Banjo-Kazooie series
Encyclopedia
Banjo-Kazooie is a series of video games created by Rare in 1998. The game stars a honey bear
named Banjo and his friend, a large red bird
named Kazooie, who are both controlled by the player, and a witch named Gruntilda as the primary antagonist. Throughout the various games they are tasked with thwarting Gruntilda's various evil schemes. There are currently three main games in the series.
and re-released in 2008 for the Xbox 360
via Xbox Live Arcade
. In Spiral Mountain, Banjo's sister Tooty has been kidnapped by the witch Gruntilda who wants Tooty's beauty and is willing to turn her into a hag for it. It is up to Banjo and Kazooie to save her. The goal is to progress through the witch's lair and the various worlds within it, collect items to help Banjo and Kazooie along their quest, and defeat Gruntilda.
and re-released in 2009 for the Xbox 360
via Xbox Live Arcade
. Two years after Banjo and Kazooie defeat Gruntilda, Gruntilda is freed from her grave and revived by her two sisters using a drilling machine and their magic spell. Using a machine named B.O.B., she proceeds to wreak havoc on the Isle O' Hags, sucking the life force out of the land and its inhabitants to gain power to restore her body to its former state. After she kills Bottles, Banjo and Kazooie go to stop her. Tooie is famous for being significantly harder than its predecessor; jigsaw pieces are almost never in visible places or easily accessed, and abilities and powers from other levels need to be utilised to obtain others.
. The ending sequence in Banjo-Tooie suggested the title would be Banjo-Threeie, with early press releases tentatively calling it Banjo-Kazooie 3. The original trailer sported a more angular artistic design for the characters and complete fur and feather detailing on Banjo and Kazooie. The game's release on 12 November 2008 marked the tenth anniversary of the series. It is the first original Banjo-Kazooie game released on a non-Nintendo system. The gameplay is a departure from the previous games in that, rather than learning new moves in order to continue, the player must instead build vehicles of all shapes and sizes to complete challenges. These challenges include races, transporting objects, fighting enemies, and a variety of other tasks. Gruntilda is still the main antagonist, but this time the Lord of Games (L.O.G.) has swept Banjo, Kazooie, and most of the cast into an all new world.
. It takes place two months after Banjo-Kazooie. While Gruntilda is still trapped under the boulder that fell on top of her, Klungo decides to make a robot for Gruntilda's spirit to dwell inside. During the game, Gruntilda transfers her spirit into the robot and travels back in time to prevent the first meeting of Banjo and Kazooie. In the end, Gruntilda tells Klungo to go try to get her sisters, thereby setting the events of Banjo-Tooie into motion. A mobile version of the game was also released.
. This game is not part of the plot of the series, but is a racing game similar to Mario Kart
where the characters race planes.
, released for Nintendo 64
in 1997. In Conker's Bad Fur Day
& Conker: Live & Reloaded
, Banjo's head can be seen, disembodied, above the fireplace in the main menu. Additionally, Kazooie's head can be found on the end of an umbrella in the chapter select screen for both games. In Grabbed by the Ghoulies
, pictures are seen throughout the game as well as scenes from the levels. Also monster versions of Banjo and Kazooie's heads are seen. Following Microsoft's purchase of Rare, Banjo was absent from the Nintendo DS
remake, Diddy Kong Racing DS. Banjo and Kazooie also appear in the Xbox 360 version of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
.
. Evidence suggests that the feature was never fully implemented due to the Nintendo 64
revisions completed in 1999 that kept the feature from being practical. The feature was widely publicised through a column published by Nintendo Power
. Rare announced that special areas and items in the game could only be reached by completing certain tasks in its sequel, Banjo-Tooie
. It was later discovered that Banjo-Kazooie contains seven special items which can be accessed using in-game cheat codes or by using a cheat cartridge
. Once collected, these items would be viewable in a menu titled "Stop 'N' Swop". If the game is reset, all of the items will remain permanently.
indicated that two colored eggs in the game would be put to use in the sequel Banjo-Tooie
. There was also an inaccessible ice key shown in the sequence, which induced gamers to search for a way to get it. While only two eggs were shown in the sequence, hackers Alan "Ice Mario" Pierce and Mitchell "SubDrag" Kleiman of the Rare Witch Project fansite
discovered in-game cheat codes to unlock a total of six different eggs and the ice key. Other ways of getting the six eggs and key were previously discovered via the use of a cheat cartridge
. Once acquired, these items would be viewable by all three game files, and would remain after erasing the files.
