Fans have been crying out for a new Banjo-Kazooie game ever since Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts was released in 2008.
But apart from a strange audience-controlled interactive demo at SXSW in 2015, the occasional merch drop, and a playable cameo in Smash back in 2019, there hasn't really been much to look forward to when it comes to official news regarding the bird and the bear.
Instead, it has mostly fallen to the Banjo fan community to keep the series's legacy alive, with developers creating spiritual successors, ROM hacks, and fan games to offer players that classic platforming experience that they've been so desperately missing.
With that in mind, we wanted to tell you about the latest of these projects that recently crossed our radar: Banjo Kazooie: Mumbomania. This is an amazing new fan game built inside Media Molecule's Dreams for the PS4 and PS5 by the creator of Trip's Voyage, @Eupholace, in addition to @Piece_of_Craft and @duckenomics, which lets you revisit an expanded version of one of Banjo-Kazooie's most iconic levels: the pirate-themed Treasure Trove Cove.
According to Eupholace, the one-level fangame reportedly took 14 months and 800+ hours to build, and features 30 jiggys to collect, as opposed to the 10 which were featured in the original game. There are also a bunch of brand new transformations included as well to discover, letting you transform from a fish to a cannon to a big rock monster to get around the level. Even better, these transformations are now instantaneous and won't require you to constantly backtrack to Mumbo's shack, with the witch doctor following closely behind the player at all times.
Since its release yesterday, former Rare staff have responded to the announcement. The Banjo-Kazooie, Tooie, and Nuts & Bolts composer Grant Kirkhope responded to the trailer, for instance, with an eyes emoji, later adding, "I almost shed a tear." Steve Mayles, the "chief scribbler", art director and character designer, on Banjo Kazooie and artist on Tooie and Nuts & Bolts, meanwhile, told Eupholace, "I can see you had a lot of fun making this!"
If you want to check out the game, you'll need a copy of Dreams and a PS4/PS5. Once Dreams is downloaded, no additional cost is necessary. You just need to search for the game in the list of publicly available creations.