Banjo-Kazooie Is Available Now On Switch Online's Expansion Pack

Okay.

Still not buying into the service until they fix the emulator though, which is looking less and less likely.

I'll finally be able to experience this classic!

How many games have we gotten on the service so far? two, good lord it feels like forever.

Still not getting this service.

This might sound blasphemous on this site, but I really have no interest in playing a ROM of the original N64 version. The XBLA and Rare Replay version really is the only way for me. It's so much cleaner, and the QoL improvements really keep it worth revisiting. It's a shame Nintendo couldn't give this game a similar treatment

@tabris95 I mean, not to anyone who's played both... the notes not reappearing after each death alone is the biggest possible QoL improvement there could be.

Unfortunately, I doubt Microsoft will ever allow Nintendo to use anything but the N64 original...

Cool. Still not gonna pay $50 for Switch Online.

If they reimplement Stop 'N' Swop into these versions then I might be persuaded to pay the ludicrous prices...

Finally I get to give this game a try!

Cool, I'll finally able to play Banjo-Kazooie.

I wish they carried virtual console over to Switch. I would have purchased the game on day 1.

Where’s cobra triangle?

Rare's iconic duo return

They never left my house.
Still have my N64 plugged in and all 244 games released in my region ready to go.
No extra fees.😁

Cool for those who have the online service. It’s a fantastic collect-o-thon. That said I still don’t have the service. Not enough N64 games to make it worth it for me, plus the emulation quality still being average at best isn’t helping.

When are they going to have more N64 controllers available? Seeing as I played all these on that controller back in the day, it feels odd playing them with the modern controllers. Waiting for one of those to really dive in to this part of the service.

"Oh no, Activision games are gonna be Xbox exclusive from now on!"

Me: **points to this**

I have all 3 of em on Rare Replay. Have only played Nutz and Boltz and loved that. I'll have to try out the first game I suppose.

Something to look forward to when I get the NSO expansion two years from now. Nevertheless I have quite a backlog so I'm in no rush.

It's nice that it's there.... but the drip feed is still depressing.

@tabris95 blasphemous or not, it’s true

Now let's see tooie, conker, donkey kong and perfect dark.

As I've been saying, I still quite enjoy the N64 expansion and don't think the emulation is a very big deal. I kept mis-timing my attacks in Paper Mario because everyone said the N64 games had notable input delay and I was trying to compensate by pressing it earlier. Didn't work.

I don't want to sound like a PR bot, though. I do have one major gripe that really ruffled my feathers. My bro got my little nephew a Switch for Christmas and I was gonna upgrade my individual membership to a family membership. The Expansion Pack costs $50 and the family pack costs $80, so Naturally, you'd think my brother would just have to give me the $30 difference to upgrade it and we could call it a day, right? Maybe even get discounted a few bucks, since my membership has been active for a few months now?

Well, I went to upgrade my membership, and the total was gonna be like $42, so even MORE. Thought this was some kind of error in the system, so I contacted customer support. They agreed with me they the math wasn't adding up, but they didn't know what to tell me, so my call kept getting re-directed to different departments.

Turns out, you aren't actually upgrading your subscription, you're basically canceling the one you already have and starting a brand-new one. So since mine renews in September and the new one would instead renew in January, it was gonna cost extra. That's a bigger pill to swallow than expected, and now my brother and I don't even think it's worth it anymore. Talk about freakin' stupid and confusing.

Anyways, looking forward to finally playing Banjo-Kazooie for the first time, and I've at least been having a good time playing online with my bro with the regular plan.

Finally!!! I'm all over this!

@Snatcher and they stop releasing snes and nes games.

I'd pay for ONE OR TWO months of NSO+ for this and a few others. I cant afford the whole year at once and i will not get a solid year of enjoyment out of it anyway.

come to think of it, if i had to pay for netflix, et al a year up front i wouldn't have those either. why is this different?

Already had this on the N64 and own it and all its sequels via the Rare Replay Collection on XBox Series X. Microsoft does what Nintendon't (namely offer their legacy games for permanent sale tied to cross-generational user accounts).

