I’ve already ranked the wonderful worlds of Banjo-Kazooie, so now it’s time to discuss the much larger worlds of the sequel, Banjo-Tooie.  When placing these worlds in order of my least to most favorite, my criteria was largely based on how fun the levels are and how well they’re themed, though I will also be taking into consideration any surprises I encountered on my initial playthrough.  Boss fights and transformations, however, will not be a part of the overall placement…

8: Mayahem Temple – The very first world is themed after a Mayan temple, complete with ancient stone architecture surrounded by lush greenery.  As you begin your adventure, you’ll be playing kickball, awakening a golden statue, and playing in first-person as you navigate Targitzan’s labyrinthine temple.  This world is fairly basic, but it’s a great introduction to the game and, frankly, more memorable than Mumbo’s Mountain from Banjo-Kazooie.  While not all Jiggies can be obtained on your first visit, this world at least features minimal backtracking, too, as an added bonus!

7: Cloud Cuckooland – The final world of Banjo-Kazooie, Click Clock Wood, was easily the best world of the game, the way it changed with the seasons.  That was an excellent and creative way to end an already amazing game.  On the other hand, I really didn’t enjoy the last world of Banjo-Tooie.  These floating, disconnected islands in the sky are about as cohesive as they sound…which is to say, not at all.  Clearly this world was meant to be wacky and weird, but throwing random elements together like a castle made of red jell-o, a giant smelly cheese, and a giant trashcan (a lot of giant and stinky things here, really) is not exactly the ideal way to go about it.  The Rayman series is a much better example of a bizarre and dreamlike world that still feels cohesive, and if Rareware had taken inspiration from those games, perhaps they could have come up with something a lot more memorable.  It also doesn’t help that this world contains the one practically impossible Jiggy, the race against Canary Mary…

6: Glitter Gulch Mine – Like Mayahem Temple, the second world also allows you to collect most of the Jiggies on your first try, which I can really appreciate.  While this world is still rather easy, it does offer a bit more challenge than Mayahem Temple, what with dark caves and flooded passageways.  I loved the lonely atmosphere of certain sections of the mine, when the music gets quiet, and you are reminded uneasily that you are deep beneath the earth, where no one can hear you scream.

5: Jolly Roger’s Lagoon – World 4 used to be rather cool when I first played the game all those years ago.  I just remember swimming around in the lagoon, looking down into that big hole at the bottom and seeing those huge anemones and feeling so excited to get down there and explore this place.  With the lost city of Atlantis and a sunken ship and the literal Davy Jones’ locker (I mean, it’s an actual locker, like for storing your textbooks or smelly gym socks), the sense of discovery here was amazing.  Now that I’ve played the game before and that feeling has worn off, the Lagoon has become just a tad boring with the need to swim around most of the underwater portions.  Alas, ‘tis a shame when the wonder of youth wears off…

4: Grunty Industries – I have mixed feelings about Grunty Industries, the sixth world and Grunty’s factory that produces…some unknown product.  Honestly, I think her factory merely expels toxic waste without actually making anything of actual value.  Like Rusty Bucket Bay from the first game, I’ve always felt this place had the best music (what’s with polluted industrial levels and amazing music?).  Also akin to Rusty Bucket Bay, this place is hideously ugly and a real pain to navigate.  One thing I really liked was the need to figure out how to access each floor one at a time, including the initial mystery of figuring out how to enter the factory to begin with, making the world kind of feel like one big puzzle.  Unfortunately, it also doesn’t have the best Jiggies, and there is some really annoying backtracking when you’re deactivating the magnet and the giant wall crushers that every video game factory in existence seem to have for some reason.

3: Terrydactyland – I also have mixed feelings about the dinosaur-themed world 5.  On one hand, I love the theming and atmosphere here.  This whole place really does feel prehistoric, with the river inside the mountain leading to a pool of ammonites and other ancient creatures, the Stomping Grounds and a dinosaur so massive, all you can see is just a huge foot, and the trek way to the tippy-top of the mountain to encounter Terry, a pterodactyl who’s eggs have been stolen.  Location-wise, the theming of Terrydactyland is as peak as Terry’s perch.  On the other hand, the world is massive and very tedious to traverse because of the large amounts of open space.  I guess they wanted you to feel small in a world full of dinosaurs, but perhaps they should have just kept the dinosaurs big and shrunk the world down by at least half.

2: Hailfire Peaks – When Rareware was deciding on whether or not to include a fire or ice world in the game, they opted with, let’s just stick them right in the same world, side by side.  Like peanut butter and jelly.  Or so I imagine.  Just how peanut butter and jelly are an excellent combo, the dual theming of this world is pretty cool, even if I utterly hate the lava side.  It’s just so annoying to traverse with the pools of lava everywhere, those swooping fire enemies, and the fiery hands reaching out from little crevasses to burn you.  Fortunately, the icy side is a bit more serene and beautiful, and the yetis are much less annoying than the foes you’ll find on the fire side.  I just remember the first time I saw this world, looking through an icy wall in Glitter Gulch Mine and staring across that chilly ocean off into the horizon.  The view was absolutely breathtaking!  I will recommend defeating both bosses right away, though, as allowing the dragon brothers to keep spewing projectiles at you is incredibly aggravating!

1: Witchyworld – I’ll admit that world 3 could have had a more interesting layout or more unique themes.  Nevertheless, you can’t really go wrong with a world that features an amusement park.  And no matter how I look at it, I definitely had the most fun in this world than any other, with its (albeit basic) space, western, and horror-themed sections and its plethora of minigames.  (And fun minigames at that, not annoying ones.)  You’ve got the dodgems and cactus of strength and a pair of games in a bouncy castle, and the absolute best game of all, the Saucer of Peril, where you get to fly around the whole park in a flying saucer shooting targets!  It just doesn’t get any better than that!

Banner image is a screenshot of the Banjo-Kazooie, Super Smash Bros Ultimate reveal trailer