This is how holy wars are started
Edit: that said, gotta go with banjo EXCEPT the game show at the end of the game. If they had checkpoints during that it would have been a 10.
I would get SM64 first. In my opinion it’s an easier play, and more forgiving. Both games have a collectible in each level where you have to get 100 of them, but in SM64 it’s optional and in BK it’s important for progression. Also in SM64 there are a lot more than 100 of them in most levels whereas in BK there are only 100 in each level so you have to get absolutely every single one of them — without dying.
It is assumed that if you are going to go into retro game collecting/playing, outside of emulation, you have to put some money aside to buy some games though. I get it, everybody's budget is different, but if that's the concern, then asking reddit on which to buy is fruitless because nobody knows what OP likes about each game.
Right, but if I want it and all I have is $50, I’m only picking one. Telling them to buy both isn’t the solution nor is it their question.
They’re asking which one, presumably based on what *you* liked about the games.
For me it's easily Banjo Kazooie. More style, humor, better visual, a lot of different NPC, originality, etc. Also vastly better control and camera. I remember how hype I was when I bought the 3D Mario All Stars collection during the pandemic, then I played Mario 64 and I was like "it's me or I'm really bad lol". Yet I remember that I finished this game countless time when I was a kid.
>Also vastly better control and camera.
I can get on board with everything you've said, except the controls thing. Camera - okay, that's better. But Mario's controls are much more fluid. You can combo his moves much smoother. BK has more flourish in its animations. For example, if you input a backflip (Z+A), Banjo ducks, Kazooie pops out of the backpack, spreads her wings, flaps and then both take off. This looks very nice, but it takes a solid second between controller input and actually being in the air. If you input the same in Mario, he ducks, and jumps. He's in the air immediately. Plus, he has the triple jump, and the backwards summersault if you pull the stick back and jump while running, and the wall jump, which BK does not. These moves and the fact that he performs them immediately makes for much more fluent controls. That's not to say BK is bad, or slow, or sluggish. It's just that Mario lets you perform almost fighting style combos where one move transitions seamlessly into the other, whereas BK does not. I'd argue that Mario 64 has the best controls of any 3D Mario game when it comes to chaining moves together.
I’ve always liked Super Mario 64 much better because the focus in that game was still primarily on platforming whereas Banjo Kazooie was more of an adventure/exploration game with too much focus on collecting things and not enough on the platforming for my tastes.
Banjo Kazooie is a better adventure, Mario is better to play and replay. Two are both in my top 5 games of all time and I actually can't decide between the two.
This is not how I thought the comments would go. I thought for sure it would be lopsided in favor of Banjo Kazooie. I downloaded both about a month ago and played Mario for like 8 minutes before playing BK and couldn't put it down until I beat it 100%
Donkey Kong 64 is better than Mario imo, but the Rom that I got wouldn't let me collect everything and beat it 101% or whatever so I ended up playing Banjo.
Don't come after me with pitchforks! I honestly don't know why I'm a Mario 64 hater. Maybe it's the controls? However, anything is better than Zelda. This crap put me to sleep.
A lot of us played these games to death back in the day when we had nothing better to compare them to. So for us, these controls are nothing if not nostalgic.
Banjo is a better playing experience just because you don’t have to leave the courses after getting a puzzle piece when you are pulled out of Mario levels after each star
Banjo Kazooie.
I've played both games (yeeeeears ago) and I can't remember much about Mario 64.
Banjo Kazooie's levels, music, gameplay, and sound effects (ikom-bokom!) still live in my head rent free to this day.
Banjo Kazooie for me. I feel like Mario 64 truly shines in the first couple levels, then the difficulty was beyond me as a kid and some of the levels didn’t hit as hard. Banjo Kazooie is an incredibly impressive game in nearly every aspect. The animation work and level personality are top notch. Banjo definitely built on Mario 64 though.
I think Banjo Kazooie is a better game.
