Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
File:BK NAB Boxart.jpg
Developer(s)	Rare Ltd.
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Designer(s)	Gregg Mayles
Composer(s)	Robin Beanland Grant Kirkhope Dave Clynick
Series	Banjo-Kazooie
Engine	modified Viva Piñata engine, Havok (physics)
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Genre(s)	Platformer Adventure Vehicle construction
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer (2-4 players split-screen or online via Xbox Live)

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is an action and platform game in Rare's Banjo-Kazooie series, first announced at the X06 Media Briefing. It is the fifth game in the franchise to be released and takes place eight years after Banjo-Tooie. It is also the first game in the series released for a console unaffiliated with Nintendo, as it is exclusive to the Xbox 360. Director Gregg Mayles stated that roughly 80 percent of Nuts & Bolts involves the use of vehicles. Rare has announced several characters for the game, including returning characters from the series. In an ending sequence for Banjo-Tooie, character dialogue led players to believe that the game would be entitled Banjo-Threeie. The game was released on November 12, 2008 in North America, on November 14, 2008 in Europe, and on November 20, 2008 in Australia.

Plot synopsis

Set eight years after Banjo-Tooie, the game reintroduces Banjo and Kazooie by showing a retrospective video featuring Nintendo 64 clips of previous Banjo games with voiceover narration. The duo are eventually shown in Spiral Mountain, where they have grown immensely overweight after eight years of inactivity, eating pizza and playing video games. Grunty's detached head is spotted and Banjo and Kazooie attempt to reach her. They are about to fight when they are stopped by a new character named Lord of Games. Also known as L.O.G., he attempts to settle the conflict between the two by devising a series of worlds and challenges. He uses his powers to give Grunty an artificial body and to restore the duo's physical fitness, but not their moves from previous games.

L.O.G. transports the other characters to Showdown Town, his headquarters, and starts the contest. The winner would be set to own Spiral Mountain; the loser must endure eternal hardship at L.O.G.'s video game factory. While Banjo and Kazooie seek to win by completing the challenges, Grunty uses her powers and abilities to try and stop the duo. An army of mechanical Gruntbots also assist the witch in her goal. The game ends with Grunty and Banjo attempting to face a final duel when L.O.G. once again comes in to stop them. After L.O.G. sends Grunty off to toil away at his video game factory, he rewards Banjo and Kazooie by restoring their moves and giving them the deeds to Spiral Mountain. Grunty vows that bringing her to the factory was a mistake and that she will make her own video game.

Gameplay

The game is not a traditional third-person action and platform game like the previous entries in the series, but instead utilizes vehicles to transport Banjo and Kazooie around the levels. According to game director Gregg Mayles, about 20 percent of the game retains traditional platforming elements, which include ledge grabbing and tightrope walking. There are, however, no conventional "moves" for Banjo and Kazooie to use, apart from attacks Kazooie performs with her wrench.

Vehicles

Vehicles play a prominent role in the game, replacing the moves and transformations from the other games. The player can build them from over 1,600 different components available, such as body panels, engines, wheels, wings, propellers, fuel and weapons. The vehicles can be built freely by the player; the physics engine allows the vehicles to behave in relation to how they are built. Mumbo's Motors is where vehicles can be constructed, painted, edited, saved, loaded or tested at the "Test-o-Track" area. Humba Wumba also sells blueprints of preset vehicles that are periodically awarded after specific challenges.

Items

The original teaser trailer showed several gameplay elements from the previous games that are included in the game, including music notes, honeycombs, and jigsaw puzzle pieces ("Jiggys"). The Jiggys are among several golden objects that are collected to progress in the Banjo-Kazooie games and are once again used in Nuts & Bolts. In an edition of Scribes, Rare said that "the player will determine the difficulty level by how they approach the Jiggy tasks", hinting at what the game would offer. It was eventually revealed that the challenge level of the tasks depends on which vehicle is chosen. The Jiggys are obtained by completing these challenges rather than collected as in previous games. Musical notes can be collected in Banjo-Kazooie to unlock note doors, and in Banjo-Tooie were used to unlock new moves for Banjo and Kazooie. For Nuts & Bolts the notes are used as currency to buy parts for the vehicles. These notes can also be won as a minor prize for challenges. A new item, tentatively called "Mumbo's magic wrench" was also revealed. It plays a significant role, as it is used to build and move objects via a yellow beam fired from the device. It is also used by Kazooie as a primary weapon for on-foot gameplay. Collectible honeycombs however do not appear in the game; health is represented by a singular honeycomb that gradually drains to reflect the character's condition and regenerates over time. If the honeycomb is completely emptied during a challenge game, the challenge is forfeited.

