Prerelease:Banjo-Kazooie/Banjo Kazoo

This is a sub-page of Prerelease:Banjo-Kazooie.

This article is a work in progress. ...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.

Introduction

Following the demise of Dream, the team had spent the early part of 1997 working on the 2.5D platformer Kazoo. Everything changed about two months in, however, when Nintendo offered them a look at their premier N64 title, Super Mario 64. The team saw the footage as a wake-up call:

"It was like, clearly... our technology [...] looked really old in comparison, and literally overnight we just thought 'That's gonna be the future of what 3D games are gonna look like'."

- Gregg Mayles

As that generation of games would prove, he wasn't wrong. And so, Stamper and Mayles decided to shake things up yet again and bring the game into full 3D. Within a week, the team had scrapped everything, overhauled the graphics engine (no more mesh system), and had the game's first "recognizable" level in a playable state. Its name would change again to reflect this-- from Kazoo to Banjo Kazoo.

It is here where the game starts to resemble its final incarnation. Development from this point onward was described as "like pushing [a] boulder down a hill", as everything began to come together.

"We suddenly had impetus, there was direction, everybody was committed..."

- Paul Machacek

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  Early sketch of either the game's logo or the title screen sequence (or possibly something else). Note the fruit, which wouldn't be in the game for much longer...

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  Various drafts of the game's logo by Bryan, dated April 28, 1997. Beneath the frightening stares, one can see that Kazoo originally had gold/yellow eyes.

Technology

Ever since the original Donkey Kong Country, Rare had gained a reputation for employing various tricks to squeeze as much performance as possible out of their platforms, and Banjo was no exception.

Graphics

• The game's character models were deliberately kept "clean and simple" with minimal texturing to create a striking contrast against the heavily textured area models.
• On that note, making the levels as detailed as they were was itself a feat. An infamous bottleneck of the N64's hardware was its meager 4KB of texture memory. This meant any individual texture could be no more than 4KB large, which (for the CI4 format that made up most of Banjo's environment textures) was equivalent to a maximum resolution of 64x64 pixels. The team got around this by cutting up large textures into 64x64 segments and UV mapping them together, in a similar fashion to the tilesets and tile maps of a typical 2D game.
  • Furthermore, "decal" textures could be overlaid and blended into the background to allow for extra detail.
• The game's use of frustum culling led to major memory fragmentation issues, which degraded performance. To avoid this they wrote a custom algorithm to defragment memory on the fly, which freed up space that could then be devoted to pushing polygon counts even further.

Multi-segment textures

Textures	In-game

Decal blending

Textures	In-game (without vertex shading)	In-game (with vertex shading)

Audio

The characters were originally intended to be voice acted, but the team decided not to go through with this after realizing how much dialogue they had actually written, the recording of which would have cut extensively into development time. Additionally, there was some fear of botching the effort, as voiceover was still a relatively new concept to video games, and they felt the subpar acting seen in some titles "didn't [...] add to the experience". As a compromise, they settled on short grunts played at various pitches to convey a character's voice and personality, giving birth to the now-famous "mumble-speak" associated with the series.

Adding onto this, the team "thought it [would be] funny" if the characters sang as well (an idea going back to Blackeye's introduction in Dream). Banjo and co. were initially going to introduce themselves in song during the "hoedown" sequence, but the notion fell by the wayside and ended up unused.

Characters

To do: Tee-Hee heads and tower room door knockers-- mention here or in Dream?

"We swapped to a witch because she promised that she had more levels in her lair than the giant had in his castle. She claimed her levels were really good and the players would love them, whereas the giant was little more than a hopeless fool who was still trying to construct level 1."

- Gregg Mayles (probably)

While Banjo, Kazoo, and Piccolo naturally made it across from Kazoo, most of the final game's characters only debuted in this iteration.

