Banjo-Tooie

Banjo-Tooie

Developer	Rare Ltd.
Publisher	Nintendo
Designer	Gregg Mayles Steve Malpass
Console(s)	Nintendo 64
Release date(s)	NA: November 19, 2000 JA: November 27, 2000 EU: April 12, 2001
Genre	Platformer, action-adventure
Mode	Single player, Multiplayer
Rating	ESRB: E (Everyone) OFLC: G8+
Media	256 Megabit Cartridge
Input	Nintendo 64 Controller

Banjo-Tooie is the second game in the Banjo-Kazooie series and the direct sequel to Banjo-Kazooie. Like the previous game, Banjo-Tooie was developed by Rare, Ltd. and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Nintendo 64 in late 2000, or 2001 in Europe. It was ported to the Xbox Live Arcade in 2009. The game was re-released on the Nintendo Switch Online service on October 25, 2024, marking its first re-release on a Nintendo console. "Tooie" is a portmanteau of Kazooie and "two," owing to it being the second Banjo-Kazooie title.

Banjo-Tooie takes place after the events of Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge, chronologically placing it as the third title of the series. Banjo-Tooie also takes place two years after the events of Banjo-Kazooie. In it, Mingella and Blobbelda free Gruntilda from the boulder she was trapped under, and they then attempt to help Grunty recover from her skeletal appearance with their Big-O-Blaster invention, which sucks the life from characters and objects in the Isle o' Hags. Banjo and Kazooie go on an adventure to stop Grunty and her sisters. Banjo-Tooie has a more cynical tone than its predecessor and introduced darker elements to the series, such as Bottles' death.

Story

Two years later after Gruntilda fell off her tower and was buried in Spiral Mountain, her loyal minion Klungo is still trying to push the boulder. Meanwhile, Banjo, Kazooie, Bottles and Mumbo Jumbo are playing poker inside Banjo's House. To cheat, Kazooie says that Gruntilda has returned and grabs Bottles' poker chips while he looks away. Suddenly, the four hear a noise outside, and the shaman goes to check what could've caused it. He ends up spotting Gruntilda's sisters, Mingella and Blobbelda, arriving in Spiral Mountain on their Hag 1 to free the witch. They use a spell to break the rock and Gruntilda comes out of her grave as a skeleton, mad about her current state. The sisters explain they have a plain to restore her body and go back to the drilling machine, heading to Cauldron Keep. Gruntilda, however, spots the shaman who runs away from her back to Banjo's home. He warns the three inside about the threat, but Bottles does not believe him and thinks its just a trick, like Kazooie did earlier. As he was telling the truth, Gruntilda casts a spell on the building and kills Bottles who was inside, leaving his burnt body outside with his soul leaving it. Banjo and Kazooie then set out on an adventure to avenge the mole and stop whatever plan the witches might have.

The duo go through the destroyed Spiral Mountain and enter the Digger Tunnel left by the Hag 1, encountering Klungo. They fight and the duo wins, reaching Jinjo Village. They meet its ruler, King Jingaling, who gives them the game's first Jiggy and talks about Jiggywiggy's Temple, where they will be able to open more worlds and reach Cauldron Keep. He then opens a tunnel in Bottles' House that leads to said place. The duo heads there, and King Jingaling's Throne Room is blasted by Mingella and Blobbelda's Big-O-Blaster, the life-sucking gun they will use to restore their sister's body. The Jinjo king becomes a zombie, and Toots a pile of ashes with eyes. Inside the mole's house, they meet his wife, Mrs. Bottles, who's not aware of his death and is still waiting for him to come back for dinner. Banjo is too afraid to tell her about what happened, and stops Kazooie when she attempts to. They also meet Bottles' children, Goggles and Speccy. Once they get through the Disciple of Jiggywiggy and finally meet Master Jiggywiggy himself, he tells them about the Crystal Jiggy and how it will allow them to reach Gruntilda, opening the first world, Mayahem Temple. There, they meet Bottles' drill sergeant brother Jamjars who teaches them new moves when they have enough Musical Notes. Throughout the worlds they also encounter Mumbo's Skull, where Mumbo can help them, and Wumba's Wigwam, where Mumbo's rival Humba Wumba lives. The shaman requests a Glowbo to help the duo with spells while the sha-woman needs it to transform them, essentially taking Mumbo's former role.

