Banjo-Kazooie

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Banjo-Kazooie
System Nintendo 64
Release Date NA June 29, 1998
EU July 17, 1998
AU July 25, 1998
JP December 6, 1998
Publisher Nintendo
Genre Platformer, Adventure
Rating E for Everyone
Players 1
Controller Pak Not Supported
Rumble Supported
Expansion Pak Not Supported
Link Cable
Xbox Live
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection

Banjo-Kazooie is a 3D platforming adventure game - developed by Rare for the Nintendo 64. The game was one of the Nintendo 64's best selling titles, and was received immensely well by both critics and Rareware fans alike. Touted as the N64's equivalent to Donkey Kong Country in terms of graphical advancement - the game built up a reasonable level of hype in the two years prior to its release. The game was first unveiled at the 1997 E³ expo, and was planned to be released the coming holiday season. Instead, director Gregg Mayles decided to delay the game, and to use the extra time to ensure its quality. The game was then published by Nintendo in the summer of 1998.

Banjo-Kazooie has won several awards - including the "Console Action/Adventure" and "Art Direction" at the 1999 Interactive Achievement Awards, and was also nominated for "Console Adventure Game of the Year" and "Game of the Year."

Banjo-Kazooie was Ice Mario's main reason for founding the RareWitchProject.

Contents

Story

The game stars Banjo the bear and Kazooie the Breegull, who have set out to save Banjo's sister Tooty from the clutches of Gruntilda. Gruntilda - a vain, repulsive and devious witch who is entirely unhappy with her appearence - has devised a cunning and subtle plan to rob and harness Tooty's beauty for herself. Aided by Bottles the mole, and Mumbo Jumbo the shaman, Banjo and Kazooie probe the depths of Gruntilda's trap-filled lair to try and win Tooty back.

Gameplay

The Gameplay in Banjo Kazooie is similar to that of Nintendo's Super Mario 64. Most of the game revolves around exploring the hub world (Gruntilda's Lair). within it, there are puzzles pieces, which open portals to different worlds which, upon acquiring certain items in them, allow you to go higher in the Lair. The Levels are Mumbo's Mountain, Treasure Trove Cove, Clanker's Cavern, Bubblegloop Swamp, Freezeezy Peak, Gobi's Valley, Mad Monster Mansion, Rusty Bucket Bay and Click Clock Wood. Each of these levels contains the following:

  • Jiggies - These golden puzzle pieces complete the unfinished pictures throughout the lair. Each completed picture unlocks a new level. The pictures require progressively more Jiggies as the player advances. There are 10 Jiggies on each level.
  • Musical Notes - There are 100 of these on each level. Collecting them adds to a best score (which cannot exceed 100) and that record is saved and added to a total, which can open note doors allowing access to new areas. However, if you die or leave the level, all notes are reset to their original positions.
  • Jinjos - Jinjos are small, colorful creatures held captive in the worlds throughout Grunty's Lair. Rescue all 5 of them in each level to obtain a Jiggy. However, similar to the Musical notes, they reset if a life is lost or if the level is exited.
  • Bottles' Molehill - Bottles teaches the duo a variety of new moves to help them progress through the game. However, he does not appear after Gobi's Valley. The amount of molehills in each level varies. For a list of the moves and how to use them, see Banjo-Kazooie moves.
  • Mumbo Tokens - Collecting these skull shaped items allows you to be transformed by Mumbo in his hut.

Within the hub world there are:

  • Picture Puzzles - An incomplete picture of a locked level. Upon putting Jiggies into the picture, you unlock the level which is portrayed.
  • Note Doors - These doors don't allow you to go further into the Lair unless your overall note record reaches the same number.

Characters

The game's main characters include the following:

  • Banjo - The game's hero - a goofy male honey bear, who is always seen wearing his tight, yellow shorts, blue backpack and shark-tooth necklace.
  • Kazooie - A fiery-tempered and hilariously sarcastic female red-crested breegull, who is (in this game) inseparable from Banjo, who carries her around in his backpack.
  • Tooty - Banjo's cheerful, energetic sister, who has been kidnapped by Gruntilda.
  • Bottles - A short-sighted mole who teaches Banjo and Kazooie various moves to help them on their quest.
  • Mumbo Jumbo - A mysterious shaman who aids Banjo and Kazooie by transforming them into various animals and objects.
  • Gruntilda - The villain of the game, Gruntilda has kidnapped Tooty. He's really not a very nice piece of work. She is notoriously vain, vindictive and has a penchant for rhyming.
  • Brentilda - Gruntilda's fairy-Godmother-like sister. Unlike Grunty, she's kind-hearted and will do everything in her power to help Banjo and Kazooie.
  • Klungo - Gruntilda's main henchman, who designed the Beauty Stealing Machine for her. His interests include inventing, videogame-design, and lisping.

