Uploaded February 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago

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Here's a short video of the Canary Mary Races in Cloud Cuckooland.

This is the most infamous challenge in Banjo-Tooie. I myself really hated it as a kid, but my reasons for why are a bit complicated.

I first played Banjo-Tooie back in December 2010 to January 2011 on the Xbox 360, and when I got to this part, the Clockwork Mouse moved really slow and I could never keep up with Canary Mary. No matter what, she would always beat me, and I was so angry, that for a while, I didn't bother with the challenge, and essentially just completed 98% the game.

I did get the Jiggy from her a couple months later (Or maybe a year later? I can't remember), but then I hit another roadblock, and I couldn't beat the 2nd race, even when I tried to manipulate her AI by staying with her until the end, I still kept losing. So I didn't bother with that one for a while either and at that moment, I was done with fully completing the Xbox 360 version of Banjo-Tooie.

However... in October 2013 I went to a retro game store and saw a Nintendo 64 with a cartridge of Banjo-Tooie, and I was so happy, that I got them! I loved the N64 version even more than the Xbox 360 version, and when I got to Canary Mary in Cloud Cuckooland, it was actually pretty easy. I was fast with the Mouse when I tapped the A Button, and it took only a few minutes to beat both of her races. I was really glad when I did and I finally completed 100% of Banjo-Tooie!

I figured that the Xbox 360's buttons aren't able to register fast button tapping as much as the N64's buttons, not to mention, the N64's buttons are more comfortable to tap. So then in January 2016, when I played this game on Rare Replay, I attempted the races again to see if I would actually do it with an Xbox controller, and I won, but it was definitely harder because of the problems I mentioned earlier (I also did it on first Xbox 360 version sometime later but I can't remember when).

So I hated this challenge as a kid not because of the AI, but because of how hard the Xbox 360 version was. It's a shame, because the HD version is the most accessible one to play right now, and I assume many then and now had issues with these races either because of the input lag with the controllers, or input lag within the game itself since ports of classic games, especially retro 3D games, tend to have input delays when ported to new hardware.

Hopefully, when this game comes out on the Switch Online, people will have an easier time with it, and hey, they can use the restore points if they just want to make it easier for themselves.