Banjo-Kazooie Returning?

[Blueknight V2.0]

Banjo-Kazooie would seem to be coming back. Could E3 2019 be it? Because there seems to be just too many hints to think it's not happening.

 

[mayday2592]

I'd love to see a remastered version of the first two games on Switch.

[Blueknight V2.0]

What's even more interesting is that Banjo got Totaku & F4F figures.

[Tornado]

I can't wait for people to be completely unimpressed with Yooka Laylee again!

[Jango]

inb4 "was Banjo ever good?"

[Tornado]

There's a pretty reasonable argument to be made that the type of game that people who clamor for a very specific thing whenever they hear "Banjo game" and accept no deviations is no longer very good; and was already wearing out its welcome before Rare had even released much of anything for Microsoft (if not because of the Banjo games themselves).

 

Put another way, how different really is a game that is now more notorious than anything (say, DK64) from something actually liked (like Banjo Kazooie); and how reasonable is it to expect whatever Rare is supposed to be in 2019 to be able to delineate them when Not!Rare couldn't in 2017?

[Marcello]

Yooka-Laylee is great, though. Sure it has some problems, but it's still great. I hope Team17's teasing really is pointing towards Yooka-Laylee 2.

As for B-K, Banjo-Threeie would be amazing, but I'd be happy with full remakes of the first two games. Just use the original designs. Humba-Wumba probably needs a redesign, though.

Shinobi602 over on Resetera is also teasing Banjo in Smash, which would be a dream come true.

Quote

Been a while since we saw Banjo in anything. Hope we’re in for a smashing good time.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/banjo-kazooie-controller-holder-teased-by-exquisite-gaming.120331/post-21418452

[Diogenes]

I'd be plenty skeptical of the quality of a Banjo-Threeie if one ever does come about, but I don't think the genre's unsalvageable. Personally I think what went wrong was mostly just trying to go too big. DK64 had huge levels with millions of collectables, most of them color-coded to its 5 different characters meaning there's almost 5 times more running around than there could've been. Tooie doesn't go as far, but it still has huge, complicated levels, the split-up ability and transformations forcing you to run around more, and quests spanning across multiple levels just for single jiggies. And while I didn't really keep up with Yooka once it started sounding like a dud, I have heard talk of its huge levels being to its detriment.

The original BK on the other hand is pretty modest. The main area of most levels is pretty small, enough to easily grasp where things are in relation to each other and to get around to different places quickly even without any kind of teleporters. The number of essential collectables is fairly modest, with the only real misstep being how notes are handled. You're way less likely to get stuck for an hour running around in a single level looking for that one last item when the space you're exploring is much tighter and compressed. Instead of always shooting for the biggest game every with the most collectables because more content equals more better, I'd like to see games with a bunch of smaller levels with a reasonable number of collectables and tighter design tying them together.

Then again, Mario Odyssey was great, and that had big levels with tons of things to collect. So who knows.

[KHCast]

3 hours ago, Tornado said:

and how reasonable is it to expect whatever Rare is supposed to be in 2019 to be able to delineate them when Not!Rare couldn't in

To be fair Mighty number 9 was made by the guy that was in charge of the megaman franchise and that bombed, whereas Capcom was able to bounce back and deliver a satisfying megaman experience. I think there’s precedent that could give people optimism that Rare could do what Yooka Laylee couldn’t.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Better yet, let's not have the current Rare do it and leave it to someone else 

[Blueknight V2.0]

Here's my take on the latest hints.

https://constant-thinker.com/2019/06/06/banjo-kazooie-could-they-return-at-e3-2019-recent-hints/

[Wraith]

On 6/4/2019 at 4:04 PM, KHCast said:

To be fair Mighty number 9 was made by the guy that was in charge of the megaman franchise and that bombed, whereas Capcom was able to bounce back and deliver a satisfying megaman experience. I think there’s precedent that could give people optimism that Rare could do what Yooka Laylee couldn’t.

Even ignoring the idea that the phenomenon that was Megaman's success was because of one person, Inafune was a character designer for most of the classic series.  He wasn't a key factor in bringing the game to life on a mechanical side of things like Rare's staff was for Banjo. 

[Sean]

The first Banjo is one of my favorite games but I stopped being excited for another sequel long ago. I just want the first two games to be ported to Steam; I don't have a 360 and Banjo-Tooie on N64 is fucking impossible to emulate (Kazooie is more or less perfect). If MS ever announces PC versions I'll be pretty happy and never ask for anything Banjo-related again.

[Tara]

16 hours ago, Sean said:

The first Banjo is one of my favorite games but I stopped being excited for another sequel long ago. I just want the first two games to be ported to Steam; I don't have a 360 and Banjo-Tooie on N64 is fucking impossible to emulate (Kazooie is more or less perfect). If MS ever announces PC versions I'll be pretty happy and never ask for anything Banjo-related again. 

Pretty much same.  I love Banjo and I'd like to think that he's not doomed to fail if he does come back.  But I'm beginning to wonder things like, what if Banjo is simply a product of his time?  That is to say, maybe one game is honestly enough, and the two other installments were already pushing it.  I'd certainly be happy to be proven wrong, but I don't have a lot of faith that a sequel would capture the same charm, and even a remaster of the original games in the vein of N. Sane Trilogy and Reignited probably wouldn't do any justice for me, since I don't think the higher res details would capture Banjo in a way that is pleasing.

A good PC version of the first two games would be nice; maybe throw in some quality of life features and glitch fixes.  But I don't really care much for the idea of a sequel as much as other people do.

[GentlemanX]

The first game is one of my all time favorites, in large part due to memories of playing it with my dad. I love Tooie as well, but never really got into any of the other stuff (I do own Grunty's Revenge and Nuts and Bolts, I just didn't get interested in playing them too much).

3-D platformers and collectathons are my favorite genre, so I'm probably easy to please when it comes to a potential sequel. I think what makes BK special is the solid gameplay mixed with cute designs, great music, and a quirky set of humor. A lot of those elements can be timeless in the same way Mario or Kirby are. The biggest thing that might need improving would be gameplay, but Mario Odyssey is a shining recent example of the 3-D collectathon being achievable in the modern era.

So long as BK sticks to what works and only updates the aesthetics and gameplay up to current standards, I think you could have another fun adventure. Not getting too hyped right now though, could very well be nothing, or another spin-off thing, or just a remake of the first (two) game(s).