Banjo-Kazooie - Final Battle | Reacting To Video Game Music!

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#BanjoKazooie #GrantKirkHope #Reaction

[@alicechan1462]

Jesse: "This boss battle has to be chaotic as hell" ... You have no idea.

[@VelvetAura]

I'm so happy to finally see Banjo-Kazooie on this channel. Grant Kirkhope is a legend, and one of the mainstay in-house composers for Rare during this period. He's also done the soundtracks for Perfect Dark, Donkey Kong 64, and GoldenEye 007, just to name a few.

[@MilanTehVillain]

One of Kirkhope’s first jobs at Rare was Donkey Kong Land 2. Converting David Wise’s music from Donkey Kong Country 2 into 8-bit versions to work on the Game Boy.

[@lucaganz7619]

He also is the composer of the smash bros banjo Kazooie remix. Made a soundtrack in a hat in time and is the composer of Mario + rabbits kingdom battle and the new upcoming game mario + rabbits sparks of hope.

[@KitsyX]

More importantly, he's also the Twerk Pope lol

[@Hugo-yz1vb]

But his magnum opus is THE DK RAP BABEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH

[@moonlitdraconic1107]

One great thing about Grant is... he played every instrument live himself.

[@LionHuntington]

This song is even better when you have in mind that each of the lead instruments represents a different characters (hinted by the names, like banjo and kazooie), so the way the instruments interact within the song is representative of the conflict among the characters.

[@EmmortalBlue]

Agreed. Goes into Jesse's comments that this reads as a piece of classical music. Almost like program music.

[@gabosilva4608]

This is not classical music with modern instruments This is classical music with goofy instruments :D

[@FearlessFlaw]

Ok so I don't know if anybody will see this but I tweeted at grant kirkhope and asked him about Gruntildas final boss theme and he said " It was my first boss theme and I threw everything I could at it". He's very active on Twitter and often responds.

[@RibeiroF999]

This battle against Gruntilda is the most organized chaos I've ever seen in my life

[@xX_Thaddeus_Xx]

Interesting to note, the main motif here is the same as the main villain's lair--which is directly lifted from the ancient 'Teddy Bear Picnic' children's song. You might know it better from the opening line 'If you go out in the woods today, you're in for a big surprise.' Sung to the melody itself.

[@RockStar11021]

Hey requester here, Banjo-Kazooie is one of my favorite games ever made! The rest of the soundtrack is not like this lol, also Gruntilda The Witch is the main villain (she's in the thumbnail yes) and having this during this long fight with her is amazing. I would say this is one of the best songs in the game but there are many others that are just as good for the levels themselves. Also yes Grant Kirkhope is a legend and his work during the late 90's was IMO his best work. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@osv4ldo]

Thanks dude, great choice. Banjo is one of the best ost's ever made for videogames

[@Xzarfna]

Hell yeah he's a legend. He did a Collab with another musician youtuber to do a Metal cover of this track. It kicks ass! kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJLZkp-cjrGnrdk

[@falcon10649]

Fun fact this track is using the gruntildas lair theme. Which is actually a children's song call "teddy bears picnic". The jinjonator "JING JING"

[@ajackson]

Banjo Kazooie has one of the most inventive soundtracks of all time.

[@SirSlush_]

Oh boy, some Grant Kirkhope. I really hope you have some more requests for the Banjo series because it's some of the most playful, adventurous and quirky music in all video games

[@SirSlush_]

So pretty much any song in Banjo Kazooie (or its sequel Banjo Tooie) is going to be an absolute treat to listen to, especially with your grasp of music theory. My favourite world themes are Treasure Trove Cove, Mad Monster Mansion, Mumbo's Mountain and Bubblegloop Swamp.

[@calvinospina7307]

​@@SirSlush_ don't forget dk 64

[@Arksimon2k]

Ooh yeah Grant Kirkhope! He actually did a guitar cover with FamilyJules a while ago, it absolutely shreds. 🤘

[@r.f.switch5847]

GaMetal recently did a cover of Rusty Bucket Bay, it is also fucking amazing. (The cover and the song... not the level. The level suck balls)

[@r.f.switch5847]

Grant Kirkhope is an absolute legend, every song he has ever made is incredible. Banjo-Kazooie proves that, as each section of a level has its own version of the overall song for the level. Mad Monster Mansion and Gobi's Valley are great examples of it.