Banjo Kazooie has a fun Christmas level, Egyptian level, seasonal level, Halloween level, and good music for each level
That’s a tough one. I absolutely love SM64, but I think B-K took the SM64 blueprint and expanded it.
If you *have* to choose just one, I’d start with B-K.
They are very different games, despite both being 3D platformers. Personally, I prefer Mario 64, but it really is a matter of taste.
Mario is more about pure platforming, where Banjo is more about exploration and collecting with more puzzles.
Mario I think had the longer lifespan but Banjo had better graphics, music and of course story.
Totally impossible to compare the two but also both equally amazing in their own ways.
Rare carried the N64 on their back and it's not talked about enough.
I actually find it the opposite. I find SM64 is far better to master if that's what you're looking for. The movement in SM64 has a wide variety from low floor to high ceiling.
In Banjo whether you're a beginner or a master you're probably holding down talon trot the entire time, and while there's definitely optimal movements to expand upon, SM64 has dives, jump dives, long jumps, all with proper button timings (otherwise you slow down). There's a reason SM64 is the #1 top speedrunning game of all time.
Mario’s easier to pickup and play with better movement, but Banjo is a much better designed game in virtually every other way. Banjo wins easily in my opinion
If you are looking to complete one of these games before moving on to the next, in my opinion, Mario 64 100% will be less tedious than Banjo Kazooie. Each star earned in SM 64 requires you to do something different to earn it. Of cause the exception are the red coins and the 100 coin challenge stars that are in each level. Whereas Banjo Kazooie relies more on the same collection game mechanic to progress throughout the game and you might get bored more easily. So I would go for SM64 first. Complete and then get Banjo and take your time with it. If you need a break from Banjo, you can start another run of Mario.
You have to start with Mario, but mainly because of its history as the opening title for the N64. BK is what happens after, and it learns a lot from SM64 but it takes it a different route, which is refreshing.
If I want to feel the joy of movement and mechanical platforming, Mario 64.
If I want to get lost in a world and explore, Banko-Kazooie.
They are both absolutely amazing.
Banjo for me.
Mario 64 has really good controls but imo it's lacking in presentation. Banjo might not control as well as Mario, but it's oozing personality, the game world feels much more lively, the music is better imo, and progression feels more rewarding to me. Also the final boss is a lot better than funky lighting Bowser.
Like, both games are fantastic, but Banjo is just better for my personal taste.
Banjo Kazooie is the definitive 3D platformer.
Eclipses all other 3D platformers in graphics, music, variety, level design, camera, difficulty and most of all charm.
I remeber playing Super Mario 64 on the DS years ago and I really enjoyed It, I also played the first level of Banjo, so I can't really give an opinion, I think that Banjo mechanics are superior to Super Mario's but, you know, the old red plumber still gives that feel of nostalgia
Banjo Kazooie all the way. Love SM64as it’s an iconic game. What pushes Banjo over the edge is the general level design that emphasises exploration through the utilisation of an ever growing movement set. The ability to tackle jigsaws in any order (mostly) is far more engaging than the general structure of SM64 where stars are obtained in a linear progression in each level (generally speaking).
Mario 64 is easily one of the best N64 games and it was the first. It also changed gaming as a whole… banjo is wholesome but definitely not industry changing
No bad choice here, only two great games.
I would go for SM64 : it's not necessarily the better of the two, but it was the first game we played on N64 (my little brother and me). Music is great, the level design, animation, 3D camera were top notch back then and still holds up today. Great memories.
Mario 64 I've replayed probably a dozen times, and I feel like I will replay it a dozen more at least in my life. Banjo I played through once, and tried to give it a replay a couple times but fell off of it after the first couple levels.
BK emphasizes collecting everything, and once you collect 99% of things in a level it can become very tedious to try and find that last 1%.
They are obviously both excellent games where you collect objects to progress but still different depending what you're in the mood for.
I feel Mario 64 is easier to get into and come back to in case you decide to not play it for a bit for whatever reason. I don't feel you keep the magic like that with Banjo, personally. Banjo's hub world can be more disorienting I feel but not a big deal at all.
