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Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is a platforming, adventure and vehicle construction game for the Xbox 360. It is the third and most recent main installment in the Banjo-Kazooie series. It was first revealed with a teaser trailer at Microsoft's X06 expo on September 27, 2006. It was implied by Gruntilda at the end of Banjo-Tooie that the game would be entitled Banjo-Threeie, but that title was dropped in favor of a subtitle. The game was released on November 11, 2008 in North America, November 14, 2008 in Europe, and is set to be released on November 20, 2008 in Australia.
Story
In the eight years since Banjo-Tooie, Banjo and Kazooie have spent their days mostly sitting around eating pizza and playing video games, both becoming incredibly fat and lazy. DJ Jamjars informs them through the radio that it has been ten years since their inception as video game characters, and that they have become "all fat and washed up." Gruntilda, still just a head, soon appears and picks a fight with the duo. Sick of the constant squabbling, the Lord of Games (LOG), a mysterious individual claiming to be involved in the development of every video game ever created, steps in to settle the fight. He transports the characters to Showdown Town for an official competition. Banjo and Kazooie must compete against Gruntilda in various challenges in worlds created by LOG. The winner gets the ownership deeds to Spiral Mountain, and the loser must spend eternity working endlessly in LOG's video game factory. [1]
Gameplay
The gameplay, in a departure from previous Banjo titles, consists of building and editing fully customizable vehicles using various vehicle parts acquired in game. These vehicles are then used for adventuring and a majority of tasks in the game, in lieu of the moves of the previous games. If the player does not wish to take the time to build vehicles, they may jump right into the action with premade vehicles, or banjoprints. On foot, Banjo can run, jump, grab ledges, and slide, while Kazooie can lift up things and attack enemies with Mumbo's magic wrench.
Despite the vehicles, the game keeps a lot of its platformer and adventure elements. Many of the vehicle parts correspond to moves used by Banjo and Kazooie in previous games (for example, a Grenade Egg Gun). The game features five challenge worlds and a hub world, with around 15 tasks in each world (compared to the ten in each world of previous games). Each level is split into six "acts," similar in function to the four seasons of Click Clock Wood in Banjo-Kazooie. Each act features a differing number of challenges within and the level is slightly modified for each act.
A major part of Nuts & Bolts, as with previous game, is the collecting of Jiggies and Musical Notes. Jiggies are won in challenges, and Notes are both scattered around the worlds and won in challenges in each world. The Notes work slightly differently, as there are now three varieties of Notes, denoted by color, that are worth differing amounts: Gold (worth 10), silver, and copper (worth 1).
Another major of the game are the "Grunty Challenges," where the player goes head-to-head with Gruntilda herself.
Gregg Mayles has stated that, keeping with tradition, there will be a quiz show near the end of the game, though how it will work is unknown.
A minor feature of the game is that it features a Photo Mode, allowing players to take snapshots at almost any point in the game. These snapshots can then be uploaded and shared on the official Banjo-Kazooie community site. Taking a snapshot of a friend's vehicle in Multiplayer will give you the blueprints to that vehicle.
Multiplayer
Nuts & Bolts features various multiplayer features and modes. The game features local multiplayer for up to four players and Online Multiplayer for up to eight players. Vehicle blueprints, screenshots, and video replays can be saved and sent to friends over Xbox Live as well. There are 27 total game modes available, 14 "Sports" and 13 "Races," as well as two "Random" buttons to have the game randomly select a game type. Players who host multiplayer games are able to choose whether players can use their own vehicles, use only the default vehicle for that game type, or both.
Sport
The game modes in the Sport category are as follows:
- Football
- Darts: Up to the Oche
- Golf
- Banjo-Brawl
- Freewheeler
- Low Gravity Banjo-Brawl
- Sumo!
- Boaty Banjo-Brawl
- Air-Football
- Basketball
- Air Banjo-Brawl
- Long Jumpers
- Water Polo
- Queen of the Knoll
Race
The game modes in the Race category are as follows:
- Short Circuit
- Nutty Airways
- Speedway
- Small Spiral Circuit
- Drag Kings
- Pool Prix
- Egg 'N' Spoon Race
- Super Spiral Circuit
- Air Straights
- G-Zero
- Hurdles
- Triathlon
- Nutty Cruises
Characters
This section only covers the major characters appearing in the game. For a full list of all characters appearing in the game, see Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts characters.
