Jinjo

This article requires cleanup in order to qualify for Jiggywikki's standards.
Reason: Wikia
You can discuss this issue on the talk page or edit this page to improve it.

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.

Jinjo

Artwork of an orange Jinjo in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.
Game(s)	Banjo-Kazooie Banjo-Tooie Grunty's Revenge Banjo-Pilot Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
World(s)	Jinjo Village Various worlds

Game appearances

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.

Color	Game appearances	Description
Black	Banjo-Tooie	Black Jinjos make their first and only appearance in Banjo-Tooie. They have nine members, making them the largest family of Jinjo Village.
Blue	Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Grunty's Revenge, Nuts & Bolts	Blue Jinjos, unlike other Jinjos, have orange bellies (although it was changed to light blue in Nuts & Bolts). In Banjo-Kazooie, they are one of the five types of Jinjos found in each world. The Mighty Jinjonator shares a speech icon with Blue Jinjos. In Banjo-Tooie, there are seven blue Jinjos, and their home is located behind King Jingaling's Throne Room. In Grunty's Revenge, there are five Blue Jinjos, which are indigenous to Freezing Furnace.
Brown	Banjo-Tooie	Brown Jinjos only appear in Banjo-Tooie, in which they have a family of four.
Grey	Banjo-Tooie (mentioned), Grunty's Revenge	The Grey Jinjos were only mentioned in Banjo-Tooie, as one of the ten Jinjo families from Jinjo Village. At the start of the game, the Hag 1 destroyed their house on its way back to Cauldron Keep, killing every Grey Jinjo inside, on its route back to Cauldron Keep. Although they are absent fro Banjo-Tooie, Grey Jinjos later make an actual appearance in Grunty's Revenge, as the indigenous color of Spiller's Harbor.
Green	Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Grunty's Revenge, Nuts & Bolts	Green Jinjos first appear in Banjo-Kazooie as one of the five colored Jinjos to collect in every world. They are light green and have a white chest. In Banjo-Tooie, there is a family of five Green Jinjos, which are a lighter shade of green and. In Grunty's Revenge, the green Jinjos are indigenous to Bad Magic Bayou.
Orange	Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Grunty's Revenge	Orange Jinjos are among the five Jinjos to be found in every world from Banjo-Kazooie. In Banjo-Tooie, there is only a family of two. In Grunty's Revenge, Orange Jinjos are the indigenous color of Cliff Farm.
Purple	Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Grunty's Revenge, Banjo-Pilot, Nuts & Bolts	Purple Jinjos make their debut in the original Banjo-Kazooie as one of the five Jinjos needed to be collected in each world. Despite their name, Purple Jinjos look more pink than purple. Banjo is shown holding a Jinjo on the cover art for the game. In Banjo-Tooie, Purple Jinjos have the second largest family, having a total of eight members. In Banjo-Pilot, a Purple Jinjo is one of the playable characters. In Nuts & Bolts, the Purple Jinjos are among the Jinjos that can be found in certain worlds and with a unique challenge for Banjo.
Red	Banjo-Tooie	The Red Jinjos only appear in Banjo-Tooie as one of the ten Jinjo families. There are six members in their family, and their house was slightly damaged from the Hag 1.
White	Banjo-Tooie	There is only one white Jinjo in Banjo-Tooie, making it the smallest family in the game.
Yellow	Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Grunty's Revenge, Nuts & Bolts	Yellow Jinjos are one of the five collectible Jinjos in every world of Banjo-Kazooie. In Banjo-Tooie, there is a family of three Yellow Jinjos. In their debut appearance, Yellow Jinjos had a darker belly, which became a brighter color in subsequent games. In Grunty's Revenge, Yellow Jinjos are the indigenous color of Breegull Beach.

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.