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Retro Banjo-Kazooie is out on Switch. It's time to rank and argue about the the game's worlds.

What is your favorite world in Banjo-Kazooie?

  • Mumbo's Mountain

    Votes: 1 1.5%

  • Treasure Trove Cove

    Votes: 13 19.4%

  • Clanker's Cavern

    Votes: 2 3.0%

  • Bubblegloop Swamp

    Votes: 1 1.5%

  • Freezeezy Peak

    Votes: 11 16.4%

  • Gobi's Valley

    Votes: 2 3.0%

  • Mad Monster Mansion

    Votes: 14 20.9%

  • Rusty Bucket Bay

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Click Click Wood

    Votes: 23 34.3%
  • Total voters
    67
HockeyBird

HockeyBird

Villager
Pronouns
He/Him
The release of a classic is as good of time as any for a good old list/ranking war. What are you favorite worlds in Banjo-Kazooie? What are your least favorite? Here's my list and reasonings from best to worst.

1. Freezeezy Peak - In general, I just love the winter/Christmas aesthetic. It feels like the holidays. Plus climbing to the top of the snowman demonstrates the amazing sense of scale BK was able to pull off back in the day.

2. Click Clock Wood - Again, the scale here is amazing and it's fun to see how the environment changes with the season. You get a mini story involving a baby eagle. This level also hints to what is the come in Banjo-Tooie where changes in one season will affect another. This is expanded upon in Tooie where the worlds are more connected.

3. Treasure Trove Cove - Who doesn't love a good pirate themed beach level? Other than that damn shark, this place is joy to explore. You earn the ability to fly here and it was amazing getting to freely fly around a big open level back in the 90s.

4. Mad Monster Mansion - Your Halloween themed level. You get to flush yourself down a toilet as a pumpkin. What more do you want?

5. Gobi's Valley - I liked the Egyptian theme and being a complete asshole to Gobi made it even more enjoyable.

6. Mumbo's Mountain - A great starter level. Nothing too challenging and it's pretty small compared to the other worlds.

7. Rust Bucket Bay - The infamous level BK level. This is probably the hardest in the game with a lot of annoying deaths. However, I kinda dig the polluted port theme.

8. Bubblegloop Swamp - Not a huge fan of swamp levels. The boots are kind of a lame ability. That chomping mini game borders on cheating.

9. Clanker's Cavern - This has to be at the bottom. It's level where a significant portion is spent underwater and as many know, the swimming controls in BK can be frustrating at times. The back-to-back worlds of Clanker's Cavern and Bubblegloop Swamp is probably the blandest portion of the entire game.

So what does your list look like?
 
0
At IKEA but I'm gonna give you an equally thought out ranking.

Treasure Trove Cove da best tho.
 
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I posted in the other thread but it’s hard to do a ranking, I have some thoughts though maybe this’ll help me figure it out.

My top two is definitely Click Clock Wood and Mad Monster mansion, followed by Gobi’s Valley.

Bubblegloop gets hit hard by the constant treck to mumbo’s every time you want to transform, as well as Mr. Vile (the worst minigame of the game)

Clanker’s Cavern has my favorite music of the levels and it has some fun portions, so I feel guilty putting it low but yeah it being mostly underwater really hurts :/

Treasure Trove is pretty great all around I suppose, Mumbo is a great introductory level but it’s just that.


Maybe

1. Click Clock Wood
2. Mad Monster Mansion
3. Gobi’s Valley
4. Freezeezy Peak
5. Treasure Trove Cove
6. Rusty Bucket Bay
7. Clanker’s Cavern
8. Bubblegloop Swamp
9. Mumbo’s Mountain
 
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1. Freezeezy Peak - Ice levels are cool, this has a slight edge because you turn into a walrus, Wozza is very cute

2. Click Clock Wood - Nothing to say really, best level

3. Bubblegloop Swamp - This was very refreshing after Clanker’s Cavern. The notes here are very easy to collect and make a great job of showing you where you haven’t been yet. Also I like green levels

4. Rusty Bucket Bay - Classic, gear room is cool, unique theme

5. Treasure Trove Cove - Classic, you got the cheat room, btw I didn’t know as a kid that you could beat the hermit crab without the gold feathers, you can also beat the shark temporarly

