Banjo-Kazooie are (unofficially) back and flap-flipping across a bunch of classic Nintendo 64 worlds, from Pokemon to Goldeneye, in an incredible-looking mod coming later this year.
Banjo-Kazooie Nostalgia 64 is an upcoming mod project that includes nine main worlds plus extras, 99 jiggies to collect, 115 mumbo tokens, 1000 shiny musical notes, “and more.” The project comes from modder Mark ‘Kurko Mods’ Kurko, who’s been keeping the iconic bird and bear alive with multiple excellent mods.
What makes Nostalgia 64 especially special is that Banjo and Kazooie seem to be entering actual N64 cartridges based on classics from that console. The trailer below shows Banjo-Kazooie coming across cartridges for Yoshi’s Story, Bomberman 64, forgotten puzzle-platformer Glover, as well as fellow Rareware-developed classics Conker’s Bad Fur Day and Diddy Kong Racing.
Other shots from the trailer seem to confirm a world based on GoldenEye 007, which just enjoyed a remaster on modern systems. We also get to see the gorgeous arts ‘n’ crafted world of Yoshi, alongside cameos from King K. Rool, Charizard, and Lapras – the latter two hinting at a Pokemon-themed level.
My final question mark hangs over a steely building sporting a massive Nintendo logo, sitting across from another high-rise with a Donkey Kong 64 billboard on top. Are we getting some meta-level commentary about Banjo’s split from the Big N? Who knows? The mod looks undeniably great either way.
I’m excited to take the platforming duo for another spin because, let’s face it now, as much as Banjo-Kazooie ripped inspiration from Super Mario 64 it also one-upped the mustachioed plumber in nearly every respect and feels damn good to simply play. Speaking of, the scary eel from Mario 64’s underwater cavern is also here, so maybe we’ll finally see the two icons go head-to-head.
Banjo-Kazooie first made their solo debut in the titular 1998 game before returning in the appropriately titled sequel Banjo-Tooie in 2000. After a couple spin-offs, the duo made a divisive comeback in 2008’s Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, which was more an excellent physics sandbox rather than a jump-and-running Banjo-Threeie. Despite showing up in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Banjo-Kazooie hasn’t enjoyed a new game since and probably won’t anytime soon judging by the IP graveyard that Microsoft is amassing.
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