Other memorable characters include Boggy, Captain Blubber, Tiptup and Gobi.

Worlds/Levels

  • Spiral Mountain is the place you start out in and where Banjo's house is located. It's not a world like the others as it doesn't have any Jiggies to collect. It is more of a training level, as you learn all the basic moves here.
  • Mumbo's Mountain is the first level in the game and is located on a big hill. At the bottom is a small pool of water and a tree that the gorilla (Conga) owns. At the top of the tree you will find Mumbo Jumbo, who turns Banjo into a termite. This is considered by many to be the easiest level in the game as it's getting players used to the game.
  • Treasure Trove Cove is a beach with a huge rocky arch overhead. In Treasure Trove Cove is the sandcastle where codes are entered. A shark, "Snacker", swims in the waters there. He appears when you jump into the water, and tries to eat you. Treasure Trove Cove introduces many new enemies, such as the crabs (Snippets), and the bouncing clams (Yum-Yums), who steal your items.
  • Clanker's Cavern is a small level inside a sewer which is home to the eponymous mechanical whale, Clanker. Much of the action takes place within Clanker himself. This level represents a sudden increase in difficulty - along with Rusty Bucket Bay, it is considered one of the game's most brutal.
  • Bubblegloop Swamp is a swamp whose waters are frustratingly filled with obnoxious and hungry piranhas. Its trademark enemy is the Flibbit and its two most impressive landmarks are the enormous stone crocodile home to Mr. Vile and the enormous real turtle home to Tiptup and his choir. Here Banjo becomes a crocodile.
  • Freezeezy Peak is a snow-covered mountain whose central landmark is a gigantic snowman, whose top hat represents the highest point of the level. A central character of this level is Boggy, who races our heroes twice - once under normal circumstances, once in their guise as the walrus.
  • Gobi's Valley is a blistering desert home to animated mummies and mummified hands. The desert has an Egyptian feel: it is notable for Jinxy, the sphinx who dominates the level, as well as the numerous pyramids. Gobi, the level's eponym, is a put-upon camel who appears several times not only in this game, but also in Banjo-Tooie.
  • Mad Monster Mansion is a haunted house, apparently belonging to Gruntilda. Ghosts, skeletons and bats live here. Mumbo also takes residence here, turning Banjo into a pumpkin. Notably, the pumpkin form can also be accessed outside the level - Mumbo also lives in a small chapel just outside the level.
  • Rusty Bucket Bay is a sea-themed level focused around a large ship. The water in Rusty Bucket Bay is contaminated and brings down Banjo's air supply twice as fast as is normally done. RBB is considered by many to be the toughest level in the game. The level is notable for its Engine Room, a pure platforming segment in which the player must negotiate the whirling engine parts.
  • Click Clock Wood is basically a field with a gigantic tree. The level can be played during each of the four seasons, with different missions and baddies. Gobi is seen once again here in this level, as well as the Zubbas and Eyrie, who eats caterpillars and grows through the course of the year. Banjo turns into a bee. It's one of the game's largest levels.

Stop 'N' Swop

Main article: Stop 'N' Swop

Stop 'N' Swop is a scrapped hidden feature intended to be a transfer mode between Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie.

At the end of Banjo-Kazooie, if the player has collected all 100 Jiggies, Mumbo will show off three animated photographs which show Banjo and Kazooie entering previously inaccessible areas in the game and the secret items within. These items were intended to be collected in Banjo-Kazooie, and transferred to Banjo-Tooie by turning off the game and quickly inserting its sequel. It would utilize the Nintendo 64's Rambus RDRAM to have Banjo-Tooie read the leftover memory from Banjo-Kazooie, allowing the player to use the items to unlock things in the game.

Unfortunately, changes were made to the N64 hardware in 1999 that would have made Stop 'N' Swop impossible on later models of the N64, causing the feature to be scraped during Banjo-Tooie's development.

The items are still able to be collected, however, thanks to in-game codes found by Ice Mario amd SubDrag in 2001. They do not, however, do anything other than sit in the inventory screen, spinning.

Stop 'N' Swop Items

The following is a list of the Stop 'N' Swop items and the Sandcastle codes to access them in Banjo-Kazooie. Note that every cheat must be preceded by "CHEAT." Something to note is that during Banjo-Kazooie's 100-Jiggy ending sequence, Mumbo only shows the Pink ? Egg, Ice Key, and Blue ? Egg.

