Is it like Donkey Kong 64 or Banjo-Tooie

[Alexx]

Hello veterans,

I grew up with the n64 and I loved the Rare games. Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo-Tooie have some strong similarities: massive in scale, switching characters and powers to achieve goals, lots to collect and huge worlds.

But I hated Donkey Kong 64. I hated it so much that I wasn't touching my Banjo-Tooie game until last year, when I had a streak of nostalgia. And I loved it so much. I think it might be the crowning achievement of 3D-platforming. (so much for outdated gameplay, I played it last year)

I hate Donkey Kong 64 because:
- The worlds are not memorable enough and confusing
- the character switching was a disaster which made
- collecting all bananas a tedious nightmare
- warp pads with numbers only added to the confusion (how much else do I need to remember)
- you needed to play a world 5x to collect everything (the horror)


BT was just a much more streamlined and better designed game.
- worlds were huge but I never felt lost
- transformation pads are strategically placed
- There was a lot to collect, but not too much and each item had a purpose (energy, cheats)
- warp pads had icons and descriptions instead of NUMBERS
- level design war genious: grunty industries is the best world in any 3d platformer.
- to be fair: I did not like the mine world, because it reminded me of DK64 (getting lost)

So my question to you guys is, which of the two games does YL resemble more? Is it an annoying mess like DK64 or is it a smooth bliss like BT?

A-Lexx

[SuperStarGuy]

It's more like Banjo-Tooie for the most part. The only DK64 reference I noticed was the Yooka-Laylee Rap they made.

[Plainbear.ttv]

It's right in the middle of Tooie and Kazooie. You have to gain powers from other levels to finish previous one, but you do not actually have shortcuts between worlds to allow easy travel.

So it end up being more annoying than it need to be. But, if you liked Kazooie, you should like Yooka Laylee.

[Arkay]

Well, YL doesn't have any sort of warp system, so there's that.
I didn't have much trouble commiting the level layouts to memory, though, bar a few segments that are a little weird.

[Trevor Fox]

Hmm. This is actually a good question. A little bit of both, tbh. The worlds are massive, and traversing them will take a while. No warp pads here. The worlds also don't have really obvious landmarks, leading to the feeling of being lost until you've spent a good amount of time in them. Even then, it's easy to get turned around. And you will have to go back and replay each world. There's some final world moves you need in order to collect some stuff in the first world for example.

[Pepperyena]

Personally, I enjoyed Donkey Kong 64 more than both Banjo games, but it's probably because I'm extremely patient. Could be nostalgia glasses, too.

Anyway, this game is much closer to Banjo Tooie - however, there aren't any character split-ups and the worlds are ONLY connected to each other through the hub world. There are a few traits shared with Donkey Kong 64, such as tedious minigames. Otherwise, this game is overall closer to the Banjo series.

[Alexx]

Why didn't they include warp pads, it was such a great way of getting around. What I don't like in these type of games is the "where was xxx again?" moment. In older games like Super Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie that was not a big deal, because the worlds were small anyway. That is why I love BT so much: good game design. They addressed the problem: In Banjo Tooie you could just jump on a warp pad make a quick survey, instead of wasting 30 minutes looking for a specific spot in a huge world. I also think Rayman 2 was a masterpiece (played it on 3ds). To give you an idea where I am coming from: I wasn't a huge fan of Psychonauts either. Anyway, thanks for the replies. Sounds like it has some design flaws, but no deal breakers like DK64 (mini games are ok for me). If I grab a copy, I will probably lower my expectations a bit.

[lPaladinl]

Originally posted by mariofan12ify:

It's more like Banjo-Tooie for the most part. The only DK64 reference I noticed was the Yooka-Laylee Rap they made.

I think Blasto and his little red bird buddy might be a reference too.

Also while there's no warp pads, there are many shortcuts in the hub world. Either by activating switches or gaining new abilities that allow you to bypass obstacles.

[Invghost]

Originally posted by Plainbear:

It's right in the middle of Tooie and Kazooie. You have to gain powers from other levels to finish previous one, but you do not actually have shortcuts between worlds to allow easy travel.

So it end up being more annoying than it need to be. But, if you liked Kazooie, you should like Yooka Laylee.

Not true, I loved Kazooie, I'm only mildy enjoying Yooka Laylee, and this is coming from a backer.

[lPaladinl]

I'm starting to wonder if crowdfunding backers are just naturally predisposed to having buyer's remorse.

[Invghost]

Originally posted by Captain Buzzkill lPaladinl:

I'm starting to wonder if crowdfunding backers are just naturally predisposed to having buyer's remorse.

Just felt like a meh compared to Kazooie and Tooie. It tried TOO hard, shoved references in your faces and just felt like a parody of a good game rather than a good game.

[lPaladinl]

Originally posted by Invghost:

Just felt like a meh compared to Kazooie and Tooie. It tried TOO hard, shoved references in your faces and just felt like a parody of a good game rather than a good game.

I don't feel that it tried too hard, as much as it just feels like it's missing some of the charm of old rare games. I can't put my finger on it, but it's just not as timeless and memorable as Banjo & Kazooie is to me.

Maybe it is because they tried too hard to be like their past work? But that's not the feeling I get when I play the game.

Like some people say the game is uninspired, and I disagree. However that feeling that something is lacking I just can't quite figure out.

I still think it's a good game despite that, though.

[Alexx]

However that feeling that something is lacking I just can't quite figure out.

I know that feeling. I think I had that with starfox adventures too.

[32x32 Riker jpeg]

it's like Banjo Kazooie, if the devs didn't want you to ever find the basic default note style collectables. seriously, there are quils hiddens out of level sometimes, in places where you have to exploit broken collision surfaces to sneak around the outsides of levels to find some of them.

There are also what I like to call "spite challenges" wherein a challenge is made stupidly difficult on purpose, such as the game's first boss, which lobs an unending barrage of projectile logs, which can hurt you two or three times with no time to recover; or the arcade times, where you're expected to do pixel perfect races or endless runners to get a basic collectable.

[Alexx]

I wonder how this game will compare to the upcoming Mario Odyssey?!

PS: Collecting is only fun if its fair. being rewarded for exploration.