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Banjo-Tooie
Bear and bird again combine their efforts to thwart Gruntilda's dastardly plans (as well as her two hag sisters and their minions) in this classic platformer for the Nintendo 64.
Overview
Title Screen
Banjo-Tooie is a 3D platforming adventure game developed by Rare for the Nintendo 64 (Platform), and later ported to Xbox Live Arcade. It is the sequel to 1998's Banjo-Kazooie. The game stars the famous bear and bird duo, Banjo and Kazooie, and is set two years after the events of Banjo-Kazooie. The game started development before the release of Banjo-Kazooie, and was released on November 19, 2000.
Story
King Jingaling and Jinjos
Two years after the events of Banjo-Kazooie, Grunty was still stuck under the rock with Klungo still pushing it. One stormy night, while Banjo, Kazooie, Bottles, and Mumbo are playing cards in Banjo's House, a giant drill machine known as the Hag 1 drills out of a wall into Spiral Mountain. The rumbling of the machines caused Banjo and company to become worried. Unbeknownst to them, two witch sisters arrive and easily move the boulder that Gruntilda was trapped under in the last game. They send Mumbo out into the stormy night. He walks over to a nearby bush and sees Gruntilda She is no longer just an ugly witch, but a bony and uglier witch. After casting a bony eye on Spiral Mountain, she spies Mumbo and runs after him, magic blazing. He warns the others, who escape, but Bottles decides it's a trick, and gets caught in a blast. Banjo's house is destroyed, Bottles is dead, and the world is at risk. Grunty and her sisters then retreat to the Cauldron Keep in the Hag 1 drilling machine, scattering all of the jinjo families in the process.
Banjo and Kazooie survey the wreckage, then decide it's time for another adventure. Along the way, they encounter many challenges, fearsome enemies, and a witch that is out for revenge. Nothing that a bear and a bird can't handle.
Gameplay
Banjo in Jolly Roger's Lagoon
Banjo-Tooie's gameplay is similar in concept to its predecessor, Banjo-Kazooie. The player must explore the hub world (Isle O' Hags) and enter nine large non-linear levels, each containing Jiggies which allow further access to the Isle. The core goal of the game is the same as the first, to collect as many jiggies as possible. There are a wide variety of puzzles, games, platforming and adventures that will net jiggies. Collecting them will afford access to new levels. All in all there are 90, with the player often needing to revisit levels with new moves in order to collect them. There are also other collectibles, such as musical notes and jinjos. The levels available run the gamut, from an ancient civilization to an underwear factory.
Once again unlocking levels requires completing puzzles; however, this time the pictures are all based in one fixed point, Jiggywiggy's Temple. Also returning from the previous game is the ability to transform, allowing access to different areas, as well as the ability to learn new moves. Banjo and Kazooie start out with all the abilities they learned in the previous game. This is in contrast to the common "lose moves" scenario that some sequels take. They are able to jump, flip, swim, attack, and even fly (with the help of flying pads). They can also learn new moves from Bottles' brother Jamjars. However, this process has been altered from the previous installment. Whereas in Banjo-Kazooie, new moves had been free to learn whenever the player had located Bottles' Molehill, the new instructor Jamjars requires Musical Notes to learn new abilities. One of these new moves is the Split Up, which allows Banjo and Kazooie to, as the name suggests, go their separate ways and explore on their own. When doing so, the characters have different characteristics and new abilities. Kazooie is fast, can fly and hatch eggs but has one honeycomb health less than Banjo, whereas Banjo is slower, but has more health and can perform different abilities with his backpack. Another new staple is the addition of Mumbo Jumbo as a playable character. Mumbo can perform spells which can lead to a Jiggy or aid gameplay.
The game is also groundbreaking in several areas, the biggest of these being level design and connection. Platformers before it typically had their levels linked only by a single hub world or overworld. In Banjo-Tooie however, most of the levels are interconnected in various ways. While there is still a hub world, players are able to cross between worlds themsevs, such as between Glitter Gulch Mine and Jolly Roger's Lagoon via water pipes, or between Terrydactyland and Witchyworld to grab some hamburgers. For certain jiggies cross travel is required. The biggest implementation of this is the train stations. There are train stations in most of the levels, which allow the player to hop on the train in one level, and choose which level to get off at (providing the player has found the station in that level first).
Multiplayer and Extras
There are a variety of things outside the single player adventure that are unlocked as it progresses.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer consists of all the various mini-games that are played throughout the game, such as the Mayahem Kickball Tournament. Games such as the Ordnance Shootout and Chomper's Belly put the player in First-Person, with Kazooie acting as a gun (and firing eggs) to either kill players or hit targets. Other games play as they would normally, with human players in for computers.
Replays
The game records all of the mini-games, boss battles, and cutscenes that the player has gone through. They can then replay any of these standalone items at any time.
| Characters |
|---|
| ===Banjo the Bear===
Banjo ("Yea-huh!")
Back for another adventure, Banjo is one of the main characters of the game. He is a brown bear with a penchant for helping people out. He wears his trademark yellow shorts, shark tooth necklace, and blue backpack. He was a bit oafish and slow to pick up on things in the first game, but nowadays he's shown flashes of a newfound wit... |
| ===Kazooie the Breegull===
Kazooie (*facepalm*)
The other central character of the series, Kazooie is a foul-mouthed breegull. Quick to judge, she is seen at the beginning robbing the poker players blind. She resides in Banjo's backpack, often coming out just to peck, drill, or demean. In this game though, she may have found a bit of compassion, as well as a way out of the backpack... |
| ===Gruntilda Winkybunion===
Gruntilda the skeleton witch (*Evil laugh*)
The series' main antagonist is at it again. After being freed from her rock, Grunty is now a very bony witch. She is heavyset, and has a hatred for the bear and bird. The quest will be to stop her destruction of the world. |
| ===Mumbo Jumbo===
Mumbo the Shaman skull-guy
Returning from the last adventure, Mumbo has been stripped of his transformation powers by an unknown force. Now though, he gets the chance to come out of the skull. He is a shaman, complete with a bony head, and skull staff (and house). Players can control him by bringing him a glowbo. He has a staff attack, as well as the ability to perform magic at Mumbo Pads, pads with his face on it. |
| ===Humba Wumba===
Wumba
Making her debut in the series is Humba Wumba, a Native American shaman and rival to Mumbo Jumbo. She takes on his old role, transforming Banjo and Kazooie into various objects and animals. She needs to be given a Glowbo for her magic to work, but it is only needed once. Her transformations are valuable to solving the worlds many puzzles. |
| ===Bottles the Mole===
Bottles the Mole (deceased)
The teacher of moves from the first game, Bottles is back, albeit in another form. Killed in the beginning by Gruntilda's magic, he is only seen as a ghost in Spiral Mountain. He may have hope yet..... |
| ===Drill Sergent Jamjars===
Jamjars the military mole
A military mole who teaches Banjo the most important moves of the game, Jamjars is the brother of Bottles the mole. He is strict, making Banjo bring him musical notes in exchange for moves. He shows little emotion, even when hitting his head on his silo. Still, his moves are the best. |
| ===Klungo===
Klungo the henchman
Grunty's faithful sidekick, Klungo has been trying to move that rock for years. He will fight for her numerous times, though he may not like it... |
| ===Mingella Winkybunion===
Mingella and her spellbook
One of Gruntilda's sisters, she and Blobbelda build the Big-O-Baster (B.O.B.). She also used her spellbook to removed the rock that was on-top of Gruntilda. |
| ===Blobbelda Whinkybunion===
Blobbelda and her unnamed cat
Gruntilda's sister, she and Mingella build B.O.B. |
| ===Master Jiggywiggy===
Jiggywiggy the jiggies master
A man with a puzzle piece for a head, he helps Banjo open doors to new worlds. It is not known how he eats, or breathes. |
| ===King Jingaling===
King Jingaling with his pet Toots
The first real help in the game comes from the great King. Unfortunately, he is a target soon after. |
| Worlds |
|---|
| ===Mayhem Temple===
The Targitzan's Temple in Mayhem Temple
A temple that is the lair of an evil god sitting at the top of a big mountain surrounded by lush caves, and other smaller temples, which house angry native beasts and booby traps. Banjo will even find a stadium where rock beings play a strange version of soccer. |
