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Catherin Bergan
Rare's famous bear and bird duo Banjo-Kazooie made a return via Nintendo's Switch Online service last year, and ever since then, fans have been calling for a proper comeback. There have even been some rumours doing the rounds about a possible revival, so what are the chances of something like this ever happening?
In the same interview with Windows Central, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer passed on a message to fans, mentioning how he's aware of these requests, but it comes down to finding the right team and the right opportunity to revisit these iconic 90s mascots. Here it is in full:
Of course, there's no saying a new Banjo-Kazooie game would necessarily be released on a Nintendo platform, but Xbox has done all sorts of collaborations in the past, which has even seen Banjo-Kazooie show up in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Switch as a DLC fighter.
More recently, Rare's Jet Force Gemini was announced for Switch Online and Microsoft did a 10-year deal to bring Call of Duty to multiple platforms including Nintendo systems. Earlier this year, it also released Minecraft Legends on the Switch.
Liam is a news writer and reviewer for Nintendo Life and Pure Xbox. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of Mario and Master Chief. He's also got a soft spot for Sonic the Hedgehog.
Translation: "We don't actually want to bring it back because it doesn't mesh with our brand and we gutted the team that made it, so we'll just say we're looking for the right opportunity as an excuse forever."
I think finding the 'right team' in this case really isn't possible. Those first two Banjo games had a certain magic because of the particular love and humour of the people who made them. Most of that team is pretty diffuse these days. Playtonic Games got a few of them, but even that's only a fragment of the golden-age Rare crew.
I miss Rare. I would just love to see them in a rennaissance period like Nintendo is currently enjoying. I can't imagine a Banjo as good as something like Oddysey.
I'm sure there's a studio out there that is frothing at the mouth for a chance to make a new BK. I know it is a long shot for sure, but we got Streets of Rage 4 and Sonic Mania? LET ME DREAM.
Remember guys: Rare actively chose to not make a Banjo Threeie on Xbox because they thought there wasn't an install base for that game.... they base their reasoning off of Grabbed By The Ghoulies not selling well.
Playtonic should make those rare games again.
Banjo kazooie should go to the OG creators, who are now at playtonic.
I also wonder if they could handle games like perfect dark.
They can make a similar game and just call it Agent Dark lol.
@norwichred False equivalency. Nintendo has so many IPs that it just can't give them all attention and most of the ones they left behind just haven't sold that well. Banjo-Kazooie meanwhile, sold 3.6 million on the N64 and has the potential to reach 5-10 million on a far more popular console. The reason that IP isn't getting made is much different and far more insidious, because Microsoft bought up companies like Rare to pad out their library (because they can't seem to make their own IPs so they just buy them), but Microsoft is a culture clash so they ended up driving away Rare's talent so they have no one left to make the IP. So basically the IP is rotting away because Microsoft wanted to buy up all of the square pegs to fit in their round holes.
@Uncle_Franklin Yes, exactly this.. Banjo, Donkey Kong 64, Diddy Kong Racing, Perfect Dark. While PC had Doom, Quake, Quake 2, Duke 3D. PlayStation had Spyro, Crash and the original Tekken games Wipeout etc...
"Find the right team..."
In other words, all the thousends of game develop workers you have, are only good for producing low quality sci fi games like Starfield, shooters, and forza. Good job Microsoft. No wonder it is like it is.
Just buy a half decent indie team for 0000000.1% of your budget, and let them release a remaster for the switch and let them have fun developing a new banjo game with respect to the 2 first ones.
Can only hope that a blizzard team that has been in treatment, can produce something decent in the future with banjo.
No, please, not Toys for Bob. They have no idea what makes a collect-a-thon fun (looking at you, Crash 4), have no sense of humour (looking at you, Crash 4 again) and create terrible character designs (again, I am looking at you, Crash 4). The Banjo-Kazooie series is the complete opposite of what Toys for Bob stands for. It is over the top cartoony, sometimes a bit offensive, has a lot of hidden adult jokes, and has some questionable character designs, but this is, what mad the series so fun. Toys for Bob has no idea about fun, neither when it comes to gameplay nor humour.
Banjo seems like the perfect project for a team like Toys for Bob, if Microsoft can wrangle them away from the Call of Duty train of monotony. Could be a benefit of the Activision takeover, because that company has been in a rut for years.
