Banjo

Banjo the Honey Bear is the lazy yet well-meaning protagonist of the Banjo-Kazooie series, in which he and his best friend Kazooie fight the evil witch, Gruntilda. He is also a friend of Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong, and first appeared in Diddy Kong Racing.

''Diddy Kong Racing
Banjo is one of the many friends that Diddy Kong contacts via Squawks the Parrot in Diddy Kong Racing. When the intergalactic traveler, Wizpig, invaded and conquered Timber's Island, Timber called on Diddy Kong for help. In turn, Diddy Kong sent Squawks the Parrot to find Banjo and Conker to request their assistance. The three traveled to the island, where with Timber and four of his friends, they competed in a variety of racing challenges to liberate the island and decide which of them would have the best change to defeat Wizpig. As one of the heavier racers, Banjo had slow acceleration but ultimately a higher top speed. His handing though was below average. Eventually, the eight, with or without the help of unlockable characters Drumstick and T.T., managed to drive Wizpig back to his home world: Future Fun Land. Banjo elected not to attend the celebration party, but he quickly returned when Wizpig struck back. He and the others traveled to Future Fun Land, conquered its challenges, and took on Wizpig. In their final race with the villain, Wizpig's rocket malfunctioned and he stranded himself on a deserted planet.

"N-Gang vs. Nintendo"
Banjo appeared in the N-Gang comic "N-Gang vs. Nintendo", where he played on the same soccer camp team with Kazooie, Wario, Yoshi, Peach, Donkey Kong, and Lanky Kong. Mario refereed the match.

Appearance
Banjo is portrayed as an easy-going character. He virtually has an unchanged physical appearance since Diddy Kong Racing. He has light-brown fur, yellow shorts and a blue backpack. He always keeps the shorts and backpack, even when he is transformed into one of Mumbo Jumbo's or Humba Wumba's special forms.

Trivia

 * In the beta version of Donkey Kong 64, Banjo made a cameo appearance. A magnet on Donkey Kong's shower stall in Donkey Kong's tree house featured Banjo and Kazooie's faces. However, in the final release of the title, Rareware removed the shower stall and cameo appearance.
 * In the beginning of the games Conker's Bad Fur Day and Conker: Live & Reloaded, Banjo's severed and stuffed head can be seen mounted over a fireplace.
 * In the Nintendo DS remake of Diddy Kong Racing, Diddy Kong Racing DS, Rare, Ltd. elected to replace Banjo with Tiny Kong and Conker with Dixie Kong. The company chose Tiny Kong for the role, making her a heavyweight who could conceivably have the same racing abilities as Banjo. However, the team elected not to change or remove either character's theme song: Banjo's signature banjo music can still be heard both in the introduction and on the character selection screen.
 * Banjo's instrument theme is, of course, a banjo, which plays a backup banjo pattern. Kazooie's instrument is kazoo-like, and plays the main part.
 * Artwork of Banjo can be used in Mario Artist: Paint Studio, like some other Diddy Kong Racing characters.
 * Banjo appeared in Rare's 2007 Christmas Card, alongside Kazooie and several characters from Viva Pinata.