Conga

The route to Conga’s fighting perch begins with Chimpy, the small monkey standing on a low stump near the cliff. He wants an orange, so climb the trunk of Conga’s tree and collect the fruit below its leafy crown. Conga protests that the orange belongs to him and demands its return. Instead, carry it over to Chimpy, who accepts it, supplies his own Jiggy and raises the stump so that the ledge above can be reached. Jump from the raised stump to the upper ground and speak to Bottles at the molehill to learn egg firing. Kazooie can fire forwards while Banjo crouches, or release an egg behind the pair; the forward shot is the useful option for Conga. Nearby Blue Eggs replenish the ammunition supply, whose normal capacity is one hundred. Walk along the ledge to the broad stump facing the ape, line Banjo up with him and fire at his body. The stationary first-person look mode helps inspect the alignment, but the attack itself is made from the normal crouched stance. Conga boasts that the bear cannot reach him, then reacts angrily when an egg connects. Dodge the orange he throws back before lining up another shot. His retaliation builds from a single orange to two in succession as the exchange progresses, so allow the return throws to pass instead of remaining crouched in their landing spot. Jumping or stepping back onto the ledge provides room to avoid them. Three successful egg hits force him to concede and release the battle’s Jiggy onto the ground below. He remains on the tree afterwards, so an unfinished orange-block puzzle can still be completed. The same upper ledges also lead past a Mumbo Token to the world’s Witch Switch. Beak Busting that switch reveals a separate Jiggy above Mumbo’s Mountain’s entrance in Gruntilda’s Lair, where the Termite can climb the steep surface to collect it. That lobby reward is additional to the three Jiggies associated with Conga and Chimpy’s area.

Conga returns in Banjo-Tooie as the attendant guarding the entrance passage inside Witchyworld’s Big Top. He now wears a tall red circus hat and a red coat with gold details, and holds the entrance rope while checking visitors’ tickets. His manner and speech have changed from the territorial tree encounter: he addresses Banjo as buddy and speaks in the first person while explaining the admission rules. Witchyworld is opened through Jiggywiggy’s eight-Jiggy challenge, and its large central circus tent can be approached before the admission requirements are complete. Conga requires four Tickets, one from each of the four Fruities, the walking slot-machine enemies found along the paths outside the tent. Grenade Eggs provide a straightforward way to destroy them and expose their tickets; Jamjars teaches that ammunition on the Isle O’ Hags’ Pine Grove when the pair have at least 110 Notes. Bill Drill and ramming with Humba Wumba’s Van transformation offer other ways to defeat the machines. Collect each dropped ticket before returning to the entrance as Banjo and Kazooie together. Tickets alone are insufficient, since Conga also checks that the pair know Airborne Egg Aiming. Jamjars teaches it at 180 Notes beside the Dodgem Dome in Witchyworld’s Space Zone. Learning the move gives Kazooie the aiming control needed to fire effectively while flying during the encounter inside. With both requirements met, Conga accepts the four tickets, announces the end of his shift and runs off, leaving the passage clear. Banjo and Kazooie enter the arena looking for their seats, approach what seems to be a place to sit and instead awaken Mr. Patch. The resulting fight awards Witchyworld’s boss Jiggy. Conga does not fight the pair again here, and the game does not establish that his admission procedure is a revenge plan for their earlier victory.

Conga is referenced in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts through the Citrus Slick vehicle part. It releases oranges onto the ground to interfere with the handling of vehicles that drive over them, while Mumbo’s description explains that he stole Conga’s fruit to create it. This carries the orange theme into vehicle combat without giving the ape another physical encounter in the released game. Conga had also been developed for the abandoned Banjo X project, an earlier remake concept in which returning characters would remember the original adventure and respond differently as it unfolded. Steve Mayles later shared an unused Conga model and animation tests showing chest beating, eating and thumping the ground. Those designs document work on an unreleased version of the character, rather than an additional quest available in Nuts & Bolts. His circus costume supplies another connection outside the Banjo games: Conga’s Top Hat was included in Accessory Pack 4 for the original Viva Piñata, allowing piñatas to wear a hat based on his Tooie appearance. The named accessory also appears in Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, where it is among the requirements for Pengums to romance and can form a costume with the Toff Monocle and Secret Agent Bowtie. Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate trailer Best Friends later evokes the Mumbo’s Mountain encounter with a pale Donkey Kong on a rock, Diddy Kong above him and an orange nearby as Banjo and Kazooie attack. The sequence uses the existing Kong fighters to recall Conga and Chimpy’s setting. Conga’s identity and voice also feature in Grunty’s Furnace Fun.