Piddles

Piddles is the opponent in Cheatin’ Witch, a Player’s Choice race in Act 4 of Nutty Acres. Bank eight Jiggies to open this act, then find Trophy Thomas in the tunnel behind the nut farm. Piddles has challenged him while his best car is being repaired, so Banjo competes in his place. Bring a vehicle suited to the checkpoint course, with enough speed to establish a lead and steering that remains controllable through its tighter passages. The route runs along the beach past rocks and shells, heads inland over the bridge, passes through the volcano and returns towards the beach for the finish. Follow each highlighted checkpoint rather than taking a shortcut that misses the next gate. Piddles’s vehicle carries a Freezeezy, allowing her to freeze the player’s machine and interrupt its progress. Getting ahead early keeps Banjo out of much of that fire; if she draws alongside, keep room to steer instead of becoming trapped against an obstacle. A Freezeezy fitted to the player’s own vehicle can also interrupt her race. The Player’s Choice rules allow different designs, including a hybrid that flies between suitable checkpoints and lands for the enclosed part of the course. Such a build still needs to pass through the gates and negotiate the volcano entrance, so excessive speed or an awkward landing can cost more time than the flight saves. A fast ground vehicle can complete the same event without that transition. Beating Piddles earns the race’s Notes reward. Finishing in less than 2 minutes 10 seconds reaches Jiggy standard, while a time below 1 minute 45 seconds earns the T.T. Trophy as well. Winning alone does not guarantee the timed prizes. Replay the event with an improved design if the first victory falls outside those limits. Thomas remains the challenge host rather than becoming the race opponent; his reaction to Banjo’s success includes an accusation of Stop ’n’ Swop cheating, another reference to the older games’ secret-item feature.

Piddles also operates weapons on Gruntilda’s challenge vehicles. In Flush the Floater, the witch’s Act 3 event in LOGBOX 720, she threatens to use the cat to foul the console’s coolant supply. This act opens after ten Jiggies have been banked. The contest is a six-lap race around the pink coolant tank, with Gruntilda taking a short line through the liquid and Piddles assisting from an Egg Turret on her boat. A land vehicle must follow the surrounding route, while a suitably equipped amphibious design can use the water to shorten the corners. Maintain a clear line through the checkpoints and avoid letting turret fire push the vehicle off its intended path. Returning with better flotation and propulsion parts can make a later trophy attempt much easier than the first visit. Defeating the witch unlocks Floaters for the Showdown Town trolley, allowing it to cross water and reach areas that its original wheels could not. Piddles changes weapons for Spring Break!, Gruntilda’s Act 4 challenge in Banjoland, available after 23 banked Jiggies. Here the witch uses a bouncing machine to cause trouble in the museum, and the cat fires a Grenade Turret from the contraption. The jumps make the vehicle a moving target and can carry it away from a poorly lined-up attack. Freezing it with a Freezeezy provides an opportunity to concentrate fire on its parts before it resumes bouncing. An armed vehicle with a stable firing position can dismantle the machine quickly, reducing the time spent pursuing it around the displays. Victory provides the Springs upgrade for the town trolley, which opens another set of previously unreachable routes. In both encounters, damaging or immobilizing the machine limits the witch’s movement and reduces the danger from her passenger. The resulting trolley upgrades then allow Banjo and Kazooie to explore more of Showdown Town between their visits to the Game Worlds.

After 75 Jiggies have been banked, the contest returns to Spiral Mountain. Complete L.O.G.’s Six of the Best before taking on Spiral Mountain Showdown, Gruntilda’s final sequence of vehicle battles. Her machines progress through a monster truck, boat, camouflaged car and stationary fortress before the jet-powered broomstick. Piddles rides on that last machine and fires an Egg Turret while the witch flies. Attack the broom’s vulnerable machinery and keep moving out of the gunner’s line of fire; destroying the machine ends the contest for both villains. When the final machine is beaten, Gruntilda’s skull falls from its container and Piddles helps knock it back into the jar. L.O.G. ends the confrontation, confirms Banjo’s ownership of Spiral Mountain and sends the defeated witch and her companion to work in his video-game factory. Piddles’s model also appears among the watching cast during the celebration, but the closing factory scene places her with Gruntilda again. Perched on stacked boxes while the witch sweeps the floor, she tells Gruntilda that she can brush her next and demands plenty of milk. When Gruntilda talks about creating a game that will finally defeat the bear and bird, Piddles hurries her along and sarcastically remarks that everybody is waiting for it. Those understandable sentences contrast with her earlier meowing and let her boss the witch around in their final scene. She appears again in the illustrated surround for Hero Klungo Sssavesss Teh Universsse, the arcade sequel included with L.O.G.’s Lost Challenges. This artwork makes her much larger and more threatening, with bright eyes, exposed fangs and an aggressive pose beside Gruntilda. The witch also attacks within the arcade game, while Piddles remains part of its surrounding picture. To unlock the sequel at Klungo’s arcade, complete all six DLC challenges at Jiggy standard in both L.O.G.’s Choice and Player’s Choice modes, colouring the entire wall picture. T.T. standard is not required for that unlock. Her threatening portrait remains visible around the playfield as Klungo works through its stages.