Unearthed Nintendo missive reveals why Banjo-Kazooie’s infamous Stop ‘N’ Swop feature was ditched • Eurogamer.net

Nintendo fans of a certain age might recall the excitement surrounding an innovative feature planned for Banjo-Kazooie on N64 that would allow it to interact with its sequel, Banjo-Tooie, opening up previously inaccessible areas and objects. Sadly, the feature has been quietly scrapped, but a new correspondence from Nintendo has finally revealed why.

But first a little background; When Banjo-Kazooie was released in 1998, players who passed 100% of the game were treated to a special secret ending showing Banjo accessing three previously closed areas – a mysterious elevated island in Treasure Trove Cove, a cave in frozen ice at Freezeezy Peak, and a sealed cliff-side gate in the Gobi Valley. However, despite these tantalizing teases, all three domains remained stubbornly inaccessible and it wasn’t until a few months after launch that developer Rare offered an explanation.

“All the secret stuff can only be achieved by playing Banjo-Tooie, the planned (and naturally better) sequel to Banjo-Kazooie,” he wrote on his website. documented by RareGamer. “By playing ‘Tooie, you’ll be able to come back to’ Kazooie and collect the hidden treats, before leading them into the sequel where they’ll be put to good use. ”

Rare never officially announced how this mechanic would work in practical terms, but an uncovered patent filing sheds some more light on the matter, explaining that gamers should remove a supported game cartridge when prompted, then exchange it for a second one, which reads and reacts to the information stored in the console’s memory.

The problem was that when Banjo-Tooie finally arrived in 2000, the promised inter-game connectivity (known as Stop ‘N’ Swop) was nowhere to be found. He also didn’t appear in Donkey Kong 64, Conker, Jet Force Gemini, and Perfect Dark, as Rare originally intended.

Over the years, members of the original development team have hinted that Stop ‘N’ Swop was eventually dropped at Nintendo’s request, but an email now shared by rare software developer Paul Machacek (as acquired by RareGame) laid out the specific reasons for the company’s nervousness over the feature, this time straight from the source.

According to the email, Nintendo’s director of technical support reached out to Rare to request the removal of Stop ‘N’ Swop during development of Donkey Kong 64 – which was created in tandem with Banjo and was intended to connect to the clearance – due to the uncertainty of the N64. would retain data in memory long enough to ensure the feature works consistently as advertised, and because of concerns about the potential risk of damage to consoles and game cartridges if a swap was made while the device was powered on voltage, including “overheating and … consumer safety”.

What a day for Stop ‘N’ Swop news! We’ve updated our explain and look back feature to include the latest findings and revelations provided by @ Paul_Mach1! pic.twitter.com/desVLW0JWG

– Rare player (@Rare_Gamer) 23 January 2021

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“We would like to suggest that you find another method to get the bonuses in both Banjo and Donkey Kong,” wrote the unnamed Nintendo rep, “It might be possible to reveal an access code in DK64 that could be used to open the locked area in Banjo? … DK64’s balance including the different ending could then remain, accessible only to those who played in the new area of ​​Banjo. I think a solution like this will preserve some of the benefit of tying the two games together and have minimal impact on the code. “And with that, Stop ‘N’ Swop was gone.

Thankfully, despite the feature’s eventual demise, Banjo-Kazooie’s Stop ‘N’ Swop secrets haven’t been entirely lost to Nintendo’s time and whims, as enterprising players have managed to find ways to access them. using cheats buried in the game code. And while it’s a shame the official ways to explore them never materialized, it’s gratifying to know that some 20 years later, we finally have a definitive answer why .