If you're one of the fans prepared to take a steaming dump all over Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts because it dares to be such a big departure from previous games, you probably won't like what Gregg Mayles has to say.
In a chat with Rare Witch Project community members, BK's creator suggested that the game would be "around 80% vehicles." Banjo will get in and out of them all the time, but most of the traveling will be done by your self-built contraptions. Mayles is confident, however, that when you actually get your hands on it, you won't care that it's not exactly like past games.
"I know it is going to be tough for people to accept ... especially the old fans, but I believe they make the old games look limited and very outdated. People are always afraid of change," Mayles answered. "But change for the better is great, which is what I believe this game to be. It's going to take time for people to get it, I know!"
"... What you have seen so far only scratches the surface of what is possible. You'll have hours fo [sic] fun just making things - I'm sure of it! Banjo games were never really strong on replayability, whereas this one sure is."
Go and check out the full discussion, because it's packed full of information about the game and may set your mind at least partially to rest, since Mayles is incredibly confident in this title. After reading some of the things he had to say, I am very much looking forward to giving Nuts & Bolts a try, and so should you, you grumpy grouchy grouchfaces!
Contest:
9:32 AM on 05.15.2008
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Damn right it is.
Rare's taking a huge gamble here. Many fans already hate the direction they're taking it, so if Rare doesn't prove us all wrong and the game doesn't turn out to be that good (regardless of atmosphere or art direction, I mean in terms of gameplay) when it's released, it might just be the last nail in their coffin.
cuntbiscuits
Rare should be catering to their fans.. we just wanted another awesome platform from them..not a vehicle /platform hybrid.
I hope for the best but fear the worst.
BTW, who remembers when Banjo was just the stupid bear in DKR that nobody played as?
I heard BANJO is in this game too! BANJO!!!! DID YOU HEAR!?
Ha. If companies only did things their rabid fanbase wanted 100% of the time, we'd see a shitload of bankruptcies.
So we should applaud this decision and hope for the best, seeing as how Rare has made some of the best games of all time throughout the years. I think we can put a tinsy bit of trust in them, regardless of atrocities like Grabbed by the Ghoulies. They deserve some fucking respect.
@EDS
I agree to an extent but I do have to argue in that Mario Galaxy was nicely different from previous games. But not as much as this new Banjo game.
Now time to
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKING SHIT
Really? REALLY??!! Is that the message we want to send to the big producers, don't you dare innovate, we want the same thing over and over again.
FFS, if Rare thinks that the new Banjo game would be better this way, than good on them. I hope they are right, just to shut you dimwits up.
You can "have balls" and change things up without turning a platformer into a lego racer.
Do you honestly think you are more qualified to decide that than the man who, I dunno, INVENTED Banjo-Kazooie. Call me crazy, but I think if Greg Mayles says it's a Banjo game, then I'm going to take his word over it than some people who hate a franchise changing.
This is no different than the Fallout fans attacking Bethesda because "zomg it's not Fallout." Um ... it IS Fallout. It is whatever the developer says it is, because frankly it's THEIR game.
omg Metal Gear Acid is not a Metal Gear game guys!!!!
And having talked to people before details of this game were even made public, I can confirm that this isn't true. Mayles wanted a Banjo game, but didn't want to retread old ground, so he's tried something different.
And read the discussion I linked to, please. You'll see it's got some really cool ideas and isn't just vehicle combat.
I still can't say I'd buy this as I've never even been a Banjo Kazooie fan (see statements about platformers), but after hearing this and seeing some of the game play video I can say I'm a lot more likely to buy it now than I was when I thought it would just be another goddamn platformer.
Also, companies "cater to fans" ALL the time to make money. They're called mindless sequels that do the same thing over and over because they know the fans will buy them. Dynasty Warriors anyone?
TopGearGorilla, it's because SMG basically just changed the environment and physics in the levels. The basic platforming, Goomba-stomping, Star-collecting mechanics were untouched. In BK:N&B, they're changing both the gameplay andsetting.
Looking back now, I think I overreacted when I first heard the news. The gameplay might be fun, but they had better keep a lot of the old charm and humor intact or the game will fall over like an unbalanced Jenga tower.
If Rare is building the game around vehcile construction, then it (hopefully!) shoudn't be as terrible as the Gummi Ship building minigame in Kingdom Hearts.
For the record, building vehciles seems like it will be super easy: those videos of the game make it look like you can jump to a vehicle builder at any time, no matter where you are! That, already, makes it a hell of a lot better than those gummi ship sequences.
Also, We know what happens when game makers cater exclusivly to their fan base: we get Zelda:Twilight Princess, the least enjoyable Zelda game since Zelda II! TP was a game nearly identical to its 10 year old namesake! Do we really want developers to be cranking out crap without ever thinking outside the box?
People, for some reason, never seem to get exhausted playing the same exact game again and again and again and again and again and again.
And it's not just the internet hate machine, it's also the gaming press.
Video game titles that repeat the same exact bullshit we've been playing for decades seem to garner praise from everyone.
Take shit like twilight princess, metroid prime 3, or super mario galaxy for the wii.
The graphics are the same, the story is worse, and the game mechanics have gone completely unchanged with the exception of a light gun, the same light gun we've been playing with at arcades for DECADES... Despite this, they review and sells quite well, proof that consumers cannot come to bear with seeing old beloved franchises change.
Banjo Tooie was taking the core elements of Banjo Kazooie, and upgrading them. Bigger levels, more variety of challenges, more moves, etc.
Thats what I want. Take Banjo Tooie, and make it bigger, prettier, more moves, more challenges. Does it mean Im stuck in 1998? FUCK YES. Does it mean I want more of the same? FUCK YES.
That being said, I'm not saying its going to be a bad game. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun, and I'm sure that I will have fun playing it. Now that I think about it, my first comment was a major overreaction.
Now that I look at it objectively, it seems pretty interesting.
I'm still pretty nervous, but regardless I'll keep my eye on this one.
And that's what you want from Banjo-Kazooie, is it? On the one hand you attack DW (as everyone seems to do because it's a lovely strawman when talking to me) as a mindless sequel, yet aren't happy with BK it's NOT a mindless sequel.
Work out what you want.
Your telling me people wouldn't be pissed if Fallout 3 was a racing game? You're telling me you would be just as excited for "Fallout 3: Cooking Edition"?
If it looked like a good game? I would like it for sure. What the fuck does it matter whether it's part of the Fallout franchise if the game is good?