Games (TM) Banjo-Kazooie 3 and Game Informer Issue 182

 

 

GAMES (TM) MAGAZINE FEATURED THE FIRST IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW OF BANJO-KAZOOIE NUTS & BOLTS IN MAY AND GAME INFORMER ISSUE 182 IN JUNE.

 

Games (TM) Issue 70 released in May of 2008, 6 months before Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts was released. Game Informer Issue 182 released in June. Both are fairly close together in information so I'm combining them. The game experienced crunch, and released in a broken yet functional state. Datamining the game you can find a lot of left over content and quirks. Games Magazine talked about content that was no longer present in the release.

MAIN ARTICLES

• Shaun Reed was the lead designer on Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
• The team didn't want to make a high definition version of Banjo-Tooie.
• Mumbo had a magic wrench of his own that he'd use to open crates.
• Challenges were graded from E to A, E being the worst performance.
• Sticky Ball vehicle part was originally a magnet connected by a chain.
• The game originally has 1600 vehicle parts (that is including duplicate part such as body).
• Multiplayer mini-games originally allowed players to use custom vehicles instead of premade. 
• The main focus on the game was player-generated content.
• Challenges were made generic enough that players can use all kinds of vehicle builds.
• High Scores and player records were a big focus for the "online competitive" scene.
• Some of the vehicles the team made were ships from Star Wars: an X-Wing, Tie Fighter, A-Wings, B-Wings, Y-Wings, R2D2 and a Death Star.
• A couple of basic vehicles the team made were based on Mario and Link. 
• Abilities were replaced with vehicle components that do the same thing.
• Prologue wasn't finished at the time of the interview (May).
• There was a crane arm vehicle part at one point.
• Showdown Town is Rare's biggest hub world (as of 2008).
• Shaun has high hopes that everyone will like it despite some gameplay differences. 

SIDE PIECES

• Originally Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts had 6 in-game worlds. (5 in the final)
• All 10 of the Challenge NPCs were already decided to play multiple roles in the game.
• They're called Acts because each world is considered a "play of sorts"
• The purpose of Acts was to come back to older levels with more difficult challenges. 
• Grunty once controlled the police force in Showdown Town.
• Jiggies were supposed to show damage if they were attacked by police.
• Each world once had one unrelated boss and one Grunty Challenge.
• High-Grip tires once featured spikes, the idea was to emulate Talon Trot from previous games. 
• Each world was supposed to have 15 Jiggies. (BKNB's spread Weird West's jiggies when scrapped) 

 

Lore Round-Up: Mumbo Jumbo

The lore in the Banjo-Kazooie universe isn't really consistent and there is a conversation about word of god with Gregg Mayles and what is explicitly shown in Rare's games but this discussion will treat all content as canon for the sake of a cohesion. 

Mumbo Jumbo is a shaman that first appears on top of Mumbo's Mountain. Prior to going to Witch Doctor School after the events of Banjo-Kazooie, Mumbo only knew how to do simple spells and transformation magic. Still a witch doctor in training at the Handsome Shaman Institute, Mumbo foolishly was the one to introduce and teach magic to Gruntilda. Once Gruntilda outgrew Mumbo's usefulness she had transformed his face into a mask of terror.

Mumbo Jumbo's original form is up to debate. When asked if he was a Jinjo, Mumbo said he felt like he was insulted. There are context clues to what Mumbo's true form may have been. If his origin is Mumbo's Mountain; his village is populated by Grublins; and Grublins' prototype appearance was similar to Mumbo, it's most likely Mumbo was a Grublin. Mumbo's face will not transform back until Gruntilda is truly defeated. As we know, Gruntilda is immortal becoming both a skeleton and a ghost in previous games.

Mumbo's outfit in games prior to Banjo-Kazooie was chosen by Mumbo after the Handsome Shaman Institute encouraged its students to make their own ritual outfits. Mumbo's sole reason of not wearing that outfit was because it doesn't feel right to do so when not an active shaman. The grass skirt also allows Mumbo to safely store his staff in his butt to prevent other magic users from taking it.