Abilities

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Banjo and Kazooie walking a tightrope

Various abilities from Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie are not at Banjo and Kazooie's disposal for Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. This approach was first mentioned in the December 20 of Rare's Scribes column, which stated, "Banjo and Kazooie haven't got many of the abilities that they used in previous games". The ability introduced in Banjo-Tooie to split up Banjo and Kazooie as separate playable characters is unavailable in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. A previous Scribes mentioned that they "thought about using two different controllers" to account for the new abilities and all the old moves as well, but that a simpler system had been used for the game. It was eventually revealed that the approach involves using vehicles instead of the previous attack moves.

The in-game explanation is that the older abilities were forgotten by the duo; the cinematic sequences in the game show that Banjo and Kazooie lost most of their abilities when they became fat and lazy during their eight years of inactivity. The Lord of Games later states that the duo "won't be needing those" and would not let the pair remember them. They are given back in the ending sequence, but can't be used in the game.

The player can disembark from a vehicle and explore the environment in a manner similar to that of the previous games. On foot the duo can grab ledges, swim underwater and perform basic jumps. The wrench can also be used as a weapon outside of the vehicle. Banjo and Kazooie have limited attack power and speed on foot at first, but the duo can upgrade their speed, stamina and strength by visiting a local Gym that Boggy earned from Mr. Fit.

Multiplayer

The idea of multiplayer options was first discussed at the Rare Witch Project, where Mayles said that there would be multiplayer capability in the game unlike that found in Banjo-Tooie. It was later revealed that multiplayer would be purely vehicle-based and that players would be able to take their custom-built vehicles to Xbox Live to compete in online races and activities. One of the game modes is a variant of King of the Hill called "Queen of The Knoll". Another is "Sumo", where two players have to knock each other out of the arena. The game also features offline multiplayer options.

Levels announced

New hub world

In Rare's December 20 Scribes edition, they stated that Isle O' Hags, the hub world for the second game Banjo-Tooie would not return. On December 31 Gregg Mayles said, when asked whether there would be a new hub world, "YES - You've seen Grunty's Lair and Isle o' Hags, now get ready for "Conflagration Violent" (work this out and you'll have the answer to one of richjonny's questions)". richjohnny is a poster on the Rare Witch Project who posted nine questions to Mayles. On May 13 it was announced by Rare that Showdown Town would be the new hub world for Nuts & Bolts. The "Conflagration Violent" comment made in Scribes is an anagram of "Confrontation Village", which is a synonym for Showdown Town. It is reportedly 16 times larger than any other single area that Rare has created.

The town holds several "game globes", which allow access to the game's levels once a certain amount of Jiggys are obtained. Placing the globes onto special stands opens the world door and allow the player access to the worlds. Each Jiggy extracted from the levels must be inserted to Jiggy collection units scattered around Showdown Town and then lifted into the "Jiggy Bank" device to open certain world doors. This method is similar to the note door and Jiggy system in the original Banjo-Kazooie, as well as the Jiggy system in Banjo-Tooie; each door needs more Jiggys than the last. The town's police force attempts to stop the player from putting the Jiggys in the bank. If they are police are sucsessful, the player has to vend those Jiggys again.

New levels

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Banjo in Nutty Acres

Two images were leaked on Sunday, May 11 showing Banjo piloting and driving two mechanical vehicles: a plane and a boat, respectively. They also show an artificially created level called Nutty Acres. A sign above Banjo's plane has a drawn picture of Mumbo with a coconut and a metal nut for eyes. A castle-like structure, a cityscape, and a desert beach were also revealed among the set of screenshots. A "volcano with double entendres" and an area with "inflatable sheep and polystyrene buildings" had also been mentioned by Rare. The game consists of 15 different challenges throughout each of the levels, including bonus challenges in Showdown Town for a total of approximately 150 missions. The game was to feature six worlds, but only five exist in the final version. All of the levels are purposefully designed to look artificial and appear to be inside a dome. The walls of the dome change to match the theme of each level. The levels each have their own opening sequences, which parody classic TV shows and play out like opening credits.

