References in the Banjo-Kazooie series

Many games made by Rare have references and cameos to other games and series hidden within them, and the Banjo-Kazooie series is no exception. From names of characters to pieces of music, there is another cameo around every corner if you know what to look for.

Banjo-Kazooie

 * In the Grunty's Furnace Fun game, among the wrong answers for a question regarding Nabnut's name is "Conker the Squirrel," a reference to the main character from Conker's Pocket Tales for the Gameboy Color and its M-rated sequel Conker's Bad Fur Day for the Nintendo 64. Several other wrong answers include Humba Wumba the shaman, Jamjars the mole, Captain Blackeye the pirate, and Cranky Kong (of the Donkey Kong series).


 * Kazooie calls Bottles the following names: Jam Jars, Speccy, & Goggles.


 * In the crew quarters of the Rusty Bucket there's a pinup picture of Berri, Conker's girlfriend, as she appears in Conker's Pocket Tales.


 * The fanfare which plays upon the player discovering a Mystery Egg or the Ice Key can also be heard in Donkey Kong 64 after feeding bananas to Scoff.


 * Gnawty the Beaver, an enemy in the Donkey Kong franchise, appears in Click Clock Wood, also, Snacker the Shark bears striking resemblance to certain Shark enemies in Donkey Kong Country.


 * Captain Blackeye, the villain of Project Dream, appears in pictures in Mad Monster Mansion.


 * In the Mad Monster Mansion basement, there are barrels labeled 1881, referencing the game Atic Atac.


 * In the Grunty's Furnace Fun game, one of the questions is about which game Gruntilda first starred in. Other than Banjo-Kazooie, the two wrong answers are "Perfect Grunty" and "Grunty Kong 64". These are obviously references to Rare's other best-selling games: Perfect Dark and Donkey Kong 64.

Banjo-Tooie

 * In Bottles' House, Bottles' daughter, Goggles, is seen playing with a Donkey Kong doll. In Goggles' room, she has a poster of Juno from Jet Force Gemini. In another area of the house, there is a poster of Vela from Jet Force Gemini.
 * Bottles' son, Speccy, wears the same hat that Ash Ketchum from the Pokémon TV series does.


 * Kazooie mentions Mario, Nintendo's mascot, when discussing with Loggo the toilet about who could unclog him.


 * Captain Blackeye makes an appearance in Jolly Roger's Lagoon, in Jolly's Inn, referencing Project Dream, saying "Arrr! I had a dream once...", "I was in this fine game...", and "A bear stole me glory... Looked a bit like you, 'e did!". Also in Jolly's, is a picture of Treasure Trove Cove, a picture of the Pink Mystery Egg, and a picture of Sharkfood Island.


 * In Jolly Roger's Lagoon, inside Pawno's Emporium, lies a picture of Brentilda, slanted against a wall.


 * In Jolly Roger's Lagoon, inside the UFO, Kazooie asks the aliens if any are named "Elvis", referring to an alien from Perfect Dark, and Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll. When they say that they need help, Kazooie asks if they need to "phone home". It is a well-known line from E.T.


 * Boggy and his family return in Hailfire Peaks, living in an igloo on the Icy Side. In the kids' bedroom, there is a picture on the wall of the snowman from Freezeezy Peak and a picture of Boggy's old igloo, the song heard in the igloo is the song from Freezeezy Peak, in one of the beds´ there is an artwork of Banjo-Kazooie and there is Perfect Dark logo. Also on his TV, Mr. Pants, Rare's Mascot, can be seen. Mr. Pants is also seen as a constellation in Witchyworld in the Dodgem Dome lobby.


 * In Grunty Industries, there is a fridge with the logos of Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Perfect Dark, Jet Force Gemini and Donkey Kong.


 * In Hailfire Peaks, Sabreman, of Sabrewulf, makes an appearance.


 * In Cloud Cuckooland, there is a milk carton inside the Trash Can, with an image of Tooty on the side.
 * In Mayahem Temple, the face of the idol on top of Targitzan's temple resembles that of a Tribal from Rare's N64 title, Jet Force Gemini.
 * In Pawno's emporium, there is a box with the initials "B-K" on it. It's a box with Banjo-Kazooie game paks, but it cannot be destroyed.
 * In the Tower of Tragedy quiz, one wrong answer to a question is "Joanna Dark". She's the main character in Rare's game Perfect Dark.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

 * In the intro to the game, Kazooie is wearing an Xbox 360 Headset and is using an Xbox 360 controller to play a level of Hero Klungo Sssavesss Teh World. A radio in the background is playing the song "Windy" from Conker's Bad Fur Day. Jamjars is the radio's DJ. In addition, there is a N64 beside the Xbox 360, though it is not labeled, it's clearly N64 shaped with 4 ports(it is shown for a scene, then later it disappears)


 * Later in the intro, when L.O.G. appears, L.O.G. says he is the creator of all video games, to which Kazooie replies with "Even ones that don't sell very well, like Ghoulies?", a reference to the poor sales that Grabbed by the Ghoulies had. When Kazooie says they've been in lots of games, L.O.G. replies with, "But not nearly as many as that Italian gentleman.", a reference to the world famous Mario.


