Evercade's Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack brings Rare's N64 classics to a cartridge — with new music and secrets inside
Two of the most beloved platformers of the Nintendo 64 era are getting a fresh physical release. On October 30, Evercade — a retro-gaming hardware brand run by Blaze Entertainment — ships a Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack cartridge containing both Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel, Banjo-Tooie, on a single cart playable across any Evercade console, handheld, or mini arcade. (VGC)
Rare, the British studio behind the originals, confirmed the release on its Facebook page on August 10. (Facebook)
These are not the usual emulator-and-ROM reissues that fill most of Evercade's catalogue of more than 80 cartridges. Evercade rebuilt both games as native ports — meaning the original code was adapted to run directly on Evercade hardware, rather than a software emulator mimicking the N64. The company built from the original 64-bit console code as its foundation, and Rare supplied source code and unused materials to make it possible. (VGC)
Blaze Entertainment CEO Andrew Byatt told FRVR that having the source code made a "massive difference." Without it, engineers would have to reverse-engineer the game from assembly language — the low-level instructions a processor reads — adding roughly nine to twelve months of work. Byatt also said Rare "put in a lot of energy" behind the scenes to help and approve the ports. (VGC)
The native ports come with a set of enhancements aimed at both modern convenience and Evercade's hardware quirks. Resolution is improved. The frame rate runs at 60fps. Save states let players bookmark progress at any point. Camera controls have been refined. And because some Evercade devices only have a D-Pad — the cross-shaped directional pad — rather than analogue sticks, the team designed a new control scheme to accommodate them. (VGC)
Beyond the technical upgrades, the ports add fresh content. A new cheat menu and new dialogue appear in both games. A music player includes previously unreleased tracks from the series — and in Banjo-Kazooie specifically, that music player is a secret, unlocked by obtaining one of the fabled Stop n Swop items after completing the game. (Time Extension)
For context, the Stop n Swop feature — a long-rumoured mechanism designed to let players transfer data between Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie cartridges on the N64 — was a piece of gaming folklore for over two decades. It was only managed on original N64 hardware in 2023. (VGC)
Blaze is also bundling the Double Pack with new hardware. The Evercade Nexus handheld, priced at US$199.99 / £169.99, includes the console, the Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack cartridge, and a USB-C to USB-A cable. (VGC)
Evercade has more native ports in the works. A Doom Collection was announced with new native builds of Doom and Doom 2, bundled with six map expansions for a total of eight campaigns. Most of Evercade's catalogue, however, will continue to consist of classic game ROMs running on emulators. (VGC)
For fans of Rare's bear-and-bird duo, the Double Pack offers something rare in retro reissues: new material, not just old games in new packaging.