Mumbo's source of magic is innate but amplified by an additional source. In Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge, he has the ability to speak to spirits but used magical totems that Klungo and Grunty use. In Banjo-Kazooie he uses a collection of skull-shaped tokens in exchange for his transformations, however, Mumbo states that he wasn't using them for magic purposes but simply because he was going through a gothic phase and wanted to make a throne out of silver skulls. He gave up this project because it was too creepy, so he threw them out. This may have been hinted at in the instruction booklet as to why Mumbo can remove and recast spells without repayment. In Banjo-Tooie, Mumbo needed glowbos to perform permanent magical effects such as bringing people back to life and oxygenating large bodies of water. Mumbo and Humba Wumba most likely do not use more advanced magic in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts due to a magic recession, though Mumbo does use some of his magic to assist Banjo and Kazooie with their vehicle creation, though he is still an unlicensed witch doctor who is not yet certified by the Shamanic Union. Mumbo claims that nobody wants to pay for magic anymore, and that banks will not invest into things like transformations.

Prior to the events of Banjo-Tooie, all of Mumbo's Huts in each game world was a vacation home. In Banjo-Tooie, Mumbo's Huts are actually created by Mumbo to assist Banjo and Kazooie on their adventure to get revenge on Gruntilda. Mumbo's Garage in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is a creation of Mumbo's after he settled into Showdown Town, it was just a coincidence that Lord of Games needed him for his role in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. After the events of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Mumbo's Garage gained enough capital to sponsor events on Rivals Island.

The game worlds outside of Spiral Mountain and Showdown Town in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts are characters playing roles for the game itself rather than being established canon. One big example of the worlds in N&B being non-canon would be Humba Wumba marrying Mumbo in Nutty Acres. Humba Wumba does not like Mumbo because of his reputation. One of the biggest motives of Humba Wumba helping Banjo and Kazooie is to expose Mumbo as an amateur. Humba Wumba's transformations far exceed Mumbo's from previous games. Mumbo only learned new spells after the events of Banjo-Kazooie despite years of practicing magic. Humba by the time she is seen in Banjo-Tooie is a published magic author. The rivalry continued on for years, as Humba even opened up a shop parallel to Mumbo Jumbo's just to talk down his business.

A synopsis would be Mumbo is a foolish shaman who stumbled upwards, never got re-registered after going back to shaman school, and was an asset in creating the Gruntilda we all know and also assisting in her multiple defeats. 

Trivia

• Mumbo predominantly uses his right-hand to perform magic spells with his wand.
• Mumbo thinks Humba Wumba has a crush on him.
• Mumbo took a vacation in Click Clock Woods because he felt the effects of changing seasons in real-time. 
• Eekumbokum and Oomenacka come from Mumbo's native language.

 

THE ULTIMATE CONCEPT ART COMPENDIUM

 

 

A COMPENDIUM OF LOST BANJO-KAZOOIE SERIES CONTEN. WILL UPDATE IF MORE IS FOUND! 

 

Dream Land of Giants

• Banjo with a Sword
• Dragonteeth Cave
• Captain Blackeye's Theme Song
• Flintlock Jock
• Captain Blackeye
• Hairless Captain Blackeye
• Madeleine
• Grim Jim
• Ripper
• SNES Edson
• N64 Edson
• Dinger
• Dinger 02
• Edson Expressions
• Captain Cockeye
• Captain Cockeye Concept Art
• Banjo's Voice Acting
• Dream Land of Giants Documentary
• Captain Blackeye N64 Intro Storyboard
• Project Dream Captain Blackeye Footage 
• Soundtrack

Kazoo / Banjo-Kazoo

• Jungle 1
• Beach 1
• Hub World
• Enemy Behavior
• Tree Top Level Idea
• Bottomless Tree Climbing Level idea
• Dialogue Bubbles
• Move set Ideas
• Sports-related Power-Ups
• Early Banjo designs
• Slingshot-wielding Baddie
• The Making of Banjo-Kazooie
• Early Logo
• Banjo's Move Set
• Banjo Healthbar

