Jinjo

Jinjo
Official artwork of a green Jinjo from Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge.
Universe	Banjo-Kazooie
Debut	Banjo-Kazooie (1998)
Smash Bros. appearances	Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Rare Replay (2015)
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo 64
Place of origin	Jinjo Village
Designed by	Ed Bryan
Voice actor	Grant Kirkhope

Jinjos (ジンジョー, Jinjo) are recurring allies and collectibles in the Banjo-Kazooie franchise.

Origin

An orange Jinjo in Banjo-Kazooie.

Various colors of Jinjos, along with King Jingaling, in Banjo-Tooie.

Jinjos are magical bird-like creatures that appear prominently throughout the Banjo-Kazooie games. In the original three platforming games, Gruntilda kidnaps the Jinjos from their homes in Jinjo Village and scatters them throughout the worlds of each game, where they are found signaling for Banjo and Kazooie to come for them; rescuing a group of Jinjos rewards the duo with a Jiggy. In Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge, this means collecting each of the five different-colored Jinjos in a particular world, whereas in Banjo-Tooie, different-colored Jinjo families come in different sizes and can span multiple worlds, and the duo are required to collect all of a particular color for a Jiggy. The original Banjo-Kazooie introduced five different colors: blue, green, orange, purple, and yellow⁠. Four new colors⁠—white, brown, red, and black⁠—are introduced in Tooie, with a deceased grey family mentioned. Grunty's Revenge, which is set before Kazooie, features the five colors of said original game, as well as the aforementioned grey Jinjos.

In the original Banjo-Kazooie, in addition to their collectible status, Jinjos play a key role in the final boss battle against Gruntilda. In the penultimate phase of the fight, she casts a shield that grants her immunity to all of Banjo and Kazooie's attacks. Four Jinjo statues then rise from the ground, with each one summoning a Jinjo when activated via Kazooie's eggs; these Jinjos then attack Gruntilda and eventually destroy her broom. After this, a single, large Jinjo statue rises, dubbing itself "The Mighty Jinjonator." Once the Jinjonator is activated, the four previously summoned Jinjos are absorbed by it, and it proceeds to ram into Gruntilda multiple times, eventually knocking her off of her tower; she is then sealed underground by a falling boulder.

Banjo-Tooie introduces Minjos, the arch-enemies of the Jinjos, who serve as identical-looking impostors that attack Banjo and Kazooie if they come close. Also introduced is King Jingaling, the king of the Jinjo Village, who tasks Banjo and Kazooie with rescuing each of the Jinjo families before Gruntilda turns him into a zombie using the Big-O'-Blaster. The game also includes a Jinjo as a selectable character for the first-person shooter multiplayer mode, who is very small and fast but has minimal health.

In Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Jinjos are found throughout the game's worlds on their own will, rather than as a result of Gruntilda. They challenge Banjo and Kazooie to various vehicle-based challenges, such as going over a set speed, racing the Jinjo, or retrieving an object that the Jinjo has lost; these challenges then reward the duo with a Jinjo Token, with a color corresponding to that of the Jinjo, that can be used to win vehicle parts and Musical Notes in King Jingaling's Jinjo Bingo. Additionally, in the game's hub world, six prison cells that are supposed to contain Minjos instead have innocent Jinjos that were swapped out by Gruntilda, whom Banjo and Kazooie must rescue.

In Banjo-Pilot, a purple Jinjo is a playable racer as one of the four starter racers. It has very low top speed, but good acceleration and handling. Additionally, an unlockable Jinjo GP mode pits the player against seven randomly-colored Jinjos.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

As a moveset element

Jinjos as part of Banjo & Kazooie's Final Smash.

Banjo & Kazooie's Final Smash in Ultimate summons The Mighty Jinjonator, who is powered by four Jinjos - one purple, one orange, one green, and one yellow - as it is in Banjo-Kazooie. After being summoned, the Jinjonator rams into the opponents multiple times before dealing one final blow. The other four Jinjos from the boss fight are also seen flying towards the opponents.

As a background character

Jinjos flying across the Spiral Mountain stage.

Jinjos make a cameo as background characters in the Spiral Mountain stage. Groups of Jinjos fly around the mountain in circular patterns, leaving a colored trail behind them as they fly.

Spirit

Jinjos appear as spirits on the special DLC-exclusive Spirit Board. Jinjos can be enhanced to The Mighty Jinjonator at level 99.

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Slots	Base	Max	Base	Max	Base	Max	Ability	Series
1,341		Jinjos		★★	2	1700	6824	901	3617	799	3207	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	Banjo-Kazooie Series
1,342		The Mighty Jinjonator		★★★	2	3470	10441	2227	6699	844	2541	Giant	Banjo-Kazooie Series

External links

• Jinjo on Jiggywikki