6. Mad Monster Mansion - Cool but spooky, everything in this level doesn’t die, pumpkin is the second cutest transformation

7. Gobi’s Valley - Solid but idk I prefer cold levels, bees in the desert doesn’t make sense

8. Mumbo’s Mountain - Solid but super easy, jiggies are in plain sight, termite transformation idk I don’t like bugs

9. Clanker’s Cavern - Visually very bland so can’t like it even though it’s technically a water level. Having to risk drowning for the level to open up is annoying. Clanker is cute though, Gloop is the MVP
 
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I did a detailed ranking on my last playthrough (sorry for the ResetERA link):

www.resetera.com

RTTP: Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty sees you're in quarantine, so I'm going to be rather mean!

Alright, so... world rankings! Let's do those. #9 BUBBLEGLOOP SWAMP I'm surprised myself by this result. I always pegged Bubblegloop as one of the more middle of the road but perfectly decent worlds in Banjo-Kazooie. Yet, maybe that's why it goes here. Aside from the crocodile...
www.resetera.com www.resetera.com

But I would probably bump Mansion up as of this playthrough:

1. Mad Monster Mansion
2. Treasure Trove Cove
3. Click Clock Wood
4. Rusty Bucket Bay
5. Gobi's Valley
6. Freezeezy Peak
7. Mumbo's Mountain
8. Clanker's Cavern
9. Bubblegloop Swamp

I know it's sacrilege because it's one of the most popular levels, but the more I replay Freezeezy Peak the more it feels a bit uneventful. It's still a fun level and ice/snow levels are usually my favorite in games, but it really feels like it's lacking in big set pieces and it suffers from reusing the race for two Jiggies. The highlight is definitely climbing the snowman's scarf but outside of that there isn't much. Plus the walrus is cute but it really feels like an afterthought to the level overall.

As I said in the other thread, Mansion, Cove and Wood are my rock solid top 3 and they could change depending on my mood.
 
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I'm not sure about a complete ranking, but I'd definitely put Click Clock Wood at the top and Clanker's Cavern at the bottom. I still like Clanker's, but I think it's probably the worst level in the game overall.

What'd be really interesting would be to compare these if we included Tooie as well. I think that Kazooie is overall a much more streamlined and fun game and has very tight worlds, but even if Tooie's can be bloated and more cumbersome, I love the way that they are more puzzle-y in just figuring out how to get around in them and unlock areas and such. I think that Kazooie is overall more consistent level-wise, but I think Tooie might have higher highs, at least to me.
 
Mad Monster Mansion is my favorite level in the game. The jiggies are all fairly unique, there’s a ton of areas to explore and secret locations. The theme is also pretty original and strays away from the typical biomes you saw in platformers.

I think Clanker’s Cavern is the worst. The first area has nothing going on other than a Jinjo and feels like wasted space. Also it’s the game’s “aquatic level” but the swimming controls are annoying to use. Releasing Clanker is also a huge pain and can lead to an easy death if you keep missing the fish air bubbles.

I’m also the weirdo that enjoys Rusty Bucket Bay. It’s got a unique theme and it’s pretty challenging. Rare’s humor really shines in that level. I do think that Grunty Industries in Tooie did the theme better though.

I’d rank them like this.

1. Mad Monster Mansion
2. Clock Clock Woods
3. Freezezy Peak
4. Treasure Trove Cove
5. Gobi’s Valley
6. Rusty Bucket Bay
7. Mumbo’s Mountain
8. Bubblegloop Swamp
9. Clanker’s Cavern
 
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SammyJ9 said:
I'm not sure about a complete ranking, but I'd definitely put Click Clock Wood at the top and Clanker's Cavern at the bottom. I still like Clanker's, but I think it's probably the worst level in the game overall.

What'd be really interesting would be to compare these if we included Tooie as well. I think that Kazooie is overall a much more streamlined and fun game and has very tight worlds, but even if Tooie's can be bloated and more cumbersome, I love the way that they are more puzzle-y in just figuring out how to get around in them and unlock areas and such. I think that Kazooie is overall more consistent level-wise, but I think Tooie might have higher highs, at least to me.
Click to expand...
Tooie's levels are structured so differently I feel a straightforward comparison would be difficult. But even as someone who really likes Tooie, warts and all, I feel it would only make Tooie's levels look worse to juxtapose them lol

The worst of Kazooie's levels are over in 20-30 minutes, but Tooie's can just drag and drag.
 
