I never thought I'd see the day, but Nintendo has finally gone ahead with the remake The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Switch 2giving me and many others a chance to play or replay one of the greatest video games ever made and experience it in a completely different way. Beside that, Star Fox 64 also getting a Switch 2 remake that I fully intend to play, no matter how many times it's already been remade, and I'm not ashamed to admit that nostalgia has a lot to do with it. But the fact that two of the best Nintendo 64 games are getting remakes for the Switch 2 makes me wonder how far Nintendo is willing to go in modernizing classic titles from the pioneering 3D console, because I'm honestly not ready for it to stop after Ocarina of time and Star Fox 64.
The question is where to go from here, and that is my personal opinion Banjo-Kazooie would be the perfect next entry in this remake series. As Ocarina of time and Star Fox 64, Banjo-Kazooie was a huge part of my childhood, and to this day is widely regarded as the absolute pinnacle of the late 90s “collectathon” subgenre and one of the greatest 3D platformers in video game history. The only problem is that Xbox currently owns Rare, the developer of the original Banjo-Kazooieso if Nintendo were to remake it for the Switch 2, they would have to form an unlikely partnership with Microsoft.
After Ocarina of Time, Switch 2's next Zelda remake feels obvious
The Switch 2's Ocarina of Time remake may have already pointed Nintendo toward the next Zelda classic in line.
Banjo-Kazooie helped define what 3D platformers could be after Super Mario 64
It cannot be denied Super Mario 64 opened the door for 3D platformers, but Banjo-Kazooie helped show how much personality the genre could still have after that door had already been kicked down. It took the basic idea of running around 3D spaces, hunting for collectibles and learning new moves, then wrapping it all in a world that felt warmer, weirder, funnier and more alive than most games from the late 90s could manage. There's a reason why the term “collectathon” still feels almost inseparable from Banjo-Kazooiebecause Rare essentially helped define what that kind of game could be at its best.
Who is that character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
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Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)
What really did Banjo-Kazooie so special was how satisfying it felt to collect everything in and out of sight. Jiggies, musical notes, Jinjos, Mumbo tokens, eggs, feathers, extra wafers and other collectibles could have easily turned the game into the bloated mess that many open world games of the 2010s became, but the original rarely felt like it was throwing things at players just to fill space. What mattered even more to me was how strange it was Banjo-Kazooie was how rough it was for someone whose childhood was largely cut off from the outside world, and how it just made me want to play it all the more.
I still remember getting a Nintendo 64 VHS commercial in the mail advertising the game, and after seeing it I immediately wanted to play Banjo-Kazooie. I don't remember every single thing that was shown on that tape, but I do remember the feeling of watching Banjo and Kazooie run through these colorful, beautiful worlds and thinking it looked like exactly the kind of game I wanted my Nintendo 64 to exist for as an accidental smile came across my face. It didn't take long after that before I got Banjo-Kazooieand once I had it I was completely hooked.
It cannot be denied Super Mario 64 opened the door for 3D platformers, but Banjo-Kazooie helped show how much personality the genre could still have after that door had already been kicked down.
I ended up replaying it multiple times, if not just to relive the feeling of visiting each location and collecting everything for the first time again. Banjo-Kazooie had that rare childhood game quality where finishing it didn't feel quite finished, and I feel like it ultimately came down to there just being nothing like it. And honestly, if I felt like I had the time today, I bet I could go back and replay it again without getting bored too quickly by its dated gameplay.
Some of Banjo-KazooieThe biggest strengths were its mascot duo with a split moveset, a hub world full of secrets and levels that felt more like compact playgrounds than obstacle courses stretching across empty surfaces. It helped turn 3D platformers into games about poking around in every corner of a world, trying every ability, and trusting that the developers had probably hidden something valuable behind the next suspicious object. Actually, despite having played through Banjo-Kazooie more times than I can remember, if I tried to play it again today, I'm sure I'd still have trouble finding every single secret in the game.
Unfortunately, many collectathon games eventually took the wrong lessons from that formula, including some of Rare's own later works. The genre became associated with bloat, checklist design, and worlds packed with so many items that collecting no longer felt as exciting or satisfying as it once did. Banjo-Kazooie still holds up because it came before that tipping point, though, when the balance was still there and the idea of a 3D platformer filled with secrets felt magical instead of exhausting.
Switch 2 could make Banjo-Kazooie feel new again
Precisely that balance is therefore Banjo-Kazooie deserves a real remake instead of another simple re-release. The original game is still playable, and it's already been preserved better than many other Nintendo 64 classics, but there's a clear difference between access and revival. Banjo-Kazooie doesn't need to be reinvented into something unrecognizable, but it's still one of those games where a faithful remake could make its best qualities easier for modern players to appreciate.
Guess the games from the emojis.
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Guess the games from the emojis.
Light (120s) Medium (90s) Hard (60s)
Of course, the most obvious improvements would come from the presentation. A full Switch 2 remake could backfire Banjo-Kazooies worlds into lush, animated dioramas, with better lighting, more expressive character animation, greater environmental detail, and music that sounds grand without losing Grant Kirkhope's original charm. But modern hardware can also offer more responsive controls and cleaner camera movements—things that gamers from the late '90s generally tolerated because we didn't know better.
Banjo-Kazooie doesn't need to be reinvented into something unrecognizable, but it's still one of those games where a faithful remake could make its best qualities easier for modern players to appreciate.
In today's gaming climate, Banjo-Kazooie also has an advantage that would have sounded strange even a decade ago. 3D platformers are no longer expected to compete with the biggest open world games by being massive, padded and endless. A modern one Banjo-Kazooie remake can be colorful, dense, fun, rich in substance, and proudly old-fashioned, which can actually make it feel fresher than another giant map filled with icons.
However, the business side is the complicated part, although it is also what makes the idea so interesting. Xbox currently rules Rare, though Banjo-Kazooie still feels emotionally attached to Nintendo's hardware in a way that very few Microsoft-owned franchises ever could. If Xbox is serious about putting their games in more places, then a Switch 2 remake of Banjo-Kazooie would be one of the easiest wins imaginable.
Microsoft announced its acquisition of Rare on September 24, 2002. The deal was a $375 million all-cash transaction and Microsoft's own announcement Banjo-Kazooie as an example of Rare's best games.
With that, Nintendo would get another big Nintendo 64 remake to keep its nostalgia streak alive, Xbox would get to revive a dormant franchise in front of the audience that still has the strongest connection to it, and Rare's bear-and-bird duo would finally get the kind of comeback that fans have wanted for years. Banjo-Kazooie may officially belong to Xbox right now, but its legacy was built on the Nintendo 64. If the Switch 2 is going to continue to bring that era back, then Xbox will eventually have to hand over one of its most iconic mascots.
