Banjo-Kazooie

Banjo-Kazooie was the first game in the Banjo-Kazooie series. It was created by Rare Ltd. in 1998. In this game, Banjo and his friend Kazooie try to save Banjo's sister, Tooty, from the evil witch, Gruntilda, before she steals Tooty's beauty. The sequel of Banjo-Kazooie is Banjo-Tooie.

Plot
The witch of Spiral Mountain, Gruntilda, is inside her lair, and is asking Dingpot, her cauldron, questions about the 'fairest of them all', to which Dingpot reluctantly answers "You are, mistress". She continues asking, until Dingpot finally breaks his 'silence', and tells the witch that Tooty, another inhabitant of Spiral Mountain, is in fact the fairest of them all. Grunty reacts badly, and then decides to kidnap Tooty, and steal her beauty. She grabs her broom and sets off immdeiately.

Meanwhile, Tooty is running around Spiral Mountain, when she is greeted by Bottles the mole in front of her house. She eagerly tells him that she's going on an adventure with her brother, Banjo. Inside the house, Banjo is sleeping soudly, with his friend, Kazooie, sleeping in his backpack, hanging on a coat rack. Tooty and Bottles are still talking, when Bottles spots Grunty in the distance, but confuses her for Banjo (due to his short-sightedness). Grunty immediately goes for Tooty, and a struggle ensues. Kazooie is woken up by the clamour, and Bottle's cries, and wakes Banjo up. They leave their house, only to discover that Grunty's gone off with Tooty. Bottles tells the duo that they must go to Gruntilda's Lair to rescue Tooty, and offers to prepare them to fight Gruntilda, as well as help them into the lair, by fixing the bridge. Banjo and Kazooie set off onto the lair, knowing their goal.

Once inside the lair, the two find a Jiggy, which tells them that they need to be placed into paintings around the lair to open up levels. They soon find a painting which that Jiggy goes into, which opens the first level, Mumbo's Mountain. They enter and find that their quest isn't as easy as they anticipated. They find that they need to rescue Jinjos, who will award them with a Jiggy for their efforts, as well as Musical Notes, who are needed to open up Note Doors, which close off nessecary areas in the lair. They also meet Mumbo Jumbo, who is a shaman who is enemies with Gruntilda, and offers his services, by transforming the duo into certain animals.

The two continue progessing through the lair, collecting Notes, Jiggies and rescuing Jinjos along the way. They also encounter Mumbo and Bottles several times, who continue to help the two by transforming and teaching them moves (respectively), as well as Gruntilda's sister and exact opposite, Brentilda, who gossips about her ugly sister.

Banjo and Kazooie eventually reach Gruntilda, but must go through her quiz show, Furnace Fun, where Brentilda's gossip finally comes in handy. After Grunty is defeated, she escapes. They rescue Tooty, and hold a barbeque back home. Tooty, however, reminds Banjo that Grunty is still at large.

Banjo and Kazooie make their way back up the lair until they finally reach the roof, with help from Dingpot. There Gruntilda challenges them to a more direct confrontation. However, with the help of the Jinjos, Banjo and Kazooie defeat Gruntilda and ultimately knock her off her tower. She lands in a hole in the ground which is covered by a large rock that fell from the tower, trapping her. Banjo and Kazooie finally take a well-deserved break at the beach, where they and their friends anticipate the sequel, Banjo-Tooie, while Gruntilda, whose minion Klungo is trying to rescue her, swears revenge.

Main Characters

 * Banjo the Bear
 * Kazooie the Bregull
 * Gruntilda Winkybunion
 * Tooty
 * Bottles
 * Mumbo Jumbo
 * Brentilda Winkybunion
 * Klungo

Worlds
There are nine main worlds, one overworld/hub world, one starter world and three worlds that were unfinished so were not featured in the game. This comes to a total of eleven worlds featured in Banjo-Kazooie.

Main Worlds

 * Mumbo's Mountain
 * Treasure Trove Cove
 * Clanker's Cavern
 * Bubblegloop Swamp
 * Freezeezy Peak
 * Gobi's Valley
 * Mad Monster Mansion
 * Rusty Bucket Bay
 * Click Clock Wood

Other Worlds

 * Spiral Mountain (starter world)
 * Gruntilda's Lair (overworld)

Unfinished Worlds

 * Fungus Forest
 * Hammerhead Beach
 * Mount Fire Eyes
 * An un-named ore mine world. Reused as Glitter Gulch Mine in Banjo-Tooie
 * An un-named amusement park. Reused as Witchyworld in Banjo-Tooie

Game Reaction
Banjo-Kazooie was highly successful when released, selling nearly two million copies in the United States.


 * IGN: 9.6
 * GameSpot: 9.5
 * GameStats: 9.2
 * 1Up.com: 9.2
 * Metacritic: 92 of 100 (Based on 19 reviews)
 * Game Rankings: 91% (Based on 14 reviews)

Awards
At the 1999 Interactive Achievement Awards, Banjo-Kazooie won in the Console Action/Adventure and Art Direction categories, and was nominated for Console Adventure Game of the Year and Game of the Year. In an episode of Reviews On The Run Banjo-Kazooie was number 1 on the list of the "5 classic Rare games you should try"; it beat out Saber Wulf, Conker's Bad Fur Day, and Kameo: Elements of Power, which were also running for the same award.

Music
The music from the game was composed by Grant Kirkhope. A CD Soundtrack was also available exclusively to Best Buy and Nintendo Power Subscribers. Nintendo Power Subscribers got two additional tracks with the CD.