Banjo-Kazooie Is Making A Comeback With Nintendo Switch Online, But This Beloved Franchise Deserves So Much More

The comeback of beloved platforming series Banjo-Kazooie is not as monumental as it should be. As one of the most successful and groundbreaking titles released for the Nintendo 64, the bird and bear’s 16-year absence has been hard to reckon with. While recent attempts have been made to make Banjo-Kazooie‘s most popular entries accessible, there’s still a ways to go before the series reaches its former glory.

Banjo-Kazooie‘s last major outing on the Xbox 360, subtitled Nuts & Bolts, proved a divisive entry that no doubt contributed to Rare’s diversion away from the developer’s most beloved IP. However, the last few years have seen Banjo-Kazooie receive some of the recognition it’s always been worthy of, thanks in part to the series’ return to Nintendo platforms after almost two decades. Despite this, Banjo-Kazooie‘s return to Nintendo still leaves a lot to be desired with regard to the future of the series.

Nintendo Switch Online Isn’t The Return Banjo-Kazooie Deserves

The Series Is Still Without A New Entry

Nintendo announced that Banjo-Tooie would be added to the Nintendo Switch Online service on October 25, 2024, joining its predecessor that was added back in 2022, joining the lineup of NSO’s must-play classic games. The significance of these additions cannot be overstated. The first rerelease of both titles on a Nintendo console shows recognition from Nintendo, Rare, and Microsoft that Banjo-Kazooie had a major impact on the N64 and that this should be remembered. While it’s incredible to see, it’s hard to feel that this is still not quite as good as it could be.

Firstly, locking Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie behind NSO limits its accessibility to Switch owners. The requirement to pay for a monthly subscription service to access these titles can feel unjustified, especially to those uninterested in NSO’s other offers. This is made more egregious by the fact that access to N64 titles requires players to pay for the higher-tier NSO membership, dubbed Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. This severely limits the potential for the Banjo-Kazooie franchise to prove its worth and potential, squandering its chances at a true comeback.

Moreover, Banjo‘s return to Nintendo might not be the step forward it’s presented as being. The additions of the classic N64 titles merely distract from the fact that Banjo-Kazooie has still gone 16 years without a new entry to speak of. Nintendo and Microsoft might have worked together to bring the bear and bird home, but nothing about this move shows any intention of a true revival that fans may have held out hope for. That’s not even mentioning the issues of NSO that further suppress hopes of a true Banjo-Kazooie comeback.

NSO Is Becoming A Lazy Way To “Revive” Older Games

Classic Titles Aren’t Receiving The Remakes They Deserve

In general, NSO has showcased a lackadaisical approach from Nintendo toward its classic lineup of games. During the Expansion Pack’s launch in 2021, NSO received backlash in regard to the multitude of issues players found with the N64 titles added to the service. In the case of beloved classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the game faced multiple issues, including input lag and rendering issues, resulting in a lot of frustration from players over Nintendo’s treatment of beloved classics.

The state of such beloved titles demonstrates laziness from Nintendo in providing access to classic titles. Banjo-Kazooie is no exception; its NSO release may be serviceable, but it pales in comparison to Microsoft’s version. The Xbox Arcade version of the original title, released 14 years prior to NSO, included widescreen, multiple quality-of-life improvements, and the implementation of the Stop ‘N’ Swop feature that was removed from the N64 release.

Nintendo’s own treatment of rereleases on NSO is not just detrimental to new players’ overall enjoyment of classic titles, but allows the company to avoid giving titles the remake/remaster they deserve. Again, Ocarina of Time is a prime example, with a stellar remake on 3DS, yet on current hardware it’s relegated to an emulation that may even be inferior to playing on an N64. Despite the opportunity remakes provide to refine older titles, Nintendo seems adamant to avoid this as much as possible.

The addition of Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie on NSO may increase accessibility to titles on modern hardware, but in doing so it squanders the chances of both titles receiving a true remaster or remake. Xbox Arcade is clear proof that a remake would improve on both games’ major technical issues while preserving the experiences themselves. Nintendo’s baffling commitment to delivering classic titles in a subpar condition simply hurts those games’ potential to gain newfound recognition, including both Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie.

Will Banjo-Kazooie Ever Get A New Game?

The Answer Is A Bit Complicated

Banjo-Kazooie‘s return being limited to an NSO release, alongside the quality of those ports, makes the future of the series unclear. Unfortunately, it’s not the only road block that the bird and bear face when it comes to making a true comeback. Microsoft’s acquisition of Rare back in 2002 complicated things, as the developer was moved away from the IPs that contributed to the company’s success in favor of working on the Kinect and other original titles, including the highly successful, now non-Xbox-exclusive Sea of Thieves.

Once again, the question of accessibility comes into question for a new Banjo-Kazooie game, although this could work in favor of a new title. The possibility for Banjo-Kazooie to be brought back to Nintendo alongside Xbox is always there. The series is no stranger to outside releases under Microsoft, with both Grunty’s Revenge and Banjo-Pilot releasing for the Game Boy Advance (during THQ’s tenure as the series’ publisher). A multi-platform strategy would likely prove more successful, increasing the size of the audience a new Banjo-Kazooie game would be able to reach.

Banjo-Kazooie‘s potential return is also helped by the recent success of 3D platformers. What was once a struggling genre being kept alive by Nintendo’s own mascot, Super Mario, is now seeing a renaissance with a slew of successful titles, including A Hat In Time and the colorful and comedic Psychonauts 2. In fact, the success of Sony’s own Astro Bot, just recently released at the beginning of October 2024, shows there’s still an avid interest in 3D platformers, which Banjo-Kazooie still remains as a pioneer of.

Whatever the case, it’s clear the Banjo-Kazooie series is not nearly at the position it should be. The bird and bear duo may have finally found themselves back at Nintendo after so many years, yet the series’ fate still remains in uncertainty. While the future may still be unclear, there’s always a small semblance of hope that Banjo-Kazooie gets the comeback it truly deserves.

Sources: Nintendo of America/YouTube

Nintendo and Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie is a platform video game that follows the adventures of the bear Banjo and his bird friend Kazooie as they traverse through various environments in order to stop the evil witch Gruntilda from stealing Banjo’s sister’s beauty. The gameplay involves collecting various items, solving puzzles, and fighting enemies with abilities such as flying and shooting eggs.

Platform(s)

N64 , Xbox 360

Released

June 28, 1998

Developer(s)

Rare

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

ESRB

E for Everyone