And the asking price for that "Expansion Pack" is still an insult IMHO; I'll never bother with it.

@tka060681 That to, like what the heck, we non Upgrader's don't matter no more?

I can’t wait to play this on the go while the NL forums whine about emulator nitpicks. Peace!

Ehh I rented Banjo 20+ years ago, don't feel like doing it again now with the expansion at a much higher price.

Finally. Been waiting on this for a while. I have a xbox and could of played on the rare replay but I really don't like playing on the xbox and would prefer to play my games in hand held. Cheers nintendo.

One of my favorite games ever. I’m currently playing Banjo Tooie on Rare Replay and I’ll be sure to play this one again with my N64 controller on Switch again for nostalgia.

This game is THAT good.

Never played it but I’ve always heard AMAZING things! I’ll probably just play it on my Xbox though when I get around to it.

Slow rollout aside, good on Nintendo for not hoarding this one for an overly-long time.

Feels like there's a strong possibility that Diddy Kong Racing is just a matter of time now.

Cool but still not worth 50 dollars. Think about it this way. For 10 more bucks on Xbox and PlayStation you get good online and like three free games every month.

Yeah but is it worth the $50 a year not for me at least

@mundocarry11
Is banjo kazooie alone worth 50$? Maybe not..
But you’re paying for a year’s worth of N64 gold for goodness sake. People pay 180$ a year for Netflix but 50$ for Nintendo classics is robbery?? Cmon gang

This is why Microsoft buying AAA Western entities does not impact Nintendo much.

Guh-huh me right in the guh-huh you filthy bear

This makes me closer to "on the fence" about SOEP

@Schliedenbaum
I know you didnt mention this but Disney plus costs 80$ a year. Same as a switch family plan but you get the mic,Star Wars, Pixar, legacy marvel movies,and cartoons. Compare this to snes,nes and n64( many of these titles are hit and miss) and genesis games.

Oh yessss. This will be my first time playing this
( only ever played Tooie and loved it), so this is rather good news!
Bring out Tooie and Perfect Dark and we're set.

Wow! One game per month! Calm down Nintendo!
The amount of games released in this amazing and definitely not ripoff of a service is staggering!

Eh, my stance is the same as it was. If this service isn't to my liking once my Steam Deck comes in, well, Retroarch is on Steam.

My (unrealistic) hope is that this re-release will get someone to say, "Let's make make Banjo-Threeie!" I've got the Rare Replay versions of BK and BT, so I'm not inclined to pay for the NSO add-on just yet. I'm actually digging into a few NES titles like Crystalis, Adventures of Lolo, and TwinBee. Some of these ancient games are still fun to play.

I’m looking forward to it, haven’t played this game in years. See, not all comments have to be negative

I will gladly take this as an early birthday present! ...It's just a shame that I won't be able to play it with the N64 controller, because Nintendo never restocked the damn thing...

Good to know, I know the fiancée is looking forward to playing Banjo-Kazooie.

I knew it was only a matter of time. We just had to be patient.
Now hopefully we don't run into any glitches...

And of course, this is just another friendly reminder that Nintendo and Microsoft are still on very good terms. I can imagine that acquisition of Activision Blizzard may mean something potentially.

Neat. I grew up with the N64 but never really played this much and when I did play it, it never really felt THAT special to me.
Regardless I'll certainly try it out and see if I can see the appeal I did not see back in the day!

Have they updated the app so you can re-map the buttons yet? I haven't touched the app since trying to play Mario Kart 64 with that awful trigger layout.

Cool.

So uh, how about more NES & SNES games? No, uh okay...

So what about making or licensing more 99 games or NSO exclusive content? No again? Uh, 'k...

How about actually improving the online in any way? Still no? Jeez...

Can NSO Members at least not have their Gold Coins expire - can you at least let us save our Pennies? NO? Ugh...

But hey, 'it only costs $20'.

I'm out, not interested.

@TheCrabMan sounds perfectly reasonable actually.

B-K (N64 version) is my favourite game of all time. The Rare Replay/XBLA version may be better looking but collecting all 100 notes in one go for Rusty Bucket Bay and Click Clock Woods at least add a little bit of challenge to the game.

