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 sequel of Banjo-Kazooie.
The game's story takes place two years after Banjo-Kazooie. The antagonist, Gruntilda Winkybunion and her sisters, Mingella and Blobbelda, are planning to restore Gruntilda's body to its original form. Banjo and Kazooie must stop them before it's too late.
Aim / Scenario
As before, the aim of the game is to collect all the Jiggies (golden jigsaw pieces) that can be found. There are ten in each level, and an additional one is awarded for finding each of the nine families of Jinjos hidden throughout the game. This, in addition to the Jiggy awarded at the very beginning by Jingaling, the king of the Jinjos, brings the total to 90.
As a platformer, the game is groundbreaking in that the levels are not stand-alone areas linked only by the overworld; on many occasions in the game the player is required to cross between the levels, or return to a level after learning a new skill in order to use it. The train stations in most levels are an integral part of this system; once the station has been opened, it is possible to move between levels on the train. This is vital to completing the game.
Plot
The game takes place two years after Gruntilda Winkybunion was defeated by Banjo and Kazooie. Over this time, she has been buried under a rock with her assistant, Klungo, trying to save her.
As the game's one-player mode opens on a stormy night, Banjo, Kazooie, Mumbo Jumbo, and Bottles are enjoying a game of poker in Banjo's house, where Bottles continues to lose spectacularly to Mumbo. But outside, the mischievous goon Klungo is helping Mingella & Blobbelda resurrect their witch sister, Grunty. They do succeed in reviving Grunty, although she is no more than a skeleton with witch's robes. Mumbo witnesses this ceremony, and speeds back to Banjo's house to warn his friends. The witches give chase, and Grunty hurls a deadly spell at the house. Forewarned, Banjo, Kazooie, and Mumbo get away in time, but Bottles, suspecting the claim that Grunty is back to be a trick by Mumbo to win the rest of his money, stays put and is caught in the blast. The witches speed away in their Hag 1 machine, and Banjo and Kazooie watch as Bottles wobbles out of their destroyed house and dies at their feet. Shaken, they agree that they must chase down Grunty and foil her plans once more. Mumbo informs them that he will return to his hut and prepare some magic to aid them.
Banjo and Kazooie follow the trail of the Hag 1 to Jinjo Village, which they discover to be devoid of Jinjos, with the Gray Jinjo House destroyed by the Hag 1. Confused, they approach the Jinjo King, who informs them that a kickball tournament is to start within the week, but without his Jinjo subjects, he has no team. Banjo and Kazooie agree to help find his subjects, and he consequently gives them a Jiggy (a golden puzzle piece) to help them on their journey. Shortly after their departure, we learn that Grunty's sisters have created B.O.B. (Big Ol' Blaster), a tremendous machine that can suck the life force out of people and places. Grunty's sisters agree to let her use it, but only if she stops speaking in rhyme. She agrees, and they decide to test B.O.B. on the Jinjo king, who is instantly turned into a zombie, with his palace now an ugly grey color. Grunty eagerly states that she wishes to next zap Banjo and Kazooie and the whole island with them, but her sisters inform her that B.O.B. must first charge up, which will take hours to do so. Grunty reassures them that, without King Jingaling around to help them, there will not be any way for them to reach Cauldron Keep in time.
Meanwhile, Banjo and Kazooie take a shortcut through Bottles' house to reach the Isle O' Hags, where they meet Master Jiggywiggy, a mysterious sorcerer who agrees to help them open up the worlds on the island if they present a proper amount of Jiggies and solve his puzzles. Their adventure thus begins.
On their journey they collect a total of ninety Jiggies, and receive help from old and new friends. They often stumble upon Mumbo's hut, where he agrees to go out and use his magic to open up new passageways for them. They also encounter Sergeant Jamjars, Bottles' soldier brother, who agrees to teach the duo new attacks (if, of course, they can present a proper number of Musical Notes). They also meet Humba Wumba, a female Native American and Mumbo's arch-rival in magic who requests magical Glowbos in exchange for transforming Banjo and Kazooie into something else.
Finally, the pair reaches Cauldron Keep, Grunty's castle. After facing her henchman Klungo and taking her "Tower of Tragedy" quiz, they hurry upstairs to reverse the effects of B.O.B., thus reviving Bottles and the Jinjo king. They then rush to the top of the tower and face off with Grunty in her Hag 1 machine. Once the duo defeat Grunty and destroy the Hag 1, they return to the Isle O' Hags to celebrate with their friends, as well as kicking around Grunty's head, much to her disgust. She vows to have her revenge in the game's sequel, Banjo-Threeie.