In the years between the two Banjo-Kazooie games, Rare representatives were questioned on "Stop 'N' Swop" and how it would be implemented. Ken Lobb
was reportedly unwilling to discuss how the connection would be made between the games.
Banjo-Tooie was released in 2000 and offered a way to retrieve the items without the need to acquire Banjo-Kazooie. The player would attain them by destroying in-game Banjo-Kazooie game paks. These eggs could then be brought to Heggy the hen to hatch. There were three eggs in total, one of which was already with the hen, but which Kazooie had to hatch herself. The ice key, however, was to be used to obtain an item locked in an ice vault. No explanation for "Stop 'N' Swop" was revealed in the game. Nintendo
released a statement on the matter expressing that the feature "was not implemented in the game, and although we know there is a code that opens this menu, it does not do anything at all. And as much as I would like to be able to answer your question about why it was not implemented in the game, this is not information that our Consumer Service Department has access to."
A reference to Stop 'N' Swop was included in the 2003 video game Grabbed by the Ghoulies
. On one of the chalkboards in the schoolroom is a mathematical equation, stating: "[egg] + [egg] + [egg] + [egg] + [key] = ?".
In 2004, a patent
filed by Rare was published which suggests that Stop 'N' Swop involved swapping cartridges with the power off to transfer data. The information would be momentarily retained by utilizing the Rambus
memory in the Nintendo 64
. As a result of changes done to the Nintendo 64 systems produced in 1999, the system could no longer do this effectively.
Another Stop 'N' Swop reference appeared in 2005's Banjo-Pilot
. After completing most of the game, Cheato sells an item called "STOP N SWAP" for 999 Cheato Pages. The only result of buying is Cheato saying: "So you want to know about Stop N Swop, eh? I hope you're ready. Here goes...Why don't you stop annoying me and swap this game for a nice book or something?"
In a 2007 interview with Retro Gamer
, Rare employees told the magazine reporters that they may have to wait until the release of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
for the details of Stop 'N' Swop to be revealed. In March 2008, a new website appeared with an animation of the ice key rotating, the eggs, and the words "the answers are coming." On April 1, however this was revealed to be an April Fool's joke created by The Rare Witch Project.
In 2008 MTV
conducted an interview with Salvatore Fileccia, lead software engineer at Rare. Fileccia cited that the abandonment of Stop 'N' Swop was due to revisions made to the Nintendo 64 circuitry. He stated that older versions of the system would have given the player 10 seconds to swap cartridges, while newer iterations of the console reduced this time to one second.
At Microsoft's E3 press conference on 14 July 2008, it was announced that the original Banjo-Kazooie would be made available through the Xbox Live Arcade
(XBLA) and feature Stop 'N' Swop connectivity with Nuts & Bolts to unlock new features. In the demo version of Nuts & Bolts, Bottles also offers a "Stop 'N' Swop Truth" for 6,000 music notes. The Rare Witch Project extracted the demo's text string, which revealed that when Bottles is paid 6,000 notes he says "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you, and we couldn't show that in a game with this rating. Put it out of your mind and think happy thoughts! Thanks for the notes!".
On 27 January 2009, Rare announced that Banjo-Tooie would be released in April on XBLA and that the "original plan" for Stop 'N' Swop would be implemented. It was revealed that the eggs and key in the XBLA version of Banjo-Kazooie would unlock bonus vehicle parts in Nuts & Bolts such as fuzzy dice
. In Nuts & Bolts there is an imprint of the ice key on top of Boggy's gym and drawings of the eggs throughout Showdown Town. When a Stop 'N' Swop item is collected in Banjo-Kazooie, a corresponding crate appears at each drawing. The six eggs and key from Banjo-Kazooie unlock the bonuses included in the original Banjo-Tooie as well as new content related to the Xbox 360. Banjo and Kazooie can take them to Mumbo to get the special vehicle parts. The level BanjoLand also features large fake Stop 'N' Swop eggs that contain Gruntbots.
In place of the three preexisting eggs in Banjo-Tooie are the gold, silver and bronze eggs. The three unlock achievements listed under a "Stop 'N' Swop II" submenu. Additional achievements can be unlocked by completing specific objectives in the game.
Rare and Nintendo are thinking about making a Banjo-Kazooie game for the Nintendo 3DS
Sun Bear
The sun bear , sometimes known as the honey bear, is a bear found primarily in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia; North-East India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Southern China, Peninsular Malaysia, and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.-Description:The sun bear...
named Banjo and his friend, a large red bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
named Kazooie, who are both controlled by the player, and a witch named Gruntilda as the primary antagonist. Throughout the various games they are tasked with thwarting Gruntilda's various evil schemes. There are currently three main games in the series.