However, I'm not subscribing to the Expansion Pack just to be able to play my favourite N64 game on Switch. Nintendo has not given me any incentive with mediocre emulation and missing options like customizable controls.

Not gonna get this so called 'expansionpack'. What a ripoff. Btw I enjoy too much the OG Xbox and 360 classics who are on sale right now for a few bucks each. hint, hint

@Freek Ahh but do you play them on CRT?

The versions on xbox game pass are much better - go sign up for a trial and play them for free

@andykara2003
Yes, that's the only way to play them.

I kept 2 of my CRT TVs for that reason alone 😁

What is this? MicrosoftLife?

REally really want to play this, but going to wait to see how the emulation looks before I upgrade.
Also really need an N64 controller but I am not paying £80 from ebay for it. I saw one person had 20 of them, so much for one per customer Nintendo

I have the 360 and Rare Replay version, and they’re great.

But I want to play it on-the-go. And for me, the subscription price isn’t a lot of money… although I get it isn’t amazing value by comparison to others. So I’m excited. All over it

Well I know what's going to tide me over for PLA now! This game looks really fun. To me, it's basically a precursor to Mario Odyssey in it's structure and for a near 30 year old game, that's rad as hell. Cannot wait to play this for the first time. The last game they put on the N64 service ended up becoming one of my favourite games of all time so praying this one's just as good if not better!

And people gonna play it for about 10 minutes until they say: ehm next!

Didn't even notice this the first time round but the Switch profile icon in the trailer is KK Slider. You know, a guitar playing animal? That's some genuinely great attention to detail.

@Schliedenbaum I've been saying this since the start. Most the people moaning about the prices pay for things like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, it's the same thing. Personally I think it's a great deal, and I'd rather have Switch Online over these movie subscriptions any day, and currently do!

Personally I can't wait for this. I've been loving the N64 emulations on Switch and really can't see why people are moaning so much. I own pretty much all the original carts for the games released on Switch right now, and all the Switch versions look and run better.

still one of the best overworld theme of all time. grant kirkhope was completely on fire with this game.

@Laserbeak1982
How do they run better?
I haven't digged into the Expansion Pack yet, but planned to once BK is out. Are the framerates better? because at least with Banjo Tooie that would really help.

Aw I’ve been waiting for this! Have really enjoyed replaying OOT and a first play of Paper Mario, but this is the gam I signed up for.

I don’t have an issue with the price personally, especially when taking the addition of the AC happy home designer add on etc.

A brilliant game from start to finish.

@valcoholic The frame rates are certainly more stable throughout, possibly higher in places and the graphic are more polished, plus there's the option to play both the NTSC and PAL versions which is nice. Overall it's a great package imo.

cool, looking forward to it once I'm through Disco Elysium

No thanks, will continue to skip NSO Expansion Pack until quality and value is better.

Very nice, I’ve never played so I’ll have to see what all the fuss is about 👍🏼

The good son returns home.

The problem with this, is that it seems this will be just the N64 version with a few tweaks.

While Microsoft was a terrible company for the Banjo-Kazooie franchise, at least the Xbox ports of Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie are better than the original N64 versions, they had a lot of improvements.

Especially with Tooie, the N64 was not ready for a game like this, the original version had a lot of slowdowns and frame-drops, while the Xbox version runs at locked 30FPS, that alone makes the original N64 version of Banjo-Tooie obsolete.

@Dethmunk

I agree, but let them moan all they want. They probably have nothing better (or more positive) things to do in their lives :')

I have the expansion but no thanks i have a massive backlog of switch games. 😅

@TheCrabMan
While i would say getting paid to play the games is unreasonable i wouldnt say that those who want to be able to buy the games or have more frequent updates arent unreasonable

fixing the emulation issues does seem reasonable

running games at 4k 120fps on switch does sound unreasonable but i agree with those wishing for locked 30fps/native res on third party games or newer hardware potentially allowing for smoother performance.

having tooie playable from a cheat menu would be unreasonable but definitely would have enjoyed seeing the remasters of kazooie and tooie released as a collection.

