A game that stars a big, goofy honey bear named Banjo who wears tight yellow shorts and carries around a raucous, red-crested breegull in his bright blue backpack... it sounds like a puzzling combination.

Amazingly, the creative and kooky folks at Rare made all the pieces fit in Banjo-Kazooie, their 3D prequel to Banjo-Tooie. The action starts when wicked witch Gruntilda nabs Banjo's cute kid sister, Tooty, to use as a test subject for her beauty-stealing invention.

Banjo sets out immediately to the rescue with his inseparable companion Kazooie stashed in his backpack. The bear-and-bird duo must use constant teamwork to overcome the many obstacles in Gruntilda's cavernous lair. Banjo's brute strength comes in handy for beating up foes, while Kazooie's locomotive versatility enables the pair to scour the world in search of the necessary pieces to solve the puzzles of the place. And if controlling a bizarre bear-bird pair isn't enough, players can seek out witch doctor Mumbo Jumbo to undergo a variety of magical transformations.

Banjo and Kazooie can learn more than 20 different moves, and they'll need them all to make it through the nine pleasure-packed worlds inside Gruntilda's Lair.