Big Fish

Big Fish has a huge orange body and an unusually large mouth closed behind five prominent white teeth. It swims around its cavern instead of waiting at one fixed point, so the duo must keep track of its movement while aiming. Despite its size and Maggie’s account of being swallowed, the exterior fish does not attack Banjo and Kazooie as they approach. Breaking the teeth changes the entrance visibly: the jaw drops open, leaving enough room for them to swim through. The fish’s interior then becomes its own named area, Inside the Big Fish, rather than a small item revealed by defeating an ordinary enemy.

Jolly Roger’s Lagoon opens through Jiggywiggy’s challenge at 14 Jiggies. Before exploring its depths, collect the Glowbo on the shelf behind Pawno’s counter and give it to Mumbo in his skull. Take Mumbo to the pad beside the harbour and cast Sunlight to oxygenate the water, allowing the duo to explore without their ordinary air supply running down. Learn Sub-Aqua Egg Aiming from Jamjars in the bedroom at Jolly’s with 275 Musical Notes collected. Jolly opens that room for two Doubloons; a Grenade Egg can also break its door. For the quickest tooth-breaking method, learn Grenade Eggs from Jamjars in Pine Grove at 110 Notes and bring a supply. Return to the duo before making the journey through Atlantis.

From Atlantis, enter the Seaweed Sanctum and surface on its lower level. Use the Shock Spring Pads and surrounding ledges to climb through its three tiers, watching for the hostile seaweed and the electric eel on the way. The exit on the upper level leads to the Sea Bottom region containing Big Fish Cavern. Activate the cavern’s warp pad so that the route back to the town is available after the rescue. The large orange fish swims in the water below; another connection links this underwater region with the Lockers Cavern. Returning through the activated warp network is simpler than repeating the entire climb whenever supplies or a visit to the inn are needed.

Use Sub-Aqua Egg Aiming to target the teeth themselves while the fish swims past. A Grenade Egg breaks a tooth in one successful hit, while ordinary Blue Eggs require three successful hits per tooth. There are five teeth to remove, and firing at the orange body does not clear the obstruction. Keep enough distance for the view to include the mouth and adjust the aim as the fish changes position. After the last tooth is destroyed, its jaw opens and the duo can swim inside. This does not require Talon Torpedo or the Submarine transformation when following the Seaweed Sanctum approach. Both are useful elsewhere in the lagoon, but the tooth targets are solved by underwater egg fire.

The entrance leads into red, fleshy surroundings with a pool of similarly coloured liquid and a dry section beyond it. Leave the pool and deal with the two Keelhauls on the interior ground before exploring the branching passages. The left-hand route leads to Merry Maggie, while the right-hand route leads to the Jinjo. Both can be reached during the same visit, so there is no need to leave immediately after completing one branch. The interior is large enough to function as a short location in its own right, with the entrance pool and branching tunnels providing landmarks for the return to the open mouth.

Follow the left passage and speak to Merry Maggie. She recognises the duo as a rescue party and explains that she was using one of Captain Blubber’s waveracers when the fish knocked her off and swallowed her. Kazooie responds to the prospect of rescue by asking whether the price is right, continuing the duo’s interest in being rewarded for their trouble. Banjo tells Maggie that the mouth is now open, which is enough for her to make her own escape. She heads back to the inn because happy hour is approaching and Jolly needs her help. When asked about a Jiggy, she directs the duo to him rather than handing over the reward inside the fish.

Return to Jolly’s inn after speaking to Maggie and talk to Jolly Roger to receive the rescue Jiggy. Maggie is back behind the bar and thanks the duo for freeing her from what she describes as a ferocious sea monster; Banjo answers that it was a very large fish. If the right-hand passage inside Big Fish was missed, return and collect the Jinjo at its end as well. Its colour depends on the save file, so a guide naming one fixed colour does not identify a different fish or passage. Rescuing it counts towards that colour’s family reunion in Jinjo Village, with a family Jiggy awarded when every member has been returned. Jolly’s reward and the Jinjo-family reward therefore have different completion conditions.

The Tower of Tragedy Quiz asks how to get inside the large fish, with knocking out its teeth as the answer. Another question asks for the name of Jolly Roger’s partner, answered with Merry Maggie. The lagoon also contains transparent Seemee fish whose swallowed items can be seen through their bodies. Retrieve their items with Talon Torpedo, learned in the Electric Eels’ Lair at 290 Notes, by sending Kazooie through the transparent body. Big Fish’s orange body, five teeth and explorable interior distinguish its rescue from those item pickups. The lagoon’s actual anglerfish boss is Lord Woo Fak Fak in Davy Jones’ Locker, a separate encounter reached through the lockers area. Big Fish’s two branching passages remain associated with Maggie and the Jinjo.