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'Banjo-Kazooie' hits Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack on January 20th
The N64 classic returns on a packed day for game releases.
'Banjo-Kazooie' joins the Switch Online Expansion Pack in January
Rare's beloved collect-a-thon platformer will be the latest title added to Expansion Pack, Nintendo's premium online subscription.
Dragon Quest XI's hero comes to 'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate' this summer
Nintendo's E3 Direct opened up with one of the bigger announcements fans were waiting for: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC. This time around, it's a crossover with Dragon Quest XI, with that game's unnamed main character joining the roster of fighters. He's the second DLC character to arrive in SSBU following Joker from Persona 5. Meanwhile, Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age: Definitive Edition is coming to Switch later this year. The Hero from the #DragonQuest series will be joining Super #SmashBrosUltimate! Purchase the Fighters Pass now and prepare to take to the battlefield with your hero this summer.https://t.co/hJmYO8YgVN pic.twitter.com/1YzOEgEZmA — Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 11, 2019 But that's not all! Banjo-Kazooie are also coming to SSBU. The iconic bear and bird platformer duo will be available as a DLC fighter this fall. Your favorite bear-bird duo, Banjo & Kazooie, is joining Super #SmashBrosUltimate! Grab the Fighters Pass and get ready for when Banjo-Kazooie arrive on the battlefield this fall. https://t.co/hJmYO8YgVN pic.twitter.com/tsypQJpdBC — Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 11, 2019
'Rare Replay' puts 30 classic games on your Xbox One this August
It's Rare's 30th anniversary, and the game studio is marking the occasion in style: It's releasing Rare Replay, a 30-title compilation for the Xbox One. The pack includes everything from the mind-numbingly difficult Battletoads through to Banjo-Kazooie and Perfect Dark. There isn't mention of whether or not the games are getting visual upgrades or new modes, but there are 10,000 Gamerscore points up for grabs if you're playing for bragging rights. Replay arrives August 4th, so you won't have to wait long to relive the Rare games of your childhood. Check here for everything happening at E3 2015!
Bandcamp houses complete Banjo-Kazooie soundtrack
There's probably no amount of reminiscing that can return the Banjo-Kazooie series back to its 3D platforming glory at this point, but at least now you can give kudos to the man behind the series' musical beginnings. Grant Kirkhope, composer of Banjo-Kazooie's soundtrack and longtime contributor to Rare's portfolio, is offering the sounds that backed the bird and bear's debut to those willing to name their own price. The exhaustive 164-file collection includes tracks, sound bites and a few unused beta tracks, all of which take us right back to searching for notes, Jiggles and Jinjos in the 1998 platformer. As a general Bandcamp reminder, you can take a thorough dose of nostalgia in MP3, FLAC or other formats, and those that pay will earn unlimited streaming through the Bandcamp app. If sampling the tracks has made you miss exploring themed worlds and Kazooie's general disdain for every other character, ports of both Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie are still on Xbox Live Arcade for $14.99 each. We imagine those ports will retain their usefulness to collectathon fans in the coming years, considering the cancelation of the series' spiritual successor. [Image: Microsoft]
One-man band covers Banjo-Kazooie theme, all instruments included
Covering the intro theme from the Nintendo 64 platformer classic Banjo-Kazooie is a daunting task for any group of musicians. For one thing, it uses a million instruments -- aside from the obvious banjo and kazoo parts, other sections of the melody employ the trumpet, trombone, saxophone, violin, and piccolo, along with various percussive surfaces and cartoonish bear grunts. YouTuber SquidPhysics has assembled the necessary musical arsenal for the one-man performance above, and the results are as impressive as you might expect. Guh-huh! [Image: SquidPhysics]
Xbox 360 strums a tooie-in-one Banjo bundle, available now
It's been a while since the last bundle on the Xbox 360 store, but it looks like Microsoft's found the duct tape again. Rare-developed platformers Banjo Kazooie and Banjo Tooei are newly stuck together in a 2-in-1 bundle, and you can grab it now for $15 or £12/15 euros. The two N64 games were released on Xbox Live five years ago, and Rarely seem to make their way onto sales. So, what's effectively a half-price bundle is perhaps a decent deal if you've yet to check them out. After all, Banjo Kazooie and Tooie are widely regarded as two of the strongest early examples of 3D platforming. Also, it's not like you're going to get that Banjo Kazooie spiritual successor anytime soon... [Image: Microsoft]
Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor canceled, composer says
A proposed spiritual successor to Rare's Nintendo 64 platformer Banjo-Kazooie has been called off, series composer Grant Kirkhope confirmed in a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" post this week. "The other guys actually had a secret meeting in a pub near Rare and we even got as far as having a character drawn up and a demo level type thing but it all fell to bits .... everyone's got other jobs, etc.," Kirkhope said. Developed by a team of ex-Rare staffers, the "Mingy Jongo" project promised to retain the detailed environments and googly-eyed characters of its N64 inspiration. The team's Twitter account went dark in December 2012, and a proposed Kickstarter project failed to materialize. [Image: Rare]