Main characters
- Banjo - A lovable, yet somewhat confused bear. The hero of this tale.
- Kazooie - An elegant bird with a cutting wit. Banjo's partner in action and character foil.
- Mumbo Jumbo - A shaman that helps the duo by performing various tasks with his magic. In this game, he is actually a playable character, as opposed to his role in the previous game, Banjo-Kazooie, where he would simply transform Banjo into animals and objects.
- Bottles - A timid, mild-mannered mole, the neighbor of Banjo and Kazooie. In this game, Bottles is slain (but remains a ghost) after an attempt on Banjo and Kazooie's life by Gruntilda.
- Gruntilda Winkybunion - A witch that vows revenge on Banjo and Kazooie. This is the antagonist of the story.
- Sergeant Jamjars - Bottles' brother. Teaches Banjo and Kazooie new moves.
- Humba Wumba - A Native American woman and Mumbo Jumbo's rival. Transforms Banjo and Kazooie into other forms.
- Klungo - Gruntilda's servant.
- Mingella - Grunty's tall, skinny sister. She and her sister Blobbelda have a habit of speaking in Object Subject Verb order.
- Blobbelda - Grunty's short, obese sister.
- Cheato - Grunty's spellbook. Grunty tore all his pages out and hid them, as punishment for Cheato helping Banjo and Kazooie in the first game. If the bear and bird find his missing pages and return them, they will be rewarded.
Strangely, Banjo's sister Tooty is neither seen nor mentioned in this game. The only times Tooty can be seen (although not in person) are in Banjo's house, where a portrait of her hangs, and when one visits the trashcan in Cloud Cuckooland--a "Have you seen me?" picture of Tooty is on the side of a milk carton. Gruntilda's "good" sister, Brentilda, is also absent from the sequel, but a portrait of her (taken from Mad Monster Mansion in the previous game) can be seen in Pawno's shop in Jolly Roger's Lagoon, along with some other Banjo-Kazooie memorabilia such as the doll from Grunty's Furnace Fun.
Worlds
Spiral Mountain
Spiral Mountain is the home to Banjo and Kazooie. Spiral Mountain went through some damage and was left in ruins in Banjo-Tooie after the Winkybunion Sisters not only came through with a powerful digging machine to rescue Gruntilda, who was trapped under a rock after the previous Banjo-Kazooie game, but also left their troops behind to destroy the area, which they succeed in doing come morning.
Despite his demise and the destruction of the region, Bottles's molehills still dot the landscape, and talking to one will prompt the mole's spirit to explain any desired move one wishes to be refreshed on. (For the record, Banjo and Kazooie begin the game with the entire moveset from Banjo-Kazooie, learned moves included.)
Gruntilda's Lair
Players are able to enter Gruntilda's Lair from Banjo-Kazooie. The lair is accessible, but players can only access the foyer. This is where a tattered Cheato, a living book, resides. He will exchange codes for his missing pages. Due to the damage from the last game and this game, the two hallways that lead to Mumbo's Mountain and the first note door are now blocked by stones. These, in the context of the game, fell when Gruntilda's sisters drilled through Spiral Mountain.
Many players have tried to get past the boulders to access the other parts of the lair. This was presumably because this section was labeled "Gruntilda's Lair (Entrance)", seemingly indicating a presence of another room. Through the use of a "go through walls" code for GameShark, it is seen nothing actually lies on the other side of the rocks.
Isle O' Hags
This is a continent that is the home of many places, including all of the entrances to the levels of the game. Isle O' Hags gets its name from the evil witches that roam the area. These witches include Gruntilda Winkybunion and two of her sisters Mingella & Blobbelda.
Other Worlds
- Mayahem Temple: A Mayan-themed world that contains a code chamber for various game cheats, much in the vein of Treasure Trove Cove's sandcastle in Banjo-Kazooie. It also has such locations as a kickball stadium, and various temples, one of which houses the world boss.
- Glitter Gulch Mine: A stereotypical goldmine with prison cells, a waterfall, prospectors, and caves filled with poisonous gas. This is where one first discovers Chuffy the train (derailed in the beginning).
- Witchyworld: A highly unsafe (and previously condemned) fairground, endorsed by Gruntilda, with dangerous rides and rude employees (most of them trying to smack Banjo with a mallet).
