Prerelease:Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

This page details prerelease information and/or media for Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.

To do: A lot. Integrate the prototype footage shown off in the Rare Revealed video. Rare artists have released some concept art dating back to the Banjo X phase. Set up a development article for the files extracted from the Xbox devkit discovered in 2011/2012. The prototype itself doesn't work due to missing files but an early Mumbo Jumbo model was extracted, alongside references to new items and abilities. Integrate information about Banjo-Kazoomie, a Mario Kart-style racing game that ended up getting merged with Banjo X to become Nuts & Bolts.

While Nuts & Bolts made a lot of...divisive game design choices, it did have a fair number of ideas thrown around before settling into its current state.

Development Timeline

2000

• Aug. 23rd - A GameCube tech demo featuring Banjo-Tooie characters was shown at Spaceworld 2000 in Japan. Though long rumored to have been from a canceled Banjo-Tooie sequel, Gregg Mayles stated in 2017 that there was never a proper Banjo game planned for the GameCube.

2004

• Unknown date - After finishing Grabbed by the Ghoulies, a team at Rare began working on a kart racing game called Banjo-Kazoomie, which allowed players to construct their own vehicles (sound familiar?) and race against Banjo characters. Kazoomie was only in development for two weeks before the team was reassigned to begin working on Kameo: Elements of Power.
• Unknown date - Development on what would become Nuts & Bolts begins as Banjo X, envisioned as a co-op remake of the first Banjo-Kazooie where characters gradually became aware they were in a remake and the game would stray further from the original as it progressed. Executable files (dated June 2004) were discovered on an original Xbox development kit in late 2011 / early 2012.

2006

• Sep. 26th - A video was shown at the X06 convention, which was of a long-rumored Banjo-Kazooie title. It would be released for the Xbox 360.

2008

• Feb. 18th - After a year and a half of no news, Rare confirms existence of Banjo-Kazooie 3, and that it "would not be a traditional platformer".
• Mar. 19th - A teaser website for the Banjo-Kazooie sequel was released.
• May 13th - Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is officially announced by Rare, and would involve a main focus on driving.
• Jul. 14th - The game is shown off at E3 2008.
• Aug. 21st - More gameplay is shown at GDC 2008.
• Oct. 29th - A demo of the game is released.
• Nov. 12th - The game is released in North America.
• Nov. 14th - The game is released in Europe.
• Dec. 11th - The game is released in Japan.

Early Concepts

Banjo X

The game was originally going to be a remake of the first game. There were going to be various differences. One of these differences would have been the game's plot being explained a bit better. Another concept was Gruntilda following the player and copying their moves. It is likely that the Spiral Mountain stage in the final game is a leftover from this concept.

(Source: Unseen64)

Banjo-Buildie

"Banjo-Buildie" was another title the game used during development. Designer Gregg Mayles said this name was rejected due to it being too similar to previous titles like Banjo-Tooie.

Level Differences

Early	Final

Klungo's Arcade was originally called "Klungo's Play Emporium" and had a darker, scarier atmosphere. Concept art (above) of the original area can be purchased in-game. Additionally, several NPCs mention the pier being built, then extended, then retracted to its original form again, likely referencing the area's original concept.

Unused Music

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Is this still in the game's files?

This track, named "Grunty Industries", was going to be used in LogBox 720. Rare eventually decided against it, as they wanted a more electronic piece for the level.