Jamjars is a supporting character in the Banjo-Kazooie series, making his debut in Banjo-Tooie. He is a very assertive drill seargent, contrary to his brother, Bottles, who's often shown to be calm.
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| Game(s) | Banjo-Tooie Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts | ||
| Species | Mole | ||
| World(s) | Isle o' Hags Mayahem Temple Glitter Gulch Mine Witchyworld Jolly Roger's Lagoon Terrydactyland Grunty Industries Hailfire Peaks Cloud Cuckooland | ||
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- “Drill sergeant Jamjars reporting f'duty, sir!”
- —Jamjars, Banjo-Tooie
History
Banjo-Tooie
In Banjo-Tooie, Jamjars can be first encountered in one of his silos in the Mayahem Temple (although many items prior to that world would be explained by him when collected). After hearing about his brother's recent death, he offers to teach Banjo and Kazooie new moves in his place. Unlike Bottles, however, Jamjars charges the duo Musical Notes before teaching them his "advanced techniques." When enough Notes are collected, Jamjars will briefly dance and rhyme to a tune in order to teach the bear and bird the moves. Afterwards, he will jump back in the silo (whose light will now be green). If 
is pressed next to a green-lighted silo, Jamjars will quickly recapitulate how to use the move learned in it. Similarly to Bottles, if Banjo's health is low when learning a move, Jamjars will provide "rations" to instantly refill his health bar. If Mumbo Jumbo tries to interact with him, Jamjars will say he "only teaches moves to bears and birds" and call him "a freak."
Occasionally, when Jamjars teaches a move and opens the silo to leave, the hatch will close earlier, what causes him to hit his head. He will then retries to enter it, but opens it once again to grab his hat.
In the multyplayer shooting minigames, Jamjars is a playable character. He has eight Honeycombs and, while being the second slowest character (with the first one being Gruntilda), is still a small target, making it hard to land a hit on him.
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts
In Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Jamjars is shown to have become the DJ of Spiral Mountain F.M. Through a radio machine, he tells Banjo and Kazooie that it has been 10 years since they were both invented and saying that they're "all fat and washed up" now.
Moves taught
| Move | Musical Note requirement | Location | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egg Aim | 25 | Mayahem Temple | This move switches allows Kazooie to fire Eggs in first-person view and use a crosshair to precisely fire at enemies or targets. |
| Breegull Blaster | 30 | Mayahem Temple | A similar move to Egg Aim, Breegull Blaster involves Banjo holding Kazooie like a weapon, allowing Kazooie to fire eggs, although with less precise aim. |
| Grip Grab | 35 | Mayahem Temple | This move allows Banjo and Kazooie to grip onto ledges and move across them. |
| Fire Eggs | 45 | Isle O' Hags (Plateau) | Kazooie gains the ability to shoot out Fire Eggs. |
| Bill Drill | 85 | Glitter Gulch Mine | This move involves Kazooie drilling on the ground to break fragile objects. |
| Beak Bayonet | 95 | Glitter Gulch Mine | This move allows Kazooie to peck at enemies with her beak while in Breegull Blaster mode. |
| Grenade Eggs | 110 | Isle O' Hags (Pine Grove) | Kazooie gains the ability to use Grenade Eggs. |
| Pack Whack | 120 | Grunty Industries | One of Banjo's solo moves, allowing him to swing his backpack at enemies. |
| Split-Up | 160 | Witchyworld | This move allows Banjo and Kazooie to split up and explore by themselves. |
| Airborne Egg Aiming | 180 | Witchyworld | Kazooie gains the ability to shoot out eggs while airborne. |
| Ice Eggs | 200 | Isle O' Hags (Cliff Top) | Kazooie gains the ability to use Ice Eggs |
| Wing Whack | 265 | Jolly Roger's Lagoon | A solo move of Kazooie's, allowing her to violently slash her wings at enemies. |
| Sub-Aqua Egg Aiming | 275 | Jolly Roger's Lagoon | Allows Kazooie to aim and shoot eggs underwater. |
| Talon Torpedo | 290 | Jolly Roger's Lagoon | This move temporarily separates Kazooie from Banjo while underwater, allowing her to propel around by herself. |
| Clockwork Kazooie Eggs | 315 | Isle O' Hags (Wasteland) | Kazooie receives the ability to use Clockwork Kazooie Eggs. |
| Springy Step Shoes | 390 | Terrydactyland | This move allows Banjo and Kazooie to use Springy Step Shoes, which springs them up to high areas which are normally inaccessible. |
| Taxi Pack | 405 | Terrydactyland | A solo move of Banjo's, allowing him to carry other characters around in his backpack. |
| Hatch | 420 | Terrydactyland | This move allows Kazooie to hatch an egg by sitting on it. |
| Snooze Pack | 525 | Grunty Industries | A solo move allowing Banjo to squeeze into his backpack and take a nap, which slowly recovers his health in the process. |
| Leg Spring | 545 | Grunty Industries | A move allowing Kazooie to jump higher by using a backflip while solo. |
| Claw Clamber Boots | 590 | Grunty Industries | This move allows Banjo and Kazooie to use Claw Clamber Boots, which can climb up walls with bird footprints on them. |
| Shack Pack | 640 | Hailfire Peaks | A solo move of Banjo's, allowing him to get into his backpack and shuffle around; this is useful for sneaking into small areas and protection from hazardous terrains. |
| Glide | 660 | Hailfire Peaks | This move allows Kazooie to glide in midair by herself without needing a Flight Pad. |
| Sack Pack | 765 | Cloud Cuckooland | This move allows Banjo to climb into his backpack and move around in it. Similar to Shack Pack, it protects him from being damaged by spikes and other hazardous terrains. |
Gallery
Banjo talking to Jamjars
In the character parade
Trivia
- In Banjo-Kazooie, when Banjo and Kazooie come to one of Bottles' first molehills in Spiral Mountain, Kazooie refers to Bottles by the nickname Jamjars. Jamjars is also an incorrect answer for Bottles when Grunty asks a trivia question in Grunty's Furnace Fun.
- In Banjo-Tooie, instead of every item talking and explaining what it does when it is picked up for the first time (as in Banjo-Kazooie), Jamjars will be the one to tell you about the item and what it does instead, even before Banjo and Kazooie meet him in person.
- Jamjars' military cadence is based on the Duckworth Chant, made popular by the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket.
- It is interesting to note that while he rhymes in military cadence in the Original B-T, in the XBLA version some of his training "songs" don't rhyme. This is due to the fact that the X button on the 360 controller replaces the B button as the basic attack button on the N64 version.
- Jamjar's voice is modeled after American Gunnery Sergent and actor R Lee Ermey, who fought in the Vietnam War and portrayed Drill Sergent Hartman in Full Metal Jacket.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ジャムジャー | - |
| Spanish | Jamjars (B-T) Mermelado (N&B) |
- From mermelada (jam) |