 * In Showdown Town, there is a sign for an ice cream shop that reads "Tooty Fruity". Tooty is Banjo's sister who hasn't appeared since the original game.


 * A part you can buy is called a "Papery Pal", which looks like a Lickitoad from Viva Piñata. In the description of it, Mumbo tells you that "Trouble in Paradise is good game. Mumbo recommend player buy it tomorrow." Trouble in Paradise is the 2nd Viva Piñata game.


 * When you head to Klungo's Arcade for the first time, Klungo says that his video game makes him a big star, "bigger star than Massster Chef..." This is a reference to Master Chief from Halo.


 * In LOGBOX 720, there are several video game discs in different areas of the world. These discs include Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, It's Mr. Pants, Grabbed By The Ghoulies, and Viva Piñata.


 * At one point, Banjo mentions that he once was in a race with "a genie and a giant pig", a reference to his first ever appearance in Diddy Kong Racing (the genie is Taj and the giant pig is Wizpig).


 * In Banjoland, there is a Grabbed By The Ghoulies box floating in the water behind the Cactus of Strength, and inside of the trash can.


 * In Spiral Mountain's dumpster there are keys, a skeleton from Grabbed from the Ghoulies, a Banjo, a Character from Viva Pinata, and the Watknot book from Kameo.


 * By the trash can in Banjoland, Guffo can be seen as well as a box for Big Al burgers.


 * In Showdown Town, when L.O.G. is spoken to, he says that he invented first-person shooters but he wished he had not even bothered. He says there may even be a space marine in the game. This is a reference to Halo.


 * In L.O.G's game storage room (where Grunty is in the end cutscene) there are various boxes with pictures the game they have inside. These include: Grabbed by the Ghoulies II, Cake Filler Instinct (a reference to Killer Instinct), Battletoads 2010, Viva Piñata Kart and Banjo Bash Buddies (a reference to Super Smash Bros) These are more easily seen by going under Spiral Mountain with a glitch (the room is stored under Spiral Mountain)


 * In the intro sequence when Gruntilda threatens to refuse L.O.G.'s challenge, L.O.G. turns Banjo into a Lickitoad and Gruntilda into a Jack O' Lantern both from Viva Piñata.


 * There is a sign in Showdown Town that says Green Fingers Fiddlesworth Garden Emporium. Fiddlesworth is a character from Grabbed by the Ghoulies.


 * There is a sign in Showdown Town that says Ma Soupswill's Ice Cream Parlor. Ma Soupswill is a character from Grabbed by the Ghoulies.


 * There is a sign in Showdown Town that says Mr. Ribs BBQ Ribs. Mr. Ribs is a character from Grabbed by the Ghoulies.


 * Conker the Squirrel and Kameo can be seen in Showdown Town in a Newspaper Article.

Other games

 * In the file selection area of Conker's Bad Fur Day, Banjo's head can be seen as a trophy mounted over the fireplace. There's also an umbrella handle which looks like Kazooie's head.


 * Both Banjo and Tiptup appeared as selectable characters in the Donkey Kong spin-off Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64. The game was actually released several months before Banjo-Kazooie, and as such Tiptup is usually considered to be originally from Diddy Kong Racing, although the two games were in production at the same time, and the release of Banjo-Kazooie was also delayed.


 * In Star Fox Adventures (the Star Fox game that Rare developed for Nintendo), the queen of the Cloudrunner dinosaur tribe seems to resemble Kazooie.


 * In Viva Piñata, Banjo, Mumbo, and Captain Blackeye appear as statues. In the garden's background, a mountain has Banjo and Kazooie's faces engraved into it. Items make references to the Banjo series, such as Bottles' Glasses, a backpack called a Breegull Carrier (a reference to Banjo's backpack), Conga's Top Hat, Jiggy Earrings, Grunty's Hat, and Jamjars' Hat.


 * In Kameo: Elements of Power, there is an unlockable skin for Pummleweed that resembles Mumbo.


 * In Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Banjo-Kazooie cameos appeared in many places: Pictures, mounted heads on the wall, statues, and even Roysten himself made an appearance in a classroom. There was also a chalkboard that referred to the Stop 'n' Swop. Also, Klungo has some pictures of him in game.

Videos

 * Video 1
 * Video 2