Banjo-Kazooie returns to Nintendo hardware this week

The next game for the Nintendo online service is called Nintendo 64 platforming classic Banjo-Kazooie. This will be the first time you will be able to play the game on Nintendo hardware since Microsoft bought the original developer in 2002.

The last major Banjo-Kazooie game was 2008's Nuts & Bolts for the Xbox 360, but Rare did release a couple of spin-off titles for the Game Boy Advance. The original Banjo-Kazooie and sequel Banjo-Tooie are both available on modern Xbox consoles through Game Pass and a collection called Rare Replay.

The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack brought N64 and Sega Genesis games to the service. Since Paper Mario was added in December, it looks like Nintendo is going to add one N64 game a month, which is a change from the past, when deep cuts would show up every few months. Hopefully Nintendo will be able to make sure that the emulation works better than it does with some of the earlier N64 titles.