Returning
A wallpaper featuring heads of various characters in the game.
New
Worlds
- Spiral Mountain - Banjo and Kazooie's recurring homeland.
- Showdown Town - The game's hub world, a large town where Lord of Games brings Banjo, Kazooie and Grunty.
- Nutty Acres - An artificial farmland featuring a volcano and beach.
- LOGBOX 720 - A vertically-inclined CPU level taking place inside a video game console created by LOG.
- Banjoland - A museum built out of pieces of previous Banjo worlds.
- Jiggosseum - A large colosseum with a sporting theme.
- Terrarium of Terror - A space level built of interconnecting tubes and chambers.
Stop 'N' Swop
In a 2007 interview with RetroGamer magazine, Gregg Mayles hinted at the possibility of revealing the lost Stop 'N' Swop feature from the original Banjo-Kazooie game in Nuts & Bolts. He stated, " ... I'm going to say nothing yet again, although we are considering revealing the truth in the third game, as some kind of anniversary treat." It was later revealed, during E3 2008, that Banjo-Kazooie would be ported to Xbox Live Arcade. It was also soon after revealed that the port would feature Stop 'N' Swop functionality with Nuts & Bolts. The items, after being collected in Banjo-Kazooie XBLA, will unlock secrets in both involved games. [2] It is known that the functionality will work by Nuts & Bolts reading the saved game file of BKXBLA and unlocking things "if you've progressed to a certain point." Once this happens, things such as special vehicle parts (located in hidden Stop 'N' Swop crates, as revealed by the Achievements) will be unlocked for use. Likewise, the only way to access the areas containing the Stop 'n Swop items in BKXBLA is to have a Nuts & Bolts save file present on the memory card or hard drive, at which point they will all be opened.
Achievements
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts offers 50 Xbox Live Achievements for players to complete, for the usual 1000 
total. [3]
| Pointless Collector
|
| Take place in the L.O.G. badge collecting challenge at the start of the game in Spiral Mountain
| 10
|
| Open Nuts
|
| Place the Nutty Acres Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town
| 10
|
| Next-Next-Gen
|
| Place the LOGBOX 720 Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town
| 10
|
| History Lesson
|
| Place the Banjoland Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town
| 15
|
| Let the Games Begin
|
| Place the Jiggosseum Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town
| 15
|
| Super Banjo Universe
|
| Place the Terrarium of Terror Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town
| 20
|
| My First Bank
|
| Bank your first Jiggy in Showdown Town
| 10
|
| Little Banker
|
| Bank 10 Jiggies in Showdown Town
| 20
|
| Big Banker
|
| Bank 30 Jiggies in Showdown Town
| 30
|
| Shower of Gold
|
| Bank 60 Jiggies in Showdown Town
| 40
|
| Jiggillionaire!
|
| Bank 131 Jiggies in Showdown Town
| 50
|
| Pimped Up
|
| Complete the Showdown Town Trolley with Parts won from Grunty battles
| 20
|
| Witch Hunt
|
| Defeat Grunty at the end of the game
| 50
|
| My First Trophy
|
| Earn a T.T. Trophy from any challenge
| 10
|
| Few Trophy Pts
|
| Earn 10 T.T. Trophies from any challenges
| 20
|
| More Trophy Pts
|
| Earn 30 T.T. Trophies from any challenges
| 30
|
| A Lot of Trophy Pts
|
| Earn 60 T.T. Trophies from any challenges
| 40
|
| Be Crateful
|
| Find and return two crates to Mumbo's Motors
| 15
|
| Blueprint Buyout
|
| Buy a blueprint from Humba in Showdown Town
| 15
|
| Roid Rage
|
| Train Banjo once in the Showdown Town gym
| 15
|
| Start to Free the Showdown Six
|
| Free and re-house a Jinjo in Showdown Town
| 15
|
| Vigilante
|
| Lock up a Minjo in Showdown Town
| 15
|
| Bingo!
|
| Complete a line on the Bingo card at King Jingaling's Palace
| 20
|
| Stop 'n' Swop
|
| Return a Stop 'n' Swop crate to Mumbo's Motors
| 0
|
| BBQ Beef
|
| In Nutty Acres, they like their steak well done
| 20
|
| Massive Damage
|
| Aim at the 10 legs for massive damage
| 20
|
| Test Your Strength
|
| Roll up, show the whole of Banjoland how strong you are
| 20
|
| Great Balls of Fire
|
| Take a heavy ball around the Jiggosseum and get a burning sensation
| 20
|
| Ultimate Combo
|
| More like a three-hit combo in the Terrarium of Terror
| 20
|
| Floater in the Pipe
|
| Eeurgh! That's not going to help the Test-O-Track plumbing
| 20
|
| Burn the Witch!
