Banjo-Kazooie

Gruntilda, the ugly witch, has kidnapped young Tooty with the intention of stealing the girl's beauty. Coming to the rescue are Tooty's brother Banjo and his bird-in-the-backpack buddy Kazooie. Together, this unusual team will learn tricky moves, meet wild characters and gather a variety of items as they move through 10 worlds to reach the witch's lair and free Tooty.

This one-player adventure game offers an innovative twist by giving the player 2 characters to move separately or as a team - each with its own unique abilities. With over a dozen different moves, it takes time to learn and master them all. Luckily, you don't have to learn them all at once. Bottles, the helpful mole, teaches you new moves throughout the game, giving you ample opportunity to master each added skill before proceeding.

With these specialized moves, Banjo-Kazooie is great for developing hand-eye coordination and problem solving skills. My two boys, ages 4 and 7, had lots of fun maneuvering the bird and bear team around the wild, wacky worlds in search of puzzle pieces, feathers, music notes and eggs. The zany worlds are really brought to life with quirky music and surprising sound effects.

The only problem I had with this game was the disgusting way Kazooie shoots eggs at the enemies. It is, literally, an attack from the rear. Of course, this is Mom's opinion. My sons find this form of attack absolutely hilarious!

With its first rate graphics and audio, appealing characters and innovative moves, Banjo-Kazooie is an exciting addition to any N64 collection.