- Jolly Roger's Lagoon: This world is comprised of two areas, a nautical village and the lagoon. With the aid of Mumbo, the characters can breathe underwater. In the lagoon, one can travel to the sea bottom, literally enter Davy Jones's locker (containing the world boss), and float among the ruins of Atlantis.
- Terrydactyland: An ancient prehistoric world filled with dinosaurs and cavemen. This is also the home to Terry, a pterodactyl, single parent, boss character and the world's namesake, whose nest sits at the top of the central mountain.
- Grunty Industries: A massive factory for electrical appliances, endorsed by Grunty, with a waste disposal that causes problems for a previous world. A testament to Gruntilda's disdain for the environment, much in the vein of Rusty Bucket Bay.
- Hailfire Peaks: A giant twin-peaked mountain where one side is ice and the other is fire, both watched over by the Dragon Brothers, Chilli Billi and Chilly Willy. The fire side of the mountain was originally planned to be "Mount Fire Eyes" in Banjo-Kazooie.
- Cloud Cuckooland: Accessible by floating into the sky in a giant bubble. It is a fanciful world that floats exceedingly high above the Isle o' Hags, made of an enormous, hollow, purple mountain, surrounded by floating platforms of various oddities including a large wedge of smelly cheese, a pot of gold, a jelly castle and a gigantic trash can. Players can see the whole Island on this level by looking off the edge.
Cauldron Keep
Grunty's hideout is the game's final level, though not a bona fide level like the others, as Jiggies, other items, and characters (Mumbo Jumbo, Humba Wumba, and Sgt. Jamjars) are all absent. After the player faces off one last time with Klungo, they must survive Grunty's Tower of Tragedy quiz, which is similar to Grunty's Furnace Fun in Banjo-Kazooie. After that, a cut- scene shows Banjo and Kazooie reversing B.O.B.'s effects to bring King Jingaling and Bottles back to life, followed by a showdown on the roof with Gruntilda in her Hag 1 machine.
Interestingly, there is a continuity error involved: the B.O.B. only absorbed Jingaling's life force, yet the heroes are able to resurrect both Jingaling and Bottles. Additionally, although Banjo and Kazooie never ascend any stairs (in fact, they come down a large flight when entering the gun room), they inexplicably emerge at the top of the tower, high above where they entered. Presumably an elevator of some form is present through the doorways, but as Banjo and Kazooie are out of sight of the player during this time it is quite impossible to tell.
As of the end of this game, which saw the "death" of Gruntilda (though how she could die in her current form is anyone's guess), she is reduced to a mere skull with a missing eyeball. She says that she'll return in Banjo-Threeie for her revenge (similar to her promise at the end of Banjo-Kazooie) as several game characters are using her head as a kickball.
Differences from Banjo-Kazooie
A major change with the sequel is the introduction of non-recollectable music notes. In Banjo-Kazooie, the premise is the same: the player enters the level and collects notes, trying to achieve the highest score. However, if the player dies or leaves the level, upon re-entering the level the player has to start collection all over again as all the music notes reappear, and players must beat the previous score by collecting a higher number of notes in one go compared to last time. Banjo-Tooie changes this: any collected music notes will not reappear and are cumulatively added to the players score (rather than having a player to attempt to collect the highest amount possible in one go at a particular level).
Collectibles in the game, ranging from musical notes to eggs and feathers, are no longer collected singularly in "Banjo-Tooie". Notes come in nests of 5 and 20, eggs in nests of 10, red feathers in nests of 20, and gold feathers in nests of 2. Mumbo Tokens are replaced by Glowbos, which are given to either Mumbo or Wumba. Two Glowbos can be found in each world, one for each shaman.
Another change is the introduction of Banjo having infinite lives. Although neither game is necessarily "life-based," such as games like Super Mario Bros., the player in Banjo-Kazooie had a supply of lives that, if emptied, would display a "Game Over" screen and force the player to start from the entrance to Gruntilda's Lair. This was not so in Banjo-Tooie - the player would start from the beginning of the level in which the player died. Consequently, this game also lacks the "game over" cutscene found in previous Nintendo 64 Rareware platformers Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64. This can be viewed as a loose plot end as it makes it impossible for the player to actually witness the results of failure (and thus the witch's triumph) as they could in Banjo-Kazooie.
