Banjo-Kazooie is a 1998 platform-adventure game developed by Rare for the Nintendo 64 (N64). As Banjo and Kazooie, a bear and bird duo, the player embarks on a journey to stop the evil witch Gruntilda, who has kidnapped Banjo's sister Tooty to steal her beauty. Banjo-Kazooie features nonlinear gameplay in which the player explores large, open levels. The player solves puzzles, collects power-ups, fights bosses, and interacts with non-player characters (NPC) to collect items and progress through the story.
The origins of Banjo-Kazooie can be traced back to Project Dream, a role-playing video game that Rare began developing for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995. Development transitioned to the N64, where it became a 3D game with Banjo as an NPC. Rare was dissatisfied with progress on Dream and retooled it into a linear, 2.5D platformer similar to Donkey Kong Country (1994). Development on the final version began after Rare saw Nintendo's Super Mario 64 (1996) and realized it would set the bar for 3D platformers.
Designed by Gregg Mayles, Banjo-Kazooie was intended to appeal to players of all ages in a similar vein to Walt Disney Animation Studios films.
Nintendo released Banjo-Kazooie in June 1998 to acclaim and commercial success. It was praised for its visuals, soundtrack, and level design. Reviewers compared it favorably to Super Mario 64, with some considering it superior. The game received the Console Action Game of the Year award from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and sold 3.65 million copies worldwide, making it one of the bestselling N64 games. It inspired numerous similar games and was followed by a a series of sequels and spin-offs, beginning with Banjo-Tooie (2000). Banjo-Kazooie was ported to the Xbox 360 in 2008 and included in the Rare Replay compilation for the Xbox One in 2015. It was added to the Nintendo Switch Online library of N64 games in 2022, marking its first rerelease on a Nintendo console.
Gameplay
editBanjo-Kazooie is a 3D, platform-adventure game presented from a third-person perspective. The story is set in the region of Spiral Mountain and begins when Gruntilda, a foul-tempered witch, learns from her cauldron that Tooty, an anthropomorphic bear living nearby, is more beautiful than her. Enraged, Gruntilda kidnaps Tooty and creates a machine to steal her beauty. Banjo (Tooty's affable older brother) and Kazooie (a rude bird), the player characters of the single-player game, set out to stop Gruntilda and save Tooty. Banjo and Kazooie's abilities include jumping, climbing, swimming, flying, and rolling into enemies. The player learns new abilities by finding Bottles, a mole who offers tutorials, throughout the game.
The game takes place across nine levels, accessed from a central hub world. Level tropes include ancient ruins, tropical beaches, snowy mountains, and haunted mansions. Each level comprises challenges such as puzzle-solving, helping NPCs, fetch quests, and boss fights. Similar to Nintendo's Super Mario 64 (1996), the player explores the levels and gathers items, such as musical notes and jigsaw pieces ("Jiggies"), to progress. Notes are scattered throughout the levels, while Jiggies are the reward for completing challenges. Each level features 100 notes and 10 Jiggies. Jiggies allow the player to complete jigsaw puzzles which open doors to new levels, while notes allow the player to access new sections of the hub worlds. The player can collect Jiggies and musical notes in a nonlinear order, allowing access to some levels earlier than intended.
The player collects silver skull-shaped tokens to obtain power-up transformations from the shaman Mumbo Jumbo. Transformations include a termite, an alligator, a walrus, a pumpkin, and a honey bee; each has its own unique ability and allows the player to access otherwise inaccessible challenges. Other collectible items include red feathers, which allow Banjo and Kazooie to fly; gold feathers, which grant temporary invincibility; and blue eggs, which Kazooie can shoot as projectiles. By finding a spellbook in the overworld, the player can unlock cheat codes that increase the capacity of Banjo and Kazooie's inventory. The player collects empty honeycombs to replenish their health if they are damaged by an enemy, and empty honeycombs expand their health bar. The player loses a life if their health bar is depleted, and receives a game over for losing all lives. The player can gain extra lives by finding golden statues scattered throughout levels.
Development
editProject Dream
editRare conceived Banjo-Kazooie as Project Dream, a role-playing video game (RPG) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The concept arose after the completion Donkey Kong Country (1994), which featured advanced pre-rendered graphics. Rare wanted to apply the Silicon Graphics technology that it used to develop Donkey Kong Country to a game that was not a platformer. The staff settled on developing an RPG, inspired by Japanese RPGs and LucasArts adventure games. Dream starred a young boy, Edson, who got into trouble with a group of pirates, and featured isometric gameplay with a fantastical, fairy tale-like theme.
Development began after the release of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest in 1995. The game proved too large for a SNES cartridge and the introduction of the Nintendo 64 (N64) rendered the Silicon Graphics technology obsolete. Rare transitioned development to the N64, where Dream became a larger 3D game; the fairy tale theme was phased out in favor of a pirate theme due to designer Gregg Mayles' fascination with the Golden Age of Piracy. The Banjo character was created as a minor NPC.