  • Ice Key: NOW YOU CAN SEE AN ICE KEY WHICH YOU CAN HAVE FOR FREE
  • Blue ? Egg: A DESERT DOOR OPENS WIDE ANICENT SECRETS WAIT INSIDE
  • Pink ? Egg: OUT OF THE SEA IT RISES TO REVEAL MORE SECRET PRIZES
  • Yellow ? Egg: NOW BANJO WILL BE ABLE TO SEE IT ON NABNUTS TABLE
  • Green ? Egg: AMIDST THE HAUNTED GLOOM A SECRET IN THE BATHROOM
  • Cyan ? Egg: DONT YOU GO AND TELL HER ABOUT THE SECRET IN HER CELLAR
  • Red ? Egg: THIS SECRET YOULL BE GRABBIN IN THE CAPTAINS CABIN

Development

Pre-release development:

  • Banjo-Kazooie started development as Project Dream - for the SNES, using a similar pre-rendered graphics technique to Donkey Kong Country.
  • The SNES version was canceled, and development for the game continued on the Nintendo 64.
  • The game's plot originally involved a boy who had to rescue his girlfriend. As such, the game resembled the Banjo Team's Grabbed by the Ghoulies, which was released years later for the Xbox.
  • At one point during the game's development - a rabbit was the main character.
  • Later on, once the idea for the bear and bird game play dynamic was decided - the game's plot involved Banjo having to rescue his girlfriend Piccolo (who looked exactly like Tooty) from the clutches of an evil giant. It has pretty much been confirmed that the design of the giant was recycled, and used as Captain Blackeye. Whether or not the giant was a pirate is unknown, however it seems logical that he was, as Rare could have simply reused his exact design by including him in various cameos in Banjo-Kazooie because they had the model already fully completed. This version of the game was to include roughly thirteen levels - three of which were Hammerhead Beach, Fungus Forest (which isn't present in either Banjo-Kazooie or Banjo-Tooie, but may possibly have been partly re-used in DK64 as Fungi Forest) and Mount Fire-Eyes (which was probably used as the fire half of Hailfire Peaks in Banjo-Tooie).
  • Later, the plot for the game was entirely revised, and the title Banjo-Kazoo given to the game. The plot was roughly the same as it now is, other than Tooty still being Banjo's girlfriend Piccolo.
  • Due to legal reasons, Rare had to rename the game Banjo-Kazooie, changing Kazooie's name in the process. For unknown reasons, they also decided to change Piccolo's name to Tooty, and make her Banjo's sister.

Notable differences between the final release and beta versions:

  • It is entirely possible that the game connected with Donkey Kong 64 at one point, possibly to swap over the Ice Key (as there is data related to the fabled key within Donkey Kong 64 - for instance as an item on the pause menu).
  • Further evidence of the DK64 connection was present due to the fact that there was originally a picture of Donkey Kong in place of the larger Tooty portrait in Banjo's house.
  • For a long period of Banjo-Kazooie's development, Mumbo's Mountain had a completely different visual design (but with identical level layout). The level had grey, rocky cliffs surrounding it (instead of the brown-shaded ones which were finalised) - and had flowers similar to those found in the game's rendered artwork in it. There was also once a platform sticking out from the mountainside opposite the termite mound - which used to have a Jiggy above it. This was removed, however.
  • Mumbo's Mountain also contained strange-looking versions of the Grublins at one point. They resembled Mumbo Jumbo, but yet they had a distinctly different design, in that they were blue, and had a different mask. Bizarrely, these models were never reused, or cameoed - instead, it seems that they were utterly scrapped.
  • Mumbo Jumbo's character design went through a number a different phases, too. Originally he was quite scary-looking, with a face more hollowed-out, carved and angular than even the one we now know. Also, his hut went through a number of redesigns - it was originally double the size within it, and the walls had a straw texture - as though they were made from wattle and daub. Up until very near the end of Banjo-Kazooie's development, Mumbo's hut was grey on the outside, and the feathers were missing from the skull. This design can be seen in most of the promotional screenshots Rare released before the game's release - and on the back of Banjo-Kazooie's box.
  • Treasure Trove Cove once had an L-shaped jetty - beside which there were three honeycomb hives. The hives had a much bigger design, didn't have the eyes they now so eerily have, and were entirely inanimate. Nipper once had a different speech icon, too.
  • The flight pad once had a different design - a blue pad with a white logo on it.
  • The warp pads had a more colorful design right up until before the game's release - where they decided to make it look more metallic.
  • Mad Monster Mansion once contained a flight disk pad.
  • It is possible that it was at one point planned to be able to fly without the use of a flight-disk pad. This concept was scrapped, however.
  • Clanker once had a less metallic design, and was in fact a regular shark.
  • The Pipe Chompas in Rusty Bucket Bay underwent a redesign at one point.
  • Bottles had black glasses once - but they didn't really suit his design, so this was changed.
  • It is possible that the engine room of Rusty Bucket Bay once contained oily water, so that you wouldn't fall to your death should you slip. An aquatic version of the music played in the engine room (which, incidentally, is a seperate theme to that of the rest of Rusty Bucket Bay) can still be heard via a GameShark or similar manipulation device.
  • There are two songs in the game which were never used - those being a song titled in the game's memory as Advent, and a bare version of the music which plays in Banjo-Tooie when Mumbo performs a spell.
  • The game also contains multiple versions of the Click Clock Wood theme, which were never used, and many unused sound clips - such as an alternate game over theme, and note door opening theme.

