by Kowbrainz
»
October 26th, 2008, 5:42 pm » Short link
Well, Gregg Mayles designed both Banjo-Kazooie and a large portion of the DKC trilogy so it's no real surprise. I think the similarities between characters are just because of the same character artists - it's like how all those knowledge-deprived people on youtube and the like will start talking about the similarities between the music of DK64 and BK, when in reality they were done by the same person so the music's bound to have the same style.
I find a lot of levels in DK64 don't really remind me of BK levels, but instead they're a lot like the original areas of DKC translated into 3D. Jungle Hijinx is Jungle Japes. Angry Aztec represents the old Aztec levels. Gloomy Galleon is a mix of the pirate themed areas you'd see in DKC2 with some added themes. Creepy Castle is like the castle themed areas in DKC2. Crystal Caves is like the indoor ice areas of DKC, or the ones in DKC2 to an extent. Fungi Forest is a bit like the Forest areas in DKC, etc etc. Of course, there are a few similarities between DK64 and BK, mainly because a lot of the ideas which couldn't be used in BK were later used in DK64 and BT (prime examples: Hailfire Peaks, Glitter Gulch Mine, Witchyworld and Fungi Forest).
I think it wasn't until the N64 days that Rare really started putting references to their other games all over the place. Especially in BT. But then, if you've played Grabbed by the Ghoulies, you'll know that game is just one big Rare reference. I don't think there's a single room in GBTG that doesn't have a reference of some sort.