|
| Showdown Town witch hunt
| 20
|
| Head for Heights
|
| Find the best view in Showdown Town
| 20
|
| Fuzz Off!
|
| POP goes the Weasel!
| 20
|
| Paint Your Wagon
|
| Paint any part of your vehicle in Mumbo's Motors
| 10
|
| Speedy of the Colossus
|
| Build a vehicle with 200 blocks or more and go over a set speed
| 25
|
| Minimalist
|
| Build a vehicle with five blocks or less and go over a set speed
| 25
|
| Whoa Nelly!
|
| Travel in a vehicle over a set speed
| 25
|
| Loose Change
|
| Collect ALL the Showdown Town Loose Change
| 20
|
| Arcade Pwner
|
| Finish all levels of Klungo's Arcade game
| 20
|
| Sunday League
|
| Play in and complete a multiplayer game League
| 20
|
| Premier League!
|
| Play in and complete a marathon multiplayer game League (Every Race, Every Sport or Every Race and Sport)
| 40
|
| What's That Smell?
|
| Play an Xbox LIVE multiplayer game against a Banjo team member, or somebody who has already done so
| 10
|
| Bit of Blue
|
| Share a blueprint with another player or Friend over Xbox LIVE, or save 20 blueprints
| 10
|
| Paparazzi
|
| Take a photo and upload it to Xbox LIVE, or take five photos
| 10
|
| Caught on Camera
|
| Send a video replay to a Friend over Xbox LIVE, or save five replays
| 10
|
| High Fives All Round
|
| Be on the winning team in a ranked team game
| 10
|
| All My Own Work
|
| Win a ranked solo game with a custom vehicle
| 20
|
| Too Easy!
|
| Win a ranked solo race by reversing over the finish line
| 10
|
| Too Easy Too!
|
| Win a ranked solo race by running or swimming over the finish line
| 20
|
| Are You Trophy Thomas?
|
| Win 20 Xbox LIVE ranked multiplayer games in any mode
| 40
|
References to other games
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts features many references to other games, mostly other Rare games, but also references a few that aren't made by Rare as well.
- When talking to LOG in Showdown Town, one thing he will mention is that new Killer Instinct, Battletoads, and Jet Force Gemini games are actually in development, along with Ghoulies 2, though he makes it obvious that he is just poking the fans.
Battletoads
- One of the boxes in the Lord of Games' video game factory is of "Battletoads 2010."
Conker's Bad Fur Day
- In the beginning of the game, Banjo and Kazooie's radio is playing the music from Windy, the hub world of Conker's Bad Fur Day.
Diddy Kong Racing
- During the LOGBOX 720 Grunty Challenge's introduction, after Grunty explains the premise of the challenge to Banjo and Kazooie, Kazooie remarks, "Huh? If we beat her in a race, she'll call off the plan and leave?" to which Banjo replies, "So she says. I was in a similar situation once before, a long time ago, with a genie and a giant pig..." referencing Taj and Wizpig of Diddy Kong Racing.
- During the Six of the Best challenge in Spiral Mountain, one of the questions L.O.G. may ask during the quiz sequence is "What game did Banjo appear in but was not a Banjo game?" the correct answer to which is "Diddy Kong Racing."
Grabbed by the Ghoulies
Rare's Grabbed by the Ghoulies appears to be one of the most-referenced games in Nuts & Bolts. Ghoulies was Rare's first title for the Xbox and was a commercial flop. Ghoulies itself contained many references to the Banjo series, including an appearance by Roysten.
- In the game's intro sequence, when Lord of Games introduces himself as having been involved in the creation of every video game in existence, Kazooie remarks, "Even the ones that don't sell very well, like Ghoulies?" In addition, as she says this, a short burst of the Ghoulies theme plays in the music.
- In Spiral Mountain, by Banjo's house, there is a U-DUMP garbage dumpster, which was previously seen in the Garbage Yard in Ghoulies.[4]
- Mr. Ribs' head and a Bonus Book are among the items in Banjo's trash can in Spiral Mountain.