Once Banjo and Kazooie finally reach Cauldron Keep, they face off against Klungo one last time. After being defeated, he leaves and states he's off to make "ssstupid gamesss." Gruntilda then puts the duo in her own game show, the Tower of Tragedy Quiz, alongside her sisters Mingella and Blobbelda. They lose and get squished by 1 ton weights while Banjo escapes and runs upstairs to use the Big-O-Blaster and revive both Bottles and King Jingaling. The duo then goes to the top of the castle and fight Gruntilda in her Hag 1, answering a few more questions and exploding the drill. This leaves the witch as simply a disembodied skull, and duo leaves to celebrate at Bottles' House. The party was already over, however, so they call their friends to play kickball with the witch's remains. Gruntilda then claims she will get her revenge in "Banjo-Threeie" (a joke name based on "Snakes in Space," another joke sequel teased at the end of Snake Rattle 'n' Roll), with Captain Blubber flying by on the Saucer of Peril.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot of Banjo and Kazooie approaching a Jiggy.

The gameplay of Banjo-Tooie is fundamentally similar to its predecessor, Banjo-Kazooie: Banjo and Kazooie must travel across open worlds and collect items and complete tasks to unlock access for later areas; the areas are about twice as large as in Banjo-Kazooie. Banjo and Kazooie can use every move they have learned in Banjo-Kazooie (except for Claw Swipe, which was replaced with Peck), and learn some additional moves from Jamjars in every level. The new moves include Egg Aiming, the ability to use more Eggs, and using Split-Up Pads to play as Banjo and Kazooie individually; both characters can learn their own moves while separated.

Jiggys retain their role as the main collectibles. Instead of being used on Jigsaw Pictures, Jiggies are used to unlock worlds from Jiggywiggy's Temple; Banjo and Kazooie do not have to relinquish their Jiggies to enter a new world. Musical Notes appear in every level but only appear in nests. Every standard nest contains five Musical Notes, which have a 20-count variant named Treble Clef. Similarly, Eggs and Feathers are also grouped in nests.

Unlike Bottles, Banjo and Kazooie must collect a specified number of Musical Notes before Jamjars can teach the ability to them. Unlike the last game, the Musical Note count is preserved if Banjo and Kazooie were to enter then exit from a world. Like the previous game, five Jinjos appear in each level, including the Isle o' Hags hub world. There are nine Jinjo colors, and they are each grouped into families. Like Witch Switches from the first game, collecting every Jinjo in a world causes a Jiggy to appear outside the world's entrance.

Banjo-Tooie adopted some features from Donkey Kong 64, most notably the removal of the lives system: if Banjo and Kazooie lose all of their health, they restart from the last entrance. The Another similarity is how enemies respawn in the levels over time. Similarly, there is also a multiplayer mode where up to four players can compete in minigames.

Mumbo Jumbo is a newly playable character, whose main role is using magic spells to solve puzzles and Mumbo Pads to open newer areas. The player can switch control to Mumbo from Mumbo's Pad, if Banjo and Kazooie give a Glowbo to him in each world. Mumbo's new rival, Humba Wumba, handles the world transformations instead, and must also be provided with a Glowbo (the successor to Mumbo Tokens).

The worlds are physically connected at multiple points, and are effectively extensions of the Isle o' Hags hub world. Chuffy can be used to transport minor characters between two worlds that each have a Train Station.

One of the minor differences is the HUD having a static headshot of Banjo and Kazooie, which would change emotion in the previous game (from happy to sad) based on the amount of health they had. Some slight visual improvements were also added, which includes animated water, better usage of lighting and shadowing, and some objects (such as Honeycombs) receiving new animations on the world map.

Listings

Characters

A collage of every character from Banjo-Tooie.