Banjo-Kazooie
The first game in the series, Banjo-Kazooie, was released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
and re-released in 2008 for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
via Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
. In Spiral Mountain, Banjo's sister Tooty has been kidnapped by the witch Gruntilda who wants Tooty's beauty and is willing to turn her into a hag for it. It is up to Banjo and Kazooie to save her. The goal is to progress through the witch's lair and the various worlds within it, collect items to help Banjo and Kazooie along their quest, and defeat Gruntilda.
Banjo-Tooie
Banjo-Tooie is the second game in the series, and was released in 2000 for the Nintendo 64Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
and re-released in 2009 for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
via Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
. Two years after Banjo and Kazooie defeat Gruntilda, Gruntilda is freed from her grave and revived by her two sisters using a drilling machine and their magic spell. Using a machine named B.O.B., she proceeds to wreak havoc on the Isle O' Hags, sucking the life force out of the land and its inhabitants to gain power to restore her body to its former state. After she kills Bottles, Banjo and Kazooie go to stop her. Tooie is famous for being significantly harder than its predecessor; jigsaw pieces are almost never in visible places or easily accessed, and abilities and powers from other levels need to be utilised to obtain others.
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
The third game in the main series, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts was released in 2008 for the Xbox 360Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. The ending sequence in Banjo-Tooie suggested the title would be Banjo-Threeie, with early press releases tentatively calling it Banjo-Kazooie 3. The original trailer sported a more angular artistic design for the characters and complete fur and feather detailing on Banjo and Kazooie. The game's release on 12 November 2008 marked the tenth anniversary of the series. It is the first original Banjo-Kazooie game released on a non-Nintendo system. The gameplay is a departure from the previous games in that, rather than learning new moves in order to continue, the player must instead build vehicles of all shapes and sizes to complete challenges. These challenges include races, transporting objects, fighting enemies, and a variety of other tasks. Gruntilda is still the main antagonist, but this time the Lord of Games (L.O.G.) has swept Banjo, Kazooie, and most of the cast into an all new world.
Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge
Grunty's Revenge was released in 2003 for the Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. It takes place two months after Banjo-Kazooie. While Gruntilda is still trapped under the boulder that fell on top of her, Klungo decides to make a robot for Gruntilda's spirit to dwell inside. During the game, Gruntilda transfers her spirit into the robot and travels back in time to prevent the first meeting of Banjo and Kazooie. In the end, Gruntilda tells Klungo to go try to get her sisters, thereby setting the events of Banjo-Tooie into motion. A mobile version of the game was also released.
Banjo-Pilot
The fourth game in the series, Banjo-Pilot was released in 2005 for the Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. This game is not part of the plot of the series, but is a racing game similar to Mario Kart
Mario Kart
is a series of go-kart-style racing video games developed by Nintendo as a series of spin-offs from its trademark Mario series of platformer adventure-style video games...
where the characters race planes.
Other appearances
Prior to Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo's first appearance was as a playable racer in Diddy Kong RacingDiddy Kong Racing
Diddy Kong Racing is a 1997 racing game for the Nintendo 64 developed by Rareware. 800,000 copies were ordered in the two weeks before Christmas 1997, making it the fastest selling video game at the time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It is the first game to spin off from the...
, released for Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
in 1997. In Conker's Bad Fur Day
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Conker's Bad Fur Day is an action-platform video game developed and published by Rare. It was released for the Nintendo 64 in 2001 and was Rare's last game published for the console. The game was in development for four years; it was originally intended for a young audience, but was redesigned and...
& Conker: Live & Reloaded
Conker: Live & Reloaded
Conker: Live & Reloaded is an action-platform video game developed by Rare and exclusively released for the Xbox in June 2005. The single player mode is a remake of the 2001 game Conker's Bad Fur Day for the Nintendo 64. However, it includes a new multiplayer mode that is different to the Nintendo...
, Banjo's head can be seen, disembodied, above the fireplace in the main menu. Additionally, Kazooie's head can be found on the end of an umbrella in the chapter select screen for both games. In Grabbed by the Ghoulies
Grabbed by the Ghoulies
Grabbed by the Ghoulies is a video game released on October 21, 2003 by Rare for the Xbox gaming console. It was the first Rare game to be published by the Microsoft buyout from Nintendo, having originally been in development for the Nintendo GameCube. It is forward compatible with the Xbox 360...
