacked.

The bear-and-bird pairing is a genuinely clever design solution. Banjo carries Kazooie in his backpack, and every ability is a combination move - she pecks, flies and shoots eggs while he handles the ground work. Two characters, one controller, no swapping.

The worlds are what people remember: a beach, a swamp, a haunted mansion and a Christmas level inside a giant's shoe, each with its own theme that transitions musically as you walk between areas. Grant Kirkhope's soundtrack does an unreasonable amount of work.

Gruntilda's rhyming dialogue is also, unexpectedly, some of the best villain writing on the N64.

This collection covers Banjo, Kazooie and their collectibles.