Banjo-Kazooie: How to get the Ice Key and Secret Eggs – CNET

Banjo-Kazooie: How to get the Ice Key and Secret Eggs – CNET

Banjo-Kazooie

Banjo-Kazooie arrived on Nintendo Switch Online on Jan. 20.

Nintendo

Banjo-Kazooie is now available on the Nintendo Switch Online service, marking the first time the game has appeared on a Nintendo console in more than 20 years. The classic platformer features a plethora of collectibles to hunt down, including a couple of secret items that aren’t revealed until after you’ve completed the game: the Ice Key and Mystery Eggs. 

Although these items are secreted away in the game, they are actually obtainable via special passwords that must be entered in Treasure Trove Cove’s sand castle. Here’s how to get the Ice Key and Mystery Eggs in Banjo-Kazooie. Spoilers follow.

What are the Ice Key and Mystery Eggs?

The Ice Key and Mystery Eggs are exactly what their names say. The former is a giant key made of ice, while the latter are mysterious oversized eggs adorned with a question mark. 

Of the secret items, the Ice Key is the only one clearly visible in the game, but it’s sealed behind an impenetrable ice wall in Freezeezy Peak, so players can’t obtain it through normal play. The Mystery Eggs are only revealed through Banjo-Kazooie’s secret ending, which is triggered by collecting all 100 Jiggies in the game.

What do they do?

In short: nothing! The Ice Key and Mystery Eggs were planned to carry over to Banjo-Kazooie’s sequel, Banjo-Tooie, through a transfer process called Stop ‘N Swop. However, the feature was ultimately scrapped, and the Ice Key and Mystery Eggs were instead included as collectibles in Banjo-Tooie, rendering the ones in Banjo-Kazooie useless. Still, it’s possible to get your hands on the items just because and ponder what could’ve been.

How do you get them?

As mentioned, you can unlock the Ice Key and Mystery Eggs by inputting special codes on the floor of the sand castle in Treasure Trove Cove, after you’ve obtained the Jiggy within it. These codes were originally shared on Nintendo’s website way back in the early 2000s and still work in the NSO version of Banjo-Kazooie.

banjo-kazooie-sharkfood-islandbanjo-kazooie-sharkfood-island

One of the secret codes raises Sharkfood Island, revealing a cavern housing one of the game’s Mystery Eggs.

Screenshot by CNET

You can enter the codes by using Kazooie’s Beak Buster move on the correct letter tiles on the sand castle floor. Before you begin, however, you must first spell out the word “CHEAT.” You’ll hear a cow moo after each letter you enter, signifying you’re doing it correctly. Once you’ve spelled out “CHEAT,” enter one of the following codes. This time your inputs won’t be accompanied by a sound, so you’ll need to take care to spell the lengthy codes out correctly:

  • A DESERT DOOR OPENS WIDE ANCIENT SECRETS WAIT INSIDE – Opens the locked door in Gobi’s Valley
  • OUT OF THE SEA IT RISES TO REVEAL MORE SECRET PRIZES – Raises Sharkfood Island in Treasure Trove Cove
  • NOW YOU CAN SEE A NICE ICE KEY WHICH YOU CAN HAVE FOR FREE – Removes the wall blocking the Ice Key in Freezeezy Peak
  • AMIDST THE HAUNTED GLOOM A SECRET IN THE BATHROOM – Unlocks a Mystery Egg in Mad Monster Mansion
  • DONT YOU GO AND TELL HER ABOUT THE SECRET IN HER CELLAR – Reveals a Mystery Eggs behind one of the sealed wine caskets in Mad Monster Mansion
  • THIS SECRET YOULL BE GRABBIN IN THE CAPTAINS CABIN – Unlocks a Mystery Egg in Rusty Bucket Bay
  • NOW BANJO WILL BE ABLE TO SEE IT ON NABNUTS TABLE – Unlocks a Mystery Egg in Click Clock Wood

After you’ve entered a code, you’ll see a short cutscene revealing the secret items, and all that’s left to do is head to the corresponding levels and collect them.

Banjo-Kazooie is available on Switch through the Nintendo 64 – Nintendo Switch Online app, which is included as part of the Nintendo Switch Online plus Expansion Pack plan. More classic N64 games are on the way to the app in the coming months, including The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask in February.

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