Gamertell

If you’re a Rare nut (like me) who loved the living jiggy out of Banjo-Kazooie and its ultra-ambitious sequel, Banjo-Tooie, get ready to do a happy dance. 1up is reporting that the delightfully upgraded game (complete with HD graphics and full stop n’ swap features) will arrive on XBLA in April 2009.

Wondering what “Stop n’ Swap” means? Well, it was a connectivity feature between the two N64 titles that never made it to home release… until now. Elsewhere, on the Retronauts blog, writer Ray Barnholt explains the Stop n’ Swap mystique. From the post:

“just why did Rare give up the ghost? Well, the dark secret wasn’t really that dark—the problem was as simple the N64 itself. The system’s RDRAM could cache whatever a game told it to, and keep it there temporarily. As long as the power’s still on, the memory would stay there—usable—for at least 10 seconds, even if the cartridge was gone. But Rare later found out that newer revisions of the N64 improved the RDRAM, and only allowed one or two seconds of safety. More efficient for the hardware, but unreasonable and much more dangerous if a player was swapping carts on a newer console. The idea was quickly swept under the rug, and Banjo-Kazooie was released without any (external) evidence of Stop ‘n’ Swop. A disappointing end, but one that will apparently be changed for the better in April. “

I always wondered. I was one of those kooks who actually earned 100% of everything in the first game and saw the ending with the “hidden things”. Man, I always wanted to know what they did… and now I’m finding myself quite excited for April.

Read [1up] Read [Retronauts]