Most of the abilities that Banjo and Kazooie can receive in Banjo-Kazooie are available to them at the start of Banjo-Tooie. This is in contrast to games where all powerups are inexplicably gone in the sequel. On a very minor note, Banjo can no longer perform his Claw Swipe from the previous game. This change is probably due to the continuity of that Banjo being alone without Kazooie can only perform the Pack Whack as the attack. For the same reason, Banjo's rolling attack is also seen assisted by Kazooie in this game. Some moves were also changed slightly. For example, the Beak Bomb attack can now be used indefinitely by holding B as long as desired (though this will use up extra feathers). Also, the Turbo Trainers (called the "Running Shoes" in Banjo-Kazooie) can now be used to run on water, which is useful in certain places in the game. Banjo and Kazooie both have new voice clips in addition to their old ones, as well. Banjo's new voice clips in particular make his voice sound deeper than in the original clips, while Kazooie's new clips sound more bird-like. On a similar note, Grunty no longer rhymes in all of her messages (as requested by her sisters).
Another notable change in Banjo-Tooie is that all levels feature a boss battle. While in Banjo-Kazooie there were fewer and less clearly enumerated boss battles with the exceptions of Boss Boom Box in Rusty Bucket Bay, and Gruntilda at the very end of the game.
In Banjo-Kazooie, once an enemy is defeated it will only reappear once the world has been exited and reentered, and the honeycomb left behind will not disappear either. In Banjo-Tooie, the honeycombs disappear, and the enemies constantly regenerate after a short period of time. Another minor change is that, unlike in Banjo-Kazooie, the characters' mouths move with their talking avatars in dialogues, though it is only apparent in Banjo and Kazooie themselves during special cinematics.
A peculiar change between both games is that in Banjo-Kazooie, whenever Banjo collects an item for the first time, the item will actually speak, describing itself. This includes minor collectibles such as Captain Blubber's treasure in Treasure Trove Cove, and the worms in Click Clock Wood. In Banjo-Tooie, when collecting an item for the first time, Jamjars describes the item instead, even long before Banjo or Kazooie actually meet him in person.
Perhaps the largest change, though, is the shift in tone from Banjo-Kazooie. While the original presented a fairy-tale, more lighthearted atmosphere with a "Save the Princess" style plot, Tooie was not afraid to kill off major characters and make liberal usage of darker themes, sexual innuendos, and toilet humor (although these tended to be vehicles for black comedy, rather than tragedy).
Banjo and Kazooie themselves appear to be more well-rounded characters than in the first game. Previously, Banjo would be rather dense in all situations, and Kazooie would insult wholesale anyone within earshot. In Tooie, Banjo appears to be considerably smarter, and Kazooie somewhat more discriminating (or at least directed) in her remarks. This is possibly due in part to "shared dialogue" -- lines spoken by whoever is present when the team is Split Up -- though the change is noticeable even when they are still together.
Stop 'n' Swop
Bottles' Revenge
For reasons that are unknown, Rare apparently left a fully-functional, though inaccessible mode in the game where Player 2 plays as an undead version of Bottles the Mole and can take control of enemy characters to hinder Banjo in his quest. The player cannot take control of bosses however, due to Bottles leaving when entering a room to fight a boss, stating "I'm not needed here". The Rare Witch Project released a GameShark code so users can play this mode, and additionally the cheat code part of the Project 64 emulation software can access this. It is assumed that this mode was originally intended to be used in gameplay (it was playable somewhat at E3, supposedly) but scrapped for reasons unknown (possibly programming difficulties). The face of "Devil Bottles" appears with one of the questions in the Tower of Tragedy. "Devil Bottles" is also pictured in a sheet with all Banjo-Tooie characters on it, which could be won in a Banjo-Tooie contest on Rare's website, back whenever the game was released in a specific region, in 2001. In 2006 Rare said that the reason Bottles' Revenge was scrapped because they ran out of time to debug it, although "it did work rather well". They also mentioned that Bosses were meant to be able to be controllable in Bottles' Revenge, but the only Boss that they had working in the mode when they dropped it was Old King Coal.[1] Old King Coal is not controllable in the version of Bottles' Revenge that appears in the game.