• Banjo - The game's hero, a honey bear wearing yellow shorts and a blue backpack he is always ready for adventure and happy to help people out.
• Kazooie - A rude and sarcastic female red-crested breegull who resides in Banjo's backpack and helps out Banjo and others at times.
• Gruntilda - The game's villain, an evil witch who wrecked Banjo and Kazooie's home and plans to suck the life out of many innocent characters.
• Mumbo Jumbo - A shaman with magical powers, friend of Banjo and Kazooie, Mumbo helps out the duo with magic.
• Humba Wumba - A new character introduced in the game and the rival of Mumbo, Humba helps the two by transforming them into many different forms.
• Bottles - Friend of Banjo and Kazooie, he was killed in the start of the game by Grunty and it is the duo's job to revive him.
• Jamjars - Military Drill Sergeant and Bottles' brother, Jamjars can teach Banjo and Kazooie new moves for the game if paid enough musical notes.
• Klungo - Gruntilda's henchman, he assists Grunty in various things and fights the two heroes three times throughout the game.
• Mingella - One of Gruntilda's sisters, she and Blobbelda built the Big-O-Blaster (B.O.B.). Joining magical forces with her sister, Blobbelda, she removed the rock under which Grunty was trapped, with the help of a spellbook.
• Blobbelda - Grunty's short, "shapely" sister. Helped Mingella build the B.O.B.
• Master Jiggywiggy - Head of an ancient order dedicated to the powers of The Crystal Jiggy. An ally of the duo, who opens new game worlds if given enough Jiggies.
• King Jingaling - King of the Jinjos, is turned into a zombie by Gruntilda early in the game.

Worlds

Like in Banjo-Kazooie, there are nine worlds, one hub world, and a starter world, equaling 11 in total.

Hub worlds
World	Summary
Spiral Mountain	Spiral Mountain is the home to Banjo and Kazooie. Like Banjo-Kazooie, it is the starting area of the game. The location was heavily damaged in the intro, from the Hag 1 drilling and Grunty casting a spell on Banjo's House. The area has since appeared as dull and ruined. Banjo and Kazooie can still enter Gruntilda's Lair, where Cheato is located.
Isle o' Hags	The hub world of the game, divided into seven regions: Jinjo Village, Wooded Hollow, Plateau, Pine Grove, Cliff Top, Wasteland, and Quagmire. It is where every level can be accessed from.
Levels
Mayahem Temple	The first level of the game, and is themed after the Mayans. It is where Mumbo can control the Golden Goliath. There is also a kickball stadium and various temples, one of which has the world boss, Targitzan. The Code Chamber also appears in this world.
Glitter Gulch Mine	This level is a gold mine consisting of prison cells, a waterfall, and caves filled with poisonous gas. It is where Banjo and Kazooie meet Chuffy.
Witchyworld	A highly unsafe and previously condemned fairground, endorsed by Gruntilda, featuring dangerous rides and rude employees.
Jolly Roger's Lagoon	This world is comprised of two areas, a nautical village and a lagoon with Atlantis. With the aid of Mumbo, the characters can breathe underwater and explore the sea bottom.
Terrydactyland	A prehistoric level filled with dinosaurs and cavemen tribes. It is the home of Terry, a large pterodactyl, and the world's namesake. He is also the level's boss, whose nest sits atop the central mountain.
Grunty Industries	A massive factory for underwear manufacturing, endorsed by Grunty, with a waste disposal. This level shows Gruntilda's disdain for the environment, much in the vein of Rusty Bucket Bay from the previous game. Loggo also appears in this level.
Hailfire Peaks	A twin-peaked mountain where one side is ice and the other is fire, both watched over by Chilli Billi and Chilly Willy.
Cloud Cuckooland	A world that floats exceedingly high above the Isle o' Hags. It is made of an enormous, hollow, purple mountain, surrounded by floating platforms of various oddities including a large wedge of smelly cheese, a pot of gold, a jelly castle and a gigantic trash can.
Cauldron Keep	This level is Grunty's hideout and the final level. It is much smaller than the previous levels and does not feature any collectibles or the supporting characters. It is where the Tower of Tragedy Quiz takes place and where the Big-O-Blaster is located. The final boss fight against Gruntilda and the Hag 1 takes place here.