Banjo-Kazooie

• Spiral Mountain
• Save Menu
• Prologue Cutscene
• Prologue Cutscene
• Inside Grunty's Lair
• Grunty's Beauty Machine
• Treasure Trove Cove
• Clanker's Cavern
• Bubblegloop Swamp
• Freezeezy Peak
• Mad Monster Mansion
• Rusty Bucket Bay
• Click Clock Wood
• Grunty's Furnace of Fun
• Temple Test Level
• Mount Fire Eyes
• Box Art
• Prototype Render Box Art
• Banjo face poses
• Warp Cauldron
• Tooty
• Jinjo
• Hairy Jinjo
• Enemies 01
• Enemies 02 
• Stop 'n' Swop
• Assorted Box Art and Sketches
• Early Logos
• Alternate Mumbo Skin Colors
• End Cutscene Storyboard
• False Ending Storyboard
• Unused Gobi's Valley render
• Unused Bubblegloop Swamp Render
• Unused Tiger and Goblin baddies
• Grant Kirkhope's Banjo-Kazooie Beta Compilation 
• BK BETA'S!! from Grant Kirkhope's Bandcamp 

Banjo-Tooie

• GameCube Tech Demo
  
• Glitter Gulch Mine 
• WitchyWorld
• Terrydactyland
• Grunty Industries
• Cauldron Keep
• Canary Mary
• Torch Enemy
• E3 Kiosk
• E3 Kiosk 02
• Intro cinematic
• Screenshots of Intro Cinematic Storyboard
• Klungo pushing Rock
• List of NPCs and Baddies
• Early Box Art
• Behind the Scenes Tooie Commercial 01
• Behind the Scenes Tooie Commercial 02
• Midi Channel Notes

Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge

• Concept Art
• Grunty's Curse concept art
• Grunty's Curse Documentary
• Spiller's Harbor Concept Art
• Concept Art including previously unseen Tank

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

• Mumbo's Mountain
• Redbull Flugtag
• Weird West
• Steve Malpass Interview 
• Mumbo's Mansion
• Showdown Town 01
• Showdown Town 02
• Physics and Collision
• Assorted Banjo-Kazooie concept art
• Rare Replay Concept Art Showcase
• Unused Mumbo (Original Source Lost)
• Gruntbots
• Piddles
• Lord of Games (Original Source Lost)
• Showdown Town Police (Original Source Lost)
• Original Antagonist (Toymaker) 01
• Original Antagonist (Toymaker) 02 (Original Source Lost)
• Lord of Games Factory
• Leaked screenshot of 2013 (sequel?)
• Ryan Stevenson's Portfolio
• Nuts & Bolts Models (Original Source Lost)
• Nuts & Bolts Models 2
• Animations
• Animations 2
• Animations 3
• Beta Footage
• Showdown Town Buildings
• Grant Kirkhope's Nuts & Bolts Music

Viva Pinata

• Mumbo In-game Model
• Mumbo Concept Art

Rare Replay

• Thrift Store Concept
• Unused BK Monologue
• Banjo-Kazooie Comic Concept
• Rare Replay Concept art

Banjo-X (Cancelled Remake)

• Mumbo Animation
• Tiptup
• Ticker 01
• Ticker 02
• Conga 01
• Conga 02
• Conga 03
• Bigbutt
• Jinjo
• Grublin
• New Abilities
• Mumbo's Wand

Banjo-Kazoomie (Cancelled game)

• Character Designs
• Animatic (Says Nuts & Bolts but isn't)

Fast and the Furriest Sports (Cancelled game)

• Unseen64 Page
• Developer Keynote

Fast and the Furriest Racer (Cancelled game)

• Documentary
• Unseen64 page
• Leaked Screenshots

Hairball Heroes (Rare Jam Gamejam Game)

• Concept art 01
• Concept art 02

Banjo-Kazooie SXSW (Tech Demo)

• Mac Cauley's Portfolio
• Archived Footage 

 

Collections

• Collection of Unsource Concept Art and Unorganized Images
• Collection of Unsourced Beta Images
• Xbox 360 Banjo-Kazooie Spendid Theme Image Rips
• Officially Released Wallpapers (Unsourced)
• Rare Limited, Xbox 360 Marketplace Rips

Gregg Mayles Thoughts on the Banjo-Kazooie Series

 

 

WHAT HAS GREGG MAYLES SAID ABOUT THE BANJO-KAZOOIE SERIES OVER THE YEARS ON TWITTER?