240fps does seem unrealistic on a portable device even for an older game considering AX was in the arcade but a HD version of GX would be cool considering it was a smooth 60fps on original hardware.

While each company is different it does feel like there are certain aspects about online which ideally would be the standard due to being a positive for the average user.

This is assuming the points were in earnest and not hyperbole/strawman arguments

It's been since the N64 days I played this last, looking forward to the revisit!

I haven’t played this since the N64 days and I never played all the way through it back then. I do remember enjoying it though. With all the love people have for it I am excited to give it a try again. I am curious how well it has actually aged though and how much I will still like it.

The control mapping in the NSO app is a concern though. I may have to use joy-cons and remap buttons at the OS level. I really wish that remapping would work for the split pad pro which is my preferred controller, but for some reason they only support it for joycons.

Great news!!! Banjo approves 😀

@Freek Love it! I do the same, the only 100% authentic experience. To be lost forever at some point unfortunately.

Glad it's here!

But the fact that a better version has been on Xbox for the past 15 years kinda takes the wind out of the sails of this announcement.

Ahhh who cares. I mean I’m sure someone does but I certainly don’t. I am not in anyway about the pay for premium service that is lagging so much and performing bad. We all know how poor the NES and SNES libraries are. The N64 games they are offering are great but they run like crap. I mean it is just ridiculous. The Wii U VC was so much better and before I hear about the input lag associated with that people need to remember to turn the TV on to game mode. Never had an issue after that.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so disappointed in Nintendo until the switch. Don’t get me wrong there are some great games but overall here we are years and years later with some very serious lackluster games on outdated hardware. I wasn’t gaming too much when the Wii U came out because of college and stuff but when I picked one up during the pandemic I was blown away with how many awesome titles are on there especially with the VC.

I like Banjo-Kazooie (and Tooie), but paying $50 per year for access to the N64 library on Switch (which has added only two games in the last three months) is too expensive for me, given that I own the original N64 console and cartridge. If they offered access for $10 per month, I would go for it, but not at the given price.

@Freek true, but its more expensive to buy an N64 with the controller and game compared to the online. Should def be less expensive but not everyone can afford the best way to play

@AstraeaV well if you liked that youll love these, as nuts and bolts is considered the worst in the trio

@gaga64 uhh whos gonna tell him

@nowthisisepic
Yes very true.
I never sold my launch day N64 and already had over 50 complete N64 games before I started collecting them all.
I only just finished my collection of mint complete N64 games last year but I had already bought the most expensive ones years ago for a bargain compared to today's prices, thankfully.

@link3710 didn't realize that was a change. Never beat Banjo Kazooie on the N64, but I did play it. I finished it on 360. Reappearing notes would probably drive me bonkers. Though I don't recall dying often.

The EP is only a matter of time for me, but I'm going to have to see some gems I've been either meaning to play for N64 or rare goodies I never played that are worth it before I dive in. Banjo-Tooie would be one of those examples...

@Dethmunk Yeah that's the way it's always gonna be round these parts. Next release on the expansion pass? It'll happen all over again. Also got to laugh at people saying "Is this all we're getting? one game a month??!!??!" when they haven't even paid for the expansion. Nope, you get nothing, because you haven't paid for it.

I haven't bothered with the expansion as I'm on a break from games at the mo, haven't touched anything since November.

At the current rate of one game every 6 weeks, those extra 7 games announced at launch are all we will get until day 1 subscribers are due to renew in October.

I can understand how people who only own a switch might find Nintendo's actions acceptable but if you had seen the amount of value offered by Xbox or even PlayStation, you would see how pathetic this offering is.

Yeahhh the app finally updated, the game seems to run fairly well so far, hopefully that stays the case the further I get.
To those also playing this for the first time: Enjoy!

I get that these are n64 games, but this seems super nostalgia-baity. Like "look guys paper mario! The really cool traditional formula were never gonna do again! And banjo! These games have nothing to do with online but you should spend $50-80 a year on it. The price is totally worth it compared to our competitors I swear"

I don't have the expansion pass (Not complaining), but hows the emulator working for Banjo?

I'm also wallowing in pain that Nintendo haven't release anymore SNES game recently. Been thinking to not renew my subscription.