[@bloodykun4443]

I feel like Banjo-Kazooie is one of few games that gets the idea of leitmotif right. Used just sparingly enough, and made poignant where they do decide to use it. You'll hear a much slower version of this main melody exploring the witch's lair throughout the game, and though I'm not certain it's ever been said, it seems to be based off of the song 'Teddy Bears' Picnic' by John Walter Bratton, so it feels very fitting considering you play as a bear (and a bird), only it's a bit more sinister.

[@joshriley2936]

I knew it was making me think of another song, I just couldn't put my finger on it! Also, another series that I think did a good job with leitmotifs is Kingdom Hearts. Very good stuff.

[@TangentRecard]

Oooh just the whole soundtrack, all of it. Every song is a gem. Grant is a musical wizard, even did the arrangements for banjos smash music

[@ChippedyDippedy8603]

Gotta say, this song reminds me of a really heavy storm that just, appeared without warning and is just thrashing everything and everyone that dares to try and stop it, having momentary breaks in the storm to give you breathing room before the chaos just washes over you again and again like tidal waves before finally giving in in a huge explosion of passion and, the storm passes just as fast as it came...

[@xubikiltro5263]

It's a pretty long, multi-phase final boss (and brutally hard) it basically asks the players to use almost every hability learned during the game. As for the craziness of the song itself, it includes a lot of motifs heard throughout the adventure, so yeah, there's a lot there. It's a really special final boss, and Grant a really special composer, you should really consider hearing a few more songs from him from that era, they are a treat.

[@SANJAY-un3pc]

What I listen to when preparing breakfast and I'm already 5 minutes late for work.

[@Changanator]

AYY, this one's a banger What I love about Banjos music and Grant as a whole is his different styles, most of the songs in Banjo Kazooie are simple yet catchy, Grant has been quoted saying he based most of the songs in the game off of simple melodies that focus on a tritone interval to characterize the blantly different personalities of the two main characters Banjo and Kazooie. As well every area has its own feel and uses different instruments to signify the enviornments while still keeping to the theme of the characters. What I love about this song in particular is that it takes a bit of everything that youve heard in throughout the game, it features melodies from throughout the game, most prominently Gruntildas Lairs theme, which is the theme you hear all throughout the game in the final bosses lair. But you also hear snippets of every world theme up to this point especially through the use of the instruments that were prominent in each levels theme, and it all comes together into this insane and awesome orchestral masterpiece we see here.

[@Biosleeve]

Grant Kirkhope is an absolute legend and still very active. He recently released a remix album of this OST called Banjo Kazooie: Re-Jiggyed (jiggys being the collectable jigsaw pieces in the game)

[@xX_Thaddeus_Xx]

Also just, generally speaking, Grant Kirkhope is probably one of the best known VG composers of this generation (N64 to present). People still geek out a little over hearing he's attached to a game. In fact, the upcoming Mario and Rabbids sequel will feature compositions by him.

[@Petrisha]

If you can believe it (you probably can) - Grant Kirkhope considers John Williams one of his main inspirations for musical composition, and used that influence mixed with a Fairy Tale-like motif as his vision for Banjo-Kazooie's entire OST.

[@JessesAuditorium]

ha!

[@Patrick-ho3st]

I can't believe I never noticed the constant howling wind in the back of the whole track. Simulating you are fighting her on the very top of the tower.

[@AStandsForFrench]

the soundtrack for banjo kazooie and to a lesser extent banjo tooie is wild. very creative use of sound effects amidst the music, birds chirping, bubbles blorping, monsters growling, machinery clanking. it also does an INCREDIBLE thing that most game music doesn't bother with, where music will often change depending on the environment, so if you go underwater, the music will become aquatic-sounding or muffled, or there's a stage that has four different versions representing the seasons, and the track for that stage will be a seasonally-appropriate version. it's wonderful. and then of course you have gruntilda's fight theme here, which is just a crazy rendition of Teddy Bear's Picnic, which is...wow, why did Grant Kirkhope go that route for it? I mean, yeah, Banjo's a bear, but that's a bit nutty. but somehow it works perfectly! I love it!