In the meantime I hope we'll see all the remaining Banjo games on NSO - and of course also other Rare games, Jet Force Gemini is a great step in that direction -, Rare Replay on Switch and/or its successor for those who want to purchase those and wouldn't mind a port of the divisive Nuts & Bolts either, played it when we had an Xbox 360 at home but didn't manage to finish it!
@Uncle_Franklin A 3D remake of Grunty's Revenge is a great idea!
@LikelySatan It's obviously limited by being on GBA, but personally I've overall enjoyed Grunty's Revenge (and also the Spyro games on the same console although I haven't finished all of those, only Attack of the Rhynocs/Adventure).
Rare and Playtonic should develop it. The designer and director of Banjo-Kazooie, Gregg Mayles, works at Rare so yes, the original creator works at Rare. His brother works at Playtonic. Composer Grant Kirkhope is a freelance. Rare's Sea of Thieves is one of the most beautiful games ever and it makes me think how wonderful a new Banjo-Kazooie game would look, respecting the original design of the characters. Banjo is my favourite video game character, but Kazooie has the best lines in video game history. She and Cranky Kong, another Rare's character. So yes, I want Banjo-Kazooie back in the right hands (Rare, Playtonic and the rest of the original staff). Have Toys for Bob or Vicarious Visions/Blizzard Albany work on the remakes. It's a total shame what Microsoft is not doing with such iconic characters. It's unforgivable. Disclaimer: I love my Xbox and I know it's Rare new boss' fault.
@FishyS You are the reason why games like Redfall happens.
Sony tried to force devs to make GAAS and that backfired hard too.
Using wrong team for wrong IP is a distaster.
Let that sink in.
Rare : What a wonderful life we lead, eh Ninty?
Nintendo : yes - all these franchises so beloved of gamers all over the world. They may not make blockbuster money but wow they are so loved!
Rare : I so love working with you Ninty!
Nintendo : and me with you. We will NEVER part.
Playtonic might be able to pull it off, but that's the only way I could see it working. You need British developers (to retain the humor) with lots of experience in 3D collectathons. Not a long list of developers who fit that bill.
I think they should not bring back Banjo-Kazooie unless they are 100% sure they can deliver it properly, right now fans expectations are far to high and the current generation most likely will not know how to properly appreciate the IP like we (the older gen babies) would.
Modern Rare isn't suitable for the task, Double Fine said they aren't interested in the ip, and Playtonic hasn't proved they are able to make a good 3D platformer. Toy for Bobs is the last hope for the ip, but I don't know if they would be interested, after all, they are the Crash/Spyro studio right now.
@fenlix If they were serious they would get the teams that made A Hat In Time or New Super Lucky's Tale. Two of the most praised recent 3D Platformers that were heavily inspired by Banjo Kazooie. A Hat In Time was amazing. One of the best 3D Platformers I have ever played.
@jmvalone It took 24 years for another Wonder Boy game to be made and The Cursed Kingdom is considered by many fans to be one of the best Wonder Boy games ever made and it not only stayed true to The Dragon's Trap and brought back a lot of the elements from it that made it popular in the first place including new versions of the classic songs, new areas based on areas from the original game and the ability to transform into different creators again but it put a modern twist on the series that made it feel like a new game.
@PipeGuy64Bit Viva Pinata, Nuts & Bolts, and maybe Kinect Adventures, sure. Even if they didn't land quite as well as Rare's earlier stuff, they're still quirky and imaginative (like Blast Corps, to give an older example), and it's not hard to imagine that they were passion projects that Rare wanted to make.
But there was undeniably some pressure to be more "Xbox-ish" after joining Microsoft, whether it was imposed by MS themselves, or just self-inflicted.
Conker: Live and Reloaded had its goofy multiplayer modes replaced with an online shooter, and this was plastered all over the box, with the core single-player campaign- a full remake of BFD on the N64- getting a brief mention and seemingly being an afterthought.
Kameo had some smaller tweaks, but still had to refer to its protagonist as an "elf" instead of a fairy.
Perfect Dark Zero had more attitude than its predecessor, inexplicably made Joanna American, and lost any subtlety and Britishness that the original had. It felt almost like a US studio was shoehorning the Perfect Dark IP into their own run-of-the-mill, mid-2000s FPS, despite PDZ actually being made by Rare.
And besides all that, I'm a little skeptical that Rare volunteered to work on MS's Avatars for so long.