 

Gregg Mayles has not been present on Twitter for years, but it's still a good source of information. Here is a compendium of most things he had said about the Banjo-Kazooie series. This is written similar to a Q&A, but I'm taking tweets about each subject and placing them together.

Thoughts on a new Banjo-Kazooie Game

I think Tooie was close enough to Kazooie but added the 'two' element, anything like Threeie or Fourie is too far removed from Kazooie's name.

I have never said (another Banjo) could not sell well. My opinion has always been that a new Banjo game would have to offer something different, both to interest and challenge me as a designer and to appeal to new players who did not grow up with Banjo. The audience that didn't grow up with Banjo is larger than the one that did. The game would need to appeal to both sets of people for the best chance of success.

I have said I would not do another one unless I felt I could bring something new to the genre. There are elements from the 90's that would still work today but others less so. Look at the Mario platforming games, they are still true to Mario's heritage but they constantly evolve and look for new ways of entertaining players.

NO-ONE could genuinely want Nuts and Bolts 2. I’m not sure I could handle Bolts 2, it’s much easier making pirate games. That vehicle editor still gives me nightmares.

I'll be the first to admit I got carried away with the Tooie world design. Bigger and more complex is not always better. If I ever did another Banjo game I think I would would go for level design that is small and clever, best of both worlds surely?

 

The Making of Banjo-Kazooie Abridged

 

 

BACK IN 2007, RARE DID AN INTERVIEW WITH RETRO GAMER. ISSUE 36 FEATURED A "THE MAKING OF BANJO-KAZOOIE" SEGMENT. I READ THE FACTS AND I'LL POST THEM HERE.

 

While you can probably find the article on Rare Gamer, it's images are unreadable and some of the text is easier to read while squinting. I am not reposting the article word-for-word, that's illegal, just the facts as they come. I'll also post the concept art featured on the article, but a lot of it is sourced from places such as Ed Bryan and Gregg Mayles' twitter accounts.

PROJECT DREAM

• Project Dream started as an adventure on the Super Nintendo.
• Edson (incorrectly called "Edison"), was a boy that was replaced for being too generic.
• The 2nd character was a Rabbit that ran on two legs.
• The final version of the character was of Banjo.
• Captain Blackeye led a crew of no-good but also inept pirates.
• Project Dream took the ACM technology of the SNES to the next level, but it became obsolete with the Nintendo 64.
• Project Dream was only on SNES for a few months.
• Banjo had a backpack exclusively to keep his items in.
• A lot of code from Project Dream was reused for Banjo-Kazooie, this allowed Banjo and Kazooie to be completed in less than 15 months.
• Banjo-Kazooie was developed for 17 months total.
• The team grew from 10 people to 15. 7 Engineers, 5 artists, 2 designers and one musician.
• Nintendo never put pressure on the team to make Banjo-Kazooie successful.

 

 

ADDING KAZOOIE

• The game became a collectathon because every other platform game mascot was collecting at the time.
• Connecting collectibles to opening a game world led to completing pictures of it, which led to the missing pieces of the pictures being jigsaw pieces.
• Jinjos came from an unused idea of hard to get collectibles in Donkey Kong Country.
• Some of the ideas for Jinjos were they'd run away, or camouflage themselves instead of waiting around.
• Most of the collectibles such as Eggs, Feathers, Musical Notes and Honey were based around Banjo, Kazooie and the game's musical theme.
• The purpose of Banjo-Kazooie wasn't to make a better game than Super Mario 64.
• Nintendo did not understand Banjo-Kazooie's humor and had a difficult time with Kazooie's characterization.
• Nintendo emphasized very little control over Banjo-Kazooie.
• Initially Kazooie did not exist and only became a character when Banjo needed a double jump.
• The team wanted a sprint ability so they added legs coming from the backpack.
• A list of transformations were made prior to the levels being made, then the transformations were chosen that were interesting and fit the level theme.
• The purpose of Mumbo's Mountain was to make Banjo feel very small, they had previously just shrank Banjo but instead they came up with the termite transformation.

