Banjo-Pilot
A kart racer where characters pilot airplanes instead of go-karts.
Banjo-Pilot is a 2005 kart racing video game for the Game Boy Advance and the fourth installment in Rare's Banjo-Kazooie series. It was originally announced as Diddy Kong Pilot in 2001 but underwent significant changes after Microsoft's acquisition of Rare led to the loss of Nintendo character licenses. The game received mixed reviews upon its release by THQ in January 2005.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Rare
- Publisher
- THQ
- Composer
- Robin Beanland, Jamie Hughes
- Series
- Banjo-Kazooie
- Platforms
- Game Boy Advance
- Released
- 11 January 2005 (NA); 18 February 2005 (EU)
- Genre
- Kart racing
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Development
Rare spent nearly five years developing Banjo-Pilot for the Game Boy Advance. Originally titled Diddy Kong Pilot, it was intended as a sequel to Diddy Kong Racing and would have featured characters from Nintendo's Donkey Kong and Mario franchises. The cartridge included accelerometer technology from Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble, allowing tilt-based control in addition to the D-pad. Rare chose airplanes over cars to differentiate the game from other GBA racers.
Nintendo and Rare announced the game at E3 in May 2001 and showed demos at Nintendo Space World in August, where journalists praised the visuals. Nintendo planned a March 4, 2002 release but grew concerned about quality after Space World; one programmer recalled Nintendo felt the tilt control was flawed, the GBA LCD required proper alignment with a light source, and a plane-based racer needed a 3D world. Rare was expected to finish by October 2001 but still had many game modes to implement.
Company politics complicated development, with the programmer stating Rare was micro-managing without regard for hardware limits. After Microsoft acquired Rare in September 2002, the game lost access to Nintendo's Mario and Donkey Kong intellectual property.
Reception
Banjo-Pilot received mixed or average reviews according to Metacritic. Critics found the game unoriginal and felt that using planes did not sufficiently distinguish it from other GBA kart racers. GameSpy and Nintendo World Report observed that the planes still behaved like go-karts, slowing off-track, and NWR considered the plane maneuvers worthless. Eurogamer thought the planes gave a more 3D feel but favored luck over skill.
NWR believed the game lacked the quality of Rare's earlier racing titles R.C. Pro-Am and Diddy Kong Racing, while VideoGamer.com noted that removing Nintendo characters and tilt controls prevented innovation. The game was frequently called a Mario Kart clone. Although Cubed3 and IGN rated it the second-best GBA racer after Mario Kart: Super Circuit, they suggested players would prefer a Mario Kart game. Eurogamer recommended trying before buying, and GameSpy and VideoGamer.com saw no reason to own it when Mario Kart and Konami Krazy Racers were available.
IGN argued the similarities to Mario Kart allowed balanced design, and GameSpot found it entertaining, comparing it favorably to Super Mario Kart. Eurogamer and VideoGamer.com questioned the appeal of the obscure Banjo characters to those unfamiliar with the N64 games.
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