Concept Art - Banjo Kazooie
Banjo Kazooie is a N64 video game released in North America in 1998. The game was an action-adventure single player platformer starring Banjo the bear and Kazooie, a fictitious bird called a “breegull”. The franchise was developed by Nintendo and developed my Rare. Rare along with the franchise has since been bought by Microsoft for $375 million. The story involves Banjo’s sister, Tooty being kidnapped by an evil neighboring witch named Gruntilda (or Grunty for short) in an attempt to steal her youth. The game takes place mainly in the witch’s lair containing many imaginative sub-worlds that Banjo and Kazooie could venture through. The game was aesthetically pleasing for its day and its intuitive interweaving of puzzles and abilities is still beloved to this day. The game’s success has given birth to several sequels including “Banjo-Tooie”, “Banjo Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge” and “Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts”. The concept art shows how big and bold this game aimed to be even for its day. For those who have never tried their hand at this classic, the game can be purchased through xbox live.


