Nintendo 64 Modder Gets Banjo-Kazooie’s Stop N Swop Feature Working on Original Hardware
A Nintendo 64 game modder has successfully activated Banjo-Kazooie’s highly anticipated Stop N Swop feature on original hardware.
Stop N Swop was an exciting feature planned for Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel Banjo-Tooie, allowing players to unlock exclusive content by quickly swapping game cartridges.
Developer Rare had based this feature on an interesting quirk in Nintendo 64’s hardware – the console retained its memory contents for a few seconds after being turned off.
The concept involved reaching a certain point in a Rare game, turning off the console, swiftly replacing the game cartridge with another Rare game, and then turning the console back on. If done correctly, the second cartridge would detect the stored memory and unlock new content.
Despite being abandoned, Stop N Swop rumors persisted among players, largely because a menu named Stop N Swop appeared when collecting a special egg after completing Banjo-Kazooie.
A variation of this feature was eventually included in the Xbox 360 re-releases, but the community had yet to witness its activation on the original Nintendo 64 version – until now.
Modder Skawo has successfully achieved this, demonstrating the trick on authentic Nintendo 64 hardware in a new video.
In the video, Skawo plays through Banjo-Kazooie to verify that the Stop N Swop content remains locked. They then insert a flash cartridge containing a modified version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
The modded game showcases a cutscene featuring Link explaining the history of Stop N Swop, followed by the necessary unlock information being copied to the console’s memory and saved.
Skawo promptly turns off the console, swaps the cartridge for Banjo-Kazooie, and turns it back on. As a result, the hidden content is successfully unlocked in the game.
Former Rare employee Paul Machacek reveals that Nintendo requested the removal of Stop N Swop due to concerns about potential damage to the console or cartridge. Additionally, Nintendo could not guarantee its compatibility with hardware revisions.
This concern proved valid when later versions of the N64 console featured revised motherboards, which only retained memory for about one second after powering off.