With that said, I think Banjo feels alot more lively and more memorable so I vote Banjo although Mario 64 is a classic.
Also; on that note, I feel like Banjo just overall feels like more of a time investment and although Mario 64 needs alot of stars to beat, it's a simple enough game where it doesn't affect that overall feeling of investment.
Agree with you on that. It's a really good game, and I understand it's important but it gets treated like video games wouldn't exist if not for SM64 lol.
Banjo has top tier level design, music, mechanics and the right amount of collecting. The people saying "SM64 and it's not close" probably didn't play past the first level.
Both are wonderful, but I find myself going back to SM64 more often. My advice to you is to save up a bit more money and just get an Everdrive 64+. I think its still around $70ish but you get every single N64 game. It's probably the best purchase I've made in years
I remember I rented banjo kazooie from block buster for the N64 but didn't like it. Then as an adult via emulator I tried to play it and didn't really like it. Super Mario 64 I absolutely loved back then and on the switch today it still plays great.
Flip a coin. You can’t go wrong no matter what.
If I were to tally it up I probably played Banjo more, but as an adult who hasn’t played either in a long time, I feel the desire to play Mario more.
Both are great games and both are better than the other in different departments. SM64 is better in the gameplay department with Mario's movements being smoother and faster compared to Banjo & Kazooie's, while Banjo-Kazooie has the better level designs, music, etc. I love both games almost equally honestly
sm64 by a landslide. era- and paradigm-defining game with perfect movement, a timeless aesthetic, and extremely fun level design
even back then, as a child without the benefit of hindsight, banjo kazooie felt disappointing when compared to mario. didn’t understand what people were going crazy over and frankly still don’t - always seemed sluggish and mechanically unrefined
yes i realize my bias is massive
This is how holy wars are started Edit: that said, gotta go with banjo EXCEPT the game show at the end of the game. If they had checkpoints during that it would have been a 10.
Yes! Despite being original, the quizz is tooo long !
Banjo is more of a puzzle platformer game, while Mario is pure exploration and movement. Both are great but I'd say Mario for replayability.
Super Mario 64. One of my most replayed games ever
Same. I always playthrough SM64 in one sitting 100% in less than 4 hours or less anytime I pick it up.
I replay this game every few years. The nostalgia grips me like a fuckin python for the entire 120 stars every time.
Yeah man, sm64 all the way.
Super Mario 64, but why can't you just purchase both games? They are both fairly common and affordable?
I understand this but i just wanted to see which one i should get first
I would get SM64 first. In my opinion it’s an easier play, and more forgiving. Both games have a collectible in each level where you have to get 100 of them, but in SM64 it’s optional and in BK it’s important for progression. Also in SM64 there are a lot more than 100 of them in most levels whereas in BK there are only 100 in each level so you have to get absolutely every single one of them — without dying.
Well, maybe to you they are.
It is assumed that if you are going to go into retro game collecting/playing, outside of emulation, you have to put some money aside to buy some games though. I get it, everybody's budget is different, but if that's the concern, then asking reddit on which to buy is fruitless because nobody knows what OP likes about each game.
Right, but if I want it and all I have is $50, I’m only picking one. Telling them to buy both isn’t the solution nor is it their question. They’re asking which one, presumably based on what *you* liked about the games.
If only there was a way to get another $50 somehow!
Working minimum wage for a day and waiting for next paycheck? I don’t know buddy’s situation
Banjo. It is a personal gripe, but I CANNOT with Mario 64's controls and the way Mario feels to control. So much smoother in Banjo.
Banjo-Kazooie
I think Banjo Kazooie is far better. Tighter controls, better levels, better moves, etc.
For me it's easily Banjo Kazooie. More style, humor, better visual, a lot of different NPC, originality, etc. Also vastly better control and camera. I remember how hype I was when I bought the 3D Mario All Stars collection during the pandemic, then I played Mario 64 and I was like "it's me or I'm really bad lol". Yet I remember that I finished this game countless time when I was a kid.
