Banjo-Kazooie Rumour Mill

by Paul on Jan 24th, 2006

Enough Banjo-Kazooie questions! Enough! Ask us one more time how to get to the secret areas and we’ll throttle you all. Look, here comes the designer to clear a few things up. Now sit quietly.

Q: How do I activate Banjo-Tooie mode?

A: Unfortunately, there is no Banjo-Tooie mode in Banjo-Kazooie. Banjo-Tooie is the proposed name for the sequel. Having said that, please feel free to cross out ‘Kazooie’ on the box and replace with ‘Tooie’. Then, if you’re really gullible, you can switch the game on and pretend it’s Banjo-Tooie mode!

Q: So how do I reach the secret stuff that Mumbo shows me at the end of the game?

A: All the secret stuff can only be reached when playing Banjo-Tooie, the planned (and naturally better) sequel to Banjo-Kazooie. Whilst playing ‘Tooie, you’ll be able to come back to ‘Kazooie and grab the hidden goodies, before spiriting them away into the sequel where they will be put to good use. To avoid accusations that we are nasty money-grabbing types who are forcing players to fork out for both games, these secrets won’t be essential to completing Banjo-Tooie, but they will be rather spiffingly desirable, even if we say so ourselves.

Q: How do I get the ice key in Wozza’s cave?

A: Contrary to the many hilarious and completely inaccurate methods that are circulating the net like a swarm of disease-ridden lying mosquitoes, there is no genuine way of getting this key until Banjo-Tooie makes its appearance.

Q: How do I get Sharkfood Island to rise?

A: See above, but replace the words ”this key” with ”into Sharkfood Island”.

Q: Will the worlds in the sequel be the same as the ones in the original?

A: To avoid us having to do any work whatsoever on Banjo-Tooie, we reckon that no-one will notice if we use the same worlds again. (Which were the same worlds as used in Mario 64 but cleverly disguised.) Perhaps we’ll just change the colours around a bit or something. What a silly question, of course the worlds will be new! At no extra cost folks, they’ll also be bigger, better, more colourful and more varied!

Q: Who’s this Tooie character? Will Kazooie still be in the sequel?

A: Tooie is not a character, merely a ‘clever’ way of saying Banjo 2. Much to the dismay of many of Banjo-Tooie’s characters, the wisecracking, big-mouthed, uncouth collection of mangy feathers known as Kazooie will indeed be around for Banjo’s next outing (she hopes).

Q: Why do I have Jiggies and musical notes left over when I’ve opened all the doors and completed the game?

A: In an effort to make the game slightly less daunting for the not-so-skilled players, we thought that having a bit of leeway in the required totals to finish the game was a good idea. If you don’t believe that, then it’s because we can’t count properly.

Q: How will Banjo-Tooie be compatible with Banjo-Kazooie? 64DD? Lock-on cartridge?

A: Mmm, good question. Unfortunately, if we revealed how we were going to do it at this point, it would spoil your future bear-type surprise and enjoyment. Which is a polite way of saying we’re not going to answer this one.

Q: Can I do anything inside Gnawty’s house in Click Clock Wood after breaking in during Spring?

A: Oh dear. Due to our underestimation of players’ persistence to find a way in where there should have been none, we’re afraid that there is nothing in there at all. So don’t bother going in, huh?

Q: Where’s the ‘lava world’ that Gobi the camel says he’s going off to find?

A: ‘Lava World’ is a long, long way away, and our intrepid camel hero might just have got there in time to be included in one of our future releases…

Q: Is it possible to lift the rock that holds Gruntilda down in Spiral Mountain after the final battle?

A: No, there is no way that Banjo can lift this lump of Grunty-crushing granite.

Q: Is there any way of replaying Grunty’s quiz show/the first end sequence/the final battle instead of going straight to the credits?

A: No/no/no. But as this seems quite a popular wish for many players, you can now choose from the following selection of feeble excuses to determine what you consider the most convincing answer might be: it seemed inconsistent to kill someone again that was already dead; you should be able to, so obviously you’re not playing right; we simply ran out of time; it was an unfortunate oversight that we wish we could correct.

