Halloween 2020 is finally here and it feels like games everywhere are celebrating the spooky season. Not only are there tons ofmust-play games to check out during Halloween, but there’s also plenty of spooky gaming music to listen to.
Video game composer, Grant Kirkhope, best known for his work with Rare, working onsuch titles asPerfect Dark,Donkey Kong 64, andGoldenEye 007, has recently released a few spooky remixes of his iconic tunes from one of his most well known works,Banjo-Kazooie.
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Banjo-Kazooiewas a 1998 platform-adventure title for the Nintendo 64 to high acclaim not only for its inventive level design and charming characters, but also for its catchy music that immersed players in the various worlds they traveled throughout as the titular bear and bird duo. As a game about a bear trying to save his sister from a witch’s captivity,Banjo-Kazooiealready has its toes dipped in the realm of something spooky to begin with.
Just this week, Kirkhope posted on Twitter a remix of one ofBanjo-Kazooie’s most iconic levels, Mad Monster Mansion, as well as a remix of Grunty Returns, a haunting tune that captures the essence of the series main villain Gruntilda the Witch. Interesting enough, Grunty’s theme is a remix of John Walter Bratton’s “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic” which adds a whole new layer to the song’s origins. Furthermore, Kirkhope has promised to release an album chock full of remixes of some of his favorite tunes he created forBanjo-Kazooie.
It seems like the bear and bird duo might be having a bit of a comeback lately with theirSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatedebut and subsequent amiibo. The series has always been well loved by its die-hard fans and after lackluster reactions to its Xbox 360 entry,Banjo-Kazooie Nuts n' Bolts, fans have consistently wondered whether or not they’d ever see another entry to the series. A spiritual successor with some of the original team,Yooka-Laylee, released in 2017 to moderate appeal, but seemed to miss the charm of what made the original series so well liked.
While other previously thought dead series likeCrash BandicootandDoomhave had successful returns, it is up in the air whether or not Rare even wants to make anotherBanjo-Kazooiegame,even if Phil Spencer himself is all for it. Though the series will always have a place in the hearts of its fans, and its persistent absence is a sad one, getting to re-experience the music directly from the composer himself is a huge treat in and of itself.
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