, pictures are seen throughout the game as well as scenes from the levels. Also monster versions of Banjo and Kazooie's heads are seen. Following Microsoft's purchase of Rare, Banjo was absent from the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
remake, Diddy Kong Racing DS. Banjo and Kazooie also appear in the Xbox 360 version of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is a racing game in the Sega Superstars series produced for Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS and Microsoft Windows, featuring characters from many Sega franchises. It is being published by Sega and developed by Sumo Digital...
.
Characters
- Banjo is a brown honey bear, who is one of the two main protagonists of the series. He has a younger sister named Tooty, who plays a big part in Banjo-Kazooie but is absent in Banjo-Tooie and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. He is polite and well-mannered, and is always seen wearing yellow shorts with a belt, a shark tooth necklace, and a bright blue backpack. The backpack usually contains his good friend Kazooie. When they're split up, he can use his backpack to carry helpless subjects and take them to their right places. His only solo attack is the Pack Whack. He was first seen in Diddy Kong Racing where he started his career. His arch-nemesis is Gruntilda the witch. He can also play his namesake instrument (a banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
). He transforms into creatures and things that originate in some worlds like a beeBeeBees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
in the games. His home is Spiral Mountain.
- Kazooie is a large, red female bird who is referred to as a "Red-Crested Breegull". She is Banjo's closest companion and lifelong friend, although their personalities are quite different from each other's. Whereas Banjo is polite and friendly, Kazooie is loud, sarcastic and rude. Kazooie does not hesitate to make crass statements about even the most imposing figures that the duo encounter, much to Banjo's dismay. Although Banjo often finds himself apologizing for Kazooie's remarks, they almost always find themselves embroiled in dangerous situations simply due to Kazooie's inability to keep quiet. Kazooie has the ability to lay and spit out many different kinds of eggs, from ordinary blue ones, to giant spotted ones that hatch miniature robotic duplicates of herself. She can also spread her wings and fly, carrying Banjo with her, although doing so causes her to lose feathers. In Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts she loses all of her moves and instead uses a magic wrench. As her name suggests, she plays the kazooKazooThe kazoo is a wind instrument which adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane."Kazoo" was the name given by...
.
- Tooty is Banjo's younger sister and Bottles' best friend. She wears pigtails on her blond hair and her ears aren't seen. Her only outfit is a red tank top with a yellow starStarA star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
on it and purple slacks that strap her feet. In Banjo-Kazooie, Gruntilda kidnaps her because she wishes to steal Tooty's perceived beauty. Towards the end of the same game, she spends her adventurous time with her big brother and friends while eating the inside of a coconutCoconutThe coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
. She is physically absent from all other games in the series; In Banjo-Tooie an image of Tooty is shown on the side of a milk carton with the caption Missing: Last Seen In Banjo-Kazooie. Also in the same game, inside Banjo's house, her portrait is shown to be down with the other things that have burnt a little. Her name is also referenced in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts as a shop in Showdown Town called Tooty Fruity, and her absence from the series is also referenced in one of L.O.G.'s quiz questions. She plays the piccoloPiccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
.
- Gruntilda, also referred to as Grunty, is a foul-tempered witch and the main antagonist of the series. Her appearance is remarkably similar to the principal antagonist of The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz (1939 film)The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
. She has green skin, warts, a pointed hat and a high-pitched cackle, as well as a penchant for speaking in rhymes. She has three sisters: Brentilda, Mingella and Blobbelda. Brentilda is her complete opposite, with a fairy-like appearance. Mingella and Blobbelda convince Grunty to stop speaking in rhymes, although she resumed the trait in Nuts & Bolts. Gruntilda's surname, Winkybunion, was revealed in the ending cut scene of Banjo-TooieBanjo-TooieBanjo-Tooie is a platform and action-adventure hybrid video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo in 2000 for the Nintendo 64 as a part of the Banjo-Kazooie series. The game is the successor to Banjo-Kazooie and was one of the most anticipated sequels for the Nintendo 64.The game's story...
. She is a skeleton in Banjo-Tooie, she is a robot in Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's RevengeBanjo-Kazooie: Grunty's RevengeBanjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge is a 2003 handheld action-adventure video game for the Game Boy Advance developed by Rare and published by THQ. It is the third installment in the Banjo-Kazooie series and the second sequel to Banjo-Kazooie for the Nintendo 64.Grunty's Revenge is a interquel, taking...
, and has an artificial body in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts due to Banjo and Kazooie defeating her at the end of the previous games.