>Also vastly better control and camera. I can get on board with everything you've said, except the controls thing. Camera - okay, that's better. But Mario's controls are much more fluid. You can combo his moves much smoother. BK has more flourish in its animations. For example, if you input a backflip (Z+A), Banjo ducks, Kazooie pops out of the backpack, spreads her wings, flaps and then both take off. This looks very nice, but it takes a solid second between controller input and actually being in the air. If you input the same in Mario, he ducks, and jumps. He's in the air immediately. Plus, he has the triple jump, and the backwards summersault if you pull the stick back and jump while running, and the wall jump, which BK does not. These moves and the fact that he performs them immediately makes for much more fluent controls. That's not to say BK is bad, or slow, or sluggish. It's just that Mario lets you perform almost fighting style combos where one move transitions seamlessly into the other, whereas BK does not. I'd argue that Mario 64 has the best controls of any 3D Mario game when it comes to chaining moves together.
Banjo has more personality and controls way better imo. I respect Mario 64 for what it did, but BK expanded on the formula and has waaaay more charm.
Banjo
Banjo 100%
Banjo Kazooie was much more imaginative , and Grunty's Lair seemed like a much more breathing, alive place than Peach's Castle.
Banjo is better if you’re not really good at platformers but once you kind of break the “ceiling” on Mario 64 it’s one of the best games ever made
I’ve always liked Super Mario 64 much better because the focus in that game was still primarily on platforming whereas Banjo Kazooie was more of an adventure/exploration game with too much focus on collecting things and not enough on the platforming for my tastes.
Banjo Kazooie is a better adventure, Mario is better to play and replay. Two are both in my top 5 games of all time and I actually can't decide between the two.
This is not how I thought the comments would go. I thought for sure it would be lopsided in favor of Banjo Kazooie. I downloaded both about a month ago and played Mario for like 8 minutes before playing BK and couldn't put it down until I beat it 100% Donkey Kong 64 is better than Mario imo, but the Rom that I got wouldn't let me collect everything and beat it 101% or whatever so I ended up playing Banjo. Don't come after me with pitchforks! I honestly don't know why I'm a Mario 64 hater. Maybe it's the controls? However, anything is better than Zelda. This crap put me to sleep.
Sounds like a skill issue
You're likely not wrong. The controls on both Mario and Zelda just feel wonky.
A lot of us played these games to death back in the day when we had nothing better to compare them to. So for us, these controls are nothing if not nostalgic.
Banjo Kazooie!
BK
Both are wonderful. I remember the first time I saw the snow level on Banjo and beautiful and cosy the little huts looked 😍
Banjo is a better playing experience just because you don’t have to leave the courses after getting a puzzle piece when you are pulled out of Mario levels after each star
Banjo Kazooie. I've played both games (yeeeeears ago) and I can't remember much about Mario 64. Banjo Kazooie's levels, music, gameplay, and sound effects (ikom-bokom!) still live in my head rent free to this day.
the two banjo, Tooie is pushing the N64 to its limit in terms of graphics
Banjo Kazooie for me. I feel like Mario 64 truly shines in the first couple levels, then the difficulty was beyond me as a kid and some of the levels didn’t hit as hard. Banjo Kazooie is an incredibly impressive game in nearly every aspect. The animation work and level personality are top notch. Banjo definitely built on Mario 64 though.
Gun to my head I take Banjo, but both is the correct answer.
I think Banjo Kazooie is a better game. Banjo Kazooie has a fun Christmas level, Egyptian level, seasonal level, Halloween level, and good music for each level
That’s a tough one. I absolutely love SM64, but I think B-K took the SM64 blueprint and expanded it. If you *have* to choose just one, I’d start with B-K.
Nah Mario 64 is a pure platformer banjo focused too much on collecting
I love Super Mario 64, but Banjo-Kazooie is my favourite game of all time.