- In Showdown Town, one can spot Ghoulhaven Hall on the horizon. Its appearance in the background of Showdown Town matches the pictures of the mansion that can be found within Ghoulies.[5]
- In Showdown Town, there is a restaurant which appears to be owned by Mr. Ribs, a skeleton in Ghoulies who was Ma Soupswill's cooking assistant.[6]
- Grabbed by the Ghoulies appears as a spinning disc in the LOGBOX 720 game world.
- In Banjoland, a giant garbage can in the level is filled to the brim with unsold copies of Grabbed by the Ghoulies.[7]
- One of the boxes in the Lord of Games' video game factory is of "Grabbed by the Ghoulies II."
Jetpac
- In Terrarium of Terror, the "space junk" in the Intergalactic Binman challenge is based on Jetman's ship parts from Jetpac.[8]
Killer Instinct
Killer Instinct is another Rare franchise which gets frequent reference in Nuts & Bolts. The franchise has not had a new game in years, the last being Killer Instinct 2, and one of the most common requests Rare gets is for Killer Instinct 3.
- In the Rare Christmas card, one of the stockings says "KI3."[9]
- One of the vehicle parts is a fridge. The fridge has magnets which spell out the letters "KI3."[10]
- When talking to Bottles in Showdown Town, go to Useless Rubbish and ask "What do you know about KI3?" He will claim that he has heard it is going to star "Mighty Bottles," and that he is knitting a bandanna for himself in case that turns out to be true.
- One of the boxes in the Lord of Games' video game factory is of "Cake Filler Instinct."
- Jolly Dodger has a suitcase full of copies of Killer Instinct 3.
Mr. Pants
Viva Piñata
- In the beginning of the game, when Grunty asks L.O.G. what he will do to them if they refuse his offer, he turns Banjo into a Lickatoad (and Grunty into a pumpkin).
- A Lickatoad also appears as the "Papery Pal accessory vehicle part. In its description, Mumbo plugs Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise and recommends "player go buy it when finished with this game."
- Viva Piñata is one of the games that appears as a spinning disc in the LOGBOX 720 game world.
Nintendo
As Rare was a prolific second-party developer for Nintendo for quite some time before being sold to Microsoft, references to Nintendo and their games have also been spotted in Nuts & Bolts.
- While not a reference to a specific game, there is a Nintendo 64 by the Xbox 360 in front of Banjo's house, and one on display in Banjoland.[11]
- There are quite a few references to Nintendo mascot Mario, such as Lord of Games telling Banjo and Kazooie, "you haven't been in as many games as that Italian gentleman."[12]
- The original gameplay trailer to the game released on May 13, 2008 also featured an 8-Bit Mario sprite created out of vehicle parts, which then had its head blown off by Banjo.[13]
- The Xbox Live Achievement that players earn for opening the Terrarium of Terror, "Super Banjo Universe," is a play on the title of Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy.
Halo
The Halo series is a popular series of first-person shooter games on the Xbox and Xbox 360. A few jokes are made at the game's expense in Nuts & Bolts.
- When talking to Klungo about his game, he says, "Klungo ssstar, better than Massster Chef," referencing Master Chief, the main protagonist of the Halo series.
Development
As revealed by developer Gregg Mayles in a community chat with webmasters of various Rare fansites, Nuts & Bolts is actually the third attempt at creating a Banjo 3. The earliest idea involved a remake of the first game in the series that would purport to be a straight port of the game but would hit the player with bizarre changes unexpectedly (for example, having a giant queen termite burst out of Ticker's Tower in Mumbo's Mountain, forcing Banjo and Kazooie to get Conga to throw oranges at it to defeat it). The next idea was a traditional platformer that would feature Gruntilda following the duo around every world, trying to do outdo them at what they were doing. The vehicle-building concept started off as a separate idea entirely, but the Banjo team decided to make it into a Banjo-Kazooie game because, in their creation of a third Banjo game, they realized the worlds were getting too big to properly traverse on foot. They decided to incorporate vehicles into the equation (as well as the building concept) in order to make travel easier, eventually working the entire game around the concept. Working titles for the game included Banjo-Threeie, Banjo-Kazooie 3, and Banjo-Buildie. [14]
The new, cubist art style that the game features is, according to George Kelion, meant to be self-referential to the polygonal graphics of the original Nintendo 64 games. Steve Mayles added that "We went down the normal route of adding more polygons, smoothing things off, but in the process lost some of the strong form of the N64 characters so we made a conscious effort to retain an angular look, even exaggerating it in places, that in turn echoes the angular, blocky construction of the vehicles." [15]
A developer diary on the creation of Showdown Town reveals that the game was originally intended to have six game worlds, however the sixth world was dropped due to time constraints, requiring the part of Showdown Town where its entrances would be to be redesigned.[16]
Promotion
The game has been promoted in various ways. The first was the teaser trailer shown at the X06 media briefing in September 2006. The next was with the official website, which appeared in March 2008 and became a full site in July 2008. The game was also shown off at E3 2008, with a new trailer featuring both CGI and gameplay clips.