- Brentilda is the kind sister of Gruntilda, and aids Banjo and Kazooie on their quest with facts about Gruntilda that are needed for later in the game. Each time she is found, she will give you three different facts. Brentilda only appears in the first game. She holds a wandWandA wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood, stone, ivory, or metal. Generally, in modern language, wands are ceremonial and/or have associations with magic but there have been other uses, all stemming from the original meaning as a synonym of rod and virge, both of which had a similar...
in her hand and has wings on her back.
- Mumbo Jumbo is a shamanShamanismShamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
who originally taught Gruntilda how to use magic. She disavowed Mumbo Jumbo and cursed him by turning his face into a skull mask. He has three red featherFeatherFeathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s on top of his head. He helps Banjo and Kazooie by providing them with transformation magic in Banjo-Kazooie and he is a playable character in Banjo-Tooie, where he can use his "mighty shaman zap-stick" to levitate objects, oxygenateOxygenation (environmental)Environmental oxygenation can be important to the sustainability of a particular ecosystem. Insufficient oxygen may occur in bodies of water such as ponds and rivers, tending to suppress the presence of aerobic organisms such as fish...
bodies of water, enlarge objects, heal, give life force, and zap enemies. He runs Mumbo's Motors, a garage in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & BoltsBanjo-Kazooie: Nuts & BoltsBanjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is an action-adventure/vehicle construction/platformer video game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was first announced at the X06 Media Briefing. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is the third installment in the Banjo-Kazooie series and takes place...
. He can play a saxSax-Places:* Sax, Alicante, a municipality in Spain* Saxmundham, UK - a colloquial short form used in East Suffolk* Sax, a village in the Sennwald municipality in Switzerland-People:* Sax, later "Sax-Hohensax", name a house of barons originally at Hohensax castle...
, the xylophoneXylophoneThe xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
, and can also pick up a violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
. Mumbo Jumbo can be one of your partners in Kameo: Elements of PowerKameo: Elements of PowerKameo: Elements of Power is an action-adventure video game developed by Rare. Under development for 4 years, the game was released as a launch title for the Microsoft Xbox 360 video game console in late 2005.- Plot :...
by downloading a free skin for one of the characters on Xbox LiveXbox LiveXbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
.
- Bottles is a shortsighted moleMole (animal)Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
who assists Banjo and Kazooie. He wears large, thick, cokebottle framed glasses, which is a constant target for Kazooie's sharp insults. He has a wife, Mrs. Bottles, two children, Speccy and Goggles, and a brother, Jamjars, who takes over the role Bottles held in Banjo-Kazooie. In the beginning of Banjo-Tooie, he dies of the destruction of Banjo's house and his soul becomes an angelAngelAngels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
because he refuses to get out on time. There exists a Gameshark modification thsat enables a hidden function where he turns into a devil, allowing a second player to control simple enemies nearby Banjo and Kazooie. In Nuts & Bolts, he runs a tourist information stand, offering the player advice either for free or in exchange for musical notes. In Viva PinataViva PiñataViva Piñata is a life simulation game developed by Rare, for the Xbox 360 video game console. The project was headed by Gregg Mayles and the team behind the Banjo-Kazooie series, based on an idea from Tim Stamper. Although rumors of the title circulated among fans for some time, Viva Piñata was...
if you have Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts you can buy an accessory called Bottle's Glasses.
- Jamjars is the brother of Bottles and a militaristic drill sergeant mole, complete with trooper sunglasses, green fatigues and army boots. He was first featured in Banjo-Tooie, where he took over Bottles' original role from Banjo-Kazooie following his death. He hides in silos spread across the Isle o' Hags and its various worlds, and teaches Banjo and Kazooie new moves in exchange for musical notes. He is a radio DJ in Nuts & Bolts.
- Humba Wumba is a female shaman. She provides transformation magic to Banjo and Kazooie in Banjo-Tooie and is a rival of Mumbo Jumbo, never allowing any contact with him except in dire circumstances, where he is still not welcome. She resembles a Native American Indian. She sells vehicle blueprints and parts in Nuts & Bolts. She does not appear in Banjo-Kazooie.
- Klungo is Gruntilda's green-skinned minion. His role is minor in Banjo-Kazooie but appears frequently during Banjo-Tooie as a miniboss, and is the victim of increased abuse from Gruntilda for his failure to defeat Banjo and Kazooie. He eventually quit working for Grunty to seek a fortune in making video games. It is also revealed that he has a wife named Mrs. Klungo. He builds a play emporium on the pier in Showdown Town in Nuts & Bolts, where he shows his final product of his game, "Hero Klungo Sssavesss teh World". In the Nuts & Bolts expansion, L.O.G.'s Lost Challenges, he has a second product called "Hero Klungo Sssavesss teh Universsse".