• Nutty Acres — The atmosphere of the level is an artificially made grassland with a beach and a volcano. The ground and trees are held together with stitches. The clouds are made of metal and held by strings. The level is in a giant globe with screens showing images of the sky. Nutty Acres is inhabited by many non-hostile robotic creatures, such as cows, rabbits and crabs. As with every level, numerous Gruntbots attempt to attack Banjo and Kazooie. Mr. Patch, the boss of Witchyworld in Banjo-Tooie, is the boss of this world and is fought in the air. The opening sequence of that parodies the TV show Dallas.

• LOGbox 720 — A vertically oriented, computer themed level named after and designed to resemble the Xbox 360 console. Banjo and Kazooie are required to fix numerous technical issues that cause malfunctions throughout the stage. For example a firewall threatens to burn through the entire console. The player can help Bottles tone down the level's brightness so that he can run the console at "1000 gigaflaps". Its opening sequence parodies the TV show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

• BanjoLand — It is a museum-themed world that is constructed from portions of several levels in the Banjo-Kazooie series. Some of the areas that have been revealed include a melted Frezeezy Peak snowman with his red and yellow scarf, the walls and floorboards from Mad Monster Mansion, and Clanker from Clanker's Cavern dismantled and spread across the world. Similarly detached from their original environment are the Click Clock Wood trees, a pyramid from Gobi's Valley, a pile of gems and tunnels from Glitter Gulch Mine, the Salty Hippo ship from Treasure Trove Cove, and the Stonehenge-like monument from Mumbo's Mountain. Golden Goliath's head from Mayahem Temple also appears, as well as Boggy's igloo, the "Cactus of Strength" game, a Big Al's burger box from Witchyworld, Grunty's oil tanker from Rusty Bucket Bay, Cheato the spellbook, a Jinjo display and numerous pictures of Banjo-Kazooie characters with Nintendo 64 graphics. There are also statues of Banjo's transformations from Banjo-Tooie, also modeled in Nintendo 64 graphics. Guffo's trash can from Cloud Cuckooland is also shown filled with copies of Grabbed by the Ghoulies, a poor-selling Xbox game developed by Rare. Its opening sequence parodies the TV show The Love Boat.

• The Jiggosseum — A sports themed level set inside a giant Colosseum-like structure with numerous patterns on the floor in the shape of footballs and basketballs. One of the challenges involves jumping off a ramp with a vehicle and trying to get as much distance as possible. Another challenge has the player building a vehicle to knock over dominoes. This level was previously titled "World of Sports". Its opening sequence parodies the TV show Dynasty.

• Terrarium of Terror — An outer space themed level made up of interconnecting tubes and honeycomb patterned chambers full of gigantic plant life. This level was revealed in a developer's blog on the official website for the game. Its opening sequence parodies the TV show Lost in Space.

Returning levels

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Spiral Mountain shown in an introduction sequence

It was reported early in development that some of old levels in the previous Banjo-Kazooie games would be remade in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. Mayles also said "There will be some levels remade, but not the way you would expect them".

Spiral Mountain, as shown in the teaser trailer, was the first returning level revealed. It makes its fifth appearance in the Banjo-Kazooie series, including Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge and Banjo-Pilot. It is where the game begins, but is also the sixth and final world. In the teaser trailer, Spiral Mountain is more cartoon-like than the previous games, and has different things added, such as more hills and areas. In the December 20 edition of Scribes a reply stated that the music in Spiral Mountain would be upbeat, like that in Banjo-Kazooie. Although Gruntilda does not appear in the trailer, Gruntilda's Lair can be seen past a slight fog in the distance. The moat around Spiral Mountain seems to have disappeared. Also there is no bridge connecting from the mountain to Gruntilda's Lair. However, it is revealed in the trailer that Spiral Mountain is a flat image painted onto a wooden set. In the August 30 edition of Scribes, a reply stated that "We've just copied the old level from the previous games and tried to tart it up a bit with some lens flares and lots of blowing grass, hopefully you won't notice." On February 13, 2008, they announced on Scribes that someone had noticed, so they created a new model of the Mountain that includes cacti.