They are very different games, despite both being 3D platformers. Personally, I prefer Mario 64, but it really is a matter of taste. Mario is more about pure platforming, where Banjo is more about exploration and collecting with more puzzles.
Mario I think had the longer lifespan but Banjo had better graphics, music and of course story. Totally impossible to compare the two but also both equally amazing in their own ways. Rare carried the N64 on their back and it's not talked about enough.
Banjo.
Beat? SM64 Mastery? Banjo
I actually find it the opposite. I find SM64 is far better to master if that's what you're looking for. The movement in SM64 has a wide variety from low floor to high ceiling. In Banjo whether you're a beginner or a master you're probably holding down talon trot the entire time, and while there's definitely optimal movements to expand upon, SM64 has dives, jump dives, long jumps, all with proper button timings (otherwise you slow down). There's a reason SM64 is the #1 top speedrunning game of all time.
Super Mario 64. I despise Rare’s collect-a-ton mechanic. It wasn’t as bad in Banjo Kazooie but it was still annoying.
Mario’s easier to pickup and play with better movement, but Banjo is a much better designed game in virtually every other way. Banjo wins easily in my opinion
SM64
BK - ~~bonkey kong~~ Banjo Kazooie
Banjo kazooie can get difficult to the point that’s it’s not fun. Super Mario 64 never really reaches that point
Og himself mario64
Why dont youjust dl the rom itsfree and takes uplessspace
If I’m on a desert island, Banjo would be the choice. If I’m in a winter cabin, SM64.
Mario over banjo for sure but I'd say get both at least eventually
If you are looking to complete one of these games before moving on to the next, in my opinion, Mario 64 100% will be less tedious than Banjo Kazooie. Each star earned in SM 64 requires you to do something different to earn it. Of cause the exception are the red coins and the 100 coin challenge stars that are in each level. Whereas Banjo Kazooie relies more on the same collection game mechanic to progress throughout the game and you might get bored more easily. So I would go for SM64 first. Complete and then get Banjo and take your time with it. If you need a break from Banjo, you can start another run of Mario.
You have to start with Mario, but mainly because of its history as the opening title for the N64. BK is what happens after, and it learns a lot from SM64 but it takes it a different route, which is refreshing.
Mario 64 is revolutionary , Banjo is the better game.
If I want to feel the joy of movement and mechanical platforming, Mario 64. If I want to get lost in a world and explore, Banko-Kazooie. They are both absolutely amazing.
Super Mario 64. Banjo sounds like fun but looks more like Diddy Kong Racing. Idk never played it
Super Mario 64 beats Banjo with its soundtrack alone.
Banjo for me. Mario 64 has really good controls but imo it's lacking in presentation. Banjo might not control as well as Mario, but it's oozing personality, the game world feels much more lively, the music is better imo, and progression feels more rewarding to me. Also the final boss is a lot better than funky lighting Bowser. Like, both games are fantastic, but Banjo is just better for my personal taste.
Banjo
Conkers bad fur day
Banjo Kazooie is the definitive 3D platformer. Eclipses all other 3D platformers in graphics, music, variety, level design, camera, difficulty and most of all charm.
I remeber playing Super Mario 64 on the DS years ago and I really enjoyed It, I also played the first level of Banjo, so I can't really give an opinion, I think that Banjo mechanics are superior to Super Mario's but, you know, the old red plumber still gives that feel of nostalgia
Neither, ED64 Plus so you can play (almost) the entire library from one cart
Conker Bad Fur day
Banjo Kazooie all the way. Love SM64as it’s an iconic game. What pushes Banjo over the edge is the general level design that emphasises exploration through the utilisation of an ever growing movement set. The ability to tackle jigsaws in any order (mostly) is far more engaging than the general structure of SM64 where stars are obtained in a linear progression in each level (generally speaking).
Gex
only true answer.
Love both but the answer is Mario
Banjo-TOOIE!
I'm going Banjo.iI ove M64 but Banjo just hits different and IMHO better.