- Jinjos are a species of small, multicolored creatures with beaks that inhabit the Isle O' Hags. Their original home is in a village neighbouring Banjo's in Spiral Mountain, but they are forced out by Gruntilda when she drives her gigantic drilling vehicle through the village, crushing the house of the grey Jinjo family and killing those within. They are ruled by King Jingaling, a large, yellow Jinjo wearing a king's crown. Jinjos are sociable and enjoy competitive sport, offering challenges in Nuts & Bolts, where they reward Banjo with tokens with which he can play Bingo. In Banjo-Kazooie (the first game) the Jinjos come in five colors; pink, orange, yellow, green and blue. More colors of the Jinjos have been concepted in Banjo-Tooie. They are red, brown, black, and white with pink's replacement of purple. Because of the destruction of the grey Jinjo house, none of the grey Jinjos were seen.
- Minjos are the evil look-alike arch-enemies of the Jinjos. In Banjo-Tooie they make their first appearance in the Wild West part and the Star Spinner in the Space zone of WitchyWorld. They behave the same way as Jinjos until the player gets close to them. Unlike Jinjos, whose colors' locations are randomly fixed in each game file, they appear in random colors when you enter a room containing them, and are very easy to access based on the skill requirement of the level, which can make them obvious. When enabled, the hidden Bottles' Revenge Mode control of these Minjos does not activate until the player gets close. In Banjo-Kazooie Nuts and Bolts they appear as black prisonbreakers with ear piercings, red eyes, and a striped shirt. They are placed in the prisonhouses after you bring the Jinjos back to their color-according houses.
- Captain Blubber is a hippoHippopotamusThe hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
pirate and one of Banjo's allies. Blubber wears a pirate hat on his head and red and black striped pants with a swordSwordA sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
attached to the beltBelt (clothing)A belt is a flexible band or strap, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist. A belt supports trousers or other articles of clothing.-History:...
. He appears in the first Banjo-Kazooie game and Banjo-Tooie. In his first game, he stands in his wrecked shipShipSince the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
in Treasure Trove Cove feeling worried about his goldenGoldenGolden means made of, or relating to gold.Golden can refer to:-Philosophy:*Golden mean , the felicitous middle between the extremes of excess and deficiency-Geography:Canada*Golden, British Columbia...
treasure. He has been felt better by Banjo who retrieves them for him. Towards the end, he's shown to ride on a blue and white Jet SkiJet skiJet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The name is sometimes mistakenly used by those unfamiliar with the personal watercraft industry to refer to any type of personal watercraft; however, the name is a valid trademark registered with the...
around the ocean. Banjo gives him one golden "doubloon" in Jolly Roger's Lagoon on his second game. In Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts he appears in the upper level of Showdown Town and gives you a trapdoor tower combination in exchange for musical notes.
- Tiptup is a turtleTurtleTurtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
with an orange shell on his back and another ally. He appears in the first Banjo-Kazooie game and Banjo-Tooie. In his first game, he is the conductor of the Tiptup Choir when standing inside the body of Tanktup. He also appears in his second game where he stands on the beach in Jolly Roger's Lagoon needing help of hatching his egg by Kazooie. His shell is slightly different in Diddy Kong RacingDiddy Kong RacingDiddy Kong Racing is a 1997 racing game for the Nintendo 64 developed by Rareware. 800,000 copies were ordered in the two weeks before Christmas 1997, making it the fastest selling video game at the time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It is the first game to spin off from the...
and his name is a pun of the phrase "tipped up".
- Boggy is a polar bearPolar BearThe polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
with a scarfScarfA scarf is a piece of fabric worn around the neck, or near the head or around the waist for warmth, cleanliness, fashion or for religious reasons. They can come in a variety of different colours.-History:...
around his neck and one of the supporting characters. He appears in the first Banjo-Kazooie game and Banjo-Tooie. His children named Groggy, Soggy and Moggy have first appeared in his first game and his wife Mrs. Boggy has first appeared in his second game. His iglooIglooAn igloo or snowhouse is a type of shelter built of snow, originally built by the Inuit....
used to be in Freezeezy Peak and due to the fact that Grunty's old lair is destroyed, he and his family live in a "new" igloo that's currently located in the icy part of Hailfire Peaks.