[@leftymu]

This is Grant at his absolute best, imo. This boss, and this music are an incredible conclusion to an amazing game and they both incorporate everything you've already experienced in the game into the song and the fight. The instrumentation is basically a collection of every theme you've heard up to this point, which is why there's a possibly unexpected banjo riff in there, and the boss itself demands the use of every ability you've learned in the game, which to me is exactly what a final boss should do. This is probably my favourite final boss ever.

[@ji_ji_]

Grants style is so fast and bouncy I love it.

[@osv4ldo]

Yesss! Banjo Kazooie is one of my favorite ost's of all time, so many good tracks. Hope we get to see more reactions of this series! Grant Kikhope's compositions are really unique, kinda reminds me Danny Elfman

[@Torenhire]

Shoutouts to Grant. First on the channel I think? I imagine it'd be hard to find his name NOT on someone's list of top composers of all time.

[@captainpep3]

I’m still waiting for him him to see “in the finale” the final boss from bowsers inside story, in the mean time I’ll watch more of his great reactions!

[@PyroJiro]

What I really love about this theme is that its a, lack for a better term, "epic" (hate that word haha) version of a tune you've been listening to for the entire game. A more calmer version plays in the hub world, the witch's lair. The sequel, Banjo-Tooie, has a dedicated boss for each world and incorporates the same idea. It takes the level's theme music thats been playing for the few hours you've spent exploring and doing all the objectives, usually a goofy or happy tune, and ramps it up and turns it into this "epic" (there goes that word again hah) version fitting for a fight. I think all the boss music is good in that game, but my favorites are Lord Woo Fak-Fak and Terry

[@mgz4670]

The awesome thing about Grant Kirkhopes songs is, you always hear thats him! They sometime are so similar but different. Like you can even hear some sounds from Perfect Dark (Air Force one and Air Base for example) in this song. Always enjoy you Videos btw :)

[@tylerlaunius7396]

Grant Kirkhope is a great composer (on the level of David Wise, in my opinion). Banjo & Kazooie were added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in September 2019, and brought a few new pieces along with them. Grant also made a new remix album of the first game's OST called Banjo-Kazooie Re-Jiggyed. If you enjoyed this, I'd really recommend checking out either the Smash Ultimate or Re-Jiggyed version of Spiral Mountain (or both). It's pretty great and iconic, and I think you'd enjoy it.

[@tylerlaunius7396]

I also personally really like Treasure Trove Cove and Mad Monster Mansion in Smash, and Rusty Bucket Bay in Re-Jiggyed. There's just a lot of wacky and lovable tracks in Banjo-Kazooie.

[@thenonexistinghero]

This song is a bit of a mishmash of other songs in the game with the rhythm turned up to the max and some added classic Final Fantasy-flair mixed in. I think this theme works best when you're already familiar with the songs used in it. That being said... you're right about this being Nintendo's Crash Bandicoot. And also not. Basically it's a bit comparable in terms of how wacky and insane it is, but it's still something completely different if you look at gameplay, writing, story, humor, etc.

[@qwertykins76]

