Banjo-Kazooie launches new merchandise range

Vinyl collection and plushies release, following artist’s call for a remaster

Merchandise company Fangamer has launched a new range of Banjo-Kazooie products, including a vinyl collection including over 6 hours of music.

Composer Grant Kirkhope told fans on Twitter that the new vinyl collection contains “four times the tracks” of any previously released Banjo-Kazooie soundtrack.

Anyone who purchases the vinyl will receive an instant digital download of the complete soundtrack, which totals more than 160 tracks.

UPDATE: Nintendo has officially announced Banjo-Kazooie Nintendo Switch for its Switch Online subscription service.

Fangamer have also launched a Banjo-Kazooie plush toy, plush Jiggy, scarf, tshirts and more.

Kirkhope wrote on Twitter: “This was a hard secret to keep! A four album set of the Banjo Kazooie OST. A big thanks to @RareLtd and @Fangamer for asking me to choose the tracks and write the sleeve notes! It’s a fantastic package!”

Banjo-Kazooie has seen a boost in popularity in 2019, following the characters’ high-profile inclusion in Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Writing in a VGC column in September, Banjo-Kazooie character artist Steve Mayles called for a remaster in the vein of Activision’s Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy.

Mayles argued that following the Smash Bros. furore, a remaster project could further prove there’s sufficient demand for a “no-expense-spared” new game in the Banjo-Kazooie series.

Activision’s Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which updates all three original games in the platformer series, has sold more than 10 million copies.

“Now [Banjo and Kazooie] have returned in Smash [Bros. Ultimate], I’ve been surprised by the reception,” Mayles wrote.

“Part of it is being away for so long, and a part of it is returning to a Nintendo console. And maybe just a small part because they are decent characters!”

He added: “Could the reaction of fans to Banjo and Kazooie in Smash persuade Microsoft to make another Banjo game? The revival of Spyro and Crash went pretty well after all… I think a fairly safe way to gauge demand for a new game would be a remaster of the original two games.

“Then if the interest is there perhaps we could see Banjo return in the new no-expense-spared game he and Kazooie deserve.”