  1. Treasure Trove Cove - Delightful and iconic. I personally love the way the music stops when you reach the top of the stage and all you can hear are seagulls flying by.
  2. Click Clock Woods - Creative peak of the series, I think. It’s one of the best concepts for a level in any platformer.
  3. Freezeazy Peaks - Warm holiday feelings, and I’m partial to climbing that snowman’s scarf.
  4. Rusty Bucket Bay - I’m a sucker for boats and trains.
  5. Bubblegoop Swamp - I actually like all of the mini-games here. Especially Mr. Vile!
  6. Mumbo’s Mountain - The best 14 minutes in gaming.
  7. Gobi’s Desert - I get angry every time I try to get the Jiggy that has you use the speed upgrade to climb the pyramid.
  8. Clanker’s Cavern - Too many drownings.
  9. Mad Monster Mansion - I just find this one a little more tedious to navigate. Also, the Mumbo transformation is clever but not especially fun.
 
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Great: Mad Monster Mansion / Click Clock Wood / Treasure Trove Cove

Good: Gobi's Valley / Rusty Bucket Bay / Freezeezy Peak

Okay: Mumbo's Mountain / Bubblegoop Swamp

Clanker's Cavern: Clanker's Cavern
 
I was talking about this with a friend last night, part of me wishes they salvaged something from Mount Fire Eyes and made it feasible as a world, even if smaller than originally envisioned, and replaced Clanker's Cavern with it. Just feels like Cavern and Bay cover so much similar aesthetic ground and a lava world is the most obvious classic platforming archetype missing in Kazooie.

I don't mind the world overall as I like the puzzle solving elements, but it definitely feels like the most inconsequential level.
 
MondoMega said:
Great: Mad Monster Mansion / Click Clock Wood / Treasure Trove Cove

Good: Gobi's Valley / Rusty Bucket Bay / Freezeezy Peak

Okay: Mumbo's Mountain / Bubblegoop Swamp

Clanker's Cavern: Clanker's Cavern
Click to expand...
Add Freezeezy Peak to my Great list and keep everything else the same and you have my list (from memory). I'm replaying the game now, so I'll see if any opinions change by the end of my playthrough
 
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Mekanos said:
I was talking about this with a friend last night, part of me wishes they salvaged something from Mount Fire Eyes and made it feasible as a world, even if smaller than originally envisioned, and replaced Clanker's Cavern with it. Just feels like Cavern and Bay cover so much similar aesthetic ground and a lava world is the most obvious classic platforming archetype missing in Kazooie.

I don't mind the world overall as I like the puzzle solving elements, but it definitely feels like the most inconsequential level.
Click to expand...

It's really fascinating how Mount Fire Eyes was essentially a prototype/concept of what would become Hailfire Peaks in Banjo-Tooie.

5111303f7324e85154f76c17af8fad51.png

Just upped the size (because its Tooie) and also added an ice side to it.
 
Mekanos said:
I was talking about this with a friend last night, part of me wishes they salvaged something from Mount Fire Eyes and made it feasible as a world, even if smaller than originally envisioned, and replaced Clanker's Cavern with it. Just feels like Cavern and Bay cover so much similar aesthetic ground and a lava world is the most obvious classic platforming archetype missing in Kazooie.

I don't mind the world overall as I like the puzzle solving elements, but it definitely feels like the most inconsequential level.
Click to expand...
Just follow Gobi to the Lava World, silly!

Dinoman96 said:
It's really fascinating how Mount Fire Eyes was essentially a prototype/concept of what would become Hailfire Peaks in Banjo-Tooie.

5111303f7324e85154f76c17af8fad51.png

Just upped the size (because its Tooie) and also added an ice side to it.
Click to expand...
The Fungus Forest level concept (also music!) was reused for DK64 too; and if we're talking about replacements for Clanker's Cavern, I believe that stage was Clanker's Cavern at an earlier stage of development. Reworking concepts like was just a common thing for Rareware; Banjo was the result of reworking Project Dream into something else after all.