Staff Credits

The following is the list of staff credits for Banjo-Kazooie, from the end of the game. Note that the odd wording and nicknames are how it appears in-game.

Chief of Ideas
Gregg "Grunty" Mayles
More Ideas
George "Blubber" Andreas
Chief Keyboard Tapper
Chris "Snacker" Sutherland
Deputy Keyboard Tapper
Morten "Buzzbomb" Brodersen
Paul "Big-Clucker" Machacek
Graham "Snippet" Smith
Keyboard Tapper
Kieran "Conga" Connel
Ryhs "Lockup" Lewis
Other Keyboard Tapping
Mark "Motzand" Wilson
Chief Scribbler
Steve "Dingpot" Mayles
Cartoony Bits and More Scribbling
Ed "Jinjo" Bryan
Scene Crayoner
Steven "Sandybutt" Hurst
More Sketching
John "Napper" Nash
Other Doodling
Chris "Chompa" Piel
Big Noise Maker
Grant "Clanker" Kirkhope
Chief Free Player
Huw "Wozza" Ward
Rare Free Players
Steven "Shrapnel" Brand
Gareth "Groggy" Glover
Gavin "Grublin" Hood
Steve "Mr. Vile" Malpass
Adam "Moggy" Munton
Shaun "Soggy" Read
Jamie "Jinxy" Williams
Andrew "Whiplash" Wilson
David "Colliwobble" Wong
NoA Free Players
Todd "Bigbutt" Buechele
Dougall "Croctus" Campbell
Kyle "Chinker" Carlson
Brent "Boom Box" Clearman
Sean "Eyrie" Egan
Bill "Gruntling" Giese
Tom "Trunker" Hertzog
Michael "Klungo" Kelbaugh
Sara "Snarebear" Osborne
Patrick "Tee-Hee" Taylor
Paper Pushers
Simon "Loggo" Farm
Eileen "Tooty" Hochberg
Spell Book
Leigh "Leaky" Loveday
Strange Noise Makers
Eveline "Twinklies" Fischer
Lee "Ripper" Ray
Chris "Slappa" Seavor
NoA Big Thanks
Ken "Flibbit" Lobb
Big Cheese Thanks
Mr. Yamauchi
Mr. "Mumbo-Jumbo" Arakawa
Howard "Limbo" Lincoln
Mr. "Mum-Mum" Fukuda
Gail "Gnawty" Tilden
Bean Counting
Joel "Grabba" Hochberg
Moving 'N' Shaking
Tim "Tanktup" Stamper

Xbox Live Arcade

Main article: Banjo-Kazooie (XBLA)

Banjo-Kazooie is being ported to Xbox Live Arcade. The port remains mostly unchanged, although it runs natively in widescreen, many 2D images are higher-resolution, and it features Achievements, Leaderboards and Stop 'N' Swop connectivity with the third game in the series, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.

See Also

External Links

  • Wikipedia - Wikipedia article about the 1998 Rare game, Banjo-Kazooie
  • Speed Demos Archive - Single-segment speed run of Banjo-Kazooie being completed in 2:55:01.
Banjo-Kazooie series
Main series | Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Spin-offs      | Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge, Banjo-Pilot
Ports            | Banjo-Kazooie XBLA, Banjo-Tooie XBLA
Retrieved from "http://www.rarewitchproject.com/wiki/index.php/Banjo-Kazooie"
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