This, the third Banjo-Kazooie game, actually takes place between the first and the second. Here you find out that Klungo actually thought up a successful plan to rescue Gruntilda from underneath the boulder she was trapped under at the end of the first game: he builds a robotic body which she moves her spirit into. Then, in her new robotic body, she travels back in time in order to change history so she’s not defeated in the first place.

The game has very similar gameplay to previous two instalments, and since they were both so fun, this is certainly not a bad thing. As always, you have to explore various different exciting worlds in order to find all of the hidden jigsaw pieces which either will be hidden somewhere or given as a reward for helping somebody. The worlds are even still in 3D, though from a top down kind of perspective similar to portable Zelda games. Plus, as always, Banjo isn’t capable of doing everything as he is, and so various transformations are unlocked in order to overcome certain obstacles, these include a tank and a torch (among other things) which I thought were quite cool. Plus in this game you can use any of the transformations in any of the worlds, something which cannot be done in either of the other games.

But, of course, due to limitations of the systems, a few cut backs have been made. Aside from the obvious point of graphics, Banjo and Kazooie have fewer abilities than they had in earlier games; they can’t, for example, fly anymore. The number of levels has also been cut down. Whereas the others both have about ten, this one only has six (including the hub world) which makes the game’s length a bit shorter.

Despite its shortcomings, this game is still excellent. The soundtrack is enjoyable, the graphics still look very nice (especially for a GBA game), all the levels are big, immersive and fun to explore and the game still has the humorous ‘charm’ that the other titles are loved for. It may not be quite on the same level as the previous two games, but I still rate it very highly. Rating: 9.3/10

Buy it here.

Back in the early days of the NES, Nintendo decided that it could be a good idea to try and make some educational games. Donkey Kong Jr. Math was the first of these, but it was so unpopular that they decided not to make any more. I think this is quite a shame, really, since I find this game to be pretty fun, so who knows what the other planned games would have been like?

There are two games modes in this, single player and multiplayer, and I’ll admit that the single player mode is boring and not at all fun. Basically, Donkey Kong has a maths question and you, as Donkey Kong Jr. have to answer it for him. That’s it. There are different modes for this question answering, but, really, they’re all the same thing. So, unless you have somebody else who’ll play with you, don’t buy this game.

The multiplayer mode is, for me, what makes this game very fun and worth buying. In this player one controls Donkey Kong Jr. and player two controls another, pink Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey Kong holds up a board with a number on it and, the winner is whoever ‘gets’ that number first. Scattered about the 2D stage are several numbers from one to nine and several binary operators (plus signs, minus signs, division signs and multiplication signs) and so, if Donkey Kong’s number was thirty, you could get an, eight, then a plus, then a two, which would give you ten, then you’d get a multiplication sign and get three, which would give you the number he wants. Of course, that’s just a very basic example and it will normally be a number that you have to think a lot harder to get, but you get the idea. When playing against somebody else, it’s a real hurry to get the things you want and, when you win, it feels better than just winning a Mario Kart race (for example) because you’ve had to actually apply your mind to win.

So, basically, this game is made up of a missable single player mode and a terribly fun multiplayer game that you can play for hours. It’s certainly not perfect, but I suggest giving it a try.

Rating: 7/10

Before Rare existed there was another video game company which could be called their predecessor. This other company was Ultimate Play the Game and one set of games made by them was the Sabre Wulf series. Years later Rare made a new Sabre Wulf instalment which was full of references to the Ultimate Play the Game days and an excellent game in its own right.

In this game you play as a nineteenth century style explorer named Sabreman as he wanders around the game’s world trying to undo the evil of villain Dr. Dolittle-Goode (fantastic name!) and the titular Sabre Wulf. There’s a combination of exploration in the 3D overworld and more linear 2D side scrolling levels that you find on the map.

The 3D sections are probably the better of the two types of play. It’s certainly not glorified map screen and it plays rather like an RPG. Every area in the game has numerous non-playable characters that you can talk to, many of which will present you with side-quests, which is quite nice as it adds to the game’s lifespan. There’re also shops you can visit where you can buy things to help you in the side scrolling levels, the most common purchase being various kinds of creatures, but I’ll talk about them in a minute.

In the 2D areas you have to walk through various tropical locations in order to get where Sabre Wulf is sleeping. Each time Sabre Wulf has stolen an item (which could be anything, from a priceless artefact to a living person) and so, when you reach him, Sabreman takes the item, Sabre Wulf wakes up and then there’s a hurried race back to the start. But it’s not quite as simple as that, Sabreman cannot make it through these stages by himself and so he needs help from the creatures I mentioned earlier. There could be, for example, a giant pile of rocks blocking your way and so you’d summon a bomb creature to blow them up, or there could be a tough looking monster in the way, so you’d summon a strong creature of your own who’d defeat it with a club. But you can only use each of the creatures a limited number of times, so you need to be strategic! There are quite a few of these creatures, and each of them has their own unique ability. I found it fun seeing all the different things they could do by using them in different situations and I certainly liked collecting them all.

On the whole, this was a very fun game and I think that it is often unfairly overlooked. You’re presented with a variety of exotic environments and the whole game has a rather magical feel to it. Rating: 9.1/10

Buy it here.