GAME · 1998 · UK
Banjo-Kazooie
44 archived facts 2 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
44 Interesting Facts About Banjo-Kazooie
Interesting Facts (43)
- #001
Holding the R Button allows the player to make a sharp turn while flying or swimming, but Bottles never tells the player this at any point in the game.
- #002
The voices in the game are not actual speech but looping voice-like sounds played when text bubbles appear. This artistic choice was made because of the memory limitations of Nintendo 64 cartridges.
- #003
Beneath the name of the ship in Rusty Bucket Bay is the text "Twycross, England," the location of the Rareware headquarters.
- #004
Among the five transformations in the game, the crocodile is the only one that can attack.
- #005
In the beta version, Clanker was a real whale rather than a mechanical one.
- #006
There are 100 Jiggies in the entire game, but only 98 of them are used in the picture puzzles of Grunty's Lair, leaving just 2 Jiggies with no purpose other than watching the perfect ending. If fewer than 100 Jiggies are collected before finishing the final battle, Mumbo will not reveal his secret. If all 100 Jiggies are collected when the game is completed, Mumbo gives a brief glimpse of what awaits in the sequel Banjo-Tooie (2000) (see Banjo-Tooie Trivia for more information). Grunty's final words also differ depending on the number of Jiggies held at the end.
- #007
The only letter missing from the sandcastle puzzle in Treasure Trove Cove is "Q."
- #008
The game began development as an RPG for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System known as "Project Dream," which was to feature a male hero who would have to fight pirates, one of them Captain Black Eye (who was included in the final version as a portrait found in Mad Monster Mansion). The game quickly became too expensive for the limits of the SNES system, and production shifted its focus to the upcoming Nintendo 64. However, given its large scale, the development team found themselves constrained by the hardware and shifted focus again after seeing work being done on "Twelve Tales: Conker 64" (which ultimately became Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001), following the path of the highly successful Super Mario 64 (1996)), thus scrapping the RPG concept and turning it into a platform game instead.
- #009
In the beta version, there is a portrait of Donkey Kong beside Banjo's bed. This was changed to a portrait of Tooty in the final version.
- #010
Tiptup the Turtle and Banjo appeared together in Diddy Kong Racing (1997).
- #011
In the game's data there is an unused music track called "Advent," which was to be used as the central world theme for "Giants Lair" in the early stages of development.
- #012
The game was originally supposed to be released as Nintendo's big 1997 holiday game in America with a Taco Bell toy promotion, but Rare had to delay it by several months. They therefore decided to release Diddy Kong Racing (1997), in which Banjo appears as a playable character, first.
- #013
Boggy the bear is the only character in the game who gives the player more than one Jiggy.
- #014
Some of the answers given in Grunty's Furnace Fun are characters from other Rare games, such as Funky the monkey and Conker the squirrel.
- #015
The secrets Mumbo tells at the end were meant to be part of a feature known as "Stop N' Swop." The idea was that players who owned a compatible game such as Banjo-Tooie (2000) could remove the cartridge and insert the Banjo-Kazooie cartridge to unlock Stop N' Swop items. This required turning the console off and swapping the cartridges very quickly to access the game's temporary save data stored in the motherboard memory before the cartridges erased themselves. Earlier revisions of the N64 motherboard had a window of about ten seconds before the saved data was lost when the console was turned off. Later revisions reduced the window to only one second, making the process impossible. The feature was planned to be included in a total of six Rare games, and performing the process with each of them would activate a special code that would complete the circle for Banjo-Kazooie. Stop N' Swop was also supposed to be included in Donkey Kong 64 (1999), but Nintendo insisted on removing it because it feared players might remove the cartridges while the console was on and potentially damage both.
- #016
The game's manual mentions an "Exit to Witch's Lair" option. Although it was present in the beta version, it was scrapped in the final release.
- #017
The first Jiggy in Gruntilda's Lair is the only one in the game that does not require pressing a Witch Switch in a level.
- #018
The second and final Jiggies in Gruntilda's Lair are the only ones that require an animal transformation to retrieve.
- #019
Banjo-Kazooie features three encounters with Cheato, the spell book.
- #020
Click Clock Wood is the only level in the game that lets players visit the same area under a different scenario.
- #021
Apart from Banjo and Kazooie being listed last, the characters named in the credits are given in order of appearance.
- #022
The Click Clock Wood jigsaw puzzle is the only puzzle in the game without a puzzle podium.
- #023
A soundtrack of the game's music, composed by Grant Kirkhope, was released by Nintendo of America as a limited-edition Compact Disc. The CD, which included two bonus tracks, was sold only at Best Buy stores and through the Nintendo Power Catalog.
- #024
Among the voiced questions in Grunty's Furnace Fun, Gruntilda's voice is the only one labeled "cool". All other voices are labeled "dumb".
- #025
In an episode of "Reviews On The Run", the game ranked number 1 on the list "5 classic Rare games you should try", beating fellow nominees Sabre Wulf, Conker's Bad Fur Day and Kameo: Elements of Power.
- #026
"Ooomeknacka" was created as a reference to Mumbo Jumbo after Grant Kirkhope went for a testicular exam and said "Ooh, me knackers!"
- #027
Mumbo Jumbo's speech was made from randomly selected samples of Grant Kirkhope saying "Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough."
- #028
While flying or swimming, you can hold the R button to make sharp turns. However, Bottles never tells you this at any point in the game.
- #029
In the beta version, there was a level called Fungus Forest. This level was cancelled and was later added to Donkey Kong 64 (1999) as Fungi Forest.
- #030
There are a total of 9 different ways to enter the house in Mad Monster Mansion.
- #031
Since the game's developer Rareware now belongs to Microsoft, all references to Nintendo were removed in the Xbox 360 version. Ironically, the only Nintendo reference remaining from the original version is a code found in the save selection menu. When the game was released as part of the Nintendo 64 playable feature, all Rareware and Nintendo references were preserved.
- #032
Treasure Trove Cove, Clanker's Cavern, Gobi's Valley and Rusty Bucket Bay are the only four levels in which Mumbo does not appear.
- #033
Some of the answers given in Grunty's Furnace Fun are characters from other Rare games. Some of these are Funky the Monkey, Conker the Squirrel, etc.
- #034
The first puzzle piece in Gruntilda's Lair is the only one that does not require you to hit a Witch Switch in a level.
- #035
'Ooomeknacka' is a line created for Mumbo Jumbo after Grant Kirkhope said 'Ooh, me knackers!' following a testicular examination.
- #036
This is the only Banjo-Kazooie video game released in the 20th century.
- #037
The only letter missing in the sandcastle puzzle in Treasure Trove Cove is "Q."
- #038
In the beta version there is a portrait of Donkey Kong next to Banjo's bed. This was changed to a portrait of Tooty in the final version.
- #039
The only room not present in Mad Monster Mansion is the kitchen.
- #040
There are a total of 38 slalom gates in the race against Boggy the bear.
- #041
There are eighteen encounters with Bottles in this game.
- #042
There are ten encounters with Brentilda in this game.
- #043
There are a total of 15 crates in the Boss Boom Box fight.
Deeper Meaning (1)
- #044
Grant Kirkhope based part of the music, particularly the theme for Witch's Lair, on the children's song "Teddy Bears' Picnic."