Listen, I love Banjo-Kazooie, but it is not better than Mario 64. SM64 was a landmark in gaming, and one that probably won't be topped for the "holy shit" factor, until there is a breakout VR game that similarly brings in a new era of gaming. The geometry and theming pales in comparison to BK, yeah, but it also came out two years earlier. The platforming is also better in Super Mario 64, I think by a fair amount. (Remember that the BK camera was better, but still sort of a piece of shit until the 360 HD versions.)
I do agree though that Banjo Kazooie has aged much better than a lot of other games in the era, especially other Rare platformers like Donkey Kong 64 and Conker. The environments are diverse and interesting, and the humor still lands really well. I think part of it is the XBLA versions are sort of still in our heads a bit, but it is still really good looking for an N64 game. Banjo-Tooie even more so.
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