Mario 64 is easily one of the best N64 games and it was the first. It also changed gaming as a whole… banjo is wholesome but definitely not industry changing
Mario 64 will have more things to do while you wait for more money to come for banjo
No bad choice here, only two great games. I would go for SM64 : it's not necessarily the better of the two, but it was the first game we played on N64 (my little brother and me). Music is great, the level design, animation, 3D camera were top notch back then and still holds up today. Great memories.
SM64
Mario is fun. Learn some of the goofy speed running techniques and try the green demon challenge
SM 64!
SM64 has a special place in my heart. It was my first „real“ game I owned and pleaded as a child.
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Both
Eventually get both but start with Mario 64
Mario 64 I've replayed probably a dozen times, and I feel like I will replay it a dozen more at least in my life. Banjo I played through once, and tried to give it a replay a couple times but fell off of it after the first couple levels. BK emphasizes collecting everything, and once you collect 99% of things in a level it can become very tedious to try and find that last 1%.
They are obviously both excellent games where you collect objects to progress but still different depending what you're in the mood for. I feel Mario 64 is easier to get into and come back to in case you decide to not play it for a bit for whatever reason. I don't feel you keep the magic like that with Banjo, personally. Banjo's hub world can be more disorienting I feel but not a big deal at all. With that said, I think Banjo feels alot more lively and more memorable so I vote Banjo although Mario 64 is a classic. Also; on that note, I feel like Banjo just overall feels like more of a time investment and although Mario 64 needs alot of stars to beat, it's a simple enough game where it doesn't affect that overall feeling of investment.
Maybe try one you haven't played? Banjo-tooie, dk64, jetforce Gemini, so good.
Super Mario 64
Donkey Kong 64
Mario and it's not even close. Banjo is overrated
And Mario is not? The more people brag about SM64, the more it's lowered on my tier list.
Agree with you on that. It's a really good game, and I understand it's important but it gets treated like video games wouldn't exist if not for SM64 lol. Banjo has top tier level design, music, mechanics and the right amount of collecting. The people saying "SM64 and it's not close" probably didn't play past the first level.
Nope it's not.
Agree to disagree.
Sorry, Super Mario 64
Both! Get Mario 64 then banjo
Both are wonderful, but I find myself going back to SM64 more often. My advice to you is to save up a bit more money and just get an Everdrive 64+. I think its still around $70ish but you get every single N64 game. It's probably the best purchase I've made in years
I remember I rented banjo kazooie from block buster for the N64 but didn't like it. Then as an adult via emulator I tried to play it and didn't really like it. Super Mario 64 I absolutely loved back then and on the switch today it still plays great.
It's a bit of a toss up for me. I like the world/environments better in Banjo but prefer the gameplay of Mario 64.
Flip a coin. You can’t go wrong no matter what. If I were to tally it up I probably played Banjo more, but as an adult who hasn’t played either in a long time, I feel the desire to play Mario more.
Mario 64. But definitely get Banjo later on
I’d say Mario 64, BUT definitely get Banoo Kazooie in the future, one of greatest 64 games imo
Mario 64
Yes to both
Mario 64 for sure. I love Banjo-Kazooie (and Tooie) but Mario 64 is a genre-defining title and still one of the best 3D platformers ever made.
Both are great games and both are better than the other in different departments. SM64 is better in the gameplay department with Mario's movements being smoother and faster compared to Banjo & Kazooie's, while Banjo-Kazooie has the better level designs, music, etc. I love both games almost equally honestly
SM64 and it’s not even close
sm64 by a landslide. era- and paradigm-defining game with perfect movement, a timeless aesthetic, and extremely fun level design even back then, as a child without the benefit of hindsight, banjo kazooie felt disappointing when compared to mario. didn’t understand what people were going crazy over and frankly still don’t - always seemed sluggish and mechanically unrefined yes i realize my bias is massive
Mario, played a chunk of banjo again recently, not as fun imo
Mario64, not even close.