So this game-and I use NO hyperbole or exaggeration whatsoever-does not have a SINGLE bad or even weak song. I am not kidding, and no nostalgia goggles. Banjo-Kazooie's music is literally one of the most well-praised, critically acclaimed video game OSTs up there with Undertale in terms of its legendary status. The music and sound is 10/10 throughout the entire game, special emphasis was placed on music because the 2 main characters are named after a banjo and a kazoo. Grant Kirkhope more or less got famous off of just this one game alone. He did all sound effects, all music, and almost all of the dialogue voice mumbles himself for BK and its direct sequel Banjo-Tooie. IDK how to explain his style but from all the interviews 'n' stuff it's extraordinarily clear he cares a lot about crafting music with a strong underlying melody, and dislikes "bells and whistles" music that does not have a strong composition backing it up. He also clearly has a well-educated musical background and understands the classics. Some of his signature styles for Banjo-Kazooie are frequent use of tritones (an odd choice, deliberately meant to represent the clashing personalities of the 2 main characters) and oom-pah rhythms, to suit the oddball/quirky tone of the game. BK was also very praised when it came out in 1998 for pioneering the technique where a song will fade into another variant of itself depending on where you are. Like if you dive underwater the music seamlessly fades to a harp rendition without stopping the song. So the main world themes all have a bunch of renditions. It's all MIDI music. The main antagonist's leitmotif which is also the hub world song is also very iconic. As to your question of "is the rest of the game's music classical/high-effort like this??". Well while not every song is a complicated composition pulled straight out of Vivaldi's sock, YES the ENTIRE game is all high-effort quality music with strong compositions. I don't really know what to tell you bro. YOU'RE MISSING OUT, for your OWN sake either listen to the OST or play the actual game and react to it in real time. It's genuinely magical. You WILL NOT find another game out there with such consistently quality music that has hit after hit after hit, these experiences are rare. Every song in this DAMN game is instantly memorable and iconic.

[@kurosakii89]

Grant Is a legend

[@skylarcrylar8686]

Banjo Kazooie? My entire Childhood!? All i can say is " GUH HUH!"

[@9tailedKitsune]

Do the rest of the soundtrack too. It's just so good.

[@Xagzan]

Hah your favorite part was mine as well. Have you listened to the main Gruntilda's Lair track from this game? This is a battle remix of that theme. Now that you've heard this and Mad Monster Mansion, you've gotten a sense of how fun the music in these games can be. Practically every single ditty. Also worth an ear is the briefer orchestral version that Grant did for B-K: Nuts & Bolts, but which for some reason was unused in the game itself.

[@alexafhal]

I know your channel is Mostly about music, But Id love to see you reacting to the actual final Battle of Banjo Kazooie! Awesome Video btw, youve earned a sub :D

[@mallorycarll6280]

Banjo-Kazooie is one of my favorite video games. Such a timeless classic. I adore how Grant Kirkhope finds such playful ways to compose his music. Kirkhope actually played in a metal band when he was a young kid and he studied classical music at an English conservatory. His earlier work with Rare Studios is legendary between Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark, and the 007 Goldeneye OSTs. His use of melodies and repeating patterns is fantastic. It helps give his music an eccentric identity. And yes, Gruntilda (that green wicked witch of the west knockoff) is the main antagonist and final boss to Banjo-Kazooie.

[@rezahydra]

Do I…need to elaborate on why I’m here or…? This song is such a great remix of Gruntilda’s Lair and I love how truly climactic it is. Grant has a knack for creating whimsical songs in all styles thanks to the abuse of every Oom-Pah rhythms. He’s quite literally a genius with it, making music fitting for any mood. If Grant’s on the OST, then you can be sure it’ll be a damn good one. This track perfectly shows that.

[@ProfessorBinks]

any song by Grant Kirkhope is going to be an absolute banger

[@yazarc]

This piece just isn’t the same without Grunty’s laugh as she swoops down at you.

[@jordandeadley360]

I love having my first reactions to songs at the same time as you just as much as hearing the tracks I already know and love. I’d never heard this but it’s sure as hell going in all my playlists now.

[@jordank4889]

Something I never see mentioned is that this track uses themes from other levels that are under the direct control of Grunty - Rusty Bucket Bay and Mad Monster Mansion, which are also bangers. Good shit.

[@LeethLee1]

Wow that brought back memories. It had a bit of medley with the other level tunes so that helps keep the song sane for the listener after playing the game through. Banjo-Kazooie music has had a huge nostalgic effect. I think it's that 'open world per-level' type of game that you don't see often these days :D I only vaguely remember the boss battle, but as far as I recall the Witch is super OP haha. She does go absolutely nuts!

