Banjo-Kazooie
At the top of her tower, the warty and physically repugnant Gruntilda the witch asks her magic cauldron who is the prettiest of the land. Unfortunately the answer she manages to receive isn’t quite what she hoped for, and after learning that her loathsome looks were outdone by a bear cub named Tooty, the old hag swoops down on her broomstick towards Spiral Mountain in an envious fit. With a plot to steal Tooty’s good looks via Beauty Transfering Machine, all looks lost for the helpless bear as she’s captured and brought back to Gruntilda’s Lair. Enter our titular heroes, big brother bear Banjo and his pet breegul Kazooie; an unlikely duo that are tasked with rescuing Tooty from Gruntilda’s clutches before it’s too late!
Banjo-Kazooie Team:
Game Design – Gregg Mayles, George Andreas
Art & Graphics – Steve Mayles, Ed Bryan, Steven Hurst, John Nash, Chris Peil
Software – Chris Sutherland, Morten Broderson, Paul Machacek, Graham Smith, Kieran Connell, Rhys Lewis, Mark Wilson
Music & Sound Effects – Grant Kirkhope, Eveline Fischer, Lee Ray, Chris Seavor
Quality Assurance – Huw Ward, Steven Brand, Gareth Glover, Gavin Hood, Steve Malpass, Adam Munton, Shaun Read, Jamie Williams, Andrew Wilson, David Wong
Production – Leigh Loveday, Joel Hochberg
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Banjo-Kazooie Complete Walkthrough
Guides Kowbrainz' Banjo-Kazooie guide will lead you every step of the way through the Bear and Birds first adventure, highlighting all collectibles in every level for 100% completion! -
Stop ’N’ Swop: An Explanation and Retrospective
Guides Rare's most ambitious secret feature spanning 20 years of gaming history is thoroughly examined in this exclusive feature. -
Bottles Bonus Guide
Guides This perilous puzzler may be daunting, but with this guide providing detailed solutions you'll earn Bottles' secret codes in no time flat! -
Banjo-Kazooie Cheat Codes
Guides Don't miss out on over 50 unique Banjo-Kazooie cheat codes that you can use to enhance your adventure by unlocking goodies and secrets! -
Banjo-Kazooie Beta Guide
Guides Take a history lesson more in-depth than BanjoLand with the Banjo-Kazooie Beta Guide, detailing Banjo's entire lineage from SNES to N64. -
Banjo-Kazooie Music
Music A comprehensive playlist containing every tune heard in Banjo-Kazooie for your listening pleasure. -
Composing Connection: The Evolution of Banjo-Kazooie’s Beta Music
Music Discover the evolution of unused tunes in Banjo-Kazooie as they were later utilized in Banjo-Tooie and Donkey Kong 64. -
Banjo-Kazooie/Banjo-Tooie Tepid Seat
Interviews Rare answers questions regarding Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie in their Tepid Seat feature. -
Banjo-Kazooie Rumour Mill
Interviews Stop or swop? -
Rare Gamer Interviews Grant Kirkhope (July, 2010)
Interviews Rare Gamer interviews composer Grant Kirkhope on his musical career at Rare. -
Rare Gamer Interviews Paul Machacek on Stop ’N’ Swop
Interviews Rare Gamer interviews software engineer Paul Machacek about his involvement with Stop 'N' Swop. -
The Making of Banjo-Kazooie – Retro Gamer Interviews Gregg Mayles & Chris Sutherland
Interviews The following interview/retrospective was featured in Retro Gamer, Issue #36, which has since been uploaded in full on Archive.org. This excerpt from the magazine is preserved here for posterity. -
Banjo at 20: Gregg Mayles Interview
Interviews Designer Gregg Mayles looks back at 20 years of development since the release of Banjo-Kazooie. -
Banjo-Kazooie Rare Retrospective
Previews Rare reflects on the development and behind-the-scenes details of Banjo-Kazooie. -
Banjo-Kazooie Rare Prologue – Story So Far…
Previews Read up on the inciting incidents that lead to Banjo-Kazooie! -
Banjo-Kazooie Nintendo Retrospective
Previews Nintendo provides an in-depth overview for Banjo-Kazooie. -
Banjo-Kazooie Graphic Novel – “The Horrorhouse Of The Captive Jinjos”
Previews In this harrowing comic adventure, Banjo and Kazooie are tasked with rescuing the captured Jinjos from within Mad Monster Mansion! -
Banjo-Kazooie Review – Kowbrainz
Reviews See how Banjo-Kazooie ranks up with Kowbrainz's review of the Bear and Birds first adventure. -
Banjo-Kazooie Review – Dr. Worm
Reviews See how Banjo-Kazooie ranks up with Dr. Worm's review of the Bear and Birds first adventure. -
Banjo-Kazooie Symphony review
Reviews Hint: buy it! -
Banjo-Kazooie Scribes Excerpts (1998)
Scribes The following excerpts detailing the development of Banjo-Kazooie was originally published on Rare's Scribes letter page in 1998. We've scoured each edition for that year in order to provide you with every mention of the title to be found in Rare's posted answers in chronological order below. -
Banjo-Kazooie Promotional Trailer 1997
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Banjo-Kazooie Original Spaceworld E3 Preview
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Feel Everything Promotion – Banjo-Kazooie
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Banjo-Kazooie Opening Introduction Uncut – N64
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