• During the initial stages, a giant was planned as the main villain. He may have originated from Dream, or he could have been a new character. Regardless, he didn't last long before Grunty took his place.
• Besides the obvious Wicked Witch of the West/Snow White parallels, Gruntilda was also inspired by the character of Grotbags from the 80s British children's shows Emu's World and The Pink Windmill Show.
• Mumbo Jumbo's metaphorical birth can be traced to mid-April of 1997; texture file metadata left on a DAT tape unearthed by Bryan in 2022 reveals that his skin texture was implemented on April 15th. In the Rare Replay video "Dreaming of Banjo", Bryan also notes that a character such as Mumbo could go from concept to implementation in a matter of days, so his actual conception likely happened not long before.
  • This same backup also shows that his skin was originally green, if only briefly.
  • As can probably be surmised by looking at him, his body is simply a Jinjo's with a skull stuck on it. Bryan joked that this was merely done to be "cheap", but it didn't stop fans from running with it and theorizing that this makes him a Jinjo (he's not).
  • His voice clips were derived from the chant in Mayahem Temple's theme (or what would eventually become it-- see below); when it was pushed forward to Tooie, Kirkhope decided to repurpose the chant for Mumbo, and so cut it up into short samples that would play randomly at a random pitch. His catchphrase "eekum bokum" emerged as a result of this ("if-come-go-come").
  • His other catchphrase, "oomenacka", is a corruption of "Ooh, me knacker", something Kirkhope—who was being treated for a certain medical condition at the time—would often shout on his way into the studio after having come in late from a doctor's appointment. (He tells the story in lurid detail during his Guest Grumps appearance.)
• Several years before that, he also divulged the origin of Kazoo(ie)'s trademark "Breeee":

"The noise in question was a creation of [Chris Sutherland]: by day mild-mannered Banjo programmer, by night mad deranged person who sits and makes funny noises whilst happily coding away. We on the team have learnt to ignore his insane gibberings but have found it useful to have a sampler nearby so as to record any strange utterings that might be handy for the game.
    BREEEE came from a particularily loud outburst during Banjo-Kazooie when, while he was bending over to pick something up off the floor, one of the other team members inadvertently slipped with a large broom they just happened to be carrying and the handle ended up lodged in a rather painful place. The extraction was another matter altogether!"

(Of course, given Kirkhope's penchant for strange responses on Scribes, this could well be a joke, but considering that the even wilder "oomenacka" story is actually true...)

• Banjo's goldfish Roysten gets his name from the middle name of one of the artists, which the whole team was "astounded" by.

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  Early sketch of Mumbo.

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  Mumbo's first skin texture.

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  Mumbo's second skin texture.

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  Mumbo's final skin texture.

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  Concept art of a Warp Cauldron.

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  Render by Bryan of a "furred" Jinjo, c. May 1997.

Worlds

To do: Integrate the Rare Revealed stuff below.

"We wanted players to be able to travel to places that were larger than life, but still relatively believable in a fantastical way. Once a theme for a world had been chosen, we brainstormed as many ideas as possible that you would expect to see in such a location, then used these ideas to shape the world, before adding a twist of humour as the finishing touch."

- Chris Sutherland

Multiple prerelease sources dating back to E3 1997 state that sixteen worlds were planned, but only nine exist in the final game. That leaves seven cut worlds, of which at least four are known:

• Mount Fire Eyes (retooled into the lava side of Hailfire Peaks in Tooie),
• "mine" (ditto for Glitter Gulch Mine),
• "fairground" (ditto for Witchyworld),
• Fungus Forest (ditto for Donkey Kong 64's Fungi Forest),
• Hammerhead Beach (if it didn't become Treasure Trove Cove in the end; Sutherland claims it had something to do with Stop 'n' Swop),
• And (possibly) Mayahem Temple.

The identity of the seventh world, if there was one, is a mystery.

The worlds after Mad Monster Mansion (as well as the deferred Tooie worlds) weren't drafted up until after the game was announced, so head here to find the rest.

Temple Test

After the new engine was built, the team put together a basic temple-themed environment to test its performance and refine the player's moveset. This area actually appeared in screenshots and footage from E3 1997, leading fans to believe it was a scrapped "Giant's Lair" world (or Mount Fire Eyes, depending on who you ask). However, "Rare Revealed: A Rare Look at Dream" finally made it clear that this was just a test map.

The area consists of a large temple complex of vaguely Mesoamerican design, hemmed in by a massive wooden barrier wall and gate. Two large doors sit on the top and bottom floors of the main structure, while the middle level is dotted with crudely-modeled gargoyles. Surrounding the main building are various stone structures that Banjo can jump on. There appear to be no actors or objects on the map, though apparently there were meant to be some pickups (see below).

