Prerelease:Banjo-Kazooie

This page details prerelease information and/or media for 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.

To do: Some Prerelease screenshots are absent and need to be added here.

The origin of Banjo-Kazooie can be summed up as follows:

"Banjo once had a bigger moustache than Mario, wore brighter coloured overalls and the game was originally called Really Super Duper Mario 64."

...Well, okay, not really. The real story of Banjo starts with a Dream.

Development Timeline

1995

• c. September-October: Project Dream begins development on the SNES.

1996

• c. Winter/Spring: Dream moves to the Nintendo 64DD.
• c. December 1996-January 1997: Dream is scrapped and reimagined as a 2.5D platformer starring Banjo named Kazoo.

1997

• January 16: Kazoo's selection of enemies is drafted.
• c. January 23-27: The character that would become Kazooie is conceived, as a way to augment Banjo's moveset.
• February 3-5: The first two levels of Kazoo are drafted.
• February 23: Kazoo's world map/level layout is drafted.
• c. Late February-Early March: Kazoo is overhauled into a free-roaming 3D platformer named Banjo Kazoo.
• March 14: The temple test level is drafted.
• March 24-25: Treasure Trove Cove and Clanker's Cavern are drafted.
• Mid-April: Mumbo Jumbo is designed and implemented.
• April 24-27: Freezeezy Peak is drafted.
• May 2-8: Mad Monster Mansion is drafted.
• c. May 8-June 6: Trademark conflicts result in Banjo Kazoo being renamed to Banjo-Kazooie.
• June 19-21: Banjo-Kazooie is unveiled at E3 1997.
• July: Mount Fire Eyes, Rusty Bucket Bay, and the unused mine world are drafted.
• c. August 15-21: Click Clock Wood is drafted.
• October 22: Clanker's Cavern is redesigned to have a more industrial theme.
•  ???: Mumbo's Mountain is redesigned.

1998

• January 10-11: Grunty's Furnace Fun is drafted.
• May 12: Version 13-1 goes through bugtesting.
• May 28-30: A near-final build is shown off at E3 1998.
• June 29: The final game is released.

Phases of Development

Project Dream 1995-1996: The Zelda-like that wasn't.

Kazoo Early 1997: Dream goes back to the drawing board, and comes out as what is basically Donkey Kong Country but with a bear.

Banjo Kazoo Spring 1997: Linearity goes out the window, and the final game starts to take shape.

Banjo-Kazooie Mid-1997 to 1998: Covers the game's official announcement to its release.

Miscellaneous Changes

To do: Some Pre Release images missing, find the images and make more comparisons.

Intro

Early	Final

• The N64/Rare logo cutscene originally took place atop a cloud. In the final game, this cutscene takes place in mid air.

Early	Final

• The area where the musical intro took place in looked completely different.

Banjo's House

Early	Final

• The picture of Tooty was originally a picture of Donkey Kong, likely a placeholder.

Early	Final

• The textures in Banjo's house for basically everything are completely different. The house feels more rustic and cabin-like compared to the bright modern look in the final.
• An extra window and a picture of Banjo in what appears to be the original concept test level was added in the final game.

Grunty's Lair

Early	Final
(Source: AnonymousJ) [1]

• The note doors originally had the number of required notes above the door. In the final game, it alternates between the required number of notes and an image of a note. The original note door texture has the note as part of the texture, and is more regal than the final's wooden door with steel trim.

Early	Final

• The signs with the level names on them originally didn't exist.

Mumbo's Mountain

Early	Final

• The Grublins in this level were originally Mumbo-like characters. This is a very interesting change; the enemies were likely changed so players wouldn't perceive Mumbo as an enemy.
• The trees were originally 2D objects. They went through a few design changes across builds.

Early	Final

• The Grublins in this level were originally a pale blue/green. They're purple in the final game.
• An additional tree can be seen in the area across the bridge. This tree was removed in the final game.

Earlier	Early	Final

• The bridge looked different.
• The Bigbutt (bull) enemy is not present in the earlier build.
• The bee hives were much larger, lacked googly eyes and weren't animated.

Early	Final

• The inside of Mumbo's skull used different textures.
• The four notes inside here are on top of the pillars. In the final game, they're on the ground.
• The button that Banjo is supposed to stand on is not present.

Early	Final

• A later version uses a flat texture of Mumbo's face, changed to a more elaborate and flashy button model in the final.

Early	Final

• Mumbo's skull looked different, more menacing, and lacked the red feathers on top.
• Banjo is on top of the termite mound, something that is normally impossible in the final game.

Bubblegloop Swamp

Early	Final

• The start pads were originally in full color. In the final game, they're an embossed silver image of the same Banjo-Kazooie face logo.

Mad Monster Mansion

Some of the portraits in the dining room went through some interesting changes.

Earlier (1997 E3)	Early (Early 1998)

The Grunty Portrait near the fire is replaced with glass in the beta.

Early (1997 E3)	Final

Bottles

Early	Final

• Bottles' glasses were originally black. In the final game, they were changed to red likely to make them contrast more with his fur.

Debug Display

A debug display seen in an early screenshot that displays some info such as CPU/RSP usage and framerate. It's unknown if this is still present in the final game.

Debugging Text

CPU
RCP
HZ
K

(Source: Ferrox)