If Nintendo would bother giving us people an option to buy the NSO Expansion Pack at a lower price & WITHOUT the Animal Crossing New Horizons Happy Home Paradise dlc then maybe I would nibble at the expansion pack.

I still have my physical cartridge of the game. I'll stick to that, thank you.

I gathered the kids around the TV and we watched the intro the way it was meant to be; with the N64 logo and Rareware logos together again.

Now all I have to do is gain enough money to purchase the Expansion Pack so I can play this.

@WiltonRoots even if you pay for it, you don't own anything but basically renting it. Just saying.

Started playing this tonight and really enjoying it so far! There were some things to get used to but it is definitely sucking me in. I’d prefer to use my split pad pro, but since the system won’t let me remap it I am using joycons in handheld mode (remapping the right one at the system level to better match the intended layout). The camera was also bothering me a bit at first (feeling floaty and nauseating), but I got used to it now and it is no longer bothering me. Looking forward to continuing playing through this on switch!

@Aezetz The majority of gamers don’t care if they “own” games. Just saying. 😁

@WhiteTrashGuy I did the same. It was a joyful moment. It also triggered my partners memory of a time when she was young she had forgotten all about... ah banjo kazooie. Bringing back the nostalgia for everyone

@jon128
First thing I did with the Expansion pass was map Y to B (N64) , B to A, X to Left C, and A to Down C. I then flipped R and ZR. Even on STAR FOX this mapping is aces. Best I can do until the N64 pad is back in stock....

@Aezetz I was gonna post but @nimnio beat me to it! 😄 after years of collecting things never to touch them again it doesn’t bother me if I don’t own it, after years of being digital across music, film and games I haven’t missed the clutter and real estate these things take up. Especially when moving house.

I still have thousands of records I need to dispose of I never touch going back to the 80s.

I’d rather they released a remastered version ala Rare Replay.

Played this for about an hour and a half and honestly?
...
...
...
...
The game's good.
Like, REALLY good.

Been wanting to play this one for a while, since i'm part of my family's expansion pass i don't need to pay the questionable pricing point, i heard a lot of good things about this game so i have high hopes for this one

i'd really like to play but kinda refuse to pay fricken $50 just to access it. Not super interested in the others aside from paper Mario maybe

I mean, I bought the expansion pack, but I used it once to play Mario then never used the N64 service again.

Super juiced banjo is funny as hell.

Streamed this last night at twitch.tv/Pharone

Was disappointed that it wasn't available when I got home from work, but it gave me some time to mess around in some other N64 games on the Switch.

When the game finally was available though, it was well worth the wait. I had forgotten just how much fun this game is really. So much fun!

I plan to stream more of it tonight after work.

Main reason I haven't bought into the service yet is the coupling of N64 with other things I really don't want to pay for, driving the price of N64 stuff up in the process. Then you have the limited selection of games and the trickling pace at which they add new ones... and then the poor emulation.

Sadly I think too many people have chosen to overlook all of that and given Nintendo an excuse to not do anything to fix the situation. If it sells, then why would they make any additional effort, even if it would be well warranted at this point. The base service I can understand, heck I bought into it so I could play my regular Switch games online and NES and SNES stuff was just an added bonus. This new pack however I would really want for N64, but it's just not priced right from my perspective and so I don't see it as necessary.

@Fizza This is why you should never read comments on here. Everything is overrated, nothing is good, and you are not allowed to enjoy things.

@tabris95 I prefer having save states on Switch Online. XBOX doesn’t have that does it?

@Fizza it gets even better past the first world.

@Bass_X0 Honestly I completely forgot about Save States. That really does change things. That makes the infamous Rusty Bucket Bay section much more bear(guh-huh)able. I still much prefer the camera in XBLA version but not sure if it was changed for NSO

finished now my first Banjo-Kazooie play through with 100% Took me 20h. Now I'm ready for Banjo-Tooie and a replay of DK64.

@Schliedenbaum I see your side but I'm also thinking to myself why not just put these games on the eshop so consumers can pick what games they want to buy instead of having games in their library they have no intention of playing