That edition of Scribes announced that Mad Monster Mansion would return. They also announced the return of Clanker, Mr. Patch, Weldar and the snowman from Freezeezy Peak, which led to the belief that the original levels these characters inhabited would return in some form. It was later revealed that some classic characters like Mr. Patch would be involved in new levels like Nutty Acres, while other characters and elements, such as the snowman, appear in a game world called BanjoLand that is a amalgamation of previous levels in the Banjo-Kazooie series. Showdown Town also features an area called Klungo's Play Emporium. A screenshot also revealed the Rusty Bucket ship of Rusty Bucket Bay.

The development team has stated that in tradition with previous games in the series, Nuts & Bolts would end with a trivia quiz.

Characters announced

Returning characters

• Banjo—He is a main protagonist in the Banjo-Kazooie series. Banjo is a lovable, yet somewhat confused bear, who is the hero of this tale. He appeared in Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Banjo-Pilot, Diddy Kong Racing, and Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge. Banjo is characterized by his trademark yellow shorts and shark tooth necklace. Banjo's appearance is noticeably different from previous games in the series, as he appears more blocky than his original incarnation. In an edition of Scribes, it had been stated that: "Banjo's new look will not change. When you see the rest of the game and what it's about, the look will make more sense." They later stated that Banjo's look was meant to fit the block-based building theme and to resemble the in-game character models of the previous games.

• Kazooie—She is the secondary protagonist in the Banjo-Kazooie series. Kazooie is an elegant bird with a cunning wit, and a sharp tongue to boot. Kazooie's appearance is visually different from previous games in the Banjo-Kazooie series, as she has a larger plume of feathers and looks more feminine than her earlier basic cartoon-bird form. In Nuts & Bolts she acts as the vehicle parts collector by wielding a tool tentatively called "Mumbo's magic wrench," which fires a yellow beam that can lift objects and place them into certain positions. The wrench also allows quick modification of the playable vehicles within the levels. Throughout the game, Kazooie complains about the wrench and remarks that her old moves were better. It can also be used as a weapon, to turn cranes, and to dispense Jiggys and game globes.

• Gruntilda Winkybunion—She serves as the main antagonist of the Banjo-Kazooie series. Grunty is a witch that vows revenge on Banjo and Kazooie. At the end of Banjo-Tooie, she stated that she would return for the third game in the series, referred to there as "Banjo-Threeie". Gregg Mayles revealed early on that she would speak in rhymes once again, after she had broken the trait in Banjo-Tooie. In Nuts & Bolts L.O.G. gives her an artificial version of her original body, which had been completely destroyed by the end of Banjo-Tooie. Her head is placed inside of a glass exterior where her head should be. It however frequently falls out of the body, which appears to have a mind of its own. Her sidekick Piddles frequently kicks Grunty's head back in.

• Mumbo Jumbo—He is a shaman who appears in Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge, and as a playable character in Banjo-Tooie and Banjo Pilot. Gregg Mayles stated in his second set of answers that Mumbo Jumbo would return as the main shaman, and that he would also have a new, highly significant role. It was later revealed that the player utilizes a workshop named Mumbo's Motors for building vehicles in the hub world of Showdown Town. It was announced that he would play the role of a mechanic in Showdown Town and a farmer in Nutty Acres. He is one of the main protagonists who has a role in each game world.

• Humba Wumba—She first appeared in Banjo-Tooie and later as a playable racer in Banjo Pilot. It was stated in development that Humba Wumba would return in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, according to Gregg Mayles, with a "new role". In the game she appears to be dressed more as a cowgirl, yet still retains elements of a traditional indigenous American. Her new role is selling pre-designed vehicle blueprints and vehicle parts to Banjo and Kazooie. She also has an acting a role in each game world.

• Jolly Roger—A character who first appeared in Banjo-Tooie. On the Rare website in response to a fan question on whether Jolly Roger would return, they replied "Yes he will, hopefully in an expanded role that doesn't involve camp bartending." He is shown wearing pink apparel with a top hat and briefcase, and the properties of his concept art list the file as "Jolly Dodger". George Kelion later stated on the Rare Witch Project that the change to Jolly's name is a reference to the Oliver Twist character called the Artful Dodger. He sells "imported" Jiggys in Showdown Town and has a main role in each game world.

