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Banjo-Kazooie is a port of the Nintendo 64 game of the same name to the Xbox Live Arcade. As most of the game is the same as the original Nintendo 64 version, much of this article will be the same as the article about the original game. It is set to be released on November 26, 2008 for 1,200 Microsoft Points, but will be available for free and two weeks early to people who preorder Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.
Story
The story of the game remains the same as the N64 original. Gruntilda the witch, after being told by Dingpot that young Tooty is more attractive than herself, kidnaps the poor young girl and tries to steal her beauty. Banjo and Kazooie, with help from move tutor Bottles the mole and shaman Mumbo Jumbo, must make it through Gruntilda's Lair and the nine worlds within, to make it to the top, save Tooty, and thwart Gruntilda.
Gameplay
The Gameplay in Banjo Kazooie (and thus, BKXBLA) 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.
- 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 (XBLA) 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
Banjo standing next to the
Ice Key in a promotional screenshot of
BKXBLA.
BKXBLA features Stop 'N' Swop functionality with Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. If a Nuts & Bolts save file is present on the hard drive, the Stop 'n Swop areas will automatically be opened. After collecting the secret items in BKXBLA, crates containing secret vehicle components will become available in Nuts & Bolts. It has also been hinted at that the original Stop 'N' Swop connection may be revived with BKXBLA and the forthcoming Xbox Live Arcade port of Banjo-Tooie.
Achievements
Banjo-Kazooie offers 12 Xbox Live Achievements for players to complete, for 200 
total. [1]
| Get Jiggy
|
| It doesn't matter which two, just successfully collect any two Jiggies.
| 10
|
| Mumbo Jumbo
|
| Get yourself transformed by Mumbo Jumbo for the first time. Now that's magic!
| 10
|
| Knock Out Nipper
|
| Come out on top in a dust-up with Nipper the crab. Watch out, he's called Nipper for a reason.
| 15
|
| Free Clanker
|
| Liberate Clanker, Gruntilda's rusty and recalcitrant garbage grinder.
| 15
|
| Chomp Chomp!
|
| They're red and no less than 30 of them need chomping. Nuff said.
| 15
|
| Move Master
|
| Discover and master all Banjo's moves… and Kazooie's… but nobody else's. Unless you insist.
| 15
|
| Show me the honey!
|
| Collect all 24 of the extra honeycomb pieces. Yes! Every single one! It's character-building.
| 15
|
| The Quiz Master
|
| Complete Grunty's Furnace Fun quiz show and win the Star Prize. Been paying attention?
| 20
|
| Jinjonatored
|
| Fear the Jinjonator. If you're a witch, that is. The Jinjonator lays the smack down on witches.
| 20
|
| Jigsaw Maker
|
| Bet you thought jigsaws were boring! Bottles disagrees, and has seven of them to be solved.
| 20
|
| Cheating Cheato
|
| Bump into Grunty's disowned spellbook three times as it hops around the place dishing out cheats.
| 20
|
| Music Maestro
|
| There are 900 musical notes out there in the world of Banjo-Kazooie. Real gamers collect them all…
| 25
|
Improvements and changes
An comparison between the air/life meters of
Banjo-Kazooie XBLA (left) vs. the N64 version of
Banjo-Kazooie (right). The icons in the XBLA version are revamped in a higher resolution.
Banjo-Kazooie XBLA features a few changes from the original Nintendo 64 game. First and foremost, the game now runs natively in 1080p widescreen resolution. Many of the 2D images in the game such as the talking heads, item icons, and the portraits in Banjo's house appear in a higher-resolution (and in the case of Banjo's pictures, completely recreated). The actual 3D models of the game feature little change, however. The text is also rendered in a slightly different, larger font. Most of the speech in the game remains the same, save for that which refers to the Nintendo 64 controller (changed to refer to the corresponding Xbox 360 gamepad button). The controls have also undergone a slight change. For example, the camera is controlled by the right analog stick, but moves that were tied to the Nintendo 64's C-Buttons remain on actual buttons. The game's draw distance is also vastly increased, preventing the fading-in and fading-out of objects found in the original version.
The game features, as standard with Live Arcade titles, Achievements and Leaderboards. Menu changes have also been made to accompany new options such as "Help & Options," "Achievements" and "Leaderboards." Finally, Stop 'N' Swop functionality has been added that will allow players to get the secret items, which will then unlock secret vehicle components and other such things in Nuts & Bolts (see above).
Links
total. [1]