Q: Is Tiptup in Bubblegloop Swamp the original Tiptup from Diddy Kong Racing?

A: The story of the mighty game-spanning Tiptup is as follows: Tiptup was the name of a turtle that featured in a project called Dream. Unfortunately, work on Dream stopped and Banjo-Kazooie started. Halfway through Banjo, Diddy Kong Racing was in need of some names for its racers, and as one of them happened to be a turtle, he was handed down the name of Tiptup, for which he was most grateful. Using his newfound star status, the big-headed turtle demanded roles in other Rare games, hence his inclusion in Banjo-Kazooie. We hope that rather silly story kept you entertained, as we can’t think of anything else.

Q: Can the codes earned from Bottles’ puzzle game be saved to cartridge?

A: No, they can’t. We didn’t think that players would want to be stuck as a hideously deformed furry freak, but obviously some people disagree.

Q: Is there anything in the cave above the waterfall in Spiral Mountain?

A: This cave is empty in Banjo-Kazooie. Sorry!

Q: How do I get Mumbo to change me into a T-Rex?

A: As Mumbo says in the game himself: ”T-Rex spell too good for this game. Mumbo keep for next game.” You’ll just have to find out if the shaman keeps his word, won’t you?

Q: What did I do to deserve being changed into a washing machine?

A: We thought that if Mumbo’s spells occasionally went slightly wrong it would look funny. Then we found that playing as the washing machine was even funnier. Plus the fact that we’re all simple and the smallest things amuse us.

Q: Is there a reliable method to getting the alternative save slot animations (Banjo being thrown through the window, etc.)?

A: If you wait long enough, the goldfish in the bowl taps out the tune God Save The Queen on the side of his bowl. If you plug in an additional three controllers and then press the A button on all four controllers simultaneously when the fish gets to the word ‘queen’, you’ll enter the hidden ‘silly save slot animation’ mode. Now when you select a game, you’ll see the animation every time! Yes, if you believe that, you’ll believe anything, including some of the equally ridiculous suggestions we’ve seen on the net. The simple answer is that these animations are entirely random, about a one in ten chance of happening if we remember correctly.

Q: Why do the pots in the Mad Monster Mansion graveyard swear at me?

A: Banjo is not a Hollywood action film, therefore the cast see no reason to swear profusely at any opportunity. This includes the graveyard pots, which are guilty of saying nothing more than a spooky ”Thank you” when Banjo deposits an egg into them. Blame it on our strange British accents if you want. We also vehemently deny that Brentilda is in fact Gruntilda’s brother in drag and that Captain Blubber is smuggling illegal arms on board his ship (Nintendo hopes).

Q: If Gruntilda changed Mumbo’s face into a mask of horror until she was overthrown, why doesn’t it change back when I beat her?

A: This is due to the fact that the story was written some time ago – then we thought it better that Mumbo should remain a skull-faced shaman forever, basically because he would look rubbish without his mask. Unfortunately, we didn’t change the story to reflect this decision. Oops.

Q: Why do I get a mooing sound when I spell out ‘CHEAT’ in the Treasure Trove Cove sandcastle?

A: That’s because there are some craftily-hidden codes that can be spelt out after the word ‘CHEAT’ is entered. Generous to a fault, we’re now releasing the seven prize codes from our previous competition to the world at large, even though everybody knows them already…

LOTSOFGOESWITHMANYBANJOS – Infinite lives
ANENERGYBARTOGETYOUFAR – Maximum energy
GIVETHEBEARLOTSOFAIR – Infinite air (underwater)
AGOLDENGLOWTOPROTECTBANJO – Infinite gold feathers
NOWYOUCANFLYHIGHINTHESKY – Infinite red feathers
BANJOBEGSFORPLENTYOFEGGS – Infinite eggs
DONTBEADUMBOGOSEEMUMBO – Infinite Mumbo tokens

(Don’t forget: type in ‘CHEAT’ first, immediately followed by the code – and bear in mind that you’ll hear no sound until you’ve finished the whole sentence, so be careful to hit the right tiles or you’ll have to start from scratch.)

Categories: Interviews