On August 19, 2008, it was revealed that Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts would launch in North America on November 14, 2008, at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $39.99 ($20 cheaper than most first-part Xbox 360 games at launch), and that anyone who preordered the game at participating retailers would get a free download code for the Live Arcade port of Banjo-Kazooie.
On October 29, 2008, a free demo of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts was released onto the Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo allows players to explore a small part of Showdown Town, play the first act of Banjoland, and play multiplayer online. Custom vehicles can also be created in the demo and up to three can be saved.
Reception
Nuts & Bolts has received generally favorable reviews. Many reviewers praised the high production value in terms of graphics, music and presentation, as well as the depth and versatility of the vehicle creation aspect of the game, but also noted that the framerate tends to chug at particularly busy moments and that a few of the challenges are overly similar and repetitive.
- 1Up: A-. [17]
- Videogamer.com: 9/10. [18]
- IGN: 8.3/10. [19]
- Eurogamer: 7/10. [20]
- IGN (UK): 6.5/10. [21]
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts currently has an 82% on review aggregator GameRankings,[22] and an 80/100 on aggregator Metacritic.[23]
Official website
The various images the spinning Jiggy reflected, prior to the site's update
In late March 2008, Rare updated Banjo-Kazooie.com to a Microsoft Silverlight-based page showing a spinning golden Jigsaw piece reflecting both a render of Banjo and the words "Coming Soon!" On March 20, Rare changed the image of Banjo to a silhouette of both Banjo and Kazooie. On May 13, 2008 the teaser site was updated slightly, with the spinning Jiggy reflecting renders of Banjo & Kazooie, Gruntilda, and Mumbo and the site offering a few wallpapers with screens from the game.
On July 14, 2008, the site got a complete overhaul and was updated with actual content: Dveloper diaries (written by Rare's community manager, George Kelion), character biographies (with accompanying 3D animations), and wallpapers.
On October 2, 2008 the site received yet another major update. It now features the same developer diaries and animated character biographies (now with accompanying sound) but also features a message board, streaming videos, and a fan-site kit available featuring renders, concept art, sounds and even in-game textures. It also has the "Showroom" and "Leaderboards" added, in preparation for the game's release.
Future
Various Rare employees have commented on the possibility of future Downloadable Content for Nuts & Bolts, as well as a possible sequel to the game is. DLC is possible, however, there are no current plans.[24] A "Banjo 4" is likely if Nuts & Bolts succeeds, and if one were to happen it would likely "expand" the concept of Nuts & Bolts even further.[25]
Gallery
External links
total. [3]
![[4]](http://www.rarewitchproject.com/wiki/images/a/a8/BKNBBanjoHouse.jpg){kind=link}
![[5]](http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/369/showdownbgghoulhavenkz5.jpg){kind=link}
![[6]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/bottles98/mrribs_bbqribs.jpg){kind=link}
![[7]](http://www.rarewitchproject.com/wiki/images/8/84/BanjoLand4.jpg){kind=link}
![[8]](http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/8827/bknbjetpacjunkgf7.jpg){kind=link}
![[9]](http://www.rarewitchproject.com/wiki/images/b/ba/Rare_Christmas_Card_2007.jpg){kind=link}
![[10]](http://mundorare.com//imgs/content/games/banjo-kazooie-3/screenshots/ss-banjo-kazooie-3-174.jpg){kind=link}
![[11]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/886/886432/banjo-kazooie-nuts-bolts-20080708033218203.jpg){kind=link}
![[13]](http://www.infendo.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/banjokazooiemario495.jpg){kind=link}