News Articles
Friday27th Mar 2020
Random Rare Uses Banjo-Kazooie To Remind People To Stay At Home
You can't argue with the bird and bear
For the safety of everyone, and particularly society's most vulnerable, a very clear message is being spread around the world at the moment: stay home. The coronavirus (COVID-19) is having a huge impact on all aspects of life, but game developer Rare is doing its bit to help get that all-important message...
Wednesday4th Mar 2020
News New N64 Mod Combines The Worlds Of Super Mario 64 And Banjo-Kazooie
What's Mario doing in Spiral Mountain?
When taking a nostalgic look back at the good old Nintendo 64, it's hard to imagine how things might have been without its adored platforming greats. The likes of Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie now form unforgettable childhood memories for many, and while the two might get a little muddled in our ever-ageing...
Monday10th Feb 2020
Random Storm Ciara Decapitates A Rare Video Gaming Legend
"So I got you there once more, I knew your skill was very poor!"
Those of you based in the UK will no doubt be counting the cost of Storm Ciara, which has done its best to batter the British Isles over the past few days. High winds and lashings of rain have caused disruption all over the country, from power cuts, cancelled trains,
Thursday6th Feb 2020
Random Banjo-Kazooie Was Actually Named After A Nintendo President's Grandchild And Son
Case closed
Last year in March, there was a story doing the rounds about Rare's famous bear and bird from the 1998 Nintendo 64 game Banjo-Kazooie being named after the grandchild and son of the former Nintendo president, Hiroshi Yamauchi. History suggested that Banjo's name was based on a musical instrument of the same name, and Kazooie's name was...
Tuesday26th Nov 2019
News Fangamer's New Range Of Banjo-Kazooie Merch Is Tough To Resist
Including the game's soundtrack on vinyl
Gaming merchandise company Fangamer has unleashed a new set of goodies for its growing Banjo-Kazooie collection, and we're having a hard time staying away from the 'buy now' button. Perhaps the star of the show is a brand new 4-LP box set of Grant Kirkhope’s magical soundtrack, but you'll also find a new...
Monday28th Oct 2019
Video We Almost Had A 2D Banjo-Kazooie Platformer On Game Boy Color
Original design documents tell the tale
With the bear and bird now perfectly playable in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the love for Banjo-Kazooie has felt particularly strong as of late. You'll no doubt be aware of the original N64 game, its sequel Banjo-Tooie and more, but did you know that the series almost received a 2D platformer on the Game Boy...
Friday25th Oct 2019
Random Rare Expands Its Official Banjo-Kazooie Swag Collection With A Colourful Keychain
Feast your googly eyes on these
After many years stuck out in the video gaming wilderness, the return of mighty duo Banjo-Kazooie had one or two of us at Nintendo Life Towers shedding a tear when they were revealed to be joining the fray with the other Smash Bros. fighters. IP owners Microsoft might not be doing anything Rareware's bear and bird,...
Thursday5th Sep 2019
Random Sakurai Tells Nintendo Fans To Check Out The Original Banjo-Kazooie On Xbox One
Seriously.
During the special Banjo-Kazooie presentation today, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai explained how Microsoft was more than happy for the bear and bird to join Nintendo's all-star brawler. Sakurai himself was "extremely grateful" and also noted how Rare welcomed the idea with open arms. With the iconic duo now...
Tuesday16th Jul 2019
News Banjo-Kazooie Composer Grant Kirkhope Doesn't Know If There's A Market For A New Game
"I just don't know"
Around the time of E3 2019, when it was revealed Banjo-Kazooie would be added as a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the composer of the bear and bird's original Nintendo 64 outing spoke with VGC about the possibility of a new entry in the series. In a more recent interview with the same website, the one and only...
Tuesday2nd Jul 2019
News Diddy Kong Racing Artist Responsible For Banjo-Kazooie's Faithful Smash Ultimate Design
Rare gives shout out to artist Paul Cunningham
Banjo and Kazooie are coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Ah, we'll never get tired of saying that. Thankfully, it seems the same goes for the talented folks at Rare who have shared a blog post detailing their hectic E3 schedule and giving us more details on the big Banjo reveal. We think it's safe...
