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My Favorite Level in Banjo-Kazooie

I touched on this a little bit in my Banjo-Kazooie post when talking about the levels. Click Clock Wood came to mind immediately as one that stuck out to me, but is it necessarily my favorite level in the game? Well, let's find out:

Overall, Banjo-Kazooie has great level design after great level design and as you progress through the game, you start to see that more and more, and you start to really see things go further than you'd expect further cementing this game as one of the best on the console. You have snow levels, desert levels, levels that make you go underwater. It's got everything a great 3D platformers needs in order to not only be great, but to continue to be great after so many years. Each time I play through it, the levels always feel fresh and always feel fun to go through collecting everything you can before moving onto the next one. But which level do I consider to be my favorite? Well, if I'm honest, that answer could be different depending on when you ask me, but if were talking right now, and if you gave me a list to choose from and I had to choose my current favorite based on multiple different factors? I would have to say Mad Monster Mansion.

I mentioned before that each levels reeks of originality and creativity which makes them always interesting to go through despite them never changing from playthrough to playthrough. The one level I was always excited to get back to was indeed Mad Monster Mansion. It feels like a whole world inside a world with the overall theme taking place in and around a creepy mansion. You've got graveyards, gravestones that come to life, ghosts, scary cabins to go into. Multiple different types of mini games that help you collect what you need to progress. And, of course you can turn into a pumpkin and flush yourself down a toilet. It's got everything I love about the level design in this game as a whole. Just it's own world within a world without feeling like it's out of place. With the carnival like music in the background, it really sets the scene for what you are about to endure. Not only is it a creepy mansion setting, it's mixed so well with a sort of upbeat vibe that kind of makes you want to explore every nook and cranny despite it's terrifying nature.

You even get to tricks ghosts in a hedge maze. That's pretty dope.

I've just always enjoyed going through this level again and again because I feel like out of all the levels you play in the game, this one just has some of the most attention to detail in terms of making it a worthwhile experience to go through. And even more so when you're trying to 100% the game. I just enjoy everything the level has to offer despite it being certainly difficult at times. And it all comes together nicely and even more so when you step into a church and find yourself having a sort of piano-off with a giant ghost hand.

Not necessarily something you'd expect but yeah, you have to compete against a giant ghost hand on a giant piano in a humongous giant church in a creepy graveyard. It just oozes with originality.

Even the hub world does an amazing job at setting the scene even before you go into the level. Once you reach this part in Gruntilda's castle, you realize that the game just ramped itself up and is ready to give you everything it's got. This is around the same time you'll see levels like Gobi's Valley and Freezeezy Peak which are great levels in their own right and have creativity to each their own. Mad Monster Mansion to me has always stuck out even a little more so than Click Clock Wood. That opinion could easily shift once I play the game again in the coming months, but for now that's how I feel about it. It's a great level in an already great game.