The Legend of Lobodestroyo is a game inspired by Banjo-Kazooie, yo
The Legend of Lobodestroyo Vs. La Liga De Los Villanos may take place in a world full of anthropomorphic animals like bandito chihuahuas, pirate parrots and wolf luchadores, but it's the real world, circa 1998 that developer Lefthanded Games wants to take you to - or at least, if not literally the place and time, they want to take you to the feeling you had that year when Banjo-Kazooie was released for the N64. Lobodestroyo is a 3D platformer inspired by such games, and is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter. Players will take on the role of Mutt, a runt of the wolf pack that follows Lobodestroyo, protector and guardian of Costa Lucha. When Mutt awakens to find Lobo and the rest of his pack missing and La Liga de Los Villanos escaped, he takes up the pack's magical belt and begins a quest to avenge his brothers and dropkick the 10 villains of Los Villanos into submission. The campaign for Lobodestroyo has a little more than a week left, and at the time of writing, is sitting at about $12,000. The team's initial goal is $35,000, which will allow the game to release on PC, Mac, Linux, Ouya and Wii U. Lefthanded Games is participating in Ouya's Free The Games Fund, which means that Ouya will match the donated amount of money in exchange for a period of exclusivity on the system. At $39,000, the game will be ported to the PS4, and at $42,000, the game will come to nest on the Xbox One.
Ex-Rare staff want to make 'spiritual successor' to Banjo-Tooie
Rare rests comfortably within Microsoft, cranking out Avatar items and Kinect Sports games. Some who have left the British development studio have taken to Twitter under the moniker Mingy Jongo, and it's these folks who yearn to get back to the studio's roots: they want to get to work on a spiritual successor to Banjo-Tooie, the direct sequel to Banjo-Kazooie – a pair of 3D platformers published by Nintendo back in the N64 days.The account sent out missives declaring this potential game would be a 3D platformer (natch) and that while this would be a "spiritual successor" to Rare's iconic series, Mingy Jongo says the goal "wouldn't be to try and recreate Banjo" but rather to create "something new." Microsoft owns the rights to the particular bear and backpack-bird in question, you see.Kickstarter also came up as a means to fund this potential new game, and Mingy Jongo even suggested the Unity engine might be a good fit for maintaining the same "level of detail and googly eyes close to the original." But right now, all of this stuff is hypothetical ... until we see that Kickstarter page go live, anyway.
New family-friendly Xbox 360 Arcade bundle and game discounts at Amazon
There's still over a month of spring left -- that's plenty of time for a new "spring 2010" Xbox 360 bundle to join the Spring 2010 Elite set! Amazon has taken the wraps off a new Arcade bundle, featuring two of Rare's recent, weird 360 games: Viva Piñata and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. The family-friendly package, shipping May 7, sells for the same $199.99 as the standalone Arcade unit -- which makes it a good deal even if you would only use the games as trade-in or eBay fodder. But if it's family games you're after, you can get them on the cheap right now. Amazon is also offering a buy one, get one half-off deal on a selection of family-oriented 360 games, including Pure, Lego Rock Band, and Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection. [Thanks, Tom!]
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing screens make a pit stop in your heart
click to enlarge Sega has dropped some new screens from its upcoming Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing kart game, and if you don't find them completely charming, there's something broken near your left ventricle. We don't yet know if the game is any good or not, but if you look at these lush, colorful 3D recreations of classic Sega environments and characters and don't feel the slightest stirring down in your jaded, Mature excuse for a gamer heart, you better get it checked. Note that these screens come from the Xbox 360 version, which explains why Banjo and the Avatars (coincidentally a great band name) appear within. Enjoy. %Gallery-83937%
Xbox 360 Platinum Hits lineup adds Halo Wars, Orange Box and others
Xbox.com has listed several new games as Platinum Hits, including Fable II (aka Game of the Year Edition), Halo Wars, Left 4 Dead, The Orange Box, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Ninja Gaiden II, Kung-Fu Panda, Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, Sonic The Hedgehog, and Sonic Unleashed. A Microsoft PR agent couldn't confirm the full list of new Platinum Hits (are we missing any above?), but said that if a game is listed as such on Xbox.com, it's a Platinum Hits title. The changes seem to have taken effect on major retailer sites, as GameStop and Amazon now reflect the discounted Platinum prices (if not always the the Platinum Hits branding), which range from $20–30. With Orange Box requiring only one Jackson ($20), it's now literally a crime to not own it. Conversely, if you're dead-set on committing a crime, buy someone Sonic The Hedgehog or Sonic Unleashed at $20 each. [Thanks, Stephen]
Ulala and BD Joe get behind the wheel in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
It seems like the cast of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing will never cease to expand. Not only has Sega tapped almost all of its memorable characters (including Shenmue's Ryo), but its roster is also starting to encompass games outside of the Sega realm, including Banjo-Kazooie, Avatars and Miis. Today, the Sega blog reveals Space Channel 5's Ulala and Crazy Taxi's BD Joe. Check 'em both out in the new trailer above.