- Jolly Roger is a frog who first appeared in Banjo-Tooie in the level Jolly Roger's Lagoon. He later appeared in Banjo-PilotBanjo-PilotBanjo-Pilot received mixed reviews. IGN gave it an 8, praising it as the second-best GBA racer. It received three out of five stars from GameSpy, who said it "wasn't worth the near half-decade wait." Generally, those who praised the game did so for its addictive multiplayer mode and large replay...
as a playable character. He returned in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & BoltsBanjo-Kazooie: Nuts & BoltsBanjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is an action-adventure/vehicle construction/platformer video game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was first announced at the X06 Media Briefing. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is the third installment in the Banjo-Kazooie series and takes place...
where he changed his name to Jolly Dodger and sold Banjo and Kazooie jiggies for various prices.
Stop 'N' Swop
Stop 'N' Swop is a hidden feature in Banjo-KazooieBanjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Kazooie is a platform and action-adventure video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was originally released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998...
. Evidence suggests that the feature was never fully implemented due to the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
revisions completed in 1999 that kept the feature from being practical. The feature was widely publicised through a column published by Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
. Rare announced that special areas and items in the game could only be reached by completing certain tasks in its sequel, Banjo-Tooie
Banjo-Tooie
Banjo-Tooie is a platform and action-adventure hybrid video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo in 2000 for the Nintendo 64 as a part of the Banjo-Kazooie series. The game is the successor to Banjo-Kazooie and was one of the most anticipated sequels for the Nintendo 64.The game's story...
. It was later discovered that Banjo-Kazooie contains seven special items which can be accessed using in-game cheat codes or by using a cheat cartridge
Cheat cartridge
A cheat cartridge is a device that connects to any sort of cartridge-based video game system. It allows a user to input special cheat codes to manipulate a game in a way not permitted by its original programming. Usually the effect is to gain infinite lives, ammunition, unlock secrets, or do things...
. Once collected, these items would be viewable in a menu titled "Stop 'N' Swop". If the game is reset, all of the items will remain permanently.
History
An ending sequence in Banjo-KazooieBanjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Kazooie is a platform and action-adventure video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was originally released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998...
indicated that two colored eggs in the game would be put to use in the sequel Banjo-Tooie
Banjo-Tooie
Banjo-Tooie is a platform and action-adventure hybrid video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo in 2000 for the Nintendo 64 as a part of the Banjo-Kazooie series. The game is the successor to Banjo-Kazooie and was one of the most anticipated sequels for the Nintendo 64.The game's story...
. There was also an inaccessible ice key shown in the sequence, which induced gamers to search for a way to get it. While only two eggs were shown in the sequence, hackers Alan "Ice Mario" Pierce and Mitchell "SubDrag" Kleiman of the Rare Witch Project fansite
Fansite
A fansite, fan site, or fanpage is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee interested in a celebrity, thing, or a particular cultural phenomenon...
discovered in-game cheat codes to unlock a total of six different eggs and the ice key. Other ways of getting the six eggs and key were previously discovered via the use of a cheat cartridge
Cheat cartridge
A cheat cartridge is a device that connects to any sort of cartridge-based video game system. It allows a user to input special cheat codes to manipulate a game in a way not permitted by its original programming. Usually the effect is to gain infinite lives, ammunition, unlock secrets, or do things...
. Once acquired, these items would be viewable by all three game files, and would remain after erasing the files.
In the years between the two Banjo-Kazooie games, Rare representatives were questioned on "Stop 'N' Swop" and how it would be implemented. Ken Lobb
Ken Lobb
Kenneth Alan Lobb is an American video game designer formerly employed by Taxan USA Corp., Namco Hometek, and Nintendo of America, and currently employed by Microsoft Game Studios....
was reportedly unwilling to discuss how the connection would be made between the games.
Banjo-Tooie was released in 2000 and offered a way to retrieve the items without the need to acquire Banjo-Kazooie. The player would attain them by destroying in-game Banjo-Kazooie game paks. These eggs could then be brought to Heggy the hen to hatch. There were three eggs in total, one of which was already with the hen, but which Kazooie had to hatch herself. The ice key, however, was to be used to obtain an item locked in an ice vault. No explanation for "Stop 'N' Swop" was revealed in the game. Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
released a statement on the matter expressing that the feature "was not implemented in the game, and although we know there is a code that opens this menu, it does not do anything at all. And as much as I would like to be able to answer your question about why it was not implemented in the game, this is not information that our Consumer Service Department has access to."
