Inside The Score - Banjo-Kazooie - Ending

Beach filler episode

Right after defeating Gruntilda we unlock the beach episode of Banjo-Kazooie, where the bear, the bird, family and friends go together to a resort probably somewhere in Treasure Trove Cove in order to enjoy some well deserved sun, food and drinks; the cliche tropical vacation with its cliche Caribbean soundtrack tagging along. This phenomenon of traveling to an ocean beach for leisure or vacation was not always a thing; The tourist practice developed from medically-prescribed sea-bathing by some British physicians in the 17th and 18th centuries and spread throughout Europe and its colonies. With the advent of affordable travel seaside resorts developed worldwide into the modern tourism phenomenon that is now depict in media. Beachgoing is one of the earliest forms and staples of modern tourism. Prior to the 18th century, vacationing at the beach was not a cultural phenomenon. They historically were seen as frightening places where piracy, invasions, and destruction by hurricanes, king tides, and tsunamis were an unpredictable danger.

Here we also find a girl in bikini, the third human being players can find inside the game, serving the refreshments alongside a watermelon pun that was conceived when Nintendo asked Rare if they could cover her more; it seems to be the ideal beauty standard Grunty wanted to achieve since their models look very similar—minus the green skin.

Musical Analysis

Structure: {I – ABA}

Tempo: 120

Melodic and Harmonic Profiles: C Ionian/Major; Eb Ionian/Major

This is the more laidback face of the beach world, what the Treasure Trove Cove level would have sounded in a less zany world, another calypso infused style subdued with a more easy-going tempo in line with the action on screen; it gives the track more of a Jamaican reggae feel which has its origins in mento music, a genre usually conflated with calypso due to the many similarities and intermingling of musicians from the tropical islands. Since these are the styles tourists in the Caribbean would hear constantly during travels, they have come to signify an ambience of relaxation and leisure. However, Grant still uses mainly the cartoon orchestra to keep everything in line with the spirit of the Banjo-Kazooie soundtrack; like, normally this marimba pattern would be played by a guitar—possibly drenched in reverb and wah-wah effects—and the characteristic dotted quarter note low accompaniment would not certainly be played by a tuba but an electric bass instead. The steel pans, unlike in the Treasure Trove Cove cue, are played here in the most calypso accurate way, performed a melodic/harmonic hybrid pattern consisting of trills in thirds.

The progression is your standard I-IV-V based on C pattern plus an ornamental semitone used as a flavor note in the bass. The steel drums contain extra transition chords used as underlying accompaniment. For each bar pair, the second one has a rhythmic displacement that leaves the first beat silent, a typical mento/reggae pattern.

B section brings the trombone and thus the piece even closer to Banjo-Kazooie soundscape territory. The piece is transposed to Eb, going back and forth between the tonic chord and and the dominant: Eb – Bb7. For the sake of variety the marimba changes the accompaniment from thirds to mostly sixths. It returns to the original key by way of changing the ii chord to major, so we end up with the same F – G tail from the A section.

A proper ending to a quest, albeit one that only took a day but hey, it was still difficult and tiring. Nonetheless just like the game has some bonus features there is a bonus cue that needs to be addressed before closing the fable. In the meantime, since Banjo and Kazooie are self aware characters, they discuss the possibility of a sequel to their game and what adventures might await them next.