Banjo

Banjo is one of the two eponymous stars of the Banjo-Kazooie series, the other one being Kazooie. He is a brown honey bear who lives in a house on Spiral Mountain with Kazooie, and has a younger sister named Tooty. He is named after the banjo musical instrument. He is voiced by Chris Sutherland.

Dream: Land of Giants
Banjo was originally planned as a supporting character in the cancelled Super Nintendo game, Dream: Land of Giants. Shortly shifting development to Nintendo 64, the developers felt the main character, Edison, was "losing his edge". One of their considerations for a main character was a rabbit, but they eventually decided on Banjo. Early sketches showed Banjo with a sword and another in a sleeveless shirt.

Diddy Kong Racing
Before having his own series, Banjo appeared as one of the playable characters in Diddy Kong Racing. He was among the characters who responded to Timber's call for help in banishing Wizpig out from Timber's Island. Banjo competed in races and world challenges to decide who can ultimately race Wizpig. Banjo is heavyweight and has slow acceleration, but this is compensated for a high top speed. He also has average handling capabilities. Banjo's top speed without Bananas is 57mph.

Banjo's theme instrument is the banjo, which is also his theme instrument in his own series. Banjo and Conker did not return in Diddy Kong Racing DS, likely as a result of Microsoft's 2002 acquisition of Rare, although the remake's main theme still features his theme instrument, the banjos. Statistically, Banjo was replaced with Tiny Kong.

Banjo-Kazooie
In his debut adventure, Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo and Kazooie went on an adventure to rescue Tooty from Gruntilda. Before heading out to save her, Banjo and Kazooie stumble upon their long-time friend, Bottles, whose role is teaching abilities to the duo throughout the game. After learning a few moves in Spiral Mountain, the duo cross over a high bridge to enter into Gruntilda's Lair, where most of the game takes place—from the nine levels hosted within.

Along their journey, aside from learning more moves from Bottles, the duo meet a large shaman named Mumbo Jumbo, whose role is transforming Banjo into another object or creature in exchange for Mumbo Tokens. The main collectibles are Jiggys, which are required for Banjo and Kazooie to unlock later levels. They must also free five Jinjos in each level, and collect Musical Notes to access paths in Gruntilda's Lair that were previously blocked off by Note Doors.

Banjo and Kazooie slowly travel up higher into Gruntilda's Lair as they unlock new levels. After finishing all nine levels, Banjo and Kazooie engage in a final battle against Gruntilda from the Top of the Tower. With the help of The Mighty Jinjonator, Gruntilda collapsed from the tower, crashed into the ground, and became trapped beneath a large boulder.

As shown in the game intro, Banjo is capable of playing the banjo instrument.

Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge
In Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge, two months after the events of Banjo-Kazooie, Klungo designed a new mechanical suit, Mecha-Grunty, for transporting Grunty's spirit into. With her new suit, Mecha-Grunty kidnaps Kazooie and travels back in time, in an attempt to prevent Banjo and Kazooie from ever meeting. Mumbo then uses his magical power to send Banjo in the past as well. Banjo would relearn his moves from Bottles' ancestor, Bozzeye, since he forgot them while traveling to the past. He would also travel by himself for a fraction of his adventure.

Later in the second world, Breegull Beach, Banjo found Kazooie imprisoned by Mecha-Grunty. After defeating her for a first time, Banjo reunited with Kazooie, and they stuck together for the rest of their adventure. The duo eventually entered Grunty's Castle, where they fought Mecha-Grunty for a last time. Collaboratively, Banjo and Kazooie destroyed Mecha-Grunty's suit, causing her spirit to return back into her normal body, under the large boulder.

Banjo-Tooie
Two years later, in Banjo-Tooie, Gruntilda was freed from under her boulder by her sisters, Blobbelda and Mingella. Meanwhile, Banjo and his friends were playing poker. Mumbo finds out about the HAG 1 and warns the others to escape from Banjo's House. The HAG 1 then fires, destroying Banjo's House and killing Bottles.

Grunty and her sisters use their newly-invented Big-O-Blaster for sucking the life force out from other characters to restore Grunty. Banjo and Kazooie head on another journey to stop Grunty. Since Bottles died, Banjo and Kazooie learn new abilities from Bottles' brother, Jamjars. They can enter new worlds by returning Jiggies to Jiggywiggy's Temple. Banjo and Kazooie also make use of the Split-Up Pads, which allow them to explore areas by themselves.

Before engaging in a final battle against Grunty, Banjo and Kazooie use the Big-O-Blaster to revive King Jingaling and Bottles. Eventually, the duo defeat Gruntilda and destroy the HAG 1 in battle. The ending shows Banjo and Kazooie celebrating at Bottles' House with the other characters.

Banjo-Pilot
Banjo appears as the main and titular character of the racing spinoff, Banjo-Pilot. He has the most average stats in the game, aside from Mumbo Jumbo. Banjo is the champion of Beehive Cup, where the player competes against him at the end, in the dogfight match "Banjo Brawl". Like the other characters, Banjo drops a different projectile behind him in the match rather than Ice Eggs, in his case, Washing Machines.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
In the eight years leading up to Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Banjo and Kazooie became obese, as they spent most of their days eating pizza, playing games, and sleeping. Eventually, they get in a competition with Grunty over who claims ownership over Spiral Mountain, which L.O.G. starts a competition over. Unlike his previous adventures, Banjo would utilize vehicles for most of his adventure, instead of using the abilities he forgot over time. Banjo eventually won at the challenge and Spiral Mountain's deeds.

