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The Banjo-Kazooie series is a series of video games starring Banjo the Honey Bear and Kazooie the Red-Chested Breegull. The games are developed by Rare and were published by Nintendo before Rare was sold to Microsoft.
The latest game, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, is an Xbox 360 exclusive, and was received negatively by most fans for being a disappointing car customizing/driving game rather than the platforming genre the series has been known for. The Banjo-Kazooie series has been put on hiatus ever since.
The franchise has been represented in crossovers such as Sega's All-Stars Racing series and Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series, while Banjo made his debut as a playable character in 1997 as part of the cast of Diddy Kong Racing.
Games[]
- Banjo-Kazooie - Nintendo 64
- Banjo-Tooie - Nintendo 64
- Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge - Game Boy Advance
- Banjo-Pilot - Game Boy Advance
- Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts - Xbox 360
Characters[]
- Banjo
- Kazooie
- Bottles the Mole
- Tooty
- Gruntilda Winkybunion
- Mumbo Jumbo
- Jinjos
- Klungo
- Cheato
- Brentilda Winkybunion
- Mingella and Blobbelda
- King Jingaling
- Master Jiggywiggy
- Jamjars
- Humba Wumba
- Roysten
- Dingbot
- Boggy
- Captain Blubber
- Jolly Roger
- Tiptup
Other media[]
Prior to Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo's first appearance was as a playable racer in Diddy Kong Racing, released for Nintendo 64 in 1997. Following Microsoft's purchase of Rare, Banjo was absent from the game's Nintendo DS remake, Diddy Kong Racing DS. In Conker's Bad Fur Day & Conker: Live & Reloaded, Banjo's head can be seen, disembodied, above the fireplace in the main menu. Additionally, Kazooie's head can be found on the end of an umbrella in the chapter select screen for both games. In Grabbed by the Ghoulies, pictures of the characters and levels are seen throughout the game, along with monster versions of Banjo and Kazooie's heads mounted on the walls. Banjo and Kazooie also appear as a playable racer in the Xbox 360 version of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. Developer Sumo Digital collaborated with Rare for the character's inclusion, with Rare giving Sumo access to their asset library as well as designing and modeling Banjo and Kazooie's in-game vehicle. Several character skins based on the series are available as downloadable content in various versions of Minecraft.
Banjo and Kazooie also appear as a single playable fighter via downloadable content in the 2018 crossover fighting game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Phil Spencer, head of the Xbox brand, stated that negotiating the characters' inclusion was an "easy deal to make" thanks to their strong third-party relationship with Nintendo. The characters were released on 4 September 2019, along with a stage based on Spiral Mountain and Banjo-Kazooie musical arrangements, including one by original composer Grant Kirkhope.
External links[]
- Banjo-Kazooie (series) at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia