"In loving memory of the Grey Jinjo family. Passed away unexpectedly when a huge digging machine flattened their house."
— Jamjars
Being the bigger, better, Darker and Edgier sequel to Banjo-Kazooie, Rare spared no expense in making sure there were moments that hit players like a semi, leading to quite a handful of equally shocking and depressing moments.
- The game hits you right off the bat by killing off Bottles the mole. It just catches you completely off guard that the sequel to such a bright, fun, cartoony game as Banjo-Kazooie could start out with the death of one of the main characters. And soon afterward you have to face his wife and kids, and Banjo and Kazooie argue for a bit over whether to tell them as everyone goes on about how they expect him home any minute and he's going to be the star of next week's big kickball game. And as he emerges from Banjo's ruined house, charred black from Gruntilda's spell, this
song plays. - Once you learn the split-up technique from Jamjars, if you are cruel enough to separate your characters a great length, Banjo and Kazooie will admit that they miss each other.
- The Gloomy Spiral Mountain music. The slower pace than normal, plus the wind howling in parts of the song, really drive home the point that this time, things will not be nearly as cheery as before. Not at all helped by the destroyed state that the mountain is in...
- The state of Banjo's house is just as bad, if not worse. The poor bear and bird's lost just about everything right now; windows are broken, the floor and walls are charred, most of the duo's possessions were destroyed with the exception being a single solitary picture of Tooty dangling from the walls, and all the while a somber rendition of the main theme plays in the background...
- Kazooie's first reaction to realizing what happened is a shocked "Look at our house!" It's one of the few times she's actually upset about something and doesn't snark about it, which shows she's just as devastated as Banjo is at the loss.
- Zombie Jingaling. The guy gives you a Jiggy out of the kindness of his heart, only to have his life force sucked out by the Big-O-Blaster. It's more than enough to motivate you into preventing this from happening to anyone else.
- The destroyed Grey Jinjo house in Tooie, which has a sign beside it that reads: "In loving memory of the Grey Jinjo family. Passed away unexpectedly when a huge digging machine flattened their house." Even worse, the Grey Jinjo family most likely had 10 members in it, due to the rising number pattern of each Jinjo family to the next.
- Weldar. Even with his That One Boss status, he's just an absent-minded, near-sighted appliance guarding his Jiggy. And when you beat him, all that's left is his head which still talks. Hard not to feel bad for the guy...
- When you reach the icy side of Hailfire Peaks, you see a cinematic of an alien saucer which is attacked which causes the aliens to fall from the sky and die in the snow. The painful part about this is the dialogue that happens beforehand with the alien saying that he's dead, right before his eyes close. This turns into Tears of Joy when you use Mumbo Jumbo to revive the aliens and help them fix their ship so they can finally go home.
- Boggy's Igloo. There's just something wrong when the normally happy Freezeezy Peak music gets such a halfhearted rendition, all the while you gaze upon such a neglectful slob of a bear, his abusive wife, and their kids who got brattier since the last game. It got worse in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts; Boggy has been kicked out of his own house by his wife, and must now earn some notes by running the local gym. Sometimes when you talk to him, he'll be eating his own scarf, commenting on how he hasn't been fed in days.
- You will come across two ice cubes named George & Mildred. Mildred is in the cold side of Hailfire Peaks and has a Jinjo inside of her, and George was blown into Cloud Cuckooland. You must destroy both of them (smash Mildred open and push George into boiling water in Hailfire Peaks) to get the Jinjo and a Jiggy, respectively. It really is unpleasant considering how both of them ask Banjo to help reunite them, and both's final requests are towards their spouse.Mildred: Tell George his dinner is in the...
George: Tell Mildred I love h... - After the third fight against Klungo, he comments that every time Banjo and Kazooie beat him in a fight, Grunty beats him and makes his face more disfigured. What really makes it sad is his comment that his wife won't love him anymore if this continues on. It finally makes him quit his job as a minion. And those bruises are still there eight years later in Nuts & Bolts.
- On Spiral Mountain, you find out that amidst the wreckage, Banjo's poor pet goldfish Roysten got trapped under a very large boulder and needs help getting out. Unfortunately, none of your (current) moves from the last game can help you break it, so you must leave the poor fish under the rock until you get a stronger move. If there's any consolidation, the required move is located in the second level, Glitter Gulch Mine.
