Banjo-Tooie
Image: Nintendo

Rare's wonderful platformer sequel Banjo-Tooie landed on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack's N64 library today, and we are enjoying the chance to take our best bear and bird buds on the road with us once more.

On the whole, this NSO version feels great, but as we left the game idly sitting on the start screen while we nipped off to make a cuppa, we noticed something strange: was Banjo always that quick?

Yep, it seems that the gameplay demo, which plays if you don't touch the start screen for a while, has been weirdly sped up on the Switch subscription service. It was pointed out by our very own lovely person, Mr. Alex Olney, over on Bluesky, in fact, with the following footage appearing to show the platforming pair dashing around at 1.5x speed (or thereabouts).

It's a strange little curio, particularly since the sound effects and music are running at the correct speed/pitch. Hey ho, at least the whole game doesn't force us into an unintentional speed run.

Banjo-Tooie initially launched on the N64 in 2000, later landing re-releases on the Xbox 360 and as a part of 2015's Rare Replay. While it might not be quite as beloved as its predecessor, it's still held up as a slice of mighty fine platforming β€” all the more reason to be excited by its Switch inclusion, sped-up demo and all.

Have you checked out Banjo-Tooie on Switch yet? Did you notice this speedy demo? Let us know in the comments.

[source bsky.app]