| ===Glitter Gulch Mine===
Inside of Glitter Gulch Mine
An old diamond mine where big piles of precious stone can be found close to a river that crosses the entire world. This world also features a railroad, a prospector who lost his beloved puppy, caves ridden with poisonous gas and the train which Banjo will use to travel more quickly to other the worlds of the game. |
| ===Witchyworld===
Witchyworld entry
Gruntilda’s amusement park has lots of rather strange and dangerous rides. This world has lots of different mini-games and some nice classic platforming challenges. In the middle of this freaky park lies a big circus tent home to a giant talking dinosaur balloon. Banjo can also find stands to buy hamburgers and French fries that will eventually be used to solve hunger problems from other worlds. |
| ===Jolly Roger's Lagoon===
Jolly Roger's Lagoon entry
Most of this level takes place underwater but the characters don’t need to worry about drowning since Mumbo will allow them to breathe underwater. Banjo will find a mysterious sunken city, a scary violent fish and beautiful underwater scenarios. Close to the lagoon there are many shops and a bar owned by a quirky frog that is worried about his odd girlfriend where an old drunk pirate hides one of the game’s most famous secrets. |
| ===Terrydactyland===
Terrydactyland entry
A world with lots of dinosaurs, many of which want to eat Banjo and Kazooie while some need their aid to solve their problems. There is also an ancient tribe with a major nourishment problem. On the center of the world there is a enormous mountain where the duo will come across a female pterodactyl that has problems hatching their eggs. |
| ===Grunty Industries===
Grunty Industries entry with a Jinjio on top ("Help!")
A big industry with six different floors that looks like an impressive fortress. The place has lots of machines and piles of boxes, it is the biggest level of the entire game. Finding a way in may be as confusing as navigating through all those floors using service elevators. Here Banjo and Kazooie will need to help the employees wash their clothes and they will even visit a famous talking toilet that appeared on the previous game. |
| ===Hailfire Peaks===
Hailfire Peaks entry
A big mountain divided between an ice land and a hot inferno. The place is ruled by two twin dragons that will attack Banjo and Kazooie with fire or ice balls as they enter their domains. On the fire side of the mountain the duo will need to defend the soccer title that they got when visiting Mayahem Temple, while on the ice mountain Banjo will visit a beautiful ice cave and deal with lots of yetis. |
| ===Cloud Cuckooland===
Cloud Cuckooland entry
A sky world with a very big group of floating isles to be explored. At the center of the world there is a large honey hive, filled with bizarre-looking monsters. Below it there is a big cave which is the main hub connecting all floating pieces of land surrounding the big mountain. |
| ===Cauldron Keep===
Cauldron Keep entry
The last world of the game and the place where the final showdown takes place. This is the witches’ hideout, the place where the life-sucking machine is placed and where the duo will have to compete on a quiz show against the three witches in order to proceed with their adventure. |
| Other Locations |
|---|
| ===Spiral Mountain===
Spiral Mountain and Bottles the ghost
The same exact place where the first game starts. This time around it has been destroyed by Gruntilda’s evil sisters as they came to rescue the witch. |
| ===Isle o' Hags===
Map of Isle o' Hags
The game’s vast overworld; has many different scenarios to be explored. |
| ===Gruntilda's Lair (Entrance)===
The Entrance of whats left of Gruntida's Lair
Takes place only in the entrance of Gruntilda's Lair, the only thing Banjo will see is Cheato (Character) and a ripped portrait of Gruntida. |
Techniques
The following is a complete list of the moves that the duo will learn with Jamjars (Bottles' brother) throughout the course of the game, aas well as their locations:
Isle o’ Hags
- Fire Eggs – Twice as powerful as the regular blue eggs.
- Grenade Eggs – The most powerful type of egg. It explodes when it hits its target.