There's just so many curious aspects to Banjo-Kazooie's development; so much changed during production and there's plenty of remnants to be found in the final release. In this case we can obviously look at how the lava room in Grunty's Lair is clearly where the enterance to the scrapped lava level would've been.

yBVV22m.png


A personal favourite quirk of mine, though, is how Ticker's Tower wasn't redone to match the rest of Mumbo's Mountain when the original level theme was scrapped.

 
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Dinoman96 said:
It's really fascinating how Mount Fire Eyes was essentially a prototype/concept of what would become Hailfire Peaks in Banjo-Tooie.

5111303f7324e85154f76c17af8fad51.png

Just upped the size (because its Tooie) and also added an ice side to it.
Click to expand...
There was also going to be a section where you swim through lava after Gobi cools it down with water, which sounds interesting. But yeah, I don't think any game's beta development fascinates me as much as Banjo-Kazooie's.

I really love the endgame of Mansion/Bay/Wood and wouldn't change that to have MFE be the final level, but a downsized version I think would have been good for the midsection to complement Peak and Valley. It's possible though Clanker's Cavern was made specifically because it could reuse assets to save time and it isn't a terribly big level.
 
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Dinoman96 said:
It's really fascinating how Mount Fire Eyes was essentially a prototype/concept of what would become Hailfire Peaks in Banjo-Tooie.

5111303f7324e85154f76c17af8fad51.png

Just upped the size (because its Tooie) and also added an ice side to it.
Click to expand...

I spent so much time trying to find the world in the game thinking there was some special, hidden way to access it. Stop n’ Swop just did things to Banjo fans back then haha
 
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Just finished replaying Freezeezy Peak. It's still a great world and one of my favorites, but I'm curious to see if Mad Monster Mansion rises above it for me. I think it and Treasure Trove Cove are tied.
 
1. Click Clock Woods
2. Freezezy Peak
3. Treasure Trove Cove
4. Mad Monster Mansion
5. Gobi’s Valley
6. Rusty Bucket Bay
7. Mumbo’s Mountain
8. Bubblegloop Swamp
9. Clanker’s Cavern
 
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Replaying, I am confident that the first three levels are the strongest. Bad and slow minigames start in bubblegloop, continue throughout the rest of the game (except Rusty Bucket), and then eventually leads to the RGB Disaster (Banjo Tooie).

1. Treasure Trove
2. Mumbo's Mountain
3. Clanker's Cavern
4. Rusty Bucket Bay
5. Click Clock Wood
6. Freezezy Peak
7. Mad Monster Mansion
8. Gobi
9. Bubblegloop Swamp
 
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1. Click Clock Wood
2. Mad Monster Mansion
3. Treasure Trove Cove
4. Freezezy Peak
5. Rusty Bucket Bay
6. Gobi's Desert
7. Mumbo's Mountain
8. Bubblegloop Swamp
9. Clanker's Cavern

I love them all, except for Clanker's Cavern, which is just ok in my book.
 
Mad Monster Mansion perfectly blended creepy and goofy to an extent that has never been achieved before or since.
 
I'm 92 notes and 9 Jiggies into Clanker's Cavern, and yup, it's gotta be the worst. If I could describe this world in one word, it's tedious. Love the music though.

Did it out of order - played Freezeezy and Bubblegloop before Clanker's this time.
 
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Surprised that Rusty Bucket Bay has 0 votes, while it's not my favorite, I really appreciated on this playthrough how dense it is and full of things to explore. I guess it's one of those levels where its more challenging and tedious aspects can weigh it down though.
 
Mekanos said:
Surprised that Rusty Bucket Bay has 0 votes, while it's not my favorite, I really appreciated on this playthrough how dense it is and full of things to explore. I guess it's one of those levels where its more challenging and tedious aspects can weigh it down though.
Click to expand...
It absolutely the difficulty, even tho it one of the better designed levels. Any level with swimming is gonna be easy to die in and will have people think it worse designed because of that-- just look at the people saying Clanker is more tedious than Bubble Gloop of all places.
 