Spells

Mumbo Jumbo can perform a certain spell in each world, provided that Banjo and Kazooie have given him a Glowbo.

• Isle o' Hags - Heal
• Mayahem Temple - Summon
• Glitter Gulch Mine - Levitate
• Witchyworld - Power
• Jolly Roger's Lagoon - Sunlight
• Terrydactyland - Enlarge
• Grunty Industries - EMP
• Hailfire Peaks - Life Force
• Cloud Cuckooland - Rain Dance

Reception

Banjo-Tooie was both critically and commercially successful, recieving high scores and selling more than three million copies worldwide. It was praised for its gameplay and graphics, considered one of the best the Nintendo 64 could offer, but were criticized for the inconsistent frame rate at certain parts. Many reviewers often compared the game to Donkey Kong 64, saying Banjo-Tooie featured much less backtracking.

Reviews
Release	Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
Nintendo 64	Shane Satterfield, GameSpot	9.6/10	The great thing about 3D platformers is that they are so free flowing in nature that the gameplay variety has no limits. It's possible to include first-person shooting, racing, minigames, you name it. Banjo-Tooie has all these and much more. The platform-jumping elements do not present much of a hurdle, but the demanding puzzle elements more than make up for it. Some of the puzzles are straightforward "flip a switch and open a door" deals, while others are just evil. Banjo-Tooie is difficult enough without obscure puzzles to solve and few clues to go by. The majority of the level design is top-notch, and some of the task progressions take things even higher. It's that feeling of "I have to get just one more jiggy" that keeps the controller glued to your hand and your eyes in a fixed gaze. Then that jiggy leads to four. The next thing you know, it's almost 4am and you've rubbed your eyes raw. Banjo-Tooie is that kind of game.
Nintendo 64	Daemon Hatfield, IGN	9.4/10	The amount of things to do in this game is nothing short of staggering. Each of the enormous nine levels has 10 jiggies to be won by completing brief quests and objectives. Then there are 100 musical notes to be found, three honeycomb pieces (for extra life), five stranded jinjo characters, missing pages of Cheato's cheat book, and new abilities and magic spells to be learned -- all in every level. The N64's cartridges definitely suffered from a memory shortage compared to the PlayStation's disc medium, but this is still one gigantic game and it is now one of the deepest experiences on XBLA. Compared to the first game, Tooie is basically a super-sized copy with the same play mechanics, progression, and visuals. Banjo begins the sequel with all the moves he learned the first time around and immediately begins adding to his repertoire.
Nintendo 64	Thomas Bowskill, Nintendo Life	9/10	From the outset, just like the story, everything in Tooie seems grandiose, large and slightly overwhelming when compared to its humble predecessor. Arriving in the Jinjo village for the first time will register the sheer magnitude of this game: there's a lot to do and explore here, and this is just the first area outside of the levels – and there are countless other parts of Hag Island that could swallow Spiral Mountain in one gulp! Entering a level in Tooie is a little like it was in Kazooie; each world's size is quite a surprise (sorry, Grunty's rhymes are contagious - I know our readers find this outrageous!). Instead of having levels that can be completed in one sitting, all Tooie's stages have been specifically designed to tie in with each other, meaning you can't actually finish a level until you're most of the way through the game, when you can then access the linked areas. This is puzzling at first, as it's not clear that hopping between levels is required – you'll be wondering how to get some Jiggies, only to find that you gain access to them via another level a few hours later. But this design to connect all the levels together is befitting of the expansive approach of the game and good fuel for your typical completionist – there's easily over 10 hours of content here, and while it can get overwhelming, it's still thoroughly enjoyable.
Metacritic		90

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Banjo-Tooie.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	バンジョーとカズーイの大冒険２ Banjo to Kazooie no Daibouken 2

External links

• Banjo Tooie | Nintendo 64 | Games | Nintendo
• Banjo-Tooie (English) on Wayback Machine