- Ice Eggs – Freezes the enemy.
- Clockwork Kazooie Eggs – When thrown this egg will release a small clockwork version of Kazooie. The player can control it and explode it whenever they feel like.
- Breegull Bash - Banjo will pull Kazooie out of his backpack and will use her as a weapon to hit nearby enemies.
Mayahem Temple
- Egg Aiming – It gives more accuracy when using eggs.
- Breegull Blaster – Allows the player to enter a first-person perspective using Kazooie as a gun when entering certain areas.
- Grip Grab – Allows Banjo to hang onto edges.
Glitter Gulch Mine
- Bill Drill – Banjo jumps and uses Kazooie as a powerful drill to break rocks and other useful things.
- Beak Bayonet - When in first=person perspective, Banjo uses Kazooie to attack enemies with her beak.
Witchyworld
Kazooie performing the Talon Torpedo
- Split Up – With this move Banjo and Kazooie can be controlled individually.
- Pack Whack – When Banjo is by himself he will use his backpack to attack enemies.
- Airborne Aiming – Allows the player to aim when flying.
Jolly Roger’s Lagoon
- Wing Whack – Kazooie uses her wings to attack when she is by herself.
- Sub-Aqua Egg Aiming – Allows the player to aim while swimming.
- Talon Torpedo – Kazooie leaves Banjo’s backpack when underwater and acts as a torpedo.
Terrydactyland
Claw Clamber
- Springy Step – Use springy boots to perform high jumps.
- Taxi Pack – Banjo can carry other characters on his back pack.
- Hatch – Kazooie gains the ability to hatch eggs.
Grunty Industries
- Claw Clamber – Kazooie can climb walls vertically with these boots that stick to surfaces.
- Leg Spring – Kazooie uses her legs to perform very high jumps without Banjo.
- Snooze Pack – Banjo hibernates inside his backpack to recover health.
Hailfire Peaks
Sack Pack
- Shack Pack – Banjo enters his backpack allowing him to pass through tiny holes and small cracks.
- Glide – Kazooie can glide when she is without Banjo.
Cloud Cuckooland
- Sack Pack – Banjo uses his backpack as a sack and hops around. This move protects him from harmful surfaces.
Items
- Jiggy – The main collectible item of the game. The player can use them to unlock new worlds.
- Note Nest – Can contain up to twenty musical notes.
- Egg Nest – Contains a certain amount of eggs.
- Honeycomb – Recovers health.
- Oxygen Bubble – Recovers the oxygen meter when the duo is underwater.
- Empty Honeycomb – By collecting and giving them to a honey bee located on Isle o` Hags the health meter will increase.
- Red Feather - Allows Banjo and Kazooie to stay on the air when flying.
- Gold Feather – Makes the duo invincible.
- Wading Boots – Protects Kazooie`s feet when walking on dangerous surfaces.
- Turbo Trainers – Increases their speed for a while.
- Springy Step Shoes – Allows them to jump higher.
- Claw Clamber Boots – The characters will be able to climb walls vertically.
- Cheato Page – By gathering those and handing them to the book that’s on Grunty’s Lair the player will get access to cheats that can be used in the game.
- Doubloons – The currency used to purchase items on the village surrounding Jolly Roger’s Lagoon.
- Glowbo - A magical creature that must be collected in order for Mumbo and Humba to offer their services.
- Mumbo Pad - Pad with Mumbo's head on it. When controlling Mumbo, these pads allow the duo to perform his main spells such as 'Levitate', and 'Power'.