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts now on demand
Though we're on record as saying that a bear with a bird in his backpack is objectively a pretty stupid thing to make a game about, we're also able to admit that Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is a gem that didn't get the credit it deserved. If you had been holding off because you were worried about the GameStop clerk looking at you like a weirdo, you'll be happy to hear you can now indulge your most taboo desires as the bird-backpack wearing bear has made his way to Games On Demand. Go ahead ... your secret's safe with us. Shortcut: Purchase and add Banjo-Kazooie: N&B to your Xbox 360 download queue [via Xbox.com; $19.99 in US]
Banjo-Kazooie hit the track in Sega All-Stars Racing trailer
Rare's bear and backpacked bird make their debut in this latest Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing trailer. The Banjo-Kazooie team tear up the track big-truck style -- mainly because they're in a big friggin' truck. The trailer also takes care to remind us Avatars will be playable in the Xbox 360 version of the game -- but, really, who cares? Banjo and Kazooie are in a big friggin' truck!
Banjo & Kazooie spotted on Xbox version of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
One of these box arts is not like the others. Yep, you'll notice that the Xbox 360 version of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing has two added bonuses: Banjo and Kazooie. At first, we were quick to dismiss the image as nothing more than a fan mock-up. However, TSSZ discovered that all of these box arts can be seen on Sega's server (Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii). If the addition of Banjo and Kazooie to Sega's kart racer sounds familiar, it's because it was part of a Sega leak earlier this year that contemplated this exact partnership. Revisiting the supposedly leaked Sega document reveals a number of bullet points that have already come true: the PS3 price drop, Alpha Protocol's delay and Yakuza's localization. The addition of Banjo & Kazooie to the Sonic racer is a nice bonus; however, should other aspects of the Sega document come true, it could mean PS2 and Dreamcast games are coming to PSN. [Thanks Tristan!]
Rare happy to have Molyneux raising its profile
"Once we were bought up by Microsoft obviously things have changed within the top ranks and stuff. And I think over the last few years maybe the awareness of Rare has dropped." That's according to Steve McFarlane, art director for the studio responsible for such titles as, umm ... hang on, we're just checking Wikipedia here. Won't take a moment.Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Viva Piñata and GoldenEye, it says here. Anyway, according to an interview with OXM, Rare's counting on some revitalized recognition, courtesy of new(ish) Microsoft Games Studios Europe director, Peter Molyneux. "And the idea of Pete coming in and being this new face of Rare it's a great thing for us. It's really just to get us out there a bit more," McFarlane said. Pete's a real pal, having similarly expressed a desire to foster an improved identity for Rare just a few weeks ago. With a hit game and solid promotion, there's no reason the spotlight can't fall back on Rare, even inside Microsoft. We're fairly confident you've all heard of standouts like Lionhead and walkouts like Bungie.
Yahuh! Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts soundtrack out tomorrow
If you're in the market for a delightfully bouncy orchestral video game soundtrack, then we've got some good news for you. Sumthing Digital will be offering the official Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts soundtrack starting tomorrow. We've sampled a few tracks and can confirm that it is most definitely delightfully bouncy and orchestral. All kidding aside, it's actually a pretty decent soundtrack, and certainly better than a lot of the other game music out there.The soundtrack will also be available from Amazon, and can currently be pre-ordered for $13.99, nearly two bucks off the $15.98 list price. As Rare states on its website, "Nobody has an overabundance of vehicular bear music in their library right now, so this deserves a shot."Source - Sumthing DigitalSource - Amazon
X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Sorry!, Banjo Tooie, Virtual On
We've got three new games on Xbox Live Arcade this week covering a pretty broad range of tastes. We've got a board game in Sorry!, the latest addition to Hasbro Family Game Night. Then we have the classic platformer, Banjo Tooie. Topping it all off there's Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram, an arcade mech fighting game from Sega. All in all, it's a pretty full week, and an expensive one too -- both Banjo and Virtual On clock in at 1200. Check out the latest episode of XBLA in Brief and see if any of 'em are worth a spin. Download the trial version of Sorry! Download the trial version of Banjo Tooie Download the trial version of Virtual On [iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes. [Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly (Zune Marketplace link coming soon). [RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [M4V] Download the M4V directly.