• Bottles—In the February 13 edition of Scribes Rare announced that Bottles would return in Nuts & Bolts. His family had left him due to the trauma of his death and resurrection, as stated in the May 9 Scribes. Bottles acts as a tour guide for the hub world of Showdown Town and offers challenges in each game world.

• Jamjars - Although previous announcements implied he would not have a role in the new game, Jamjars makes an minor appearance in the introduction. The start of the game features Spiral Mountain and Banjo's dilapidated house, where a radio hops over to Banjo and reveals that Jamjars has become a DJ on "Spiral Mountain FM". He states that it has been 10 years since Banjo and Kazooie were invented. He also tells the duo how fat they have become since Banjo-Tooie. The February 13 edition of Scribes stated that Jamjars had been fired from his previous position of teaching moves.

• Jinjos—On the Rare Witch Project website, Gregg Mayles (under the username "Ghouly Boy") answered a question by stating, "expect some changes to the Notes and Jinjos". Their purpose had yet to be stated, but their presence in the game was implied. Mayles later affirmed that the Jinjos would play a role in the game. They offer Banjo and Kazooie challenges to win extra Jiggy rather than wait to be collected as they did in previous games. They also appear in BanjoLand in a museum-style glass box.

• Klungo—Since Banjo-Tooie he has abandoned working for Grunty, saying "Shesss mean, and sssmell bad." In Nuts & Bolts he has created the arcade game "Hero Klungo Sssavesss teh World", following up on the implication that he would create "Ssstupid gamesss" as he mentioned in Banjo-Tooie.

• Loggo—A response was stated to a question in Scribes about the return of Loggo the toilet, who first appeared in Banjo-Kazooie in Mad Monster Mansion's bathroom and then appeared in a cameo in Banjo-Tooie as the faculty restroom toilet in Grunty Industries. Rare answered "Although not guaranteed almost certainly that he will appear..." It was then later revealed that he would indeed be returning in the most recent edition of Scribes, along with the symbol of his homeworld, Mad Monster Mansion. An enlarged model of Loggo appears in the game as part of the Lord of Game's BanjoLand exhibits.

• Clanker—Stated in the February 2008 edition of Scribes, "Clanker fans worldwide will be pleased to know that Clanker is making his comeback in the new Banjo game". His mouth can be seen hanging from a wall in BanjoLand. Clanker's head and tail are also shown but are disconnected. His eyes are intact and can move freely, but he is unable to protect himself from enemies in a challenge game.

• Freezeezy Peak snowman—Although not a major character in the game, the snowman from Freezeezy Peak, as first stated in the February 2008 edition of Scribes, also returned in the game in a mutated form. The scarf of the snowman is present in BanjoLand along with his nose and pipe, which are found separately on a snow wall. Within the wall are items referencing Stop 'N' Swop.

• Mr. Patch—Rare implicitly announced his return in February 2008 Scribes, when they answered to a fan named Mr. Patch "EVERYONE will love the new Banjo game because it is great. Well, hopefully. You should be happy anyway as you're in it." On May 13, a trailer revealed Patch as one of the enemies in the game fought in the air. In the game he is one of the two bosses who changes appearances slightly when met in different worlds. He however does not talk to Banjo as he does in Banjo-Tooie, but is ultimately defeated in the same way. A different version of the boss is Silver Patch.

• Tanktup—Tanktup appears as a wooden replica in BanjoLand.

• Weldar—May 9, Rare announced that Weldar would return. He did not return as a physical character, but as an unlockable vehicle that shoots fire.

• Salty Joe- The weasel who sold fries in Witchyworld is shown as a member of Showdown Town's police department and owns a restaurant called Salty Joe's Fish & Chips.

• Gobi—On May 14 Gregg Mayles participated in a chat with several Rare-related forums and stated that Gobi would return, but in unexpected fashion. It was eventually revealed that a vehicle preset is modeled after him, but he does not appear as a character.