Transformations
Returning from the original game, Banjo and Kazooie can transform into different creatures or objects by visiting Humba Wumba. While in Banjo-Kazooie only a few stages featured transformations on Banjo-Tooie all of the worlds have their own specific transformations. They are listed below, including the location where it happens and a brief description.
| Transformation | Location | Description and Abilities | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Dragon
| |||
Stony
| |||
Detonator||Glitter Gulch Mine||Turns Banjo into a dynamite plunger.
| |||
Van||Witchyworld||Turns Banjo into an armored van.
| |||
Submarine||Jolly Roger's Lagoon||Turns Banjo into a submarine.
| |||
 T-Rex |
Terrytactyland | Turns Banjo into a baby, and adult, T-Rex
| |
Washing Machine||Grunty Industries||Turns Banjo into a washing machine.
| |||
 Snowball |
Hailfire Peaks | Turns Banjo into a snowball.
| |
 Bee |
Cloud Cuckooland | Turns Banjo into a bumblebee.
|
Bosses
| Boss | Location(s) | Description | Tactics |
|---|---|---|---|
Klungo
The three potions are:
After hitting Klungo, a force field envelops him and he begins throwing exploding potions at Banjo, just dodge the potions until the force field disperses and he'll drink another one of his potions and the player can return to attacking him. Upon three strikes, he is defeated. He is fought multiple times throughout the game as a mini boss. | |||
Targitzan
| |||
Old King Coal
Upon defeat, Banjo is not only awarded with a Jiggy but also with Chuffy; which can be used to travel between worlds with train stations. | |||
Mr. Patch
NOTE: It is safe to touch Mr. Patch, so use this advantage. | |||
Lord Woo Fak Fak
After getting rid of 6 boils, he will open his eyes. Now that his eyes are open, he will fire the energy charges more frequently and more accurately, dodge them while aiming for his eyes and he will be defeated. | |||
Terry
When defeated, Terry asks the duo to find his missing babies; which was the reason for his anger. | |||
Weldar
Soon after, he turns on an electrical switch that turns on cables in the ground. The player then has to repeat the whole process again, while avoiding touching a cable on the ground. Soon, all of his plates will pop off, and he will explode. | |||
Chilli Billi
Chilli Willy
Each cannon can only fire a certain amount of shots. Once it is finished, the player must dodge the dragon's attacks and travel to the nearest available one. Fire more shots into a cannon, and eventually, the dragon should go down. Go to the other mountain and repeat the process for the faster, stronger dragon. NOTE: It does not matter which dragon is chosen first, it will always be the weakest first. | |||
Mingy Jongo
NOTE: The boss itself is not hard, but since the duo are fighting in the upper floor of Mumbo's skull, it is easy to get hit. | |||
Hag 1
Phases
NOTE: It would be optimal to have at LEAST 2 of the honeycomb upgrades from the Honey B before this fight, it is all about endurance in this fight. |
Stop 'n' Swop
Only four of these items found their way to Banjo-Tooie
Unlike, the previous game, the once fabled Stop and Swop items are now just plain old items that unlock secret moves and abilities. Originally, these items were going to be obtained by learning secret passwords in Banjo-Tooie which would reveal the items when entered in Banjo-Kazooie. The items would then be transfered back to Banjo-Tooie by way of "hot swapping" the cartridges. The N64 would hold on to a small amount of data if the player pulled the cartridge out while the system was on, and that was how Rare planned to transfer the items. However, in later models of the system, the data was cleared out of memory much quicker, making the window of time to swap the cartridges extremely brief. This eventually caused Rare to scrap the whole concept in favor of just adding them as collectibles in Banjo-Tooie. Hackers who explored Banjo-Kazooie's code found the passwords that Rare planned to reveal in Banjo-Tooie, which only served to confuse players who tried to find a way to use the mysterious items.
Two of the "secret" Stop N Swop eggs can be found in Spiral Mountain hidden inside Banjo Kazooie game packs. Striking them will spit out the egg. Taking these eggs to the Egg Shed in Wooded Hollow will unlock secrets in the game. The yellow egg is already in the shed, but must be hatched by Kazooie.
Pink Egg
Above the stump that contains the boots in Spiral Mountain is a metal grate. Fly up there and shoot a grenade egg to bust open the grate. Fly in there and smash the pack to get the egg. This egg unlocks the ability to swing Kazooie as a club.
Blue Egg
Fly to the top of the waterfall in Spiral Mountain and enter the top. Using the grenade eggs, smash the metal grate and do the same thing to get the Blue Egg. This will unlock the ability to have Kazooie's eggs home at enemies.
Yellow Egg
Once the duo have learned the Hatch ability from Terrydactyland, go to Heggy's Egg Shed in Wooded Hollow and drill the rubble covering the split up pads. Split up and take Kazooie up to the top floor, where the yellow egg is waiting in a nest. Hatch it, and the player will get the ability to select Jinjo in multiplayer games.
Ice Key
In the "sandy" part of Jinjo Village, there should be a part where Banjo can shimmy on the side of the ledge. Climb that to enter a cave which has another pack in it. Smash it to get the Ice Key. After gaining the Talon Torpedo ability, go to Glitter Gulch Mine, through the Water Storage area to the Waterfall Cavern, and use the Talon Torpedo to get to the ice side of Hailfire Peaks. Use the Ice Key to unlock the Ice Safe and to obtain the Mega-Glowbo. Give that to Humba Wumba in Pine Grove to transform into Dragon Kazooie.
Style and Cultural References
In contrast to Banjo-Kazooie, Tooie is much darker in tone and material. Whereas Kazooie featured light-hearted music, bright and colorful levels, and an overall sense of cheeriness, Tooie is much darker in all aspects. This is apparent right off the bat, when Bottles is killed off. The levels are on the whole darker and dingier than the ones in Kazooie. The music also follows suit, feeling dark and foreboding in most of the games levels. It slows down to a creeping dirge in the darkest recesses of the world. The humor of the game often takes a sarcastic tone, with Kazooie cracking jokes about other characters incessantly.
Tiptup, an old friend, resides in the lagoon
Banjo-Tooie features many return appearances from characters and things first found in Banjo-Kazooie. This includes major characters such as Mumbo Jumbo, and minor ones such as Conga and Gobi. Levels from the first game are also alluded to in various ways. Rare also references games from their stable. Instances of this include Jet Force Gemini posters in Bottles' kids rooms, and an appearance by Sabreman (Character), from their earlier game, Sabre Wulf. There are even references to other works. In the Grunty Industries level, Kazooie refers to Nintendo's Mario (Character) (and his plumber roots) by suggesting to Loggo that "maybe Mario could unclog him", to which Loggo replies that he "doesn't think Mario does that kind of work anymore". There is also a reference to E.T., as Kazooie once asks the aliens in Hailfire Peaks if "they need to phone home". Lastly, both Banjo-Kazooie and Tooie are referred to in later Rare games, most notably Viva Piñata (Game).
Reception
Banjo-Tooie was widely praised by reviewers and is considered by many to be one of the best platforming games to be released. It is a gem of the Nintendo 64 era. The game has gorgeous visuals and it may be regarded as the best looking game on the system even though it didn’t make use of the expansion pack.
Banjo-Tooie was also nominated for many prestigious awards - including a nomination for the "Moving Images Award" at the 2000 BAFTA award ceremony, and was also nominated for "Console Action/Adventure Game of the Year", "Console Game of the Year", and "Game of the Year" at the 2001 Academy Of Interactive Arts & Sciences awards.
Xbox Live Arcade Version
Banjo-Tooie was released on Xbox Live Arcade on April 29th, 2009 for 1200($15) Microsoft Points. The port, developed by 4J studios, resurrects the Stop n Swop features for use between Banjo-Kazooie on XBLA and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. Additionally, the graphics are much more crisp than on the original.
Price Drop History
The XBOX Live Arcade version of Banjo-Tooie was dropped from 1200 Microsoft Points to 800 Microsoft Points from June 16th through to June 22nd as part of XBOX Live's "Inventory Blowout Sale".
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- Name
- Banjo-Tooie
- Release Date
- November 19, 2000
- Platform
- Nintendo Switch (Platform)
Xbox 360 Games Store (Platform)
Nintendo 64 (Platform) - Developer
- Publisher
- Genre
- Action-Adventure (Genre)
Platformer (Genre) - Theme
- Comedy (Theme)
Fantasy (Theme)
Mayan (Theme) - Franchise
- Banjo-Kazooie (Franchise)
- Aliases
- Banjo Kazooie 2
Banjo to Kazooie no Daibouken 2