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing with Banjo-Kazooie
Both Banjo and Kazooie appear as playable racers in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing with Banjo-Kazooie, making it their first appearance in a crossover game.

Banjo and Kazooie race together in a vehicle named the Bolt Bucket, which is based on the vehicles in Nuts & Bolts. They have an All-Star Move named "Jiggy Rain", where Kazooie pokes her head out of Banjo's backpack, pecks on Banjo, and utilizes the Magic Wrench to rain Jiggies down from the sky.

Other appearances

 * An early screenshot of Donkey Kong 64 revealed that Banjo and Kazooie's heads would appear on shower stall in Donkey Kong's Treehouse.
 * Artwork of Banjo's Diddy Kong Racing appearance was featured in Mario Artist: Paint Studio.
 * In Conker's Bad Fur Day and its remake, Conker: Live & Reloaded, a mounted head of Banjo appears over the fireplace in The Cock and Plucker.
 * In Minecraft, Banjo is a skin the player can use. This skin is most notably used by popular Let's Player and actor Michael Jones of Rooster Teeth Productions and its gameplay division, Achievement Hunter.
 * In Viva Piñata there are multiple references to Banjo. The Fizzlybear species attacks using golden puzzle pieces, an item Banjo collects in the Banjo-Kazooie franchise. Also, an accessory called the "Breegull Carrier" is modeled after Banjo's backpack he usually wears (which can be worn by the Fizzlybear species), and also references Kazooie's species, the Breegull.

Name origin
Banjo is named after former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi's grandchild, Banjo.

Physical appearance
Banjo is always shown wearing a pair of yellow shorts, a shark tooth necklace and a blue backpack, even while under a transformation. The Rare logo appears on his backpack, as shown in various artworks.

In Nuts & Bolts, Banjo was redesigned to have a more block-shaped appearance, and his fur became animated.

Personality
Banjo's personality is very different from that of Kazooie's. Banjo is a well-mannered, easygoing bear. He uses "Mr." or "Mrs." when speaking to people and generally likes to help people out - which means a lot of damage control when Kazooie opens her fat beak. While he always means well, he sometimes comes off as a bit slow. He tries to say something witty every now and again, but he usually isn't any good at it. Despite his niceness, he can have short moments of being aggressively straightforward when angry.

Banjo flip-flops a bit when it comes to his bravery - at times he will jump into a situation quickly, but other times he acts timid and doesn't want to commit. In all cases, however, he would much rather sit down and have either honey, pizza or a nap, suggesting he is somewhat lazy but he at least does not have the issue of shoving food into their fat mouth constantly while thinking up new lies and imaginary situations to produce. Throughout the series (mostly in Nuts & Bolts), many characters including Banjo's allies have referred to Banjo as "stupid" and "crazy", but this is a trait not shown in other games in the series. The real issue is mental instability and basically compulsive lies, once come to terms with just maybe a happy life may be possible. Also, Banjo seems to have picked up some of Kazooie's personality, as he occasionally uses insults and sometimes makes some sarcastic remarks.

Banjo's relationship with his younger sister Tooty probably hints that he cares for her deep down inside, since he did ask about her whereabouts when she was captured and even accepted the fact that of all the prizes won at the Furnace Fun in Banjo-Kazooie, it was her he was thinking on taking along. Banjo doesn't at all seem to mind Tooty's company at times since he saw no problem when she began her flute solo in the opening.

Abilities
Banjo cannot run very fast and his jumping often requires some bird-enabled help. When Kazooie leaves the safety of his backpack, Banjo can use it in a variety of ways, such as an impromptu sleeping bag or a potato sack, not to mention as his sole offensive weapon. The backpack also seems to have an infinite storage capacity, containing most items with ease. Banjo, being a bear, is an excellent swimmer and has learned how to paddle faster and hold his breath longer. Unlike Kazooie, Banjo has the ability to climb structures and grasp ledges with his fingers, allowing access to difficult to reach spots on the duo's adventures.

When Banjo is paired with Kazooie, he has a lot more skills at his disposal. The duo can perform a Forward Roll while running to attack enemies; Kazooie can use Banjo as leverage to perform the Rat-a-tat Rap; they can fly through the use of flight pads and utilize Kazooie's ability to fire different types of eggs.

Banjo receives assistance from two shamans, Mumbo Jumbo and Humba Wumba, who are able to transform him into various creatures and objects. Each transformation has its own skills and purpose.

In Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Banjo and Kazooie have forgotten their abilities and have gained obesity over time. If Banjo attempts to jump in this state, he creates a small shockwave, causing the camera to shake a bit as he drops onto the ground. L.O.G. refuses to grant their abilities back, and rather has them compete against Gruntilda by creating awe-inspiring vehicles for all sorts of terrain and conditions. Kazooie is also given the Magic Wrench, which can be used for smacking enemies, carrying objects and turning pipes.