Press Release: Big Fun: Banjo-Kazooie™
From Video Game Morgue File
BIG FUN: BANJO-KAZOOIE™
Nintendo's Newest Platform Game Features Huge Worlds, Huge Enemies, Huge Fun; Features the Richest, Most Detailed 64-bit Graphics to Date
REDMOND, Wash., June 25, 1998 – Banjo-Kazooie is not the latest dance craze, nor a new chocolate candy bar, nor a new alternative rock band from Seattle. It's a gigantic, 3-D, action/adventure home video game from Nintendo of America Inc. and the world-famous game designers at U.K.-based Rare Ltd. The one-player game – only available on Nintendo 64, the world's most powerful home video game system – will be available nationwide, June 29, 1998, with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $59.95. At 128-megabits, Rare's first character-based platform game for Nintendo 64 also is Rare's largest game ever, enabling huge advancements in both game play and graphics. Banjo-Kazooie features two humorous, co-joined characters – Banjo, a male Honey Bear and Kazooie, a female Red-Crested Breegull. Exuding personality, the duo use more than 20 different moves and abilities through vast worlds, each filled with a variety of challenging tasks and objectives. The game also showcases the awesome graphic power of the system with the richest, most detailed environments of any Nintendo 64 game released to date; an enormous number of polygons rendered instantly, with a lightning-fast rate of frame display; and an excellent depth of vision. "Big, huge, enormous, gigantic are all appropriate descriptions for Banjo-Kazooie, not only in the graphics and game play, but also in the number of players we expect will add this game to their collection," says Peter Main, Nintendo of America's executive vice president, sales and marketing. "Super Mario 64™, the first Nintendo 64 action/adventure game, set a standard of excellence and created a model of what could be done with Nintendo 64. As the benchmark for the next wave of games for the system, Banjo-Kazooie advances those aspects to give gamers a logical next generation Nintendo 64 experience." Banjo-Kazooie has a giant story – literally. Because Banjo's sister Tooty is the prettiest female in the land, a huge, ugly, evil witch named Gruntilda captures her and locks her away in a giant castle. To rescue Tooty, Banjo and Kazooie journey through the vast lands and find all of the missing pieces of the puzzles hanging in the witch's overworld lair that open a door leading to a final battle with Gruntilda. Each of the nine worlds is meticulously detailed – even distant objects – and textured to create the most immersive video game experience yet. For example, when Banjo swims in a lake, not only does each foot create its own rippling effect, but drops of water also emit from the splash onto the lake to create their own ripples, just as in real life. Banjo-Kazooie is big on game play as well. To find each puzzle piece, the game's heroes need to perform challenging feats such as: solving perplexing mini-games, traversing confusing mazes, morphing into a variety of other animals and battling immense enemies and level bosses. A unique game play feature will make Banjo-Kazooie appeal to players of all ages and experience levels. As players progress through the game, they will discover new moves and abilities — like shooting eggs, backflipping, shoulder barging and high jumping that will help them advance through each level. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The soundtrack for each level is perfectly themed to match its look. As Banjo and Kazooie move to a different, more profound part of the level, the music becomes more intense. Banjo-Kazooie will be Rumble Pak-compatible. Nintendo Power Magazine will release a Banjo-Kazooie Player's Guide to coincide with the release of the game. Additionally, there will be a dedicated web site on the Internet for the game at www.banjo-kazooie.com. Rare is a developer and publisher of games for Nintendo video game systems. Rare Ltd. has offices in the United Kingdom, and Rare, Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary, has offices in Miami, Fla. For more information about Banjo-Kazooie, Rare or any Rare product, visit Rare's web site on the Internet, www.rareware.com. Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, is the leader in the worldwide $15 billion retail video game industry. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its best-selling home video game systems, including the hand-held Game Boy, the 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the 64-bit Nintendo 64, the fastest-selling video game system in history. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Washington, serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere, where more than 40 percent of American households own a Nintendo game system. For more information about Banjo-Kazooie, Nintendo 64 or any other Nintendo product, visit Nintendo's web site on the Internet, www.nintendo.com. # # # # ®1998 Nintendo/Rare. Game by Rare.
