Parents' Guide to

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Imaginative adventure game lets players build vehicles.

Game Xbox 360 2008
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

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age 5+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Johanna1
Johanna1 Adult
January 8, 2019
age 2+
Not like the older ones at all
mystic_eye_cda
mystic_eye_cda Parent
December 19, 2013
age 3+

Great game

This is an extremely easy to play game where you build vehicles out of blocks, wheels, engines, etc. You can test and keep fixing until it works. It teaches balance, steering, and the difference between a vehicle moving slowly and quickly. You can also paint and dress up your creation. A great game for kids of all ages, and easy enough for even the youngest game fans.
See all 3 parent reviews

What’s It About?

It's been eight years since players last took control of Banjo the bear and Kazooie the bird, and they've become fat and lazy in the interim. However, the evil witch Gruntilda has returned, and she's promised to turn the duo's peaceful little patch of countryside into an urban development zone. What's more, an even more powerful nemesis -- the Pong-faced Lord of Games (a.k.a. LOG) -- has whisked both the witch and our heroes off to Showdown Town, a world in which Banjo and Kazooie will have to take part in a variety of games in order to bring down their foes. The twist is that most of the games in which our unlikely pair participates depend not on their dexterity or physical prowess, but rather the player's skill in designing and building his or her own vehicles. Players sort through the bits and pieces of machinery found during their travels to create cars, planes, boats, hovercraft, helicopters, motorbikes, and more, all with an aim to make the ideal vehicle for each of the game's challenges, which include checkpoint races, item collection events, and vehicle battles.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (11 ):

Nuts & Bolts is an exercise in daring design. The game's makers have come up with half a dozen truly inventive environments to explore that must have seemed crazy on paper, including the inside of a game console and a giant plant enclosure filled with twisting vines called the Terrarium of Terror. What's more, they've taken the bold step of tearing down the so-called "fourth wall" -- the imaginary barrier separating the game world and the player. The story is written from the standpoint that all of the characters know that they are in a video game. A bold and strange move, but it works.

Meanwhile, players have been provided the means and opportunity to design their own vehicles from the ground up. Building a custom ride is a lot like playing with Lego building blocks: just snap together engines, seats, bits of chassis, and accessories until you're happy with the result. Creating the perfect vehicle takes time and might end up being a little frustrating for younger players (make sure to connect a fuel tank to your engine, or you won't be going anywhere), but it can prove enormously satisfying for those who put in enough time and effort. If you're looking for that rare game that lets you build rather than destroy (at least most of the time), Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is a good choice.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about their experience using the game's vehicle builder. Is it easy to use? What are some of the more imaginative vehicles you've built?

  • Have you tried experimenting by making the tallest, widest, smallest, or fastest vehicle you can? Are there any part types not included in the game that you think would make the vehicle builder even better?

Game Details

  • Platform: Xbox 360
  • Subjects: Hobbies : building, Science : engineering, electricity, physics
  • Skills: Tech Skills : digital creation, Self-Direction : achieving goals, set objectives, Thinking & Reasoning : applying information, hypothesis-testing, logic, Creativity : developing novel solutions, imagination, making new creations
  • Available online?: Not available online
  • Publisher: Microsoft
  • Release date: November 11, 2008
  • Genre: Action/Adventure
  • ESRB rating: E10+ for Comic Mischief, Cartoon Violence
  • Last updated: November 4, 2015

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