[@MrPerson61]

Ah a great childhood classic N64 game. Grant Kirkhope is a classic gaming soundtrack legend, every game piece he's written that I've heard is 100% great. The main motif at the beginning and end (the part you said was your favorite) is actually Gruntlda the witch's theme (the witch pictured, and who is indeed the final boss) or her Tower's theme (the hub world between levels) the Banjo parts are because your character is named Banjo the Bear. Grant (at least in this game) LOVES to use Motif's for characters and levels, and there are multiple variations of the same song with different instrumentation for differing sections of the level. (main level version, underwater, inside houses etc all have variations of the main level theme that all flow into each other nearly flawlessly as you change locations) Afaik, as I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure N64 music is all Midi but each game has its own sound library but some games like to share instruments. (Feel free to correct me, I could be completely wrong but its just something I picked up over the years and how some instruments sound nearly identical between games). I say that because N64 games usually have a limit to 12mb (early) or 32mb (after N64 expansion pack came out) (?) total storage space for the entire game, so using regular sound files was out of the question. So its very impressive how you can get such good tracks with such technological restrictions.

[@MrPerson61]

On another note Grant did a metal cover of this song with Family Jules a while back, it is also fantastic. I didn't know he played guitar before I watched that.

[@ggn92]

the entire OST of Banjo Kazooie is realy awesome. Grant Kirkhope is an artist

[@PeachBootyPoppin]

David Wise and Grant Kirkhope back to back! Let's go!!!

[@FFRTimtheEnchanter]

This is a game you should play for the music. it was one of the earliest games that I am aware of to have the music flow and change with gameplay, and did so masterfully, so just listening to the songs isn't quite the full experience. That being said, Lynfinity Music has a video that contains everything and the kitchen sink as far as banjo kazooie music, a full ost with timestamps in the description. I'd recommend it all, but its an easy place to get any song from that game, as well as any of the variations it may have.

[@LunaticThinker]

It's so bombastic I love it

[@Kladyos]

Fun Fact: Banjo and Conker first appeared in Diddy Kong Racing, making both franchises Donkey Kong spinoffs just like Mario!

[@SoraSummer]

I am a personal fan of Banjo tooie. The music is great

[@N3Selina]

i don't know much about Grant Kirkhope's composition styles but all i can say is that his compositions, often not my thing, this song is a huge exception

[@KitsyX]

Can't help but think of his Grant Kirkhope song on the Big Bad Bosses album lol. I don't know if you'd be familiar with that... It's not strictly VGM, more VGM adjacent, so you probably wouldn't react to it, but you may want to listen in your own time... The Completionist (hopefully you are familiar with him, he's a cool youtuber that has been reviewing games from the point of view of completing them... And so has done some insane stuff >_>; Like I think he spent some 300+ hours completing everything in Skyrim or something >__>;;) to make a kinda boy band based around video game bosses (Bowser, Eggman/Robotnik, Sephiroth and Ganondorf, if I remember correctly). I think it was put together for them by VGM composer Jake Kaufman too... Jirard, The Completionist, also managed to become friends with Grant Kirkhope at some point and got him to do a silly track on the album too. It's a great time, especially if you like the kinda 90s boyband/RnB style and videogames.

[@sO_RoNerY]

It’s all the ost all together from all the levels I believe, but played at the end. Even the sound affects.

[@itsMKiAM]

Jesse: I’m willing to go out on a limb and say the rest of the series’ music is not as complex. *The rest of the OST is knocking frantically at your door, and begs you to listen to it.*

[@ReenaRibona]

“Is it over” Me: no it only just looped

[@ShinyHaunterSJ]

More Banjo Music in the future very please!

[@bobipine]

Rusty Bucket Bay without any knowledge that comes with playing the level could be an interesting take... (And by knowledge I of course mean the... general feelings towards the level from the majority of players)

[@RaggedLands]

This piece is as much a clash of themes and instruments as it is of characters. The boss of the game, Gruntilda the witch, is represented by the horns, her castle by the violins. The banjo is the hero of the game (a bear named, fittingly, banjo). The jinjos, who you have helped during the game and have now come to your aid, take the flutes. Kazooie is more in the background in the music, but is highly important in the fight.