I’m replaying the game now so I’ll have more opinions in a few days, but it’d be interesting to read opinions on B-T levels
 
jnWake said:
I’m replaying the game now so I’ll have more opinions in a few days, but it’d be interesting to read opinions on B-T levels
Click to expand...
Tooie levels are, in general, too big and more tedious to get through. BUT they have an excellent sense of discovery and accomplishment to them when you figure out how to unravel them. Levels like Grunty Industries are almost like puzzle boxes. I really like Hailfire Peaks and Terrydacty Land in particular.
 
Click Clock Wood has always had such a special magic for me.

I guess by modern standards it's easy to level criticisms of excessive backtracking at it, but ever since I first played it as a kid, it captured my imagination and my heart.
Seeing so many different elements of the stage change over time and the way these changes had to be utilized to obtain the various Jiggies, or just drinking in the rich and distinct atmosphere of each season was just wonderful.
I remember recording the music from it onto a cassette tape back in the day just so I could listen to it when I wasn't playing.

No other world from any other similar game has ever enraptured me in quite the same way, and few game worlds or settings in any game at all can even come close even more than two decades later.

Truly an extraordinary work of creative brilliance and digital artistry.
 
When i think of treasure cove trove, i think of summer days as a kid playing banjo kazooie on my n64, as the sun was setting and my mom was cooking dinner, usually after a long day swimming or at the beach.

That game, and that level in particular take me back to a very specific time in my life
 
Mad Monster Mansion is what immediately popped into my head, great vibes and music. Click Clock Wood is such a cool idea and is executed quite well (even if you have to climb the tree too many times). Treasure Trove is top tier as well. Mumbo's Mountain isn't getting much love but it is a great opening level and I have completed it who knows how many times. Freezeezy is jolly has heck.

Clanker's Cavern is really the only subpar level and even that one is okay. B-K is one of the greats.
 
Beanstar40 said:
When i think of treasure cove trove, i think of summer days as a kid playing banjo kazooie on my n64, as the sun was setting and my mom was cooking dinner, usually after a long day swimming or at the beach.

That game, and that level in particular take me back to a very specific time in my life
Click to expand...
When I think of Banjo-Kazooie Treasure Trove Cove is always the first level I think of. Mumbo's Mountain is not a bad level, per se, but tends to feel like a glorified tutorial; with TTC you're getting to the real meat of the game. One of my favorite areas in the game is the lighthouse area; I love the feeling of climbing to the top and the music cutting out, only hearing sound effects.
 
Click Clock Wood is excellent, only held back by some iffy platforming sections and the somewhat inherent repetitiveness but the concept itself and how it is designed was a stroke of genius. I have a hard time deciding between it and Treasure Trove Cove but might have to give it to the latter just because it feels more fun to navigate. Bubblegloop is definitely my least favourite because the only memorable parts (the labyrinth and Mr. Vile) are among the more tedious aspects of the game.
 
Having just completed Mad Monster Mansion, I think my list so far goes something like:

1) Treasure Trove Cove
2) Mad Monster Mansion
3) Freezeezy Peak
4) Gobi's Desert
5) Bubblegloop Swamp
6) Mumbo's Mountain
7) Clanker's Cavern

That top 3 is a doozy, though. I really struggle to rank them. Traversing the snowman's scarf, climbing to the top of the lighthouse, and racing inside the haunted church are all great childhood memories of mine.

Freezeezy Peak is probably a more memorable level than Mad Monster Mansion by a hair, but reusing the Boggy race twice and those damn snowmen keep MMM ahead for me. Plus, you won't find potted plants that say "Fuuuuuuuuck youuuuuuuuu" anywhere else.

Looking forward to Click Clock Wood, not looking forward to Rusty Bucket Bay lol
 
My replay I just finished Mad Monster Mansion, but I feel pretty confident on my ranking of the final 2 worlds isn't going to change much.

1) Click Clock Woods
2) Freezeezy Peak
3) Mumbo's Mountain
4) Bubblegoop Swamp
5) Treasure Trove Cove
6) Mad Monster Mansion
7) Gobi's Desert
8) Clanker's Cavern*
9) Rusty Bucket Bay*

Reason is the following

Clanker and Rusty bucket have too much swimming and or too many segments I don't find fun at all. Rusty is the worst especially in the n64 port with it's 1 hit kills that fuck your note score. I do think on the 360 version with the note score mechanic fixed Rusty's ship is fun enough to push it over clanker.