Friday28th Jun 2019
Random Banjo-Kazooie Meets The Wind Waker In This N64-Compatible Mod
A delightful crossover
Ever wondered what a mash-up of Banjo-Kazooie and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker might look like? Yes, no, maybe? Well, this mod – The Legend of Banjo-Kazooie: The Bear Waker – by Mark Kurko shows us a location from Wind Waker inside Banjo's game. The demo (see the video below) takes place on Outset Island – the...
Friday14th Jun 2019
Video Cadence Of Hyrule Guitarist And Grant Kirkhope Combine For Epic Banjo-Kazooie Collab
Turn it up to 64
In what is quite possibly one of the best videos of all time, and amazingly relevant considering what's been going on in the world of Nintendo this week, you're about to see Cadence of Hyrule guitarist FamilyJules rock out to a classic Banjo-Kazooie track with none other than the game's original composer, Grant Kirkhope. Unless...
News Banjo-Kazooie Switch Listing Appears On Amazon Germany, But We Wouldn't Count On It
Guh-huh
The hype surrounding Banjo-Kazooie is through the metaphorical roof at the moment, all thanks to the duo's reveal as a new, upcoming fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Heck, we're pretty sure Nintendo's NYC store almost collapsed under the pressure of fans jump
Wednesday12th Jun 2019
News Grant Kirkhope Explains How He Got To Compose Banjo-Kazooie Music For Smash Bros. Ultimate
The Mario + Rabbids creative director got in contact
Not long after Banjo-Kazooie was revealed for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate during Nintendo's E3 2019 Direct presentation, VGC reached out to the composer, Grant Kirkhope, to hear his side of the story and find out what it was like create music for Nintendo's all-star fighting game. It all started...
Wednesday5th Jun 2019
News New Banjo-Kazooie Merch Fuels Fresh Speculation Over A Series Revival
Update: Banjo teased as Smash DLC by prominent leaker?
Update: In the original version of this article (which you can read below), we speculated that - if anything - the new Banjo-Kazooie merch might be linked to a potential remake. Now, it would seem that the idea of Banjo appearing as a DLC fighter in Smash Ultimate is perhaps the more likely...
Monday11th Mar 2019
Random Were Banjo And Kazooie Named After A Nintendo President's Grandchild And Son?
Rethinking history
If you're a fan of Nintendo trivia, you may or may not have heard this one before. Apparently, Banjo and Kazooie from Rare's 1998 Nintendo 64 game Banjo-Kazooie are (at least partly) named after the grandchild and son of former Nintendo president, Hiroshi Yamauchi. This is according to some "amazing trivia" game writer and...
Tuesday9th Oct 2018
News Rare Is Set To Open Its Own Online Store, Banjo-Kazooie Plush Toy Among The Products Available
And there goes all our money once again
British game developer Rare has announced that it is "making plans" for its very own online store which looks set to feature merchandise based on its popular creations. The news comes from the tweet below, with the company also taking the opportunity to show off an adorable Banjo-Kazooie plush that has us...
Friday5th Oct 2018
Random Banjo-Kazooie And Conker Are Being Added To The Totaku Collection
Retro-inspired
If you were around during the years of the Nintendo 64, you'll no doubt remember Rare's foul-mouthed squirrel Conker and the beloved bear and bird duo, Banjo-Kazooie. To help you remember the glory days of these iconic characters, the Totaku Collection is adding the characters to its officially licensed figurine line. Both the...
Saturday7th Jul 2018
News Pre-Orders For Banjo-Kazooie Statue By First 4 Figures Can Be Validated On 10th July
A rare opportunity for $429.99
Last December, First 4 Figures revealed it was collaborating with the iconic UK developer, Rare, to release a new line of collectibles based on the Banjo-Kazooie and Conker game series. Fast forward to several months later and the first statue in this new line - Banjo-Kazooie - has now been unveiled. Sporting...
Thursday22nd Mar 2018
News Xbox's Phil Spencer Is Still Open To Banjo And Kazooie Appearing In Super Smash Bros.
Rare is also open to giving IP to third parties
As we all know, Rare used to be a solid partner for Nintendo. During the N64 years, Nintendo held a significant stake in the UK firm, which created seminal games like Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye 007, Blast Corps, Perfect Dark and Donkey Kong 64. It was also the company responsible for the N64...
Monday12th Feb 2018
News A Hat In Time Developer Confirms The Time Travel Platformer Won't Leap Onto Switch
The indie Kickstarter success passes on Switch
We're so used to hearing about developers and publishers falling over themselves to bring their games to Nintendo Switch, we're often a little take aback when we hear those that definitively won't be. A Hat In Time - which released on PC, Mac, PS4 and Xbox One at the tail end of last year - is one such...
Monday4th Dec 2017
News First 4 Figures Is Working On Banjo-Kazooie And Conker Collectables
A Rare collaboration
First 4 Figures has revealed that it is collaborating with Rare to produce a series of figures based on Banjo-Kazooie and Conker. No shots of the actual figures have been shown so far, but the company has stated that it is an "honour" to be working with these two highly-esteemed gaming legends. There's no release date for...
Wednesday4th Jan 2017
Art Banjo-Kazooie Reimagined in the Mario RPG Style
It's a bear necessity
As a daily treat this year we're going to take a little time to step away from wondering about how leaky Nintendo has become, and simply focus on some lovely fan-made art. We've occasionally shared some stand-out examples in the past, but now we want to make it a daily occurrence; the only objective is to highlight some cool...
Wednesday6th Apr 2016
Video Check Out This Banging Banjo-Kazooie Final Battle Theme Drum Cover
Not a banjo in sight thankfully
Banjo-Kazooie is a beloved N64 platformer from the legendary developers at Rare, aside from being a great game, it had an equally great soundtrack by the ever talented Grant Kirkhope. We recently featured a video of Mat Ombler drummer from the metal band Demoraliser doing a drum cover of the Mario underground theme,...
Thursday6th Aug 2015
Witness the Mario Kart killer that never was
Given the amount of love and attention we've bestowed Xbox One title Rare Replay recently, you'd be forgiven for thinking that you'd logged onto our sister site Pure Xbox by mistake. Still, Rare will forever be a major part of Nintendo history, and there's a lot of bonus content in this collection which...
Thursday30th Jul 2015
News Rare's Gregg Mayles Shows Off The Scribbled Origins Of Banjo-Kazooie
Work in progress
Banjo-Kazooie is one of Rare's most beloved properties, and while the series is now firmly entrenched on Microsoft hardware following the company's purchase of the famous British developer, Nintendo fans will always have a soft spot for the bear-and-bird duo thanks to the fact that they made their official début on the N64. Over...
Tuesday13th Jan 2015
Gallery Imagining What Banjo-Kazooie Might Look Like in HD
Bringing a Rare classic up to date
Rare's classic N64 game Banjo-Kazooie is a fan favourite with retro gamers for good reason; even by today's standards this early 3D game is still incredibly charming and fun to play. Still, 1998 is a long time ago, and there is always room for improvement. Enter UK based 3D artist Neil Goodman, who has tasked...
Monday6th Oct 2014
News You Can Now Download The Entire Banjo-Kazooie Soundtrack For Your Listening Pleasure
And we mean the ENTIRE soundtrack
Rare's N64 classic Banjo-Kazooie is one of the best 3D platformers you're likely to find on any console, and its soundtrack was also pretty swell to boot. You can now download every piece of music contained in the game — that's 164 different tracks — over at composer Grant Kirkhope's Bandcamp page. It's not...
Friday31st May 2013
News Happy 15th Birthday, Banjo-Kazooie!
Guh-huh!
It’s hard to believe now, but before 31st May, 1998, no one believed that a bear in yellow shorts and a bird in a backpack could ever make an effective team. A spunky little Twycross-based company called Rare, however, set out to prove the world wrong, and did so with quite admirable results. Today marks the 15th anniversary of the North...
Wednesday15th May 2013
News Banjo-Kazooie Symphony On the Way From The Synthetic Orchestra
Licensed and released on 31st May
Not so long ago, you may remember us drawing your attention to the Super Metroid Symphony, which is the work of talented composer and sound engineer Blake Robinson, the man behind the Synthetic Orchestra. If you like the music from the iconic Super NES title but want to hear it with a fully orchestrated sound, it's...