 

OTHER CHARACTERS

• Bottles was based on the thick-rimmed glasses kid that was clever that could be found in every school.
• Gruntilda was inspired by Grotbags from Emu's Pink Windmill Show.
• The game originally featured voice acting but voiced dialogue in video games was new and they didn't want the character to not fit how people see them.
• The team couldn't name Kazooie, Kazoo, because of trademark issues.
• Donkey Kong 64 was supposed to be more serious than Banjo-Kazooie.

 

 

 

WORLDS

• The backgrounds of some worlds were very large that they needed to cut them into several 64 x 64 piece textures.
• They used a decal technique that blended areas and layered textures onto each other giving them a detailed look which looked great in contrast to the simple clean characters.
• Banjo-Kazooie pushed the Nintendo 64's memory hard, the game suffered from many memory issues.
• To avoid memory issues, the game itself reshuffles the memory consistently making it easier to put more polygons and textures on the screen.
• The worlds were made to be larger than life but still believable in a fantastical way.
• Treasure Trove Cove was based on everything a deserted island would have: crabs, pirates, wrecked ships, sandcastles, and buried treasure.

 

SCRAPPED WORLDS

• Fungus Forest and  Mount Fire Eyes weren't needed.
• Hammerhead Beach was related to Stop 'n' Swop.
• Fungus Forest became a level in Donkey Kong 64.
• Mount Fire Eyes was incorporated into Hailfire Peaks.
• Glitter Gulch Mine and Witchyworld were transferred to Banjo-Tooie.
• After completing the game the players would unlock a new game mode to play as Tooty.
• Tooty's game mode takes place after Banjo-Kazooie where Banjo is hit with Grunty's spell and turned into a frog.
• Tooty then goes back to through the levels to find enough Mumbo Tokens to transform Banjo back.
• Grunty's spell was changed so it missed and the idea for the Mumbo Tokens was going to be reused in Banjo-Tooie.
• Gregg Mayles went on a forum to tell people the truth about Stop n Swop but was dismissed as a fake.
  
• They regretted making Banjo-Tooie so big that fans complained, but personally thought everything was better.
• They believe the unnamed Banjo-Kazooie game (which would be Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts) retained a lot of the stuff Banjo-Kazooie fans liked about the original two.

 

Compilation of Beta/Cut Level Names

 

THIS ISN'T ABOUT MISSING CONTENT JUST THE NAMES. MAYBE YOU SHOULD TAKE THEM FOR THAT FAN GAME IDEA?

 

Nintendo Power Issue 099 first reported on 16 worlds for Banjo-Kazooie. Many of those 16 worlds made it in. But there are a few names that came up in the article for worlds that never made it:

• Mount Fire Eyes
• Mount Fire Eye (according to Nintendo Magazine Issue 59)
  
• Fungus Forest
• Hammerhead Beach

Though Hammerhead Beach might just be the beta name for Treasure Trove Cove. I could never find the source or  the origin of the name for Giant's Lair.

 Project Dream / Banjo-Kazoo had the entire game scrapped. Only one level is ever named and that was by Grant Kirkhope. Here is a list of the levels, most are my interpretation of reading Gregg Mayles' handwriting. Asterisk means that I am guesstimating.

• Prickly Pear Island
• Balloon Crossing
• Banjo's House
• Beach 1-3
• Bear Cave
• Bear's Beach
• Big City
• Blackeye's Base
• Bridge
• Cherry Grove*
• Cherry House
• Cockeye's Lookout
• Desert 1-3
  
• Dolphin Race*
• Eskimo Camp
• Factory
• Fantasy 1-3
• Fantasy Race
• Flies*
• Forest 1-3
• Frog Land
• Grape Grove*
• Grape House
• Ice 1-3
• Ice Race
• Jungle 1-3
• Jungle Race
• Lava 1-3
• Lava Race
• Lemon House
• Lighthouse
• Mall*
• Mine 1-3
• Mine Camp
• Molehill (x4)*
• Mr. Lazabout*
• Oasis Caravan
• Orange Grove
• Orange House
• Spooky 1-3
• Strawberry Grove*
• Strawberry House
• Swamp 1-3 
• Temple 1-3
• Tiptup*
• Vase Tribe*
• Water 1-3
• Water Race

 Not much is known for Banjo-Tooie, the only beta name I've come across was from notes about the music uploaded by Grant Kirkhope: Hagland. In the original Glitter Gulch Mine concept art it referred to Isle O Hags as Witch Island.