Gobi I feel is just laid out weird and is too samey with it's multiple pyramids.

Mad Monster Mansion feels like a Tooie level at times, it's a bit too big with lots of wasted space like the hedge maze or the whole area with the well and fountain. Top tier theming though.

Treasure Trove Cove is also a bit too big, I also feel bummed the top half of the level with the lighthouse is so underutilized.

Bubblegoop has a nice variety of fun challenges with little downtime between them, and the Mumbo transformation is one of my favorites in the game. Might be higher if not for the dumb maze to get to Mumbo's.

Mumbo's mountain is a great intro level. It's well paced and has a nice variety of fun challenges that help to cement the mechanics you've learned.

Freezeezy Peak is a big level done right imo. The snowman is fun to climb, the game makes excellent use of the beak bomb technique, and it has some of my favorite npcs in the polar bear family and the walrus.

Click Clock Wood is just a fantastic level with an amazing theme built around the changing seasons. The bee is also the best Mumbo transformation.
 
Freezeezy Peak "done" (need to do the second race still) in about 45 minutes. It's impressive how quickly the levels can be 100%'d on this game. Anyway, Freezeezy Peak is tons of fun, climbing the snowman is one of those classic N64 moments. Jumping to the snowman's pipe to get that jiggy will never stop being scary in a world where you lose your notes if you mess it up...
 
Looking over the rest of the thread I'm surprised to see I have Bubblegoop so high compared to everyone else. I also really enjoy the Mr. Vile minigame and enjoy getting the jiggy without the speed shoes. I feel it's a minigame that finds the right balance of being challenging but fair while still being fun mechanically. I wish the last round had a 2-4 player option like what Tooie did with it's minigames.
 
BassForever said:
Looking over the rest of the thread I'm surprised to see I have Bubblegoop so high compared to everyone else. I also really enjoy the Mr. Vile minigame and enjoy getting the jiggy without the speed shoes. I feel it's a minigame that finds the right balance of being challenging but fair while still being fun mechanically. I wish the last round had a 2-4 player option like what Tooie did with it's minigames.
Click to expand...
I also feel I enjoy Bubblegoop more than most. The level's structure is fairly simple but it's fun to explore, with a mini-hub at the center that branches out to each main "sub-area". I'm not a particularly big fan of Mr. Vile's minigame though, since I feel the camera placement isn't particularly fair for the player.
 
Bubblegloop is pretty good IMO. I love the pathing of the level, it's laid out so well so you're never lost wondering where you may have missed music notes. I also like the Mr. Vile minigame, it's one of the sweatiest moments in the game and really keeps you on your toes. I 1st tried it during this playthrough so maybe it's not as hard as I remember, but it's definitely stressful in a good way.

Freezeezy Peak might top Mad Monster Mansion after sleeping on it. The maze feels like a bit of a waste and there's a couple areas that I wish had more going on, whereas Freezeezy feels essential in every corner. But I'm a sucker for horror levels, so...
 
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jnWake said:
I also feel I enjoy Bubblegoop more than most. The level's structure is fairly simple but it's fun to explore, with a mini-hub at the center that branches out to each main "sub-area". I'm not a particularly big fan of Mr. Vile's minigame though, since I feel the camera placement isn't particularly fair for the player.
Click to expand...
I still think the camera is better then most of the other minigames in BK. Both the sand castle and the ice puck mini game require you to awkward run into the camera to see the letters in the bottom right corner of the room.

Also the real trick to the Mr. Vile game is just to stay ahead of Mr. Vile and eat the grubs he's going for, only breaking off if you see like 3-4 easy grubs in a row. That's also why I don't think the camera matters as much since you're taking advantage of Vile's ai/pathing to lead you to the grubs you'll eat.
 
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Click Clock Wood has to be it. Just a really fun level to explore with well thought out challenges and progression with the different seasons. Treasure Trove Cove, Freezeezy Peak, and Mad Monster Mansion are all fantastic runner ups though.
 
