Banjo
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Banjo the Honey Bear is the protagonist of the Banjo-Kazooie series, in which he and his best friend Kazooie (a red bird) fight the evil witch, Gruntilda. He is also a close friend of Diddy Kong. Banjo made his video game debut in Diddy Kong Racing, alongside Conker, who would also receive his own series of games. Banjo is portrayed as an easy-going and lazy character. He has light-brown fur, a shark-tooth necklace, yellow shorts, and a blue backpack in which Kazooie rides inside in their own series of games.
Banjo's character is property of Rare Ltd., which was once a second-party developer for Nintendo. In 2002, Rare was sold to Microsoft, giving the rights of Banjo and Conker to the company. This caused Nintendo to lose the rights of the Banjo and Conker characters, while Rare lost the rights to the Donkey Kong series.
History
Diddy Kong Racing
Banjo is one of the many friends that Diddy Kong contacts via Squawks the Parrot in Diddy Kong Racing. When the intergalactic traveler, Wizpig, invaded and conquered Timber's Island, Timber called on Diddy Kong for help. In turn, Diddy Kong sent Squawks the Parrot to find Banjo and Conker to request their assistance. The three traveled to the island, where with Timber and four of his friends, they competed in a variety of racing challenges to liberate the island and decide which of them would have the best chance to defeat Wizpig. Eventually, the eight, with or without the help of the unlockable characters (Drumstick and T.T.), managed to drive Wizpig back to his home world: Future Fun Land. Banjo elected not to attend the celebration party, but he quickly returned when Wizpig struck back. He and the others traveled to Future Fun Land, conquered its challenges, and took on Wizpig. In their final race with the villain, Wizpig's rocket malfunctioned and he stranded himself on a deserted planet.
As one of the heavier racers, Banjo has slow acceleration, but he makes up for it with a high top speed. His handling however is below average, although it's better than Krunch's handling skills. For the Nintendo DS remake of the game, Diddy Kong Racing DS, the characters of Conker and Banjo were replaced with Tiny Kong and Dixie Kong. The company chose Tiny Kong for the role of replacing Banjo, making her a heavyweight who could conceivably have the same racing abilities as Banjo. The team elected not to change or remove either character's theme song from the game however; Banjo's signature banjo music can still be heard both in the introduction and on the character selection screen.
Banjo-Kazooie
After the events of Diddy Kong Racing, Banjo goes back to his home in Spiral Mountain, which is located in the Isle 'O Hags. One day in 1998, he tells his sister, Tooty, that the next day they will go on an adventure. The next day a fat ugly witch, named Gruntilda, asks her cauldron, Dingpot, if she is the fairest women/girl in all of the Isle 'O Hags. Much to her dismay, Dingpot proclaims that Banjo's sister Tooty is the prettiest girl of all. After this she stomps out of her room in her Spiral Mountain Lair with her broomstick and starts to fly down to Banjo's house. She then abducts Tooty from Banjo's house while he is sleeping. In response to the kidnapping, Banjo's best friend who lives in his backpack, Kazooie, wakes Banjo up and the two set out to rescue her. Banjo and Kazooie learn from their friend, Bottles the mole, that Tooty was captured by Gruntilda and suggests they need some training to collect musical notes and jigsaw pieces to progress through Gruntilda's lair.
By the time most of the musical notes and jiggies are gathered, Banjo and Kazooie face Gruntilda in a trivia game show named "Grunty's Furnace Fun". The game presents questions and challenges related to certain aspects of the game. After going through several game boards, the two win the game and Gruntilda flees. Reunited with Tooty, Banjo and Kazooie return home and celebrate their victory with their friends and a barbecue. However, Tooty reminds everyone that Gruntilda has fled and tells Banjo and Kazooie to defeat her. The duo returns to Gruntilda's lair and reach the top of the tower, where they face a battle with Gruntilda. With the help of some friendly creatures called Jinjos, Banjo and Kazooie manage to defeat Gruntilda, trapping her below a boulder. Returning to their home, Banjo and Kazooie go on vacation at a beach with their friends and celebrate their victory. The game ends with Gruntilda swearing revenge against Banjo and Kazooie and calling for her henchman Klungo to move the boulder that is covering
N-Gang
"N-Gang vs. Nintendo"
Banjo appeared in the N-Gang comic "N-Gang vs. Nintendo", where he played on the same soccer camp team with Kazooie, Wario, Yoshi, Princess Peach, Donkey Kong, and Lanky Kong. Mario refereed the match.
Game Appearances
| Title | Description | Release Date | System/Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diddy Kong Racing | Playable Character | 1997 | Nintendo 64 |
| Mario Artist: Paint Studio | His artwork from Diddy Kong Racing appears | 1999 | Nintendo 64DD |
Gallery
Diddy Kong Racing
- BanjoDKR.png
Banjo's appearance in-game
Driver mugshot
- 2h5v5td-1-.jpg
Banjo and Kazooie in the comic N-Gang vs Nintendo.
Names in other languages
Trivia
- In an early version of Donkey Kong 64, Banjo made a cameo appearance. A magnet on Donkey Kong's shower stall in DK's Tree House featured Banjo and Kazooie's faces. However, in the final release of the title, Rareware removed the shower stall and cameo appearance.
- Artwork of Banjo can be used in Mario Artist: Paint Studio, like some other Diddy Kong Racing characters.
- It's possible that the inclusion of the Duck Hunt in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U was inspired by the demand of Banjo in the game by many fans. The alternative color swap of Duck Hunt being a darker brown with the duck being red further proves this theory.