[@AMOE1987]

As far as Banjo Kazooie goes, I think what they try to do is have one instrument represent each character. They don't all show up in the final battle, but the idea behind it is that you're carrying everyone's- not to take something from undertale but- hopes and dreams with you against the final boss. As far as a recommendation from this game... I kinda like 'Freezezy Peak'. I'm not going to say anything about it to not bias you in any way shape or form, if you're going to check it out and react to it. I do hope you enjoy if you do check it out.

[@calvinospina7307]

More Grant Kirkhope 😁

[@qwertykins76]

The songs the composer says are some of his own favorites are fairly disparate, so I guess they're a good place to start. Those would be Atlantis (from Tooie) which he says he thinks "sums up the feeling of being underwater nicely". The others he likes are Mad Monster Mansion and Freezeezy Peak. (MMM in particular has like 8 variants and some of those are very nice.) If you're looking for more like the Final Battle you just listened to.....not "classical" but similarly bombastic/complex....then you're looking for the 10 or so boss battle themes from Banjo-Tooie, whose worlds each have a dedicated boss. I caution against doing this right away however. These boss themes are renditions of the main levels themes, and the context would be completely lost without listening to the level themes first. And I was about to list my own recommendations but....Jesus Christ I cannot, they're literally all good. Just uh.......start with Spiral Mountain, Gruntilda's Lair and Mumbo's Mountain in that order. They're all early game pieces and all 3 are flagship important compositions for the series

[@magicalmonoceros2407]

Glitter Gulch Mine and its racing remix, Treasure Trove Cove, Mad Monster Mansion, Mr. Patch, Nutty Acres, Final Battle (Nuts & Bolts) This series has so many good songs from Grant Kirkhope

[@3Juni3]

🔥 🔥 🔥

[@jasonlobo2350]

You really should check Hag 1 which is the final boss the sequel of this game. Shit its an artístical masterpiece

[@thend4427]

U should hear some banjo tooie too awesome tracks in it

[@mikegeizer2279]

One other thing that made this song great is that it not only played Grunty's lair theme kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWbcgKmpoZWZqrM but songs and instruments from other levels in the game. it took a bit of everything the player experienced and shoved it together in 1 fight. Another notable thing about Grunty's lair is that the instruments for the song changed as you came close to a level, giving it a new feel. An example of a song used from another level is this timestamp here kzbin.info/www/bejne/borVnoqshtWjfNU and my personal fav, Click clock woods springtime kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZayaaKVlpWKp5o from the final level.

[@ReenaRibona]

Now he needs to listen to vs king krusha k rool from dk 64

[@darthmarth87]

This comment shall not be long I just want to say I love this song!

[@ThisTinSoldier]

Grant Kirkhope is the GOAT.

[@pokiritato5236]

I know this is completely unrelated to this but you should really listen to Last Suprise, it's a Persona 5 song and it's definitely one of my favorites.

[@emefcue]

He should react to grant kirkhopes metal version!

[@osv4ldo]

The Banjo Kazooie DLC in Smash Bros Ultimate has really good songs for reaction, and they were composed by Grant Kirkhope himself. Nuts n' Bolts has some of his best works but unfortunately it is underapreciated because of the game.

[@MilanTehVillain]

Only Spiral Mountain's Smash remix was directly done by him. Grant has the honour of being the first non-Japanese composer to remix a tune for Smash.

[@kinggalaxyknightkgk2089]

So to me Banjo Kazooie's soundtrack isn't one that is always in my head and you won't catch me humming these songs to myself like something from sonic, kirby, etc i wouldn't (FOR ME) call this soundtrack super catchy however whenever i get back into actully playing the game or i hear the music i know its Banjo kazooie music and i will start humming i guess what im trying to say is outside the game the soundtrack is one thing but inside the game its a whole other can of worms

[@charlestrudel8308]

Grant Kirkhope has a past as a power metalist actually, if you wanted to know.

[@OFenomenoDoCozido]

Pls react to Banjo-Tooie bosses theme

[@MTGHedgefund]

The Grant Kirkhope guitar rendition is a must watch. Disgusting