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I've been wanting to make a thread like this (and an overall 'Banjo-Kazooie is one of the GOAT' statement) so I'm glad it exists. Here's my ranking:

1) Freezeezy Peak
2) Mad Monster Mansion
3) Treasure Trove Cove
4) Mumbo's Mountain
5) Clanker's Cavern
6) Click Clock Wood
7) Rusty Bucket Bay
8) Gobi's Valley
9) Bubblegloop Swamp

Freezeezy Peak has the benefit of learning one of the coolest moves in the game, as well as multiple fun corners of the map. Even though it's small in diameter, it makes up for it in verticality. Climbing up the snowman is really fun and they give you lots to do up there considering it's the only thing of meaning that high.

Mad Monster Mansion was originally my #1, and I love the context to all of the platforming (jumping across pews and up the organ in the chapel is genius), but I think it struggles with the transformation. Granted, all of the transformations are undercooked in B-K (and overcooked in B-T), but in Mad Monster Mansion it's more frustrating because Pumpkin Banjo is the most limited. Feels like there are sections of traversal completely cut off to you if you're a pumpkin. Whereas Walrus Banjo has more free reign. Contextually, this level is better than Freezeezy, but mechanically, Freezeezy is better. Aesthetically, they're both the best.

Treasure Trove Cove is just iconic. SO much to do, so many places to go; pick a direction from the start of the level and you're going to find yourself at an objective in no time. Learning to Fly here helps cement it as the quintessential Banjo-Kazooie level. I wish Yooka-Laylee's levels basically copied this.

Mumbo's Mountain is the perfect introductory level. Maybe in all of the platformers. Despite its multi-tiered design, there's no one way to go; the game gives you resources to trudge up the hill to the right of the entrance instead of going towards Conga. If I'm comparing this to other first levels, I think of Bob-omb Battlefield and the Cascade Kingdom; both of them have their little playgrounds but they're still very linear and there's one very clear path. Mumbo doesn't have that. It's a great first instruction on how you'll tackle the rest of the game's worlds. And it's a blast to speedrun.

Clanker's Cavern is wonderful. I used to dread this world when I was younger, but playing it now, I really enjoy its layout and design. Someone at Rare must've known that just throwing you into Clanker's room, in the beginning, would've been too disorienting, so they pulled a Great Plateau move and gave you a vertical slice of the level before you go to the main event. It's definitely the most maze-like level of the early game, and it's easy to lose track of your objectives and notes, but there's a surprising amount of variety in such a grim location and thankfully the swimming controls aren't bad.

Click Clock Wood is great in concept but annoying in execution. I even think I should put it below Rusty Bucket Bay but its new and original biome helps elevate it. The idea of the seasons is excellent but the fact that you can't use the Bee transformation in any season other than Spring makes it feel very underutilized. Summer and Fall could've used a flight option and I thought it was weird that there wasn't one. There's still lots to do and it's a great 'last' level. The progression of characters through the seasons was an excellent touch, even if it did make the level more linear.

Rusty Bucket Bay is wonderful, despite the major difficulty spike. Hazards literally everywhere you turn without many options to replenish health. The engine room is wonderful platforming, especially in a 3D space, but my god the level does not prepare you for that type of challenge. I guess it's my old age but I praised the Lord for save states because I did not want to collect all of the notes again after dying in the engine room. Otherwise, I loved the challenge, even though I must've misremembered there was a way to decontaminate the bay water.

Gobi's Valley is nice and varied despite its smaller size. This is a level where the draw distance hurts it because I had forgotten where Gobi was and I saw the island in the corner, only I didn't get close enough to where Gobi would come into the image, so I spun myself in circles looking for him. I remember the Rare Replay version fixed this, and I wish it got fixed in this version, but whatever. Water under the bridge. It's a good level but it's just not as memorable as the rest. In my opinion, of course.

Bubblegloop Swamp, last but not least. I feel bad ragging on this world because at the end of the day all of these worlds are at least good on some level. But while it's not hard to navigate, it is a little annoying considering the swamp covers so much of the ground and you get hurt when you step into it. I will say though, that this level does have the best of Mumbo's transformations. Crocodile Banjo can move wherever he wants and has an attack that can be used as both an attack and a double jump. But at the end of the day, it's a very wide level that has a lot of annoying backtracking. Also, the move learned here is the most context-sensitive and least exciting.

