Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts (Original Score) Soundtrack

By and large, Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts was a fairly mediocre game, but one aspect of it was so good that it surpassed the original games in quality: the soundtrack. Largely composed by series veteran Grant Kirkhope, as well as a number of equally excellent contributions from Robin Beanland and Dave Clynick, this soundtrack offers a good number of fun orchestrated tracks that are great to listen to regardless of whether you've played the game or not.

In terms of completeness, this soundtrack is quite good compared to many video game sountracks. The main themes and two challenge variants of each level are included. In addition, two versions of the Showdown Town theme are included, as well as a number of other challenge themes, such as the Jinjo challenge song. This makes up the bulk of the music commonly heard in the game, so chances are your favorite track is present in some form.

A few noteworthy tracks are absent, but honestly, it's hard to complain. The only thing I would have liked to see included is the Spiral Mountain theme, which also plays on the title screen. Curiously, though, the Spiral Mountain challenge theme is included, even though it is not heard in the game itself, which is a cool inclusion. Having the opening narration included in the first track is also a nice touch, as it provides a bit of context for listeners, even if they haven't played Nuts & Bolts.

The standout tracks, in my opinion, are the Showdown Town theme (represented with "Showdown Town Square" and "Cruising Showdown Town") and the first Jiggoseum challenge theme, "Jiggoseum Japes." In particular, "Cruising Showdown Town," which is heard while exploring the hub world at night, is positively phenomenal, and I'm so pleased it's included here. The many other tracks included are diverse in style and tone, and the majority include bits and pieces of themes from the previous games, a nice nod to longtime fans.

Overall, this is a great soundtrack for Banjo fans, and even just people who enjoy fun upbeat orchestra music. The style is reminiscent of the previous Banjo games, but also has the sound of a score for an animated film or a Looney Tunes cartoon. While some tracks are more fun to listen to than others, there's not a single truly bad track on this album, so I give it my highest recommendation!

Anyone who's played Rare's games knows they have some great composers, and thanks to technology, they're no longer restricted by whatever samples a games system can produce to emulate an orchestra.

A lot of the soundtrack is written by Robin Beanland, who was involved with the original Donkey Kong Country and the Conker games, with contributions from the composer of the N64 Banjo games, Grant Kirkhope. There's plenty of references to the older games in the soundtrack too--just wait for them to pop up in the middle of a track.

My only regret is the music that's missing, like the newly orchestrated version of "Mumbo's Mountain" or some of the cutscenes. It does include the level intros by David Clynick, though, which parody popular '70s/'80s TV shows (and in some cases are more enjoyable than the originals!).

Despite the omissions, it's a worthwhile buy, and I'm glad to see effort like this being put towards a video game.