Reception
Banjo-Tooie was very successful when released, scores were highly positive and close to perfect scores like Banjo-Kazooie:
IGN: 9.4
Gamespot: 9.6
Gamestats: 9.2
1Up.com: 9.6
Gamerankings: 90% (Based on 18 reviews)
Metacritic: 90 of 100 (Based on 15 reviews)
Nintendo Official Magazine: 97%
Cameos and cultural references
Banjo-Tooie draws heavily on Banjo-Kazooie, and many characters from that game return, such as Conga, Loggo, Toots and Gobi, as well as more major characters like Mumbo Jumbo and Klungo. Pictures of Treasure Trove Cove from Banjo-Kazooie appear in the backroom of the Jolly Roger Pub, and a picture of Freezeezy Peak hangs from a wall in Boggy's house (Boggy himself a returning character). Blackeye, a pirate who appeared only in picture form in Banjo-Kazooie, makes a cameo appearance, whilst Tooty and Brentilda, two main characters from the first game, appear only in pictures. Bottles' relatives Jamjars, Speccy and Goggles are all named after insults and nicknames given to Bottles by Kazooie in Banjo-Kazooie, and several other characters, such as Humba Wumba, had their names derived from wrong answers in Grunty's Furnace Fun.
The game also features numerous references to other Rareware games. For example, Rare mascot Mr. Pants appears on a television screen in Hailfire Peaks, and in a constellation in Witchyworld's Dodgem Dome arena. Also, Tiptup makes an appearance in Jolly Roger's Lagoon. He was a playable character from Diddy Kong Racing and also made a cameo in Banjo-Kazooie. Bottles' daughter[citation needed] Goggles plays with a Donkey Kong doll. Inside Bottles' house there are two posters showing Juno and Vela from Jet Force Gemini. Another Vela poster is seen in the bathroom of Grunty Industries. Sabreman makes an appearance in the game, and mentions Sabre Wulf, the titular villain from the game Sabre Wulf. Kazooie asks the aliens in Jolly Roger's Lagoon if one of them is named "Elvis", a reference to the Perfect Dark alien character who has this name (but also a more general reference to the pop culture associate of Elvis and extra terrestrial life). The logos for Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark and Jet Force Gemini are magnets on a fridge in Grunty Industries alongside the Banjo-Tooie logo. Several other games are referred to in "Tower of Tragedy" questions. For example, in one of the questions, Gruntilda asks in which game she first appeared. Aside from the correct answer (Banjo-Kazooie), there are the wrong answers "Perfect Grunty" and "Grunty Kong 64", name parodies to Perfect Dark and Donkey Kong 64.
In Jolly Roger's Lagoon, all of the lockers aside from "D. Jones" contain Rareware staff members. One of them is "S. Malpass", representing Steve Malpass. A few years later, Malpass ended up voicing Fox in Super Smash Bros. Melee. On a related note, another locker bears the name "W. Anchor", which when pronounced as one word sounds similar to "wanker", a common British slang word (similar to Rare's pun with "K.Rool in Donkey Kong Country).
There are also occasional references to other works. Nintendo mascot Mario is mentioned in Grunty Industries, where Kazooie suggests that he might unblock Loggo the toilet. Loggo responds that he doesn't think Mario does that kind of work anymore. Also, when the aliens in Jolly Roger's Lagoon say that they have a problem, Kazooie says, "Let me guess, you need to phone home?" making reference to a famous line from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.
This game has in turn been referred to in later Rare games. Roysten the Fish makes a cameo in Rare's first Xbox game, Grabbed by the Ghoulies. In Viva Piñata, a part of the Jameleon Dance of Romance song is part of the background music from Mayahem Temple, later followed by a remix of the Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie theme song. Players can also purchase Conga's Top Hat, the Bear and Bird Statue, Jiggy earrings, Grunty's hat, and Jamjars' hat. They can also buy a Statue of Mumbo, used to scare away Dastardos.
In the stage Witchy World there is an eerie fenced off area that resmbles an aircraft hangar with the number 51 painted on it. The area is crawling with alien bad guys that chase you around if you don't defeat them. No doubt this a reference to the mythical base of Area 51 (itself an accessible area in Perfect Dark).
Banjo-Kazooie 3
At the end of Banjo Tooie, Grunty's severed head makes a comment about getting revenge in Banjo-Threeie.
On September 27, 2006, Microsoft and Rare announced at X06 that the series will be returning on the Xbox 360.[2] The IGN website currently has a teaser trailer for the upcoming game tentatively titled Banjo-Kazooie 3.
There is a third Banjo-Kazooie game for the Game Boy Advance titled Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge, although, in chronological order, it is the second in the series.
References
- ^ "Scribes - December 8, 2006". Rare. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
- ^ "X06: Banjo, Kazooie Return on 360". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2006-09-27.
External links
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