I did NOT grow up with banjo-kazooie. i am 22 years old, i should have, right?
nope. my first exposure to old rare was back in 2003. in 3rd grade my best friend had an n64 with donkey kong 64. while yah, it isn't perfect, and in around 2010, i played through banjo kazooie 1 and 2. and yeah... was instantly a fan. then i got to play games like dkc2, diddy kong racing, goldeneye. yeah... i'm a fan of old rare NOW. and i'm just as nostalgic for old rare as the rest. i just didnt grow up with banjo-kazooie :p
games like dk64, banjo kazooie, saints row, and gta and the like are why i love the open world genre. yeah, i consider dk64 and banjo kazooie to be contributers to the genre.