User:Son of Suns/Sandbox

A sub-page for my works-in-progress, mostly new proposal ideas and their related "mainspace" content. As always, please feel free to send me feedback.

Banjo and Conker Revisited

This proposal would create only two articles: one compiling content on the Banjo series, the other about the Conker series. Only games and content officially approved by Nintendo would be allowed, meaning information from Conker: Live & Reloaded and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts would not be allowed. Given the connections established by Nintendo between the Donkey Kong series and the Banjo/Conker franchises, the Banjo/Conker series has a recognized official connection to Mario, albeit a small one (and thus Banjo and Conker content is only afforded two articles).

One of the strongest parts of this wikis that distinguishes us from others is our integration of spin-off information, creating a fuller, more complete encyclopedia. This proposal would give recognition to the Banjo and Conker series as spin-offs of a spin-off, and thus a minor, but still relevant, part of the the overall franchise. However, unlike content for spin-offs such as the Wario and Yoshi series, Banjo and Conker content will not be given unlimited article creation status. As many have noted, the connection between Mario and Banjo/Conker is not very strong, as they are separated by a common link, the Donkey Kong series. Instead, this proposal would create only two articles - one for all Banjo content, and one for all Conker content. I believe this is a fair compromise between those who want exclusive focus on Mario, and thus who view Banjo and Conker as part of the greater Mario franchise. This allows the latter to fully explore the Banjo and Conker series (as approved by Nintendo) while keeping the amount of articles to only two, allowing those who do not care for such content to easily avoid it. The two series articles would actually be very similar to the Beta Elements or List of Glitches articles. Both Beta Elements and Glitches are relatively large articles intended to keep certain content in a single location instead of distributed throughout a mass of other articles throughout the wiki. Similarly, this proposal would keep all Banjo and Conker content in two articles, instead of allowing the creation of dozens to hundreds of articles about such content.

The Banjo and Conker series and its various references to other Mario and Donkey Kong games were officially approved by Nintendo, as Rare was owned by Nintendo at the time. As Nintendo has never established an official canon or an official policy on remakes, these strong connections between the series are still official. Nintendo did not have to approve these connections between Mario, Donkey Kong, Banjo and Conker; they chose to establish a continuity between these games, and we should respect that decision made by Nintendo.

The strongest connection between Donkey Kong’s world and the worlds of Banjo and Conker is Diddy Kong Racing. This is made explicit in the story of Diddy Kong Racing (as described by the official instruction booklet). When Wizpig attacks Timber’s Island, Timber sends a letter to Diddy Kong asking for help. Diddy Kong responds by writing letters to his friends Banjo and Conker, asking then to come along on his adventure. Diddy Kong then has Squawks personally deliver the handwritten letters to Banjo and Conker. This establishes a clear historical and geographical connection between Diddy Kong, Banjo and Conker. They don’t simply meet for the first time in this game, they have been friends for a some amount of time before. Also, the parrot Squawks is able to fly to Banjo and Conker, establishing that they all live relatively close together.

Also consider the official profiles for these characters.

Banjo (page 24): "Even before the start of his future partnership with Kazooie, Banjo isn’t one to turn down the chance of an adventure. So when Squawks brings the message from his pal Diddy Kong, the Honey Bear stuffs a few things into his trusty backpack and takes to his heels."

As above, this establishes a connection between Banjo, Diddy Kong, and Squawks. This references also indicates that Diddy Kong Racing chronologically takes place before Banjo-Kazooie, that this part of the Donkey Kong series is a part of the same continuum as Banjo’s timeline.

Conker (page 24): "Another friend made by Diddy Kong on one of his endless adventures with Donkey Kong. Conker is also an exploration nut who’ll jump at any chance to break free of a squirrel’s less than exciting routine. He’s eager to join up with Banjo as the bear passes through."

Conker not only has an explicit connection with Diddy Kong and Banjo, he is also connected to Donkey Kong himself. All four of these characters met before the events of the game, establishing the geographical and historical connections made above.

There are also some more minor references that not only establish links between the worlds of Donkey Kong, Banjo, and Conker, but to Mario’s world as well.

• The character Tiptup is in both Diddy Kong Racing and Diddy Kong Racing DS, as well as Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie. Tiptup and Banjo first met in Diddy Kong Racing, and would chronologically later meet up again twice in the Banjo series. His relatively major presence in all these games indicates a strong link between all four titles, even if Banjo and Conker were not included in Diddy Kong Racing DS.
• In Banjo-Kazooie, the character "Gnawty the Beaver" looks exactly like the Gnawty enemy from Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64. Gnawty could be considered a representative member of his species, just as Yoshi is to the Yoshis and Toad is to the Toads.
• In Banjo-Kazooie, a picture of Conker’s girlfriend Berri can be found in Rusty Bucket Bay. Gruntilda also mentions Conker the Squirrel in her quiz at the end of the game. Additionally, not only Donkey Kong but the original Donkey Kong Mario battled, Cranky Kong, is mentioned by Gruntilda.
• In Banjo-Tooie, the character Goggles has a Donkey Kong doll.
• In Banjo-Tooie, the toilet character Loggo is clogged up with paper. Kazooie tells him to call a plumber, then suggests that Mario might be free. Loggo then states he doesn’t think Mario is in that line of work anymore. This conversation indicates that it would be possible for Mario to travel to Loggo’s location if needed, and that there is awareness in Banjo’s world that Mario’s profession has changed throughout his many adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom.

The following would form the content basis of these two articles:

Banjo (series)

Games

Diddy Kong Racing

Main article: Diddy Kong Racing

Characters

Big Al

Big Al is a rhinoceros employed by Witchyworld in Banjo-Tooie. He operates the theme park's burger stand. Big Al does not know exactly how he got the job, but according to him he used to clean the park's toilets before his current position. Additionally, he has low standards of hygiene; although he has a terrible cold, he often coughs onto the food he serves to customers. He also states he sells hamburgers that have fallen on the ground.

Big Al's burger stand was closed when Banjo and Kazooie first arrived in Witchyworld. After the duo activated a special switch, the burger stand opened for business. Big Al was then able to offer Banjo and Kazooie a burger. He would only give the pair one burger at a time, saying he has run out if Banjo and Kazooie asked for another.

Conker (series)

Games

Diddy Kong Racing

Main article: Diddy Kong Racing