Despite how negative I could've sounded about certain things, as a complete package, these levels are astounding and it's wild to believe this game is almost 25 years old. Some brilliant level design even by today's standards. And all of it is tied together with arguably the best hub world in a platformer, Gruntilda's Lair, which feels like it should count as its own separate level. Such a great sense of progression with one of the most iconic overworld themes in a video game, and it's so easily adaptable to multiple different styles of music.

Game good.
 
Rusty Bucket Bay is not nearly as bad as I remembered after revisiting during my current playthrough. I actually had quite a bit of fun!

Click Clock Wood remains.
 
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I finished the game now so I can share my thoughts here. First though, some general observations:
  • People often meme about how many enemy designs are "object + eyes" (which is true) but I think it's pretty cool how enemies are designed to fit the context of each level. Sure, a chest with eyes is a bit of a silly design but it fits the beach + pirates theme perfectly and I honestly prefer that approach to what other games do where the level theme changes but we always see the same enemies. I also like that the common grunts would change their designs on each level, like becoming skeletons on Mad Monster or Robin Hood knock-offs in Click Clock Wood.
  • Most levels in the game have a very "circular" design, which is a pretty interesting idea. Usually, each stage has like a "point of interest" at its center (say, Clanker in Clanker's Cavern, the snowman in Freezeezy, the mansion in Mad Monster's, the ship in Rusty's and so on) which has different ways to be entered or different ways to interact with it. Then, surrounding this "point of interest" you have different paths that lead to different objectives. What's cool about this is that you can explore levels in many different ways, either by going around the circle and sorta ignoring the center or instead going straight to the center to look for objectives.
With that said, since every level in the game follows a somewhat similar template, what then makes each one stand out is how good its theme is and also, obviously, how fun and varied its objectives are. I'll now share my quick takes on each world:
  • Mumbo's: As the first level, objectives are somewhat bland and uninteresting although I do appreciate their place as the general tutorial of how a world works in B-K. Where I rank this world very low, however, is on its theme, which in my opinion is very boring and bland.
  • TTC: I love the theme for this level and the objectives are fun in general. Getting the ability to fly really opens up the level ideas.
  • Clanker's: In terms of theming this level fails a little IMO, although Clanker itself looks cool there are barely any unique enemies here. In terms of gameplay, I think I enjoy this level more than most. The initial diving section to rescue Clanker is terrible but I love how you interact with Clanker to explore the level.
  • Bubblegloop: Another level with a somewhat boring theme, but I enjoy the design here a lot since it's a little different from the rest. Instead of being a circle this one focuses on having a center with different branches coming from it which is also a fun approach. Croco Banjo is a great transformation too.
  • Freezeezy: The christmas theme is such a feel good theme that you can't help but love this level. In terms of design is also a ton of fun thanks to the big snowman working as the main point of interest. My only gripe with the level is that I don't really like the racing minigame.
  • Gobi's: Desert may be a somewhat cliche theme but I like how it's implemented here, focusing more on the pyramids than on the desert itself. There's a lot of fun places to explore and varied objectives so I actually really like this level.
  • Mad Monster's: IMO, this level suffers a bit from being a little bit too much. Up until now, exploring each world had been fairly simple but this one feels unnecesarily big and convoluted to me. As a comparison, I thought it was really cool how you could enter Clanker in different ways but I didn't really enjoy trying out each window on the mansion. The level's theme, though, is amazing.
  • Rusty Bucket: Similar theme to Clanker's but much better executed. I love how silly some of the enemies look in this world. In terms of gameplay, this one is super tough to maybe annoying degrees but in general I really liked it.
  • Click Clock: Easily the strongest theme in the game. Going through each season and seeing the world change in each one is just magical. There's also a lot of varied objectives and fun stuff to do. The notes system hurt my enjoyment of the stage though since going through it more than once just hunting for notes is not fun.
I'm not much of a ranking person so I won't make a full list but I think my favorite is either Gobi's or TTC and my least favorite probably Mumbo's.
 
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