A reference to Stop 'N' Swop was included in the 2003 video game Grabbed by the Ghoulies
Grabbed by the Ghoulies
Grabbed by the Ghoulies is a video game released on October 21, 2003 by Rare for the Xbox gaming console. It was the first Rare game to be published by the Microsoft buyout from Nintendo, having originally been in development for the Nintendo GameCube. It is forward compatible with the Xbox 360...
. On one of the chalkboards in the schoolroom is a mathematical equation, stating: "[egg] + [egg] + [egg] + [egg] + [key] = ?".
In 2004, a patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
filed by Rare was published which suggests that Stop 'N' Swop involved swapping cartridges with the power off to transfer data. The information would be momentarily retained by utilizing the Rambus
RDRAM
Direct Rambus DRAM or DRDRAM is a type of synchronous dynamic RAM. RDRAM was developed by Rambus inc., in the mid-1990s as a replacement for then-prevalent DIMM SDRAM memory architecture....
memory in the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
. As a result of changes done to the Nintendo 64 systems produced in 1999, the system could no longer do this effectively.
Another Stop 'N' Swop reference appeared in 2005's Banjo-Pilot
Banjo-Pilot
Banjo-Pilot received mixed reviews. IGN gave it an 8, praising it as the second-best GBA racer. It received three out of five stars from GameSpy, who said it "wasn't worth the near half-decade wait." Generally, those who praised the game did so for its addictive multiplayer mode and large replay...
. After completing most of the game, Cheato sells an item called "STOP N SWAP" for 999 Cheato Pages. The only result of buying is Cheato saying: "So you want to know about Stop N Swop, eh? I hope you're ready. Here goes...Why don't you stop annoying me and swap this game for a nice book or something?"
In a 2007 interview with Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Although launched as a quarterly publication, Retro Gamers soon became a monthly...
, Rare employees told the magazine reporters that they may have to wait until the release of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is an action-adventure/vehicle construction/platformer video game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was first announced at the X06 Media Briefing. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is the third installment in the Banjo-Kazooie series and takes place...
for the details of Stop 'N' Swop to be revealed. In March 2008, a new website appeared with an animation of the ice key rotating, the eggs, and the words "the answers are coming." On April 1, however this was revealed to be an April Fool's joke created by The Rare Witch Project.
In 2008 MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
conducted an interview with Salvatore Fileccia, lead software engineer at Rare. Fileccia cited that the abandonment of Stop 'N' Swop was due to revisions made to the Nintendo 64 circuitry. He stated that older versions of the system would have given the player 10 seconds to swap cartridges, while newer iterations of the console reduced this time to one second.
At Microsoft's E3 press conference on 14 July 2008, it was announced that the original Banjo-Kazooie would be made available through the Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
(XBLA) and feature Stop 'N' Swop connectivity with Nuts & Bolts to unlock new features. In the demo version of Nuts & Bolts, Bottles also offers a "Stop 'N' Swop Truth" for 6,000 music notes. The Rare Witch Project extracted the demo's text string, which revealed that when Bottles is paid 6,000 notes he says "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you, and we couldn't show that in a game with this rating. Put it out of your mind and think happy thoughts! Thanks for the notes!".
On 27 January 2009, Rare announced that Banjo-Tooie would be released in April on XBLA and that the "original plan" for Stop 'N' Swop would be implemented. It was revealed that the eggs and key in the XBLA version of Banjo-Kazooie would unlock bonus vehicle parts in Nuts & Bolts such as fuzzy dice
Fuzzy dice
Fuzzy dice, known in the British Isles as furry dice or fluffy dice, are an automotive decoration consisting of two over-sized plush dice which hang from the rear-view mirror.-Origin and history:...
. In Nuts & Bolts there is an imprint of the ice key on top of Boggy's gym and drawings of the eggs throughout Showdown Town. When a Stop 'N' Swop item is collected in Banjo-Kazooie, a corresponding crate appears at each drawing. The six eggs and key from Banjo-Kazooie unlock the bonuses included in the original Banjo-Tooie as well as new content related to the Xbox 360. Banjo and Kazooie can take them to Mumbo to get the special vehicle parts. The level BanjoLand also features large fake Stop 'N' Swop eggs that contain Gruntbots.
In place of the three preexisting eggs in Banjo-Tooie are the gold, silver and bronze eggs. The three unlock achievements listed under a "Stop 'N' Swop II" submenu. Additional achievements can be unlocked by completing specific objectives in the game.
Rare and Nintendo are thinking about making a Banjo-Kazooie game for the Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
External links
- Official Banjo-Kazooie website
- Donkey Kong 64 Stop 'n' Swop Special – includes a brief introduction to Stop 'N' Swop