 I've datamined Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and found what information I could. It appears that Jiggosseum had its name changed, the first two are the beta names, the last is a scrapped world:

• LOGOlympics
• World of Sports
• Weird West

Outside of beta names, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts has several worlds that are joke names for worlds that are implied to exist in the Banjo-Kazooie universe:

• Tooty Land
• Sewers of Severity
• Hoedown Town
• L.O.G. City
• Trashton
• Boringshire
• Yawnshire
• Vomit Volcano
• Gottenham
• Dulby County
• Dingpot Town
  

 

In Liam Robertson's video on Grunty's Curse / Grunty's Revenge we can see several beta names and cut worlds, I believe Breegull Beach stayed consistent throughout development.

• Cottage Farm
• Soggy Bog Swamp
• Freezing Fjord
• Dire Dockyard
• MohendraBanjo
• Jungle Ruins
• Jungle Temple
• Fiery Furnace
• Lava Labyrinth
• Grunty's Stronghold
  

Tin Foil Hat: Timeline of Rumors for a new Banjo-Kazooie Game

 

WILL THERE BE A NEW BANJO-KAZOOIE GAME THIS DECADE? OR IS THIS A MASSIVE BANJO-COPIE?

 

2013 "leak" featuring the game Banjo-Kazooie: Gruntyland, first reported in 2012 by Banjo-Comet.

2017

In October 2017, the Xbox Live API leaked revealing several titles in the works such as MechWarrior, Perfect Dark, and Battletoads. Klobrille, the one who had initially reported on it found a file called Banjo/20A potentially alluding to something Banjo-Kazooie related but he isn't confident.

2018

We saw the anniversary of Banjo-Kazooie, where nothing actually occurred except cosmetics for Sea of Thieves and merchandise.

2019

Vergeben reports that Banjo and Kazooie are going to be in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. A listing on Amazon Germany featured a Banjo-Kazooie game coming to the Nintendo Switch and removed four days later. Days after Vergeben's leak Banjo and Kazooie are announced for Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Playtonic Games tells gamers they are not working on a Banjo-Kazooie game as rumored.

2020

Craig Duncan tells Games Industry.biz that they have not abandoned their legacy IP and are willing to work with other companies that can do the games justice, which they have for Battletoads and Perfect Dark. This leads people to falsely assume that DoubleFine is working on a new Banjo-Kazooie, which they have denied multiple times. Phil Spencer tells Kotaku, that Banjo-Kazooie development is up to Rare. Banjo-Kazooie is accidentally added to the Wii U virtual console release schedule and promptly removed by Nintendo.

2021

Nintendo releases a trailer for Banjo-Kazooie coming to the Nintendo Switch Online service in October. Overall it was a very quiet year.

2022

Dimitris Giannakis, a developer for Nightdrive Studios tells the Nate the Hate podcast that there are rumors of a Banjo-Kazooie game in development, hearing it from multiple people and it will soon be announced.

2023

Nate the Hate tells ResetEra that a Banjo-Kazooie game was greenlit in early 2022, and is in active development. Another prominent Xbox influencer, TimDog, said that this was false. Phil Spencer confirms that he knows Banjo-Kazooie fans want a new game, "Banjo fans, I hear you."

In June, the Banjo-Kazooie trademark was assigned from Rare to Microsoft, giving them 100% control of the franchise.

In August, the website, BanjoKazooie.com updated but is still inactive.

2024

 Nate the Hate tells ResetEra that the new Banjo-Kazooie game is being reworked from its original vision and scope for the better.

 

Image from a cancelled Banjo-Kazooie project found in David Rose's old portfolio.