Concept art

• A few areas are marked as being intended for the Shock Spring Jump, indicating the move was already in place by then.
• There are blue and green pickups on the ledges that strongly resemble the Crystal Coconuts from DK64 (though given the gargoyles are represented by orange blocks, it's possible these were stand-ins for something else).
  • The fact that both of them are strategically located before Shock Spring moments suggests that they may have been temporary Shock Spring powerups (much like the Springy Step Shoes in Tooie).

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  The E3 1997 screenshot.

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  Another shot of the above concept map, showing the date of the document.

Spiral Mountain

No concept map for this area has ever been shared to date; all that is known comes from the Rare Revealed footage.

Early	Final

• The wall platforms go all the way into the water. In the final, they stop before they reach the water.
• The waterfall isn't present.

Early	Final

• Conga the gorilla and three bull enemies are present here. These enemies don't appear until Mumbo's Mountain in the final game.
• An extra tree is present that was removed in the final.
• The Spiral Mountain is made out of bricks.

Jungle (Mumbo's Mountain)

Likewise, Mumbo's Mountain (which according to Mayles was "revamped" at some point during development) has no concept art available. It appears to be a more overtly tropical area in the Rare Revealed build.

Early	Final

• Most of the textures were changed. instead of a greyish-brown, rock-like texture on most walls and slopes, there is a grey and green texture, which appears to be stone covered in moss. the walls that enclose the level were originally much higher, and sported jagged rocks and mountains at the top.
• The bridge is made out of logs in this build. In the final, it's made of rope.
• There are 6 notes on the bridge. The final has 7 notes on it.

Early	Final

• Mumbo's skull looks like one of the huts. The final design was changed to resemble his head.
• The Juju totem pole doesn't rotate.
• The Mumbo Token under the ramp leading to Mumbo's hut isn't present (though it might have already been collected in this footage).

Early	Final

• A closer view of Mumbo's hut.

Early	Final

• Conga is wearing a white tanktop. In the final, his tanktop is red.
• Conga's orange blocks aren't present.
• The platforms to the left are made of stone and don't extend all the way to the ground.
• There are 6 blue eggs on the platform behind Chimpy. The final has 10 blue eggs on this platform.

A masked enemy standing in a T-pose which appears to be an early design for the Grublin enemies.

Early	Final

• Mumbo's eyes were yellow and much smaller in the prototype, with his eyesockets being larger, his nostrils smaller and his mouth/teeth being larger, overall looking more menacing. His eyes have become blue and his face has changed to become more cuddlier and less threatening in the final.

Beach (Treasure Trove Cove)

Concept art	In-game

• The starting platform is L-shaped, which can also be seen in prerelease footage.
  • The reward under this platform is called a "prize", but it doesn't specify if it's a Jinjo as in the final or if another item was planned to be there. Jinjo locations aren't marked on this map (but the Jinjo Jiggy is listed), so it's possible that the reward was something other than a Jinjo.
• Immediately after it is a field of giant clams. In-game, this area is populated by beehives, and the Yum-Yums are instead mobile enemies all over the map.
• Instead of plugging Leaky the bucket, switches had to be "bombed" (i.e. Beak Bomb) to drain the sandcastle pool.
• The lighthouse walkway is described as "rickety [and] collapsing". However, in the final game the segments are already pre-collapsed.
• The flight pads were originally conceived as birds' nests.
• There are rocks in front of Nipper that are not there in-game.
• The pool north of Nipper is accessed by a set of steps. The final game uses a Shock Jump Pad.
• Jiggy #9 is said to be found in a giant clam. This likely became the final game's Lockup Jiggy.
• There is a bridge connecting the two ends of the inner arch that is not present in-game.
• Interestingly, the only palm tree on the concept map (on Little Lockup's island) is not present in the final game.

Concept art	In-game

• The walkway to the rock pier with the first X appears to be made of wood. In-game, it is mainly brick.

Early	Final

• The arrangement of the letter tiles is different: the player can actually trace an uninterrupted path to make "BANJOKAZOO", assuming that the letter cut off in the upper right is a Z. In the final, the letters are completely jumbled, making the puzzle more challenging.
• The wall word texture shows the letters carved in relief with shadows. The letters are dark (as if painted onto the wall) in the final to better match the tiles.
• The alcove is only one tile wide and contains nothing in it. In the final game, it's two tiles wide.
• The water texture is brighter and more detailed.
• And of course, the game's earlier name is written on the wall. It seems the space/hyphen between "Banjo" and "Kazooie" had to be removed in order for the extra letters to fit.

