Banjo-Kazoomie

Banjo-Kazoomie is a reboot of the game prototype of the same name, revived by Existence Software and Rare for release on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch. The game is a kart racer that draws aspects from the 2008 title , with emphasis on being able to modify parts of vehicles in order to alter stats, though is considered a "spiritual sequel" by the developers to 2005's and 1997's . Banjo-Kazooie is the second official non-canon spin-off in the Banjo-Kazooie, and the first game in the franchise to release since 2008.
As with previous Banjo-Kazooie titles, Banjo-Kazoomie has a single-player story mode that makes frequent jabs at the .
== Gameplay ==
Banjo-Kazoomie, at its core, is a kart racing game akin to others of its genre such as the Mario Kart series and . Eight characters participate in a race, using a variety of different items that can be collected by driving through Honeycombs, in order to achieve the highest possible placement and earn Mini-Jiggies. The game includes a variety of techniques common to kart racing games, such as the ability to drift around corners, perform tricks off jumps, and draft behind opponents, earning a boost by doing any of them.
How Banjo-Kazoomie differs from other kart racing games is the ability to customize the different vehicles characters use. While all characters have their own signature kart, the player can add and remove a variety of different parts to drastically alter the stats and abilities of a character's vehicle. Depending on the parts added to a vehicle, players are able to make use of different paths through courses: by adding propellers or wings to a car players can enter flying sections reminiscent to Banjo-Pilot courses, while adding floaters allows racers to boat across water. Vehicles can have a variety of other additions as well. By adding jets players can perform a boost on-command, though the trade-off is being unable to gain a boost from normal drifts. Additionally, players can also add a small pool of weapons to their vehicle. However, players can only choose to have one of these on their kart, as both are powered by a special gauge that fills up as the player drifts around corners. The combination of parts - such as tires, engine, wings, floaters, weapons - or lack thereof, determines the vehicle's statistics. Additionally, while all characters' have a signature vehicle that, at its core, remains the same no matter the changes made to it, the player can unlock certain Blueprints through the story mode that allow any character to instead use special vehicles with unique designs; though these can not be modified, some do have some of the various gimmicks pre-installed.
Most local multiplayer modes disable the use of custom vehicles, instead only allowing players (and CPU racers) to choose from a set of pre-made modified vehicles. Online multiplayer modes however support both the player's custom vehicles and the default selection.
== Story ==
:After eleven years of preparing for the next Banjo-Kazooie game, Banjo and Kazooie contact the Lord of Games in order to ask them why they've seen no action in "eleven or so years". In response, the Lord of Games comes up with a challenge based on "the first game in which [Banjo] appeared" - a simple kart racing game.
== Racers ==
Currently there are twenty-eight characters known to be playable, as well as two guest characters that do not appear within the game's story. Certain characters have alternate outfits that can be purchased with Music Notes collected during races. Some characters are not available for use at the start of the game, and are unlocked by progressing through story mode.
=== Default Racers ===
=== Purchasable Racers ===
Characters can be unlocked by purchasing them from the in-game store using Music Notes collected during races. Most characters will only appear in the shop after the player completes certain missions in the game's story mode.
==== Stop 'n' Swop ====
The mysterious Stop 'n' Swop mechanic originally planned to appear in Banjo-Kazooie is referenced once more in Banjo-Kazoomie. There are six Mystery Eggs and an Ice Key hidden off the road in levels played during the game's story mode. Collecting them all will add these characters to the game's shop, where they can be purchased for seven Music Notes each.
== Racecourses ==
There are thirty-two racecourses present in Banjo-Kazoomie, with one being exclusive to the Nintendo Switch version. Each of the worlds from Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts has a track based upon them in addition to a world that was cut from Nuts & Bolts and two worlds from Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge. Both Sonic the Hedgehog and Diddy Kong bring with them a race course from their own racing games, albeit altered to match the style and gameplay mechanics of Banjo-Kazoomie, as well.
* Spiral Mountain (Banjo-Kazooie)
* Gruntilda's Lair (Banjo-Kazooie)
* Mumbo's Mountain (Banjo-Kazooie)
* Treasure Trove Cove (Banjo-Kazooie)
* Clanker's Cavern (Banjo-Kazooie)
* Bubblegloop Swamp (Banjo-Kazooie)
* Freezeezy Peak (Banjo-Kazooie)
* Gobi's Valley (Banjo-Kazooie)
* Mad Monster Mansion (Banjo-Kazooie)
* Rusty Bucket Bay (Banjo-Kazooie)
* Click Clock Wood (Banjo-Kazooie)
* Isle o' Hags (Banjo-Tooie)
* Mayahem Temple (Banjo-Tooie)
* Glitter Gulch Mine (Banjo-Tooie)
* Witchyworld (Banjo-Tooie)
* Jolly Roger's Lagoon (Banjo-Tooie)	
* Terrydactyland (Banjo-Tooie)
* Grunty Industries (Banjo-Tooie)
* Hailfire Peaks (Banjo-Tooie)
* Cloud Cuckooland (Banjo-Tooie)
* Cauldron Keep (Banjo-Tooie)
* Showdown Town (Nuts & Bolts)
* Nutty Acres (Nuts & Bolts)
* LOGBOX 720 (Nuts & Bolts)
* Banjoland (Nuts & Bolts)
* Jiggosseum (Nuts & Bolts)
* Terrarium of Terror (Nuts & Bolts)
* Weird West (cut from Nuts & Bolts)
* Breegull Beach (Grunty's Revenge)
* Spiller's Harbor (Grunty's Revenge)
* Wisp Circuit (Team Sonic Racing)
* Greenwood Village (Diddy Kong Racing)
== Items ==
When a racer drives through a Honeycomb, they are granted a random item.
* Glowbo - Temporarily transforms the user into a money van, which moves along the track at a slightly-higher speed automatically for a short time. The user is invincible during this time.
* Mumbo Token - Transforms the user into a bee, which buzzes along the track automatically at a much higher speed for a short time. The user is not invincible during this time.
=== Collectibles ===
* Music Notes - Gives racers a very small increase in speed for every 10 they collect. They respawn at the beginning of every lap and can not be lost.
* Extra Life - Only appears in story mode. The player can trade these in to earn new parts.
== Trivia ==
* The inclusion of Greenwood Village from Diddy Kong Racing as a race course in the Nintendo Switch version over other courses from the game is a reference to how that track reappeared as a multiplayer map in Jet Force Gemini and can be found in the code for Mickey's Speedway USA. All three of these games were developed by Rare and released for the Nintendo 64 within a short timeframe (1997, 1999, and 2000 respectively).
Category:Banjo-Kazooie Games
Category:Racing Games
Category:Xbox One Games
Category:Xbox Series X Games
Category:PC Games
Category:Nintendo Switch Games
Category:Fan Games