Shigeru Miyamoto thought Banjo-Kazooie was so great it helped convince him to delay Zelda: Ocarina of Time - "It's so amazing that we don't want to be outdone"
Banjo-Kazooie fever has reignited after a game of executive quote telephone that ended with Xbox's Aaron Greenberg acknowledging "how much" the classic platformer means to fans. At around the same time, an old quote from Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto surfaced reminding us all of how outstanding Banjo looked ahead of its original release on Nintendo 64 - so good that it helped get The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time delayed.
The quotes come from the 5/8/98 issue of Famitsu magazine, a piece of which was shared by @m0m0_0ssrr_ on Twitter and translated by @gosokkyu. Ocarina of Time had originally been scheduled to launch in late 1997, but by this point it had already shifted back multiple times. "The Zelda delay is partially because of Banjo," Miyamoto said. "It's so amazing that we don't want to be outdone."
Miyamoto went on to lavish Banjo-Kazooie with praise, saying that if Mario is a "makunouchi bento" - a type of lunch box popular in Japan - then Banjo is "a deluxe makunouchi bento." He added that he didn't know "how the art style will go over but once you're in, you'll be hooked."
Miyamoto on Banjo-Kazooie, Famitsu 5/8/98
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