Early	Final

• Banjo is able to walk up the ropes by himself. In the final, he must use the Talon Trot.
• There are rails on the crow's nest which were removed in the final.
• The sides of the platform were extended in the final.
• There are only 4 red feathers on the crow's nest. The final has 8.
• The red feathers have a different design.
• The flight pad has a different design.
• Bottles' molehill isn't present.

Whale (Clanker's Cavern)

Concept art	In-game

• In the concept art, the two broken teeth are top teeth on the outside but bottom teeth on the inside. This inconsistency is not present in-game.
• One of the teeth was intended to be Beak Barged in. In the final game, both of them must be dislodged with eggs.
  • The other tooth is depicted as cracked.
• The pool of water containing Clanker's tongue is much wider and shallower in the concept art.

Snow (Freezeezy Peak)

Concept art	In-game

Concept art	In-game

Concept art	In-game

Concept art	In-game

Mad Monster Mansion

Interestingly, this world appears to have no working name.

• While the church bears a rough resemblance to the St. James Parish Church in Twycross (which was, at the time, located directly across from Rare's offices), it was not intentionally modeled after it.

Concept art	In-game

• The roof of the shed was originally accessed via a stack of crates. In-game, Banjo uses a Shock Jump Pad.

Rare Revealed Build

• None of Bottles' mole hills can be seen, so it's likely that he wasn't implemented yet.
• All animated collectibles are static in this build.

Banjo's Jiggy Dance

Early	Final

• The dance Banjo does upon collecting a Jiggy is longer and more exaggerated. It also had a longer jingle to go with it:

• The early dance alters Banjo's position/rotation, so afterwards he has to snap back to face the camera.
• The Jiggy magically reappears in Banjo's hand after Kazoo swallows it.

Early	Final

• The Jiggy icon was originally a pre-rendered sprite with an image on one side of the Jiggy. In the final, it was replaced with a 3D model.

Clanker's Cavern

This level is the one with the most drastic changes compared to the final. While the general layout is the same, it appears to be set up with placeholder textures similar to those of Spiral Mountain/Mumbo's Mountain. Some mechanical objects and features are already in place that are used in the final game, contrasting with the natural-looking surroundings and suggesting that the sewer idea was being approached even at this early point in development. This level was first seen in some early footage of the game along with its early theme, later used in Donkey Kong 64's Fungi Forest. The Rare Revealed gameplay video confirmed that this music was used in this level.

Early	Final

• The cliff faces around the bay were eventually made into flat walls. The cliffs extend all the way around Clanker, but the map culling makes the faraway geometry disappear in the footage.
• The side platforms are basic and made of grass. They were made into metal and given more variance in the final.
• Not only is Clanker rendered as an organic shark, his body and teeth appear to share a similar basic texture all over (with different vertex coloring). His white eyes and pink gums appear to be untextured. Despite looking organic, he is already chained, and the chain extends into a deep hole in the floor, as in the final. Clanker also doesn't move his fins, or really move at all.
• The two platforms in the water for shooting out Clanker's teeth and the grate facing him as you enter are already in this early version.

Bubblegloop Swamp

The early version of Bubblegloop Swamp looked more mountainous than in the final. It also takes place at dusk rather than at night, owing to the yellow-red gradient skybox instead of a pitch black one with stars. This level also appears to be in a fairly primitive state, with many untextured and rough objects.

Early	Final

• These wooden walkways were replaced with tree branches in the final.
• The striped object to the right is a pole for one of these walkways. These may have become the climbable cattails in the final game, or the poles in the vertical hut village area.
• The swamp water is a light pale green and white. This may have been intended, or a rendering error.
• The rock wall with the cave is much wider, going on uninterrupted with no opening to the right.
• The cave entrance has a white "fog" inside that is not present in the final.
• Yellow-orange sections of the skybox can be seen at the edge of the swamp water, possibly a rendering/culling error or a gap in geometry.

Early	Final

• An early design for the giant crocodile head island is visible to the left. Again, the character is early in design and his eyes aren't textured. The eyelids make it look more tired than angry.