Jinjo

Jinjos are small creatures that appear in every Banjo-Kazooie game. They have a long snout and are featured in a variety of colors. In most of their appearances, there are a few Jinjos found in each world, located in certain areas. In these games, whenever Banjo and Kazooie are near a Jinjo, it whistles and calls for help. When the duo rescue every Jinjo in a world, they are rewarded with a Jiggy.

Banjo-Kazooie
Jinjos first appear in Banjo-Kazooie, where five Jinjos of different colors (blue, green, orange, purple, and yellow) are scattered around each world due to Gruntilda kidnapping them. The first one collected tells Banjo and Kazooie of their plight. When the duo rescue all five in a world, they are rewarded a Jiggy, or an Extra Life if they have rescued all of them beforehand. In the original version, leaving a world causes the Jinjos to return to their original spots, meaning that leaving without collecting them all will force the player to start over. In the Xbox Live Arcade, like other collectibles, Jinjos remain collected, even if Banjo and Kazooie leave and re-enter a world.

In the final battle against Gruntilda, Jinjos appear in the fourth phase to help the duo as thanks. They are the only way to destroy the magical barrier Grunty has created around herself in this phase, but to do so, the duo must fire eggs into each of the four Jinjo statues found in the corners of the arena, causing a Jinjo to emerge from each. Each of the Jinjos them attacks Grunty's shield, weakening it and eventually destroying her broomstick. However, the shield remains, leading to the fifth phase, in which a giant Jinjo statue appears in the middle, introducing itself as the Mighty Jinjonator. After firing enough eggs in all four sides of his pedestal, the Mighty Jinjonator emerges, showing itself to be a shiny blue Jinjo with red eyes. It then repeatedly bashes into Grunty, before finally knocking her over the edge and defeating her. After this, the only appearance of a Jinjo is a yellow one appearing in the beach scene at the end.

Banjo-Tooie
In Banjo-Tooie, Jinjos were given a larger role. They live in Jinjo Village, and each color variant has their own family. They are ruled by a large, sovereign Jinjo named King Jingaling. The game also introduces an evil counterpart, Minjos, who disguise themselves as Jinjos and try and attack Banjo when he gets nearby.

On its path back to Cauldron Keep, the Hag 1 drilled through Jinjo Village. It drove into the Grey Jinjo's house, killing every member inside. King Jingaling begs the pair to return the Jinjos to their homes in time for the upcoming kickball tournament with the moles, but finding them isn't quite as easy as in Banjo-Kazooie; rather than five Jinjos in every world, Jinjos of nine differently colored families are scattered throughout all of the game's worlds including Spiral Mountain and the Isle o' Hags. Only once all of a certain color's family members are returned will Banjo and Kazooie be rewarded with the family's Jiggy heirloom. Furthermore, where certain colors appear is totally random and changes with every save file, meaning that where one Jinjo of a certain color was found on one file, any other color could be in its place on another. This means that there is a slight chance of completing certain families very early, and is in fact possible for the sole White Jinjo to be the first found, though this is an extremely rare occurrence.

Once a Jinjo has been rescued, rather than resetting once the player leaves the area, it returns to its family house in the Jinjo Village. If any Jinjos are still missing, a slow, sad variation of Jinjo Village's theme will play inside the house, whereas completed families have a happier, more upbeat tune.

An easy way to distinguish Jinjos from Minjos is to remember which Jinjo families were completed. That way players can know which are impostors. Another way is hit a Jinjo from distance. If the egg hits it, it will be a Minjo.

Once Kazooie learns the Hatch ability, she can use it to hatch the yellow egg inside Heggy's Egg Shed. Once it has been hatched, Heggy will announce that a Jinjo is now an available character for the FPS-style Breegull Blaster shootout matches in Multiplayer Mode. The Jinjo is the smallest and fastest character, but also the most vulnerable, having only four health - a single hit from an explosive egg such as Grenade or Proximity Eggs that instantly defeat Banjo and Kazooie.

Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge
In Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge, the Jinjos have been scared away by Mecha-Grunty, and they have left the Jinjo Oracle by herself. The Jinjo Oracle is a large stone statue that resembles a Jinjo. She needs the Jinjos to give her gossip because she can't get around. Banjo and Kazooie must find five Jinjos in each of the different worlds. After a Jinjo is collected the Jinjo Oracle will give a hint about finding a Jinjo or how to obtain a Jiggy in that specific world. When all five Jinjos are collected the Oracle will give Banjo and Kazooie a Jiggy and tell them information about the next world.

Each world's five Jinjos are a different color. Spiral Mountain's Jinjos are pink, Cliff Farm's Jinjos are orange, Breegull Beach's Jinjos are yellow, Bad Magic Bayou's Jinjos are green, Spiller's Harbor's Jinjos are grey, and Freezing Furnace's Jinjos are blue.

Banjo-Pilot
A Purple Jinjo is a playable character in Banjo-Pilot. It only has one point of top speed, but four points of acceleration and five points of handling, making him best for courses where a lot of weaving is required, but ill suited to courses with long straight ways. The player also races against seven Jinjos in the unlockable Jinjo Grand Prix.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Jinjos reappear in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, and have a similar task of collection as in the previous games. Instead of Banjo simply locating Jinjos and collecting them, he must find them and complete a challenge, which varies from going over a set speed to making them roll a certain distance. Completing a Jinjo's challenge earns him a Jinjo Token, which can be used in Showdown Town for King Jingaling's Bingo Palace. Also in Showdown Town, there are six Jinjos locked up in cages around town. Banjo must free them with a Wrench Switch and take them to their homes. When a Jinjo is freed, a Minjo must be found and carried to an open cage to replace a Jinjo that has been freed.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Jinjos reappear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as a part of Banjo and Kazooie's Final Smash. Similarly to their role during the final boss fight in the first game, four Jinjos and the Mighty Jinjonator continuously attack any opponent caught in the attack before the Jinjonator deals one final blow.

Variants
Jinjos come in a variety of colors. In Banjo-Tooie, it is shown that each color variant is part of a family, and they live together in Jinjo Village.

Trivia

 * In artwork and icons for the first game, Jinjos are depicted as having somewhat-prominent eyebrows, which are absent in materials related to later games, including the icons in the game's own enhanced port.
 * Their name is based on a nickname that Grant Kirkhope used to call artist Ed Bryan during development of Banjo-Kazooie.