• Captain Blubber— Captain Blubber returns as a main character in every game world to offer challenges. The miniature flying saucer that he is seen riding at the end of Banjo-Tooie can be found crashed into the ground in Showdown Town.

• Boggy—A wallpaper image released by Rare showed the head of the polar bear along with those of his children, Groggy, Soggy and Moggy. He runs a gym in Showdown Town and appears in a distinct acting role in each world.

• Mr. Fit—The aardvark from Banjo-Tooie has a larger role in this game. Like Boggy, he is one of the main chracters that is present with a new role in every world.

• Roysten—Banjo's goldfish, who appeared cooked at the end of Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, appears in Nuts & Bolts in the main menu.

• George and Mildred Ice Cube—The talking ice cubes from Banjo-Tooie return in Nuts & Bolts. They are featured in a challenge in BanjoLand called "Ice to See You" where they are in danger of melting in the desert heat.

• Topper, Bawl, Colliwobble, Quarrie—In an edition of Scribes, Rare announced that either the "vegetables with googly eyes", Tooty or Brentilda Winkybunion would appear in Nuts & Bolts, having escaped the "'Rubbish Characters in Video Games' Police" according to Loveday. The introduction sequence of the game reveals the vegetables in Spiral Mountain. Banjo attempts to attack them, but fails because of how unfit he has become. In a more recent edition of Scribes, Brentilda was announced as being absent from the game. A store in Showtown Town is named Tooty Fruity, but she is not physically seen.

• King Jingaling—The king of the Jinjos who appears in Banjo-Tooie hosts a playable Bingo game in Showdown Town.

• Minjos—The enemy of the Jinjos, the Minjos from Banjo-Tooie return, but they are to be locked up in Showdown Town. Pikelet the police chief locks up Jinjos by mistake, requiring that that player free them and replace them with Minjos.

• Dingpot—He is a cauldron that once belonged to Grunty, but changed sides and helped Banjo and Kazooie in the other games before the final battles. He reappears in Nuts & Bolts as the seat of Gruntys vehicle, the Witchywagon.

• Cheato—Cheato the spellbook appears as an exhibit in BanjoLand.

New characters

• Trophy Thomas—He is one of the main characters in the game, providing Banjo with trophys of his likeness when special challenges are met. He is described as being an "overly competitive braggart".

• Pikelet—He is a pig chief of police in Showdown Town.

• Lord of Games—Also known as L.O.G., he claims to have designed every video game ever created. He is described as a "widescreen deity" and appears as a hovering robe with a video monitor for a head. His face resembles a screen displaying the game Pong. L.O.G. is responsible for devising the levels in which the game's challenges are presented.

• Piddles—With Klungo going off to create "ssstupid gamesss" [sic] near the end of Banjo-Tooie, Rare announced in Scribes that they have created a new sidekick for Grunty that was not in any of the previous games nor anyone related to Klungo. In an IGN video released on July 8, a small purple cat could be seen jumping up and down next to Grunty in Showdown Town. Later, Rare's community manager George Kelion revealed that the cat, named Piddles, is Grunty's new sidekick. In the game, Piddles is given to Grunty by L.O.G. after he gave Kazooie Mumbo's wrench. Grunty reacted to this by kicking Piddles into the air, causing Piddles to attack her.

Development

Eurogamer magazine stated thar the original team from the earlier Banjo-Kazooie games would be working on the new game. In a video interview, concept artist Ryan Stevenson said, "It's still gonna be the same characters, and it's still gonna be the same thing. It was just so many years ago that Banjo was around and we've got a lot of technology and a lot of new things to pour into that world. It's a game for all the people that appreciated the game years ago, and also for new people coming to the 360."

The game was absent from the E3 2007 show floor. However, Peter Moore, the former Senior Vice President of IEB at Microsoft, stated in an interview that they could have shown games such as Banjo-Kazooie but they decided to focus more on games being released in 2007. Moore stated, however, that it would be included in next year's E3 line-up, implying that the game would be released in the third or fourth quarter of 2008. Phil Spencer wanted to reassure gamers that Banjo's Xbox 360 debut is very much in the right hands. He revealed: "Team sizes are so different now and we have more animators now than the full Banjo 1 team, but the key core team is really the same." Originally Rare hinted at intention for making a third Banjo-Kazooie game, referred to in the ending of Banjo-Tooie as Banjo-Threeie.

Rare announced in an edition of their website's email-answering column, "Scribes", that they would release trailers and game screenshots when they feel the time is right. The August 30 edition of Scribes at the Rareware website announced that Banjo and Kazooie would both speak in the "gibberish" language the original games have been known for. The announcement stated "You'll be pleased to know that we have gone for the 'last-gen' option – no fancy speech for us!" As of October 17, 2007, the game is still in designing stages.

A podcast of 1UP Yours from the website 1UP.com stated that "A big Microsoft first-party title that has been in the works for a very long time, that people are very excited for, sounds like it's being canceled." This led to the belief that Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts was the canceled title. However, Rare later announced that it had not been canceled. As of December 30, 2007, the game "is more than halfway done."

On February 11, 2008 in an interview with MTV.com's MTV Multiplayer blog, head of Microsoft Game Studios Shane Kim said "I’m super-excited about what they’re doing with ‘Banjo’. I think ‘Banjo’ is going to be a big hit for us this holiday". On February 12, 2008 Microsoft UK revealed to ComputerAndVideoGames.com that the game is "still on target" for a 2008 release. According to Rare's community manager George Kelion, posting on NeoGaf, "The game is scheduled for a holiday 2008 release - barring the coming of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, you should be playing Banjo 3 before the end of the year (providing you buy the game, that is)." Kelion went on to state that Banjo's creator, Gregg Mayles, is the lead designer on the game, and sought to calm the fear that it's going to be one for the kids. "I can assure you that we haven't been focused on four year-olds when creating the new Banjo game," he wrote. "We hope that you'll be pleasantly surprised with what we've cooked up." On October 29, a demo version of the game was released through Xbox Live Marketplace. The development team consists of many Rare people that have previously worked on the Banjo-Kazooie series, including designers Gregg Mayles and Steve Malpass.

The music is composed by Robin Beanland, Grant Kirkhope and Dave Clynick. It was suggested that the soundtrack would be orchestrated, following in suit to Viva Piñata and Kameo: Elements of Power. The guitar version of the Banjo-Kazooie theme featured in Nuts & Bolts was first heard in Kameo.

Initial concepts

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts was Rare's third idea in their plans to create a sequel to Banjo-Tooie. In an interview with Gregg Mayles, he said that the first idea was to create a remake of Banjo-Kazooie that would purport to be a direct port, but would feature extreme changes unexpectedly. For example, a massive queen termite would emerge from the termite hill in Mumbo's Mountain, causing Banjo to have to get oranges for Conga to throw at it. The second concept involved more traditional platforming, but with Gruntilda trying to follow Banjo and Kazooie around every world and replicating their moves in an effort to better them. The working title for the vehicle idea was Banjo-Buildie, but Mayles stated that it was too similar to the previous titles to have an impact.

The team later stated that they had also attempted to make a rather more straight sequel to Tooie without any kind of twist but that they felt it was a 'stale' method.

Stop 'N' Swop

On the subject of the notorious Stop 'N' Swop feature from the original game, Gregg Mayles said in a 2007 interview with Retro Gamer, "[…]I'm going to say nothing yet again, although we are considering revealing the truth somewhere in the third game, as some kind of anniversary treat." Similarly, Chris Sutherland commented, "For reasons I can't explain I doubt if all the details could ever be revealed on this, but in the meantime I guess you'll have to wait for the Xbox 360 game to see…" Rare later announced that the original Banjo-Kazooie would be released through the Xbox Live Arcade and feature Stop 'N' Swop connectivity with Nuts & Bolts. In the demo version of Nuts & Bolts Bottles offers a "Stop 'N' Swop Truth" for 6000 music notes. The Rare Witch Project extracted the demo's text string, which revealed that when Bottles is paid 6000 notes he says "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you, and we couldn't show that in a game with this rating. Put it out of your mind and think happy thoughts! Thanks for the notes!" The ice key can be seen inside a small alcove in BanjoLand. A picture of Banjo holding the pink egg can also be seen in the level, as well as a yellow egg marking on a rock wall. When a Stop 'N' Swop item is collected in the XBLA Banjo-Kazooie, a crate appears at a corresponding drawing in Showdown Town.

Web-related promotion

The Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts teaser trailer, which was released online in September 2006, introduced Banjo and Kazooie with their new looks, trying to get past a mysterious door. The trailer concludes showing a wall that says "Banjo is back!" The teaser trailer features many gameplay elements that were used in the previous games such as Jigsaw pieces, musical notes, and honeycomb pieces. Although Gruntilda does not appear in the trailer her lair can be seen past a slight fog. Also the moat around Spiral Mountain seems to have disappeared.

Rare released a Christmas card on their website. A lot can be seen in the picture, such as Grunty's portrait on the wall, Banjo holding a crown or a Christmas ornament of some sort, Kazooie holding a wrapped item later revealed to be a magic wrench, several Burger King toys for Viva Piñata, and a stocking that says "KI3". Another piñata can be seen wearing a wireless headset. The portrait of Gruntilda points to the fireplace containing her burning head.

In late March 2008, Rare updated Banjo-Kazooie.com to a Silverlight-based page showing a spinning golden Jigsaw piece reflecting both a render of Banjo and the words "Coming Soon!" On March 20, Rare changed the image of Banjo to a silhouette of both Banjo and Kazooie. Rare stated that the site would be updated with new information "relatively soon". "I really wouldn't base your ultimate judgements of the final Banjo model from what you've glimpsed on the teaser site if I were you," warned Kelion. "All shall be revealed in due course, not that long to wait now." Rare also stated that the Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts teaser site is not a hoax.

On May 11, 2008, supposed screenshots of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts were released. The screenshots were later confirmed to be real by Rare and feature gameplay as well as character designs.

On October 29, 2008, a demo version of the game was released through Xbox Live Marketplace that includes a portion of Showdown Town and Nutty Acres. The player has the ability to create vehicles, but not to paint them. Additionally, the demo allows for online play with pre-made or player-generated vehicles. Rare also held a pre-order promotion: by pre-ordering a copy of Nuts & Bolts, the purchasers would get a code card that allowed them to download the original Banjo-Kazooie from the Xbox Live Arcade free of charge.

Reception and sales

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	78%
Metacritic	79%

Review scores

Publication	Score
1Up.com	A- 0
Edge	7/10
Eurogamer	7/10
GamePro	4/5
GameSpot	8.5/10
GameSpy	4/5
GamesRadar+	8/10
GameTrailers	6.7/10
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	8/10
TeamXbox	7.4/10
VideoGamer.com	9/10
X-Play	4/5

The game was initially criticized for its use of vehicles as a gameplay mechanic rather than traditional platforming before its release. Early perceptions however commended the orchestrated music and high quality visuals in the game, yet cited an occasionally choppy frame rate. Common complaints involved the perceived staleness and repetitiveness of the challenges as well as unrefined physics that severely hindered completion of such challenges. This criticism questioned the warrant for a shift in gameplay mechanics and the need for challenges as the method to obtain Jiggys. Critics also noted the absence of stalwart features of the series, such as objects with "googly eyes". While the multiplayer section was panned by some critics claiming a lack of depth and complicated layout, others considered it a welcomed complement to the one-player game.

The first reviews of the game were published prior to the game's commercial release. IGN gave the game a score of 8.3/10, calling it well designed, full of replay value and the feel of being "in a children's suit". The publication however went on to say that the online multiplayer seemed promising during development, but did not deliver the experience they were looking for. IGN UK gave the game a 6.5, and Wired rated it 5/10, claiming the game should have stuck to its platforming roots. GameTrailers scored the game a 6.7/10, commenting on the lack of conventional platforming in the game and expressing that the vehicle creation tool would be too complicated for kids. The same website also criticized the game's lack of mission variety and felt that the game is an unworthy sequel to previous entries in the series. It praised its graphics and visual presentation, however. GiantBomb scored Nuts & Bolts a perfect 5 out of 5, praising its "enormous, well-rendered environments" and "classic Banjo themes" orchestrated in the musical score.

In the first week of sale the game failed to reach the top 40 countdown, selling 66,427 units.

External links

• Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts on the Banjo-Kazooie Wiki, an external wiki
• Official Rare website
• Official Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts website
• Official Